"All you ponies, please walk behind me," Dessic called from in front, looking over his shoulder. "Single file, please, and stay in an orderly line or else I'll have to call for backup. And they will not be as nice as I am, believe me." He turned to Cotton, who still sat beside him. "And Ms. Fluff, if you could take up the rear, that would be fantastic. Wouldn't want any of these ponies to be getting any bright ideas, would we?"

"N-no," Cotton stammered. She trotted along the railing to the back of the group, looking down at the ground so as to avoid everypony's gaze. Later didn't even look at her but Mochi and Flight shot her confused yet hurt glances. Cotton didn't look up until the back, though, and she saw Scootaloo looking at her with a difficult to read expression; there was some sadness and disappointment there, but also something more. "Ready to go when you are," she finally said, looking up to where Dessic stood expectantly down the balcony.

"Great. Let's be off, then. We need to get out into the main square, and then we'll be heading towards the palace." Dessic made a show of taking a long, deep breath and then shook his head as he quickly exhaled. "Ah! Right."

He trotted forward, leading the group along the balcony and then down the stairs, onto the larger landing that had those exhibits he and Cotton had looked at. As they passed through this landing, Later looked to the side, eyeing the large room off to her right where those exhibits still sat, still encased in glass and plastic boxes. It was in that room that Cotton had... done something.

As they trotted down the main steps, Scootaloo looked back to Cotton. The brown mare had been staring holes into the back of her head, but as soon as Scootaloo turned around she turned away. Scootaloo frowned as she turned back around. "Why?" she hissed.

Cotton looked up to make sure that Dessic hadn't heard, and confirmed that the white stallion was in fact still focused on their path down the stairs. "He knew who I was. I had no choice. He would have caught any lie right away."

Scootaloo didn't reply at first. Then, she murmured, "What now, then? Are you just going to help him take us to... the palace, or the prison, or wherever? Are you really?"

"No," Cotton whispered back. "I swear, I won't. As soon as we get to the palace and the guards are thin enough, I'll signal you. Then you can alert the others, and we'll split up from there."

Scootaloo was about to whisper a reply, but then Dessic called from ahead: "Everything alright back there, Cotton?"

Cotton's eyes went wide. "Y-yeah, no problems here," she stammered, though her face was tinged red. "This filly here is just groveling at me, but I'm... um... giving her the ol' what for!"

"Classic, classic," Dessic said with a sigh as he stepped onto the tile that composed the ground floor of the observatory. "Now let's get these ponies out there to the other guards before any more Rebels can swoop in with any shady junk."

"Right," Cotton replied, nodding. "Right..."