"We're here," Turnip announced, nodding his head forward. And indeed there they were; although it was difficult to make out where exactly 'there' was through the almost complete darkness. They were definitely still in a part of the forest, trees and bushes all around, but in front of them the ground seemed to slope upwards moderately and then very steeply, forming the vague outline of sheer walls of dirt.

"See, look, we got all the way there without running into anypony," Even Later stated matter-of-factly, leaning towards the black stallion trotting briskly beside her. "There was no reason to split us up."

"Doesn't matter," Turnip replied gruffly, not even looking at the mare. "We had no way to know, and this way we're ready in case something else happens."

"But—" Even Later started.

"Later, please," Turnip interrupted with a sigh. "I know that you want to talk more with Scootaloo, and I assure you, in just a few minutes you'll be able to. But right now we need to focus on getting inside and getting everypony where they need to go."

"R-right," Later stammered with a sheepish smile. Her cheeks were ever-so-slightly red against her green coat as she fell back to trot next to Flight. "Erm... how's it going?"

"Quite fine," the filly replied. "And you?"

"Just... dandy." Silence hung over the pair as they shuffled along in the dark.

"How old are you, anyway?" Flight asked.

"Um... twenty. Why?" Even Later asked in turn, raising an eyebrow as she looked to the filly.

"Just curious," Flight said, shrugging.

Even Later opened her mouth, about to say something else, but she was distracted by the awful, horrible sound of metal scraping against metal ahead of her. She winced. "Turnip, I swear! There's no reason you can't have one of us unicorns do that!"

The stallion looked over his shoulder with an inquisitive look. "...Why?"

Even Later groaned, but it didn't matter; Turnip was already done sliