A veritable morass of spell equations lay scattered around Starlight and Sunburst, crossed out and highlighted and circled and underlined and every other method of tweaked. They’d been brainstorming for so long that they’d been flooded with ideas. Now came the dredging, where they pulled up the good spells from the muck of bad ones, dried them off, and put them to good use in the storm of reality. (Weather-based metaphors worked surprisingly well with thoughts.)
“I mean, don’t get me wrong,” Sunburst said as Starlight layered the fifth attempt at an anti-mind-control spell on him. “It’s great that you can test it on me, but… but why do you know mind control spells in the first place?”
“Hold still,” grunted Starlight as she shaped the spell matrix. “If you-”
“I mean, that’s… Never mind.”
Starlight made an ambivalent noise and polished the spell off. Sparks danced on the tips of Sunburst’s hair before winking out. He looked down at himself. “Well, um, this one’s already better than the others. I don’t have a crippling desire to wear black eyeliner or write angsty poetry.”
“That only happened twice!” said Starlight defensively. “Stop bringing it up!”
“I was going to write some terrible free verse about how the planet would be nothing more than a desert in the, in the distant future after Celestia and Luna lost control of the day and night, with ponies’ corpses getting picked over by buzzards!” protested Sunburst. “And you know what I wanted to call it? ‘Carrion and Wayward Suns’! I don’t even write and, and I know that’s a crime against literature itself!”
Starlight growled and blasted Sunburst with the mind control spell they thought Goumada had used on her. He twitched and shook his head. “Um… okay…” He tilted his head as he stared at nothing in particular. “I… kinda feel… sort of mellow, I… guess?” He shrugged. “Try something.”
“Don’t catch this.” Starlight tossed a cushion at Sunburst.
Sunburst caught it and tossed it back. “No problem,” he said, grinning. “That one was perfect.”
“But only if that’s the spell Goumada’s using,” said Starlight. “We can’t just assume-”
“Will you relax?” asked Sunburst.
“NO! You told me to cool it with the ‘woe is me’ stuff, and believe me, I’m trying, I know this isn’t my fault, but it’s not that easy! I’m-” Starlight took a few deep breaths and muttered, “Cool it, cool it, cooooool iiiiit…” Another breath. “I’m not like you, Sunburst. I’m not the kind of pony who can just… let go of things. I mean, after my town was dismantled, I stalked Twilight and her friends for moons for revenge. I never got over you leaving, even though that wasn’t your fault! I’m- you know.” She rolled her head back and groaned. “And I feel like I should’ve known Goumada was going to hit me with a whammy, even though I couldn’t’ve known, and it’s not like the default guest policy at the Castle of Friendship is to laser ponies in the face.” Although there were a few door-to-door salesmares where she wished it was.
The seconds ticked by. Starlight waited and waited and waited, but Sunburst remained silent. Finally, he gave a little cough and said, “Have… Have you tried the couch? It’s really comfy.”
Starlight raised an eyebrow.
“Really comfy. Like, it’s- it’s the perfect way to unwind. Just…” Sunburst tapped nervously on one of its cushions. “Try it, okay?”
“Fine,” mumbled Starlight. Maybe one second of “her” time could work. She flopped out on the couch and-
-ohCelestiathisisHEAVEN.
The couch wasn’t merely “comfy”. It was the comfy couch to end all comfy couches, a paragon of over-stuffedness, the apotheosis of luxury and relaxation. To compare it to clouds would be like comparing clouds to salt flats: there was no contest. The cushions let her sink enough to envelop her, yet were still rigid enough that if she wanted to get up quickly, she could. Not that she wanted to; she wanted to never have to leave. The slight pressure on her skin, the way the fabric curled around her body, so soft, so supple, was among the most divine feelings Starlight had ever-
“Told you,” Sunburst said, smirking smugly.
“And you were right,” Starlight said, sighing satisfiedly.
“Take your time. I’m gonna, I’ll review our equations a bit, see if there’s, if there’s anything we missed.” Sunburst tiptoed away.
Starlight lay on her little slice of paradise for she didn’t know how long, stretched out like a years-old slinky that had lost its slink. Also like a years-old slinky, she slowly unwound. Yes. Yes, this was quite nice, actually doing something. (Or, to be more precise, taking a break from doing something. Close enough.)
