It took Kevin and Gloss several minutes to make their way through the sparsely-populated streets, going towards wherever Kevin was taking them. Gloss hoped the colt knew what he was doing; he was just along for the ride—and a place to stay, hopefully.

As they passed by brick houses, all looking very similar to the ones they had encountered upon entering the town, several of the few ponies that were walking outside stopped to wave or greet Kevin. Their facial expressions, Gloss noticed, were incredulous; the way they spoke to him, it was like they hadn't seen him in a long time. Certainly much longer than a month. Kevin generally just waved them away with a friendly yet curt response, indicating that they were in a hurry. Gloss still wasn't sure why Kevin was keeping so mum, but he presumed all would be revealed in time. He was just glad that he no longer had to run after the colt through the streets so he wouldn't get lost.

They finally came upon a building that was, to put it simply, much different than any of the other houses. While they were generally only one story and made of brick, this one was practically a small tower with what looked to be three stories. It was light blue and cylindrical, sticking out of the ground like an odd, unnatural tree. A light was visible in a window on the top floor.

"That's the one," Kevin said, turning off the street onto the path that led through the unkempt front yard up to the door. That was another difference; while other houses were surrounded by neatly-trimmed grass, this patch of the ground looked like it had never been tamed and it grew wild, up nearly to Gloss's head. Kevin practically disappeared from view into the tunnel of grass before Gloss started down the path behind him. The grass leaned inwards, brushing at his mane uncomfortably.

Kevin was already rapping at the door—which unlike the rest of the house was the same as the other ones around town—when he got there. "You probably only need to knock once, kid," Gloss said. Kevin shot him a look, but stopped knocking all the same.

"I know... but I really have to talk to Doc Zed."

"Doc Zed? Is that who we're here to see?"

"Yeah, he's a friend of my dad's. I just have some important stuff to tell him."

"Like what?" another voice asked. Kevin and Gloss looked back at the door to see a unicorn wearing a suit as black as his coat; it was hard to tell at first where the garment ended and his coat began. "Kevin?"

"Hey there, Doc. Long time... long time no see." Kevin looked up at him with an expression Gloss couldn't quite read. The stallion nodded.

"I'll say. And I'm curious to see why you're here at..." The stallion looked inside for a moment and then stuck his head back out the door. "...Twenty-one hundred hours. C'mon in, I'll be right with you—I just need to finish something upstairs. You can wait in the living room with your friend."

Kevin stepped inside, so Gloss was left with no choice but to follow into the strange house. He closed the door gingerly behind him.