//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Paper Round // Story: A Sheet in the Wind (Iota Force Issue #5) // by The Iguana Man //------------------------------// Icy stood stock still, her eyes closed tight enough to hurt and her breathing only kept steady by a tremendous force of will. She could feel the water all around her, wrapping itself around her legs, holding them, and she wasn't sure it was ever going to let them go. The water was a few millimetres away from her stomach, leading it to tickle and lightly-but-horribly caress the tips of the hairs of her coat. She was managing to stop herself from raising herself up on the tips of her hooves but couldn't bring herself to lower her belly into the water, leading to an unpleasant halfway point. Her front left hoof starting tapping rapidly in agitation, producing a muffled thumping through the water. Icy had no idea how long she'd been standing there – it could have been five minutes, it could have been five days. The horrible locking up of her nervous system also seemed to be doing a number on her sense of time. She grimaced harder as, though she could have imagined it, she thought she could feel the water spinning around her legs and wrapping itself tighter around them. It wasn't something she felt on her skin, but she could feel it nonetheless. It was grabbing her, rubbing her, pulling her. “Done!” she yelled. “Done, done, I want out!” The instant she started saying this, she could feel herself being lifted out of the water by a strong magical grip. She was quickly placed down on the mat next to the bath, wrapped in towels and then further wrapped in her mother's hooves. She felt a few tears come out involuntarily before a towel absorbed them. “Ssh, ssh,” Sunny whispered soothingly, holding the towel in place under her eye, “it's okay...” “No!” Icy snapped pitifully. “No, it's not okay. Nothing about this is okay.” There were many ways Icy could describe being terrified of a half-filled bath, but “okay” was not one of them. Sunny sighed as she nodded. “Oka- Alright, but you're out of it now.” Without looking up, she lit her horn and Icy heard the sound of the plug being pulled. This time, only a slight shudder went through her as she heard the water rush down the plughole. Icy took a deep breath, trying to will herself calm and partially succeeding. “So, how did I do?” Sunny looked over at the stopwatch sitting on the toilet seat. “Four minutes, eight seconds.” Icy frowned. “Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!” She thumped her head lightly against the side of the tub, groaning. “I'm never gonna beat this thing.” “Icy!” Sunny said, glaring at Icy in stern sympathy. “It's only been two weeks.” “Three!” Icy corrected, looking back almost defiantly in her self-reproach. “Three weeks since... it happened. And it still takes everything I've got to stay in there for a couple of minutes.” Sunny nodded. “Three weeks since it happened, two weeks since we started this therapy. Now, what did Doctor Tick say yesterday about progress?” “Focus on how far you've come, not how far you've got to go,” Icy quoted with a slight snort – she felt an odd urge to attack or dismiss this advice but couldn't think of anything to say against it. “Exactly. And how far you've come is that you lasted twice as long as you did last week, and with double the water level too.” Icy shook her head. “Yeah, but it's not because it was any easier. It still felt twice as bad and got twice as worse when it got longer. I think that makes sense.” A hint of Icy's usual tone broke through as she almost got lost in thought at whether “twice as worse” worked as a phrase before she shook herself back into the moment. “So, yeah, I don't think it's getting better.” “Wrong,” Sunny said, keeping firm eye contact with Icy. “Even if it isn't, you are. This is still a lot of progress and I won't let you devalue that. However, if you feel that it's not getting better, that we're going too fast, we can go back a bi-” “No!” Icy interrupted. “No, I'm not slowing down! I have to beat this stupid thing, I-” “Icy!” Sunny interrupted right back, her tone level enough to stabilize Icy's rushing thoughts. “This “thing” is very strong and there is no reason to rush these treatments and every reason not to.” She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly. “Tell you what – next appointment, we'll talk to Doctor Tick about it, he'll probably know what's best done here.” She suddenly chuckled for a moment. “And hopefully know how to convince whichever of us is wrong that we should go along with it.” Icy grinned, the semi-joke finally diffusing some of the tension she'd been feeling. “Okay. But that's not for two weeks, so for now...” “For now, we eat!” Sunny declared, stomping a hoof on the floor as she rose. After a moment, she looked down at Icy, her expression softening. “Do you think you'll be okay to have something soon?” Icy nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” There had only been a couple of times when she felt bad enough after a... session in the