She finally managed to extricate herself from the realm of enchantment when she heard the front door open. Thorax (as a crystal pony) was carrying bags of groceries in as the Doctor unhitched himself from a cart. “Shopping went well!” the Doctor said cheerfully. “Wasn’t sure what to get, so I got a little bit of everything.” He grabbed a few bags in his mouth. “Except for jelly foals, I got a lot of those. Also except for pears. No pears. Hate pears.”
“You and Applejack ought to get together,” said Starlight as she levitated a large bundle of bags from the cart.
The unloading went by quickly and Starlight took it on herself to put the food away. Having a completely empty pantry was weird; she panicked a few times as she tried to remember what went where, even though she was the one who decided that. But Twilight’s fastidious nitpicking must’ve been rubbing off on her because she eventually settled on food group followed by alphabetical order. She could only imagine the response from the others.
“Alrighty,” said the Doctor, dropping his last set of bags on the counter. “Would you like the good news or the bad news?”
“Bad news,” Starlight said. Her heart was already sinking.
“We’ve only got so much money, and take a gander at that.” The Doctor whipped out the receipt and pointed at the total.
“Ooof.” Although not as terrible as Starlight was expecting, it was still bad. Why hadn’t they brought more money up?
“We’ve got enough food for about a week,” said the Doctor, “and enough money for another shopping trip of this size, but after that, I can’t say.”
“We could gamble,” mumbled Thorax as he pushed his own set of bags onto the counter. It sounded like he was talking to himself. “We’re robbing a casino. We-”
“No,” said Starlight and the Doctor at the same time. The Doctor stepped away, and Starlight continued, “The first rule of casinos is that the house always wins.”
“The… house?” Thorax tilted his head. “I thought we were robbing a casino.”
Starlight and the Doctor exchanged glances. “The house is the casino,” said the Doctor. “The staff, the establishment, everything. Haven’t you ever heard-”
“Hey, I’ve got an idea!” Thorax squeaked aggressively (somehow). “Let’s pretend I don’t know what the heck anypony’s talking about when they use slang-” A burst of fire, and he was a changeling again. “-because I’ve only LIVED in pony society for a single moon!” He hissed angrily, clapped his hooves to his face, and mumbled, “Sorry I shouldn’t have said that sorry I’ll shut up now sorry WOW LOOK AT THAT PAINTING.” And suddenly he was two rooms over.
Starlight and the Doctor looked at each other again, then looked away at the same time. “Should you apologize or should I?” muttered Starlight.
“I’ll do it,” said the Doctor. “I was the one who… Yes. M-hmm.” He looked after Thorax and frowned. “I suppose we could always try poker,” he said offhoofedly. “I’ve got a fair skill in it and it’s strictly a player-versus-player game. We don’t need that much money, after all.”
“Right. Why don’t you suggest that and I’ll return the cart to the store, get our deposit back.” Maybe the exercise could help her think a little.
“Sure.” The Doctor flexed his entire body and walked after Thorax. Starlight almost raised a hoof to follow, but she went outside and hitched herself to the cart. She told herself that it was fine, that the Doctor and Thorax could smooth things over before she got back. She surprised herself by believing it.
“Mmff,” muttered Derpy. “Dese muffins ah amaefing.” She took another bite of the banana-nut one she was currently eating — yet she did it slowly, tenderly, like she was a connoisseur of some of the rarest foods in the world and this was the last banana-nut muffin she’d ever have. Better that than gorging on it and being done in a few seconds, Bon Bon decided. And to be fair, they were pretty amazing muffins.
Between the smallish size of Trotter Gorge and a map, Steadfast and Holding’s was easy to find. It was an unassuming two-story office near the edge of town with a nice, big sign. Clean, neat, professional. Perfect. Bon Bon and Derpy strode into the building confidently, Derpy even managing to ignore her muffins and tuck them into her bag.
The place wasn’t very busy, so Bon Bon headed to the first clerk she saw, a biggish, bored-looking earth pony. Hey, it had worked the first time… Hopefully, the clerk hadn’t seen their earlier confidence. “Hey,” said Bon Bon in the same slightly vulnerable voice as before. “My, my friend and I, we’re interns at the casino, and, and our bosses, they want us to get blueprints for the building-”
“Thinking of expanding again, are they?” The clerk grimaced. “I’m not sure why Goumada wanted an airship docking platform added to the roof last year, but there you go.” She shrugged.
“I didn’t get the reason,” Bon Bon said quickly. An airship dock. For her black market guests, maybe? “I… think it was construction. I’m not sure.”
