"So, you all will stay together as you go around the circumference of the CDK's dome a bit more, closer to the entrance," Clove instructed them. "Then, once you're closer, Later and Clover will break off and go onto the main path. I know that the front isn't too well-guarded—it's the biggest city, with a lot of ponies going in and out, after all—so if they can just blend into the crowd, we'll be fine. The rest of you... you're going to need to sneak along the dome."

"How're we gonna do that if it's a dome?" Mochi asked. "Won't we just slide off?"

"And won't we be seen?" Scootaloo asked. "They've got to have some guards around the whole dome thing."

Clove sighed. "One question at a time, please." He turned to Mochi. "It isn't a very steep dome, and I have it on good authority that it's possible to walk up and across it fairly easily, so you shouldn't have any problems. If you do... erm, I'm sure Flight and Scootaloo can work together to fly Mochi and Kev—er, Kaylee up."

"Like that'll happen," Flight murmured under her breath, rolling her eyes. Kaylee shot her a sidelong glare, but the filly didn't seem to notice.

"And we were worried about you being seen," Clove went on, apparently not hearing Flight, "but then Later remembered a spell she can teach Kaylee, one that will camoflague you as long as you're all in physical contact, both with physical appearance and also muffling the sounds you make. No, it won't make you invisible, but as long as you stay away from the guards and don't make too much noise, you should be fine."

"Huh, that's cool," Scootaloo replied.

"Yeah, it sounds cool... but it also sounds hard," Kaylee said, a concerned look on her face. "How's Later going to teach me that in the time it takes us to walk over there?"

"It's simple, I promise," Later said reassuringly, leaning over to look at Kaylee with a friendly expression. "I myself am pretty shit at magic, and I learned the spell in just a few minutes, so it stands to reason that you should be able to, too."

"Well... okay," Kaylee said. "That's fine, then."

"Splendid," Clove said, looking over the group one final time. "Well, then, I guess I will see you all in a few hours, assuming everything goes well. I still have my comlink on me and I'll enable it, so please, Later, contact me if anything goes wrong."

"Will do, Clove," Later replied, nodding. "Stay safe, y'hear?" She turned and led the other ponies behind her into the trees.

As Clove watched the rest of them go, he smiled, and then turned to trot deeper into the forest, humming to himself.