bath that she didn't want to eat. And even then, Sunny was not going to let her go hungry, so just delayed dinner until she felt better. “Okay, good. It's Farmer's Pie tonight, so...” Sunny was interrupted as they left the bathroom by a knock on the front door. “Could you get that, honey?” she asked as they descended the stairs. “I want to check how many potatoes we've got.” “Sure thing, Mom,” Icy said, her cheerful attitude rapidly returning. She hopped off the step she was on and glided over to the front door. She landed in front of it rather gracefully. At least, in the moments before her momentum kept her going and caused her to smack into it. She hopped up, shook her head for a moment, then opened the door to see a familiar piebald colt standing there. “Pip! Hi there!” “Hi,” Pip said, his head tilted at the sound of the impact. “You okay, Icy?” Icy nodded. “Just fine, why do you ask?” Pip thought for a moment then shrugged. “No reason. Anyway, just coming to let you know – the team's got a case!” Icy's eyes widened. “Really? Nifty! Although,” she frowned in thought as she tried to recall the last few days, “I haven't seen anything weird going on around here.” Pip nodded. “That's cause it's not down here, it happened around Canterlot.” “Canterlot?!” A sparkle came to Icy's eyes as she said the name. “We're going to Canterlot?” Pip sighed, his smile turning a touch melancholy. “Well, you might be, I'm not – no reason for me to go. And anyway, that's what this is to decide.” He reached over to his saddlebag, took out a small piece of blue paper and gave it to her. Icy took the paper, a little puzzled. “What's this?” “Permission slip,” Pip explained as he closed his saddlebag again. “If your ma says you can go, you can go. Just come to the station at twelve tomorrow with that signed. Anyway, better be off,” He continued, turning to leave, “got three more to deliver. Ta ta!” “Bye!” Icy said as she closed the door. Shrugging, she trotted into the kitchen and put the slip on the table. “Mom, could you take a look at this, please?” “Sure thing, sweetie.” Sunny put down the potato she was peeling and trotted over. She glanced over the paper and, after only a couple of seconds, nodded. “Sounds fine to me. Canterlot, eh? Do you think...” She looked off to this side, a smile coming to her lips. “You know, it's been ages since I've been to Canterlot. Don't suppose you and your friends would mind a little... tagger-along on the journey, would you?” Icy giggled. “Well, I don't think the guard'll pay for your ticket, but I don't see why you couldn't come if you wanted. Though you should probably not come along on our mission... whatever it is.” Sunny waved a hoof as she returned to her potatoes. “No worries, there's plenty to do in Canterlot, I shan't step on your hooves.” She looked up in thought as her magic continued to peel automatically. “If nothing else, I'd like to pay a visit to the old BoCEaGS, see how they've been doing since I've been gone. Maybe even lend them a hoof if they could use it.” Icy's smile dimmed a little at that. “Oh, so how long would you be gone for? And where would you be going? I mean-” Sunny shook her head. “No, no, I just mean with the administrative stuff. Not like I used to.” She chuckled a little, smiling at the memory. “I told you, I don't do that anymore – I'm retired.” Icy sighed in relief, shrugged and put it out of her mind as she left the kitchen. Her Mom's Farmer's Pie usually left her time to read eight comics before it was ready, or a little less if the carving knife had recently been sharpened. Still, she thought as she went into her room and started looking over her shelves for ten comics to read, no reason I can't try to beat my record. The next day, Icy and Sunny trotted up to Ponyville station, Icy holding her filled-out permission slip in a wing. As they approached the platform, they spotted the rest of Iota Force in a group along with Pip and Twist, talking amongst themselves. The two went up to them, Truffle being the first to spot them. “Hello there!” he called out, his voice carrying up to them and probably well past them. “Good to see you, Icy! Oh, and good morning, Mrs Flight!” “Miss.” “Oh, sorry. Anyway, come to see us off?” Sunny shook her head. “Actually, I'm going along with you. Just up to Canterlot – figured I'd make a trip out of it.” “Oh, I see,” Truffle said, starting to turn to Icy, his face a little pensive, before something occurred to him. “Although, do you not have work?” Sunny smiled at him. “Nope, I'm retired.” “Really?” Alula cut in smoothly. “You seem rather young for it, if you don't mind me saying so.” Sunny shrugged. “It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage. So, are you all coming, too?” “Not all of us,” Alula replied, not elaborating further. Dinky looked up from her conversation with Pip, her ears drooping. “Pip didn't get a ticket.” Pip put a hoof on her shoulder gently. “It's okay, Dinky. I'm just your li... li-a-son with Canterlot. Don't really need one if you're in Canterlot, do you? I'll be fine.” Dinky nodded