... Ickt ...

[multaekappae]

Sharp Wit groaned, barking orders to the agents, and then turned to the distracted cyborg, "Primeval, come with us."

[begin calculating probability of successful vent–]
[override, primary priority: preservation of the herd]
[override acknowledged]

"Very well." The lavender eohippus stood and trotted after the departing assemblage. Catching sight of the door, she frowned. "Qu... a moment, Sharp Wit. How will we pass the barrier?"

The Inspector snorted amusedly, "Don't think so linearly, Prim, we couldn't leave before because we wanted to take the book with us."

Primeval blinked, "And the gateway can now tell that we do not?"

One by one the ponies filed out what otherwise appeared to be a solid brick wall. Sharp's expression softened slightly, "Obviously. It's just magic, it doesn't require over-thinking. Spells always follow their own internal logic, with little to no regard for physics."

The silver-suited quadrupen frowned, but nodded, trotting up to the gateway. It didn't so much vanish as simply ceased to exist between one moment and the next. Her frown deepened but she crossed the threshold.

---

Money Grubber ran a hoof down a particularly stubborn hoof, scowling. 'Of all the places to run into the fuzz, it had to be here?'
Movement to his left caught the rotund pony's eye. An almost comically thin tan unicorn with thick glasses made to move forward until the crime boss interposed a hoof. "Hold on, where do you think you're going, senora?"

Sharp Shot backed up quickly, as though she was loath to be touched by Grubber. "My contract is to take care of unforeseen difficulties. I believe this qualifies."

The well dressed stallion chuckled, running a hoof through his thinning mane. "That is indeed your job, but you're not going to be worth anything if you step into whatever nonsense the kid and the old man have planned." He grinned, noticing he had the gun-mare's interest. "I do my homework, many of these wings are magically sealed against theft and in some cases even ... 'unauthorized' entry."

The unicorn shrugged, "I am not interested in the minutia, if you don't want me to go to where the targets are, what should I be doing?"

Money Grubber's smile verged on a sneer, which was it's default. "Just find somewhere nice and comfortable with a good view of the main hallway. I figure you'll know when the time comes."

---

The feather drew a loop in the air, seeming to undulate slightly as it darted forward.

"That was... very good." Agent Noise commented.

Riptide let the comment sit for a moment, "Ok, it was good, but... ?"

The white unicorn started, "Huh? Oh, no, it was perfect. I was just contemplating why you... um... why you made the feather ripple like that?"

The kelpie's head turned to glance at the gray tuft. "Huh? Oh, it just made sense. Swimming... and..." her eyebrows raised, "Is that really going to be a problem?"

The Torchwhoof agent shook her head, "Oh no no no... everypony's magic has its own quirks."

Several moments passed in silence; the Deep Queen tried to be patient as long as she could. "Ok...what's next?"

White Noise looked up again. "That... um. You've learned the basics... I really don't know what else–"

Riptide sighed, "Look, you're kinda quiet, I get that. But this is working... more or less. We need to keep going. What's the next thing I need to learn before I even have a shot at using this spell?" She held up Starswirl's book.

Another moment of silence passed as a slow smile grew on the unicorn's muzzle. The Kelpie wasn't quite sure what she was looking at until Riptide realized she had levitated the book to make her point.

The agent cleared her throat, "I think this is about as ready as I can get you. We'll go through the incantation step by step, and I'll try to explain what it should feel like..."