“Don’t worry too much about it. If you’re an intern, you’re not paid enough to bother with whatever she’s planning this time.”
“Heh. No.” Bon Bon hid her grin. She couldn’t believe it. They almost had the plans already. This was too easy. If only the rest of the heist could be like this.
“I’ll just need to see Goumada’s signature, and I’ll go get you the blueprints.”
Bon Bon started believing it. It was too easy. “Her… Her signature?” But now, she couldn’t believe she’d forgotten about verification. Otherwise, any old pony could ask for the building plans. Maybe even thieves planning on breaking in, ha ha.
“Well, of course I need a signature,” said the clerk skeptically. “I’m not going to hand out confidential building plans to any cute mare who waltzes in with a sweet voice, adorable eyes, and money to smelt.” She turned around and yelled over her shoulder, “RIGHT, LANDSCRIPT?”
“Right!” somepony yelled from the back. “…What am I ‘right!’ing about?”
The clerk rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Bon Bon and Derpy. “So, sorry, but I can’t get you any blueprints.”
“But…” Bon Bon made big eyes again. The desperation wasn’t entirely faked. “But we need it now. You don’t understand. If we don’t get-”
“It’s not my fault they didn’t give you a signature. They should’ve-”
“But they didn’t!” said Bon Bon. She went a bit overboard and waved her hooves. “I need those plans now! It’s not my fault they didn’t give me a signature, either!”
“I’d tell you to tell them to get bent, but that’d probably get you fired, right? Look, I’m sorry-” (Bon Bon wasn’t entirely sure she was.) “-but I need a signature. No signature, no plans.” The clerk shrugged.
Derpy lightly nudged Bon Bon aside and sidled up to the clerk. “So,” she said, tossing her mane, “no plans with no signature, right?”
“Have I been saying anything else?” the clerk asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Maybe I could… persuade you otherwise?” Derpy fluttered her eyelashes. Bon Bon wanted to apply sandpaper to her face.
The clerk’s expression didn’t change. “Maybe. How?”
Derpy winked and slowly took a chocolate chip muffin from her bag; the clerk’s eyes widened. Smiling, Derpy slid the muffin in front of the clerk and waited.
The clerk delicately took the muffin. She looked at it. She took a bite. She hummed in contentment. And she said, “Thanks, but I still need a signature.”
“You took a muffin for nothing?” gasped Derpy. “You… monster.”
“Yes. How utterly dreadful of me, to not be bribed.” Munch. “Seriously. Bug off and get a signature.” The clerk’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you need-”
“Fine,” huffed Bon Bon. “If you can’t help us… C’mon, Muffins.” She stalked out of the building. Derpy followed, glaring at the clerk all the while.
They walked a block away before Bon Bon groaned and leaned against a wall. “Great,” she muttered. “Just great. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a copy of her signature on file so we can’t fake it.” She stood up straight and sucked in a breath. “Well. We tried. Now we-”
“Wha’, we’he no’ gunha steaw i’?” Derpy asked through a mouthful of muffin. She swallowed. “It’d be like a practice run!” she said. “We’re going to break into a high-security building, so starting with a low-security building is only logical.”
Pushing herself up, Bon Bon grunted. Weirdly enough, it was logical, if you looked at it sideways. Logical enough that it’d been her next plan, but maybe that was just Sweetie Drops slipping through. She said, “I’ll think about it. We’ll need… the right ponies.” She’d need some excuse to ensure she was the one going. Maybe Lyra, so she could do some more advanced spycraft without raising too many questions.
“But I’m out of ideas for now,” said Derpy. “So… back to the house?”
“I guess,” said Bon Bon. “Come on.”
They were halfway there when something hit Bon Bon. “Hold up…” She came to a halt. “Did that clerk call us cute?”
Thorax-Changeling glared despondently at the wall. When he claimed to have been distracted by a painting, he really should’ve gone to a room with at least one painting.
He wasn’t a pony. Why did ponies act like he was? Was that their attempt at a compliment? Wow, you sure have abandoned your old self and become like us! Granted, he didn’t really miss his old self — that little bugger was lonely and miserable and confused and starving — but still. It was so easy for them to just assume that he knew everything they did, like swallowing and calling casinos “houses”.