solemnly. “I know. Promise I'll bring you back a present, though. Maybe a few.” Pip waved a hoof dismissively. “Nah, don't worry, you don't have to.” Dinky giggled a little, her spirits raising. “Of course I don't have to. I want to.” Pip smiled back. “Thanks.” The two hugged and, though it might have been Icy's imagination, she was sure she saw a tiny little nuzzle in there. Sunny chuckled, endeared by the display. “So, the rest of you are...?” “'Fraid not,” Archer interjected. “Me and Scoots are gonna be sitting this one out, or at least the first few days of it. Don't worry, though – this goes on longer and whoever's responisble'll get a few arrows to the haunch, believe me.” Icy tilted her head at the statement and, in her peripheral vision, she noticed her mother doing the same. Although she guessed that Sunny's puzzlement was not just from the statement but also from Archer's nonchalant way of saying it, having not, well... met Archer. Scootaloo, on the other hand, looked considerably less happy about the situation. “Couldn't get the slip signed,” she said, a fair bit of annoyance in her voice as she looked off the side, perhaps to make sure she didn't imply she was angry with Icy. “My aunts are in Hoofington for a few days and I couldn't even reach them by phone.” Alula raised an eyebrow. “You realize that they couldn't sign a form over the phone anyway?” Now, Scootaloo did glare at Alula. “Yes,” she said haltingly, just about repressing her irritation. “But I figured if they said I could go, you could just forge their signature.” Alula's eyebrow stayed thoroughly raised. “I could do that anyway,” She pointed out without a hint of emotion, positive or negative, at the prospect of breaking the rules and the law. Scootaloo sighed. “Yeah, but they wouldn't know about it. And since they'll be back in a couple of days, they'll come home to find me missing. Last time that happened, I was gone for about half an hour and they called the police.” “To find you? That's swee-” Icy began before Scootaloo cut her off. “That or arrest me for making them worry. Still not sure. Anyway, once they're back, I should be able to get 'em to sign the thing, but till then, I'm kinda stuck.” Lance stepped forward and gave Scootaloo a sympathetic look. She sighed and nodded. “Thanks, I guess. Give 'em one for me, huh?” Lance nodded, as if taking her request as a solemn vow. “So what about you, Archer?” Icy asked. “Are your parents gone too?” Archer chuckled. “Oh, you got no idea. Still, that ain't the reason - Miss Herder's always a little unsure about missions that take me out of Ponyville. Makes sense – with how many kids she's gotta keep an eye on, worrying about what one's getting up to in another city's gotta be a pain. And since we got that school trip up to the Crystal Empire in a month, she wasn't looking too kindly on me going to Canterlot as well.” She shrugged and gave an easy smile. “Don't worry, should be able to convince her but, like with Scoots, could take a few days.” Icy nodded. “Okay, so it's the six of us plus Mom and... wait a second.” She counted the ponies present again, skipping over Archer, Pip and Scootaloo before she found the extra one. “Oh, Twist, what are you doing here?” Icy had barely finished the last word of the question before she realized how insulting that sounded. “I mean, er... Sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I just...” “That'th okay,” Twist chirped, not seeming to notice Icy's faux-pas, “I jutht came to thay goodbye to...” her eyes flicked over Truffle before looking down and to the left, a blush creeping over her face, “to all of you and with you all luck with... I thould probably go, I've got to eep!” Rolling his eyes, Truffle marched forward and wrapped Twist in a massive hug. He didn't even bother hiding his nuzzle, either, and Twist eagerly returned it, even as her face went redder than her hair. As the two separated, her eyes went out of focus and a wobbly smile spread across her face. Truffle laughed. “Don't worry, I shall be seeing you soon, and I'll think of then every day until it comes.” “Uh huh,” Twist replied, seeming to have barely heard him despite his volume. “Okay, bye bye bye bye bye...” She trailed off as she turned and stumbled down the street, as if drunk from the contact. “Right!” Truffle called, a little forcefully even for him, as he turned back to the others. “Shall we get a move on?” The others all nodded, Pip, Scootaloo and Archer all saying their goodbyes, good lucks and get 'ems and the rest walking up onto the platform. As they went, Sunny leaned over her daughter's ears. “Honey, if you don't mind me asking, are your friends always like this?” she whispered Icy giggled. “Not always, Mom,” she replied, “sometimes they get weird.” “Canterlot!” Icy exclaimed in wonder as her eyes traced up the mountainsides, skimming up the even rock face, past the roads and train tracks that spiralled up and around and through the steep cliffs, all the way up to the shining city itself. “Canterlot!” she repeated, marvelling at the city perched on the side