Back on the other side of the pond, Kaylee sat with her forelegs curled underneath her frame, looking out upon the silhouettes of Scootaloo and Flight who had long since stopped splashing around in the muddy water. They weren't far, but Kaylee had briefly extinguished her magic, leaving them shrouded in darkness but for the faint starlight and the brighter yet still faint light of Cotton Fluff's horn, off around a bend of trees. She could hear Scootaloo and Flight speaking in hushed tones, unable to determine whether they were intentionally speaking so she couldn't hear or if the night just made them inclined to speak quieter.

Regardless, the filly reached over to her saddlebag which sat beside her on the muddy bank and, with the edge of a hoof, scooped up several of the soft items inside. Once she pulled them out, she lifted the hoofful of berries to eye level, focusing through the dark on the small, sticky fruit that lay on her hoof. Then, quickly, she gobbled them all up—every last one. Licking her lips to wipe away any stray stickiness, she reached over to grab another hoofful when—

The ground rumbled. It was a slow rumble at first, barely felt, just making a few of the leaves rustle above—nothing more than a light breeze would. But then the water started to ripple as the rumbling increased, even blurrying the world around as Kaylee sat there, frantically turning her head to figure out what was going on. She tried to stand, but gravity and the motion pulled her back down; somewhere in the corner of her vision, she could see both Flight and Scootaloo attempting to do the same. The hornlight from beyond the bend in the pond flickered and then went out.