But that didn’t give him the right to snap at them. They were as new to him as he was to them, and being assertive without being aggressive was still beyond him, yet. Stupid life under tyranny. They shouldn’t assume that he didn’t know pony things, but he shouldn’t assume that they knew he didn’t know. Time to apologize, then. At least he was getting good at that.
He turned for the door and ran headlong into the Doctor-Earth-Brown. He staggered a few steps back, and the two of them stared at each other.
After a few seconds, the Doctor-Earth-Brown broke the silence. “Hem.” He cleared his throat and pawed at his neck, like he was adjusting a tie. “Thorax, I-”
“I’MSOSORRY!” yelled Thorax-Changeling. He dove and wrapped his legs around the Doctor-Earth-Brown’s hooves. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that but after shopping for ‘food’ I was so frustrated that I couldn’t help myself and PLEASE FORGIVE ME because I-”
“Thorax, Thorax, Thorax!” yelped the Doctor-Earth-Brown. He tried dancing on the spot; tasting his shock, Thorax-Changeling released his legs and scuttled away. “I- I’m the one who should be apologizing!” And now that Thorax-Changeling was paying attention to his emotions, he caught some regret there. “I- I forgot that you barely have any experience with pony culture and that term was so ingrained in my head that I just assumed you knew it, and you know what they say about assuming!”
Thorax-Changeling stared at the Doctor-Earth-Brown.
The Doctor-Earth-Brown facehooved in a wave of embarrassment. “It only makes an ass out of you and me,” he recited quietly. “And I am being quite the ass today.”
“What’s so bad about being a donkey?” Thorax-Changeling said. Poof. “They’re not much different from ponies,” said Thorax-Donkey. “Longer ears and less color, maybe.”
“No, it’s-” Self-exasperation. “It’s another saying. Sorry.”
“Oh.” Poof. Thorax-Changeling twisted his hoof. “And, also sorry. I’m still trying to be assertive after, uh, Chrysalis trained me to be a doormat, and IIIIIII… kinda overdo things sometimes. And, uh, sorry again, about the, um, leg-grabbing. Chrysalis didn’t like it when you… when you failed.” He flinched as a select few of those memories came to the forefront. “So she liked it when you were obsequious. And you… probably don’t.”
“Not especially, but apology accepted. Apologies accepted.”
Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange leaned into the room. “Something up? I thought I heard Thorax yelling.”
“It’s fine, we’re fine,” the Doctor-Earth-Brown said quickly. “We had a- misunderstanding that- got cleared up. We’re good now.” He glanced at Thorax-Changeling. “Right?”
“Right,” responded Thorax-Changeling, just as quickly, and nodded energetically. “Just, um, still learning how to stand up for myself. And doing badly at it.”
“Oh.” But Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange’s emotions weren’t those of one convinced. “You, you sounded pretty loud. Are you hungry?” he asked. “I know I, that I can get… um, unstable when I’m… hungry.”
“Not really.” Thorax-Changeling shook his head. That concern tasted alright, though. It was closely related to love, concern was, a new twist on an old classic. Or something like that.
Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange kicked at the ground. “…Want some comfort food anyway?”
“…Sure.”
Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange pulled Thorax-Changeling into a bear hug, and Thorax-Changeling reciprocated. Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange’s concern poured over Thorax-Changeling, and he gulped the excess down eagerly, humming in contentment. What’d he been getting so worked up for? These ponies were friends of friends of Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange’s. They had to understand.
Suddenly, the Doctor-Earth-Brown joined in, wrapping his own legs around them. Thorax-Changeling tasted lots of things from him: additional concern, anxiety, bewilderment, gratitude, and more. It was an unusual blend, like an ice storm on a clear day. Thorax-Changeling took the opportunity and lapped it up. Probably the only time he’d ever taste something like that again. Yes, this was some very nice company.
The Doctor-Earth-Brown coughed. “…I haven’t the foggiest idea why we’re hugging like this.”
“Thorax says the emotion from a genuine hug tastes good,” said Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange.
“Very,” purred Thorax-Changeling. He buzzed his wings.
“So, um, it’s a physical and gustatory pick-me-up in one. I, I mean it, it tastes good.” Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange swallowed and pulled out of the hug. “‘Gustation’ is another word for taste,” he whispered.