of the mountain, unbothered by little things like gravity. It hung there like a gigantic koala, the only concession to its altitude being the waterfalls that flowed continually from its base. “Canterlot.” she said once again, examining the buildings and architecture of the city – the spires of the castle, the towers of the houses and manors that may as well have been castles, the giant, looming shadows cast by the not-castles-but-still-big-enough-to-be seen buildings. From behind her, Alula raised an eyebrow. “It's only a model.” Icy mewled a little, putting the model of Canterlot back on the souvenir stand and turning back to her friends as they walked through the streets of Canterlot. Shaking her head a little, she tried to remember where she was. “So, where should we go first?” She asked, looking around her as if she could see the landmarks through the sides of the buildings. “The castle? That'd probably be a good place to start.” “Of course we're going to the Castle,” Dinky assured her. “Near the castle,” Alula corrected. “The BEOID has its headquarters in the same building as the rest of the guard, so they need a separate building from the castle.” Icy blinked at the acronym. “BEOID? Beeoid?” she guessed. Dinky and Truffle gave a little laugh. “Bureau of Extranormal Observation, Investigation and Defense,” Truffle explained. “Someone high up likes to give these things long names. Most people in it just call it the Weirdness Patrol.” “Ah!” Icy exclaimed, remembering that they were technically part of the guard. “Okay, that's... hold on, I thought we were called Iota Force.” “This branch is,” Alula explained dispassionately. “However, there are many such branches of various kinds all over Equestria and the overall organization to which they belong is the BEOID. Or,” she gave a sniff, “the WP.” Icy nodded, remembering the Princess telling her something like that. Although her mind quickly focused on the important thing. “So, we're not going to the castle, then?” Alula sighed. “Icy, I appreciate that this is your first time in this city,” she said, though her tone was devoid of appreciation or irritation, “but we're not here on vacation. Something happened in the area that requires our attention and we need to address whatever the problem is before we get caught up in trivialities.” “Oh, okay, I'm sorry,” Icy said quietly, her head drooping a little. Fortunately, this meant that her shoulder was low enough for Dinky to put her hoof on, a feat the tiny filly would otherwise need to stand on her hind legs to accomplish. “Not to worry, Icy, we'll have time,” Truffle spoke at a normal volume into her ear, the closest he ever got to whispering. “Alula's just being a sourpuss.” “I heard that,” Alula replied, not looking behind her. “You were meant to!” Truffle singsonged back cheerfully. Icy shrugged, about to dismiss the whole conversation when something occurred to her. “Hang on, though, shouldn't Canterlot have it's own... version of us? How come we need to come in to solve...whatever it is?” “No point,” Alula replied. “We're close enough to Canterlot that we can come in whenever we're needed, so there's no reason to put two child teams in such close proximity.” “Okay, but then why aren't we based out of Canterlot? I mean, it's the capital of Equestria, right? Isn't it more in danger and more needing protection than a little town like Ponyville? No offence,” Icy finished, having realized how that sounded the moment she said it. “None taken!” Truffle smiled, waving off the remark a touch forcefully. “And, yeah, you'd think so but... well, how many creatures, villains and general bits of weirdness have you seen pass through Ponyville in the months you've been here?” He paused for a moment, letting Icy begin counting and realize she'd be at it for a while. “Yeah, turns out, Ponyville's kind of a weirdness magnet.” “For a while, I thought it was intentional,” Alula offered, finally looking back and giving a slight smile. “Put a smaller town near Canterlot with something to attract more... unusual threats so as to deflect them from Canterlot.” She shook her head before turning it in front of her again. “But that's... probably not true. There's no effect or phenomenon I know of that could consistently attract that kind of thing.” “And the princesses would never do such a thing!” Dinky added. Alula paused for a second. “Sure.” After a moment's awkward silence, Truffle continued. “So, yeah, turns out Ponyville sees a lot more weird stuff than Canterlot. Add to that the fact that most things that attack Canterlot are out of our league – big enough that the army or the princesses need to handle it – and that the royal guard is based here and, well, Ponyville needs us a lot more than Canterlot does.” “Also,” Dinky added, “most of us already lived in Ponyville, so we figured it'd be easier if we didn't have to move.” Icy nodded for a second before another thought occurred to her. “Wait, all of you just happened to live in Ponyville as well when you joined?” Catching her eye, Lance shook his head and pointed between