"Lieutenant Cyn," the Captain noted that one of his subordinates was moving rather sluggishly, "What's the matter? Are you ill?"

The lieutenant shook her head no, "Sorry, Captain, it's just...I worry for First Sergeant Trenton sometimes. He is (and I mean no disrespect to him) not nearly as strong as he pretends he is."

The Captain sighed, "I know. But you can't stop him from acting of his own accord. He'll resent you for it. Though if I may ask...what is First Sergeant Trenton to you? What is your connection?"

"As workplace is concerned, sir, the only connection is camaraderie."

"Ooh! Ooh! I get it! She's got a crush on Trenten! Oh my Celestia, OH MY CELESTIA!" Pinkie Pie began shouting at the screen. Before I could react, Rainbow Dash's back hoof was in Pinkie Pie's side. I paused the video just as a small fight began to break out. That is, if you could call it a fight. Rainbow Dash was the only one fighting, but Pinkie Pie was winning.  I stifled a giggle, and when everypony was settled back in their seats, I pressed play.

The Captain smiled gently and looked Lieutenant Cyn in the eyes, "I understand."

"You do?"

"Completely. I will press the matter no further. "

The Lieutenant motioned to hug the Captain, but restrained herself and instead shook his hand.

"Thank you, captain."

The episode faded to black, and credits rolled. There was a sudden burst of confusion among us as we tried to locate the case for the video and play the next episode. When Pinkie Pie found it in the freezer, she returned to Rainbow Dash's living room wearing something as close to a frown as she was capable of.

"That was the last episode, girls," she said solemnly, "we watched the entire season."

Rainbow Dash fell of the couch with an uncool thud.

"...what?" she asked in a monotone. I sensed it was rhetorical.

"How can we have watched all the episodes?" I chimed in, "We've only been here for..." I stopped short when I looked out the window and noticed that the sun had just begun to rise.

We had been there the entire night.

"Well...it doesn't matter. I can go out and buy a copy of season two!" I said, "I've still got some cash set aside, I think I can cover it..."

"Twilight, there are no more seasons," Rainbow Dash spoke sternly, "There's only one season released on video so far. I heard the second season has been airing on regular broadcast, but the rerun times are extremely inconvenient."

"Oooh! I know where we can get the new episodes!" Pinkie Pie's eyes lit up at the thought of getting 'moar humans', "all the episodes are up on PonyTube!"

A quick glance was exchanged between the three of us, followed by a lull, then finally a mad flurry of hooves and wings as we ran off to Dash's computer room.

The "Ubunthoof" loading screen seemed to last forever. When finally it disappeared, Rainbow Dash clicked frantically at the FireFoal icon. We waited eagerly as the PonyTube main page loaded.

There, in the "featured videos" section, was season 2, episode 1.

Click.

"Oh wow, they changed the opening!"

"The music sounds remixed!"

"This is so exciting!"

"Hey...um...I don't recognize that name. Is that...um...a new writer?"

The three of us all looked away from the screen with a start. That last voice wasn't Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash, and it certainly wasn't me. There was a fourth voice here, and it was unmistakeable.

"Fluttershy?" we all said simultaneously. The lilac-maned pegasus edged away from the screen with a nervous smile. We knew there were questions to be asked, but it was fairly obvious that watching the episode was more important.

"Trenton!" said the Prime Minister, "So good to see you! Are you well?"

The Prime Minister jumped back when Trenton dropped a heavy duffel bag on the desk that separated the two of them.

"What's all this?"

"This is my debt, plus interest."

"No no no, that's supposed to go to the rebel army! They need it more than I do, and I'd just end up giving it to them anyway!"

"No you won't. You will use this off-the-books. There's a project you've been secretly funding, and I want in."

"How do you know about that?"

"Ask your assistants. They'll tell you how persuasive I can be."

The Prime Minister clearly didn't know what to think of this change of events.

"Am I in? Or do I take my information back to the rebel army and spread word that you've been going behind their backs!"

"I am guilty of no crimes by our agreement. You have no leverage over me."

"If what you say is true, then why keep it a secret?" Trenton was getting angry, but seemed pleased with his results. He knew this conversation would not end in a stalemate no matter how much the Prime Minister wished it.

"Look, Trenton...such information is sensitive. I was hesitant even to trust my hand-picked associates with the information, and as you have just demonstrated, even that was too big a leap for me to take."

"So let me ask again...am I in or not?"

It was mid-day by the time we had caught up on every episode. There had been ten thus far in the new season, and the latest two had been possibly the best in the series. We all left the den feeling dazed.

"So, Fluttershy...you watch this show, too?"

"Oh, why...yes. I enjoy it very much."

"And your favorite character is...let me guess...Alice?" Rainbow Dash said with a smirk.

"Alice? Er...no. She reminds me too much of...well, me. No, I think Trenton is probably my favorite character."

I grinned slyly at Dash, "You can't argue with Trenton. You just can't."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that Fluttershy likes bad-flank characters?"

Suddenly and without my consent, a thought wormed it's way into my brain. I couldn't stop it, or shoo it away, or even indicate to it that I wasn't listening. For once in my life, my brain was far too hospitable to an idea. And this particular idea was the last notion I wanted to entertain at that moment. Nonetheless, I acted.

"Hey...let's head back to the library," I said, "There's something I wanted to take a look at..."

When we reached the library, I hurried up the stairs back to where I had paused on the landing nearly twenty-four hours prior. There, on the shelf, was what I had returned here in search of.

My Little Human: Rescue at Deadlock Fortress. The original My Little Human episode. I'd forgotten about it for quite a while, but now that I thought about it, I remembered it being somewhat thought-provoking and subtly intriguing.

"Anypony feeling adventurous?" I called down to Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy from the second-story loft. All three of them smiled back and hurried up to the loft. When we had all gotten settled in, I powered up the television set and put in the dusty video. I prepared for the worst, but hoped for the best...