“Right,” said the Doctor-Earth-Brown. “I knew that.” And from the way his emotions had the texture of annoyance, rather than confusion, Thorax-Changeling guessed that was the truth. “Oh! Also, we’re running a bit low on funds. Thorax suggested we gamble-” (Thorax-Changeling was immediately ready to leave the room.) “-and Starlight and I decided that poker is just player-versus-player, so there’s at least no chance of the house winning, so-”
Thorax-Changeling’s ears went up and Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange twisted his goatee. It was strange how much emotions stilled when ponies thought. “Not a… terrible choice,” he muttered. “And, and if we lose everything, we can, we can send Rainbow Dash back to Ponyville and she can, can get some money from Twilight’s castle. …Right?”
Doctor-Earth-Brown shrugged. “Haven’t the faintest. Either-”
“Um, wait, hang on,” said Thorax-Changeling. “How do we make money from poker, anyway? If we’re not playing against the, um, house-”
“Short version,” said Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange. “Every player, they all put a few bits into a, um, a pool. The winner of each round wins all the bits in the, in the pool. Repeat until one player has all the bits.”
“Wait, we’re taking other ponies’ money?”
“Yep.”
“But that sounds like we’re robbing them!” protested Thorax-Changeling.
“No, that’s just casinos,” said the Doctor-Earth-Brown.
“Like we’re hiding a money sink behind fancy curtains to make it look nice!”
“That’s, that’s just casinos,” said Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange.
“Like we’re taking advantage of ponies who just want to have a fun day out and heartlessly squeezing lots of money out of them without caring at all if they might need that money!”
The Doctor-Earth-Brown and Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange looked at each other. “Casinos,” they said simultaneously.
Thorax-Changeling looked back and forth between the two ponies. “Wow. Casinos are messed up.”
“Believe me, we’re hardly scratching the surface,” said the Doctor-Earth-Brown. “But it is what it is, so we might as well use it. At least most ponies know what they’re getting into. Sunburst, do you know how to play poker?”
“Well, I, I could probably use a refresher,” said Sunburst-Unicorn-Orange.
“I guess I could learn, if we’re definitely doing it,” said Thorax-Changeling. “We have cards, right?”
“We picked some up, remember? I wanted to play solitaire and didn’t think this place had any. Let’s get them out and I can teach you.”
Rainbow Dash, Gilda, and Lyra were sitting on a bench across the street from the casino, examining the guards. Or, to be more precise, Rainbow and Gilda were examining the guards.
“Do you think they’re still looking for players?” Lyra asked as she examined the poster. “Maybe I could get in, be the inside mare. Wa-cha!”
“Uh-huh. Sure,” said Gilda. “Like you can learn how to play an instrument in less than a week.”
“She doesn’t need to,” said Rainbow. “She already has an instrument. She plays the harp.”
“Lyre,” said Lyra.
Rainbow whirled on her. “I am not! You do!” she protested, her wings springing out. “You’re really good at it, and-”
Lyra giggled. “No, the instrument is called a lyre. L-Y-R-E.”
“…Ooooooooh. Gotcha.” Rainbow folded her wings in. “Gooootcha.”
Gilda snickered.
“But, really, maybe she could,” Rainbow said to Gilda. “I bet if she got onto the band, she could probably get, I dunno, backstage or something and give us all sorts of info we couldn’t get otherwise! There are some places where nopony would look twice at a harpist-”
“Lyrist,” said Lyra.
“-wandering around! But Lyra, stop congratulating yourself and help us. This is boring, so we should all be bored together.”
“Fine.” Lyra folded up the poster and sat on it.
And so the three of them spent several intolerably long minutes watching the guards and few other visible employees. Occasionally, one of them would go into or come out of a side door, but that was about it except for the time a steam-powered carriage (with the driver in the uniform of the casino) trundled past them. Rainbow wondered how the booger cops could stand stakeouts when so little was happening.
When she finally couldn’t take it anymore, she asked, “Notice anything strange?”
“That guard there seems pretty down,” said Gilda. She pointed at a griffon standing near the main entrance. His wings were slightly looser than the others’ and his eyes looked a little downcast.
“Yeah, I noticed that, too,” said Lyra.
“Oh, great,” scoffed Rainbow. “So you can seduce him and he’ll give you the master key to the place and we can go wherever we want.”
“It’s something strange!” said Gilda. “How the flying feather should I know what ‘good strange’ and ‘bad strange’ are?” She groaned. “This was a waste of time to begin with. We’re not even looking for anything, just staring at griffons and ponies walking in and out of doors! Lame.” She grunted and hopped off the bench.