him and Alula. Icy blinked, a little surprised and a little ashamed at her surprise – it was embarrassingly easy to forget Lance was in a conversation sometimes. She always got the impression he'd be quiet even if he could talk. After a moment, she refocused on her question. “Okay, so apart from Lance and Alula, you all happened to live in Ponyville when you formed this thing?” “We did indeed,” Truffle said, sounding curious where Icy was going with this. “Didn't all come at the same time, of course, and Lance and Alula came down after we first formed, but the rest of us were all around when we were first needed.” “But,” Icy paused for a moment, thinking about how to phrase her question, “isn't that kind of... convenient? Bit of a coincidence that you all happened to be in Ponyville when it needed a team like this, isn't it?” “Not really,” Alula said with a level chuckle. “I refer you to the previous remarks regarding the term “weirdness magnet”. Icy's eyes widened a little as she realized she couldn't really argue with that. Her eyes went to the side as she went off into thought about the matter, leaving the rest of the walk to be taken in a half-comfortable, half-awkward silence. The headquarters of the royal guard was, sadly, a far cry from the palace in terms of spectacle – a short, wide, boxy building squatting in the shadow of the castle spires. It lay behind a huge training yard and several other buildings – barracks, armouries, mess halls and the like. It looked rather out of place next to them – an office building in the middle of a military complex. Fortunately, the discrepancy faded when they entered the building, as they could no longer see the rest of the facilities, though it didn't get any more impressive. It was possible the other entrances were different – each branch had a different entrance for a different section of the building – but Icy doubted it. Still, there were plenty of ponies in uniform around, so that helped. One of them stopped when they saw the group. “Ah, afternoon!” he said, trotting up to unintentionally loom over them. He was a lot more tall than broad (which was saying something, as he was far from skinny) and the smile on his face suggested intimidation was the last thing on his mind, but he still towered over the fillies a lot more than most adults. Dinky, as usual, wasn't bothered by this as she smiled and waved. “Hiya, Mister Ton.” The huge stallion laughed. “Corporal Ton – I'm on duty, remember,” He said, though he didn't seem that put out by it. “Wouldn't want Bridge to hear that, would we?” “Where is the Colonel?” Alula asked. Corporal Ton pointed down the corridor and indicated towards the left. “Should be in his office. Haven't seen him come out since breakfast, so if he's not in there, something'd be up. Probably have been kidnapped again.” The others nodded and went in the direction he pointed, but Icy paused. “Wait, that can happen? He's been kidnapped before?” The corporal nodded. “Few times. Once we even had to rescue him.” He blinked as he realized who had asked him that. “Oh, hello there. You must be Icy, the new member.” Icy nodded a little shyly. “Well, I've been one for a few months, but...” The large stallion chuckled. “Well, then it's a few months late, but...” he ruffled her hair with a surprisingly light touch, “welcome to the Weirdness Patrol!” Icy giggled. “Thanks.” She went to leave before something occurred to her about that name. “Hold on, is that Weirdness Patrol as in ponies who patrol for weirdness or with it?” Corporal Ton just smiled as he turned to continue on his walk. “Oh, I think you'll fit in here just fine.” Icy frowned for a moment in thought before shrugging it off and trotting to catch up with the others, reaching them just as Truffle knocked lightly on an office door. Lightly, in his case, meaning without leaving any dents in it. “Come!” said a voice from behind it. Truffle pushed open the door and they all filed in, seeing Colonel Steward behind his desk looking up at them. “Yes, I thought I recognized that knock,” he said, his South Trottingham accent level and unamused. “You said you have a case for us?” Dinky asked, a little quickly, perhaps to distract the Colonel from the potential damage to his door. The Colonel nodded after a moment. “Yes. Rather an odd one, too. Even by our standards.” He pointed to a clipboard hanging over the edge of his desk. “There's an eyewitness account of the incident there. Would you mind reading it yourselves – I've got to finish these reports.” Icy looked at the leaning tower of paper on the Colonel's left. They probably had quite a bit of time for it. Alula lit the horn she didn't have a second ago, levitated the clipboard down and began to read it out loud. She was not the most engaging orator, to say the least, but they all got the details of what had happened – the saws, the chains, the shurikens, the plane and, finally, the name. When Alula had finished, Truffle rubbed his chin. “So, the Paper Prince, is it?” “That's what he called himself,” the Colonel said, the mound of paper beside