"We were walking on the path, just like you were," Later replied firmly, trotting alongside the white-coated stallion.

"I dunno, filly," the stallion replied, shooting her a confused look. "I think I woulda noticed, 'cause I've been walkin' down this path all the way from Chalance where I live, and I didn't see anypony in front of me until those ponies there." He pointed forward to the next group after them, who were at that moment becoming part of the throng ahead.

Cotton Fluff frowned, unsure of what to say; thankfully, Later seemed to have it covered. "No, I'm sure you just didn't see us. Look at our coats." She gestured at herself and then at Cotton. "I'm green, and she's brown, so we blend right in. We were just trotting along the shoulder."

"Hmph." The stallion squinted, looking from one mare to the other. "I guess that could be true. I do have a tendency to... tune out on these walks." He shrugged. "I work in the city, you see, but real estate there is way too expensive. Completely unaffordable. Plus the wife's family has always been in Chalance, and she's gotta take care of her mother, you know, and..."

Later slowly nodded to whatever this stallion was saying but once he started just looking ahead, she stole a glace at Cotton Fluff to shoot her a wink. The brown mare smiled weakly.

"...because her father was tragically killed in the war." The stallion paused. "Ah, didn't mean to make things so heavy. Sometimes your mouth just goes to unexpected places, you know?"

Later raised an eyebrow but merely nodded in agreement. She was more focused on navigating their small group into the larger body of ponies, churning and shifting slowly forward into the looming mouth at the base of the dome. Now that they were closer, she could see the small raised platforms on either side of the path, where guard ponies stood tall and proud in sleek uniforms, looking over the crowd.

"So, what brings you mares to the good ol' C-D-K?" he asked, making each letter of the acronym quite pronounced. "Where are you ponies from?"

"We're from, uh, the Sciouse province," Later absently replied. "Ferretfall."

"Ooh, Ferretfall! I've never been there myself, though the wife says it's gorgeous, but I hear it's pretty similar to Chalance. Small town in the middle of the forest, right?"

"Yeah, it is rather nice," Cotton Fluff said, finally speaking up. "The breeze is just so... crisp this time of year."

"Heh, you said it," the stallion replied. "Even if I could afford it, I really don't think I could live in one of the big cities like the CDK... it gets really damn dreary underground. Ponies were meant to be out and about in nature, don'tcha think?"

"Mhm," Later replied. She turned to the right, allowing the others to follow her as they were now less than a metre from the next ponies in the crowd. She looked over her shoulder to see several ponies were now coming up the path behind them. "Oh, good."

"Hm?" the stallion asked. "What's good?"

"Ah, nothing," Later replied, shaking her head. "So, you were saying...?"

"Oh, yeah," the stallion said, smiling. "I dunno, I just think a lot about when in Asterismos we're told about the beauty of nature and then... how so many ponies are forced to live underground, away from that. It just ain't right, y'know?"

"Guess I was never really that religious, but I feel you," Cotton replied.