Kevin let out a little yelp as he bumped into Flight's hoof, which the filly had stretched out to stop him.

"Shh!" Flight hissed, turning to her companion who was stumbling backwards a few steps, rustling the bushes as he went. "Look!" She pointed forward with a foreleg, and Kevin's eyes followed the direction it was pointed in until they settled on the flickering orange ahead, now much larger and much brighter than it had been before. Because they were so close to the light source, Kevin was actually able to make out the flames dancing around in a large fire pit surrounded by stones.

In fact, the fire pit ahead wasn't all that Kevin was able to see. He could also make out two logs, placed so that they formed a triangle with the fire pit as the third side, and the forms of a few shadowy figures atop them. Kevin was about to squint, trying to get a closer look, when—

"Get down! If we can see them, they'll probably be able to see us!" Flight whisper-yelled, pushing Kevin's shoulder down with a hoof. He took the hint and joined Flight in crouching down, and he could feel his belly brushing against the dry dirt of the ground below. Recollecting himself, Kevin looked forward once again. And this time, over the crackling of the fire, he could hear voices.

"I still don't think the fire was a good idea," a scratchy male voice said, and Kevin could see it was a pony sitting by himself on the left log that said this. "You know they're illegal, and I'm sure this'll just make us easier to catch."

"Don't worry, we'll put it out soon," a mare's voice replied, coming from the pony on the right log. "They probably don't even know we're gone yet—Micro told us that they were coming to the HQ tomorrow, didn't he?"

"True, true," the stallion replied. "Still, I can't help but be nervous. Though I'm not saying I regret it, 'cause I don't—I don't want to go to jail as much as the next pony. Or lemur, if we're talkin' about Mango here." The stallion laughed and, as he leaned forward on the log, Kevin could see the slate-grey tone of his coat and a horn peeking out of the darkness.

"You know the words never bothered me anyway, Remark," another voice replied. Kevin couldn't see where it was coming from—as far as he could tell, there were only two ponies sitting on the logs.

"Behind the fire," Flight whispered, as if she had read Kevin's mind. And, as she said it, he could make out the telltale shape of a tail poking out from the right side of the fire.

"But I agree," the other voice continued. "I feel really nervous about this whole thing, too—I had gotten used to this... comfortable life. It's been a long, long while."

"Me too," the mare replied, "but I think this is gonna work out okay. We just need to get down to Minutiae and into Esprit in the next few days before they get the clue that we're outside Umberlight. Poor Micro... I'm sure he'll be the first one they go for."

"He knew what we were getting into, Fourth. We all did. Now we just need to make it offworld so his sacrifice will have been worth it." The stallion sighed. "I'm gonna go get some more firewood, if that's alright."

"Go for it," the voice belonging to the unseen one replied. "Surprised you're still up for more walking, after all that."

"Heh... aren't I ever..." Kevin saw the stallion stand up and start walking forward. It wasn't until he heard Flight whispering next to him.

"Biscuits and vegetarian gravy!" Flight hissed. "He's coming this way! Move, move!" She started running through the bushes and Kevin followed but he could tell by how much rustling their bodies made as they passed through underbrush that it wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Hello?" Kevin heard from behind him but he didn't turn his head—he just kept running. "Who's there?"

And then Kevin heard Flight let out a squeak and he let one out as well for his legs stopped moving beneath him and shimmering blue light washed over his entire body. Kevin couldn't turn his head but he could feel his body being lifted off the earth as he, along with Flight, was rotated around and then set down in front of the slate-grey stallion who was standing, horn aglow, where Kevin and Flight had been crouching just moments earlier.

"Well, well, well," the stallion said, looking back and forth at the two young ponies. His eyebrow was raised. "Now who do we have here?"

"Everything alright over there, Remark?" the mare called.

"I think so," the stallion replied. "Take a look at this." As he said this, he turned around and walked out of the forest toward the little clearing with the fire pit. Kevin and Flight, still encapsulated in his blue magical field, were dragged through the air as the stallion moved, putting them in clear view of the purple-coated unicorn mare on one log and an orange-coated lemur standing between the logs, behind the fire. Both of them were gazing directly at the floating strangers in their midst.

"Huh?" the lemur exclaimed. "Who in blazes are these?"

"I was hoping they would be willing to tell us," the stallion said, and he swivelled around once more, putting a third pair of eyes on the two young ponies.

Kevin and Flight, as would likely anypony else in their situation, sweated profusely.