him gone, presumably through dark magic. “Personally, I'd prefer his real name, but it'll do.” “This is a report from the pegasi pulling the chariot?” Alula asked, not looking up or pausing to get an answer. “Is there one from the passengers? If they're unicorns, they might have detected if there was any unusual magic around this colt.” The Colonel nodded, sliding another clipboard forward. “Yes, I'd hoped they might have too, but... well, see for yourself.” Alula levitated the clipboard down again, this time setting it in front of the others so they could all read. It was around the third time it described the backflip the unicorn mare did to dodge the colt's wild strikes after he'd spooked the chauffeurs with a minor conjuring trick that Dinky looked at the Colonel. “I think they might be making some stuff up.” “You astound me,” The Colonel replied in a voice flatter than the paper they were reading. Icy sighed. “It might not be so bad if they were good at it.” After a few more seconds, Alula finished the page and pushed it away, both being a fast reader and having a higher tolerance for cow-pies than the others. “So, they didn't even check for odd magic. Of course, why should I have expected them to be sensible?” Dinky gave Alula a light shove. “That's not nice, maybe they just didn't think to.” “Exactly,” Alula sighed. Before this could escalate to an argument (or the closest Dinky could have, at least), Lance raised a hoof, and mimed pressing a button in front of his eye. The Colonel shook his head. “No pictures – they didn't have a camera with them and probably wouldn't have thought to take one if they did. However, everyone there got a good look at the colt, so we were able to make a very accurate sketch.” As he was talking, he reached down into a desk drawer and pulled out a picture. Lance took it in a hoof and put it on the ground where they could all take a good look at it. There was silence for a minute or so as they all took in the picture, memorizing it to the best of their abilities. Or, at least, Icy presumed that was what the others were doing – she was thinking of something else. There was something wrong with the picture before her and she was trying to figure out what. The clothes were normal, even the tail sheath and mask, at least for someone trying to hide their identity. The coat colour wasn't hidden, but they rarely were – it was hard to change one's coat colour without a lot of money, an illusion spell longer lasting and more stable than most could achieve or being very good with dyes. Besides, with how many ponies there were with any given coat colour, it wasn't that much of a giveaway. So, his clothes were fine, his colours were fine, his cutie mark... “Ah, hang on!” Icy exclaimed, turning the picture around to face her better. “He's wearing stuff to hide his identity – mask, hood, tail sheath, that kinda thing, right?” She put a hoof on the picture's hindquarters. “So why did he leave his cutie mark exposed? That's much more distinctive than his mane colour!” The others all murmured as they saw what she was talking about. Even the Colonel looked slightly impressed, his lips pursing slightly beneath his moustache as she looked up at him. “Colonel, do you have some kind of... registry for cutie marks?” The impressed look dampened considerably, but didn't disappear completely. “Only for those with previous criminal records and we did think to check that.” “Not the question,” Alula cut in. “You said: why would he leave his cutie mark exposed?” She thought for a few seconds before shaking her head. “Can think of a few possible reasons, but none likely.” Icy shrugged. “Well, we might as well hear th-” “Sh.” Icy blinked in surprise at being shushed by Dinky. She was about to ask why she'd been silenced when she turned around and saw Dinky with her eyes closed, her face thoughtful and her mouth moving minutely, rapidly and silently. After a few more seconds, she opened her eyes again. “Well, there might be one reason, but...” Lance nodded and rolled his hoof forward, indicating for her to say it. However, Dinky just looked away. “I dunno, I don't think I can say for certain until I've talked to him. Or at least seen him.” Alula rolled her eyes. “Look, we need to know something so...” “No,” Dinky interrupted – gently, but still interrupted, startling everyone a little. After a moment, she shook her head. “No, I'm not going to pretend I know him when I don't.” “Well, that's all well and good,” the Colonel said, a little testily, “but we do need every piece of information we can get. And we don't know when you'll next get a chance to meet him.” Dinky looked up, a little bolder than before. “Well, if I am right, then I don't think it'll be long.” At that moment, the door burst open and Corporal Ton burst in. “Sir! We've picked up a distress flare!” The Colonel's annoyed look vanished, replaced by a face of pure professionalism. “Right! Come along, I doubt this is a coincidence.” As everyone else went out into the corridor, Dinky lingered for a moment. “Okay, I swear I didn't plan that.”