“Wait, Gilda!” Rainbow zipped in front of her. “I know it seems… okay, it is super boring, but-”
“But what?” Gilda’s wings popped open. “I’ll sit there and be bored when I’m supposed to be doing something, but this is just ‘pony in, pony in, griffon in, pony out, pony in’, all the friggin’ time!”
Rainbow opened her mouth, froze, and bit her lip.
“See? You can’t even deny it!” Gilda groaned, her wings thrashing. “I’m going back to the house. If you two losers wanna sit here and ponywatch, you go right ahead.” A few flaps and she was zipping away.
“Gilda!” yelled Rainbow. “You-” She screamed in frustration.
Lyra coughed quietly. “You can go follow her,” she said. “I’m fine here.”
“Nah. What’s the point?” Rainbow Dash sullenly deposited herself next to Lyra and glared ferociously at the cobblestones. “She’d just come up with some other excuse to stay away. I’m almost ready to come up with an excuse.” She watched as a guard waved her keygem at a side door and it opened. “I mean, what are we even looking for?”
“Dunno.”
“Exactly! I might be up for doing this if we had something to look for-”
Lyra twitched.
“Yeah, no matter how crazy that sounds,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. “I do pay attention some of the time, you know.”
Eyeing Rainbow suspiciously, Lyra said, “So if we both think there’s nothing here worth doing, I say we head back.”
And there was her excuse. “Sure. Whatever.”
As Lyra walked and Rainbow slowly flew back to the villa, they bounced what few observations they had off each other. The designs of the guards’ uniforms, their routes, where they looked the most. Nothing really interesting came up, and Rainbow couldn’t deny being a little disheartened when she stepped through the front door.
Lyra promptly went to pillage the cabinets and the Doctor’s voice drifted into the hall. “Alright, these hooves.”
Rainbow followed the voice to the living room, where the Doctor and Thorax were examining cards on the coffee table. It looked like they were playing poker; they each had three cards and there were the five cards of a river between them. Rainbow couldn’t make out which cards they were, specifically, but Thorax was deeply invested. “You win,” he said after a moment, “because you’ve got a straight flush and I’ve got four of a kind.”
“Perfect,” said the Doctor, smiling. He scooped up the cards with practiced ease. “One last try…” After fanning through the deck, he plucked out the cards he wanted and laid them out. Rainbow couldn’t see them, but Thorax immediately said, “I win. We’ve both got full houses, but my pair is higher than yours.”
“Ha ha, yes!” The Doctor pumped his hoof in the air. “Splendid! Odd word, ‘splendid’, when you really think about it.”
“Why are you acting like your foal got born?” Rainbow asked.
“Thorax here,” the Doctor said, clapping him on the back, “is a natural at poker.”
“At learning poker hooves!” Thorax squeaked. “I- haven’t actually played anything yet!”
“Took to it like a duck to water,” continued the Doctor. “With an outboard motor and the wind at his back.”
“Hooves,” Thorax mumbled again.
“The short version is we’re a bit short on cash and thinking of playing poker to win it back,” said the Doctor. “So, since Thorax doesn’t know, I figured I’d teach him. Perhaps we should hold our own sort of mini-tournament to see who’s the best.”
“Hey, I’d be in,” Rainbow said, grinning. “I’d probably lose, but it sounds fun. Either of you seen Gilda recently?”
“Yeah, she stomped in a while back,” said the Doctor. “Glared at all of us like we wanted to commit genocide against griffons, went upstairs.” He paused. “You know, when my family’s chickens acted like that, they were usually ready to lay eggs.”
“What?” yelped Rainbow. “Gilda’s just grouchy, you know her! You don’t really think-”
“No!” yelled the Doctor. He looked away and folded his ears back. “I was just pointing out- It seemed odd, is all! I don’t think Gilda’s- that- sort of gal, to- make eggs! You know?”
“But don’t chickens sometimes lay unfertilized eggs?” asked Thorax.
“I- suppose,” said the Doctor thoughtfully. His ears went back up, one at a time. “And if… griffons retain enough avian qualities, then… maybe… Hmm.”
The Doctor looked at Thorax. Thorax looked at the Doctor. They both looked up at the ceiling.
“No, trust me,” said Rainbow. “That’s just Gilda.”
“Mmhmm.”
Starlight leaned in. “Oh, Rainbow’s back? Good. We need to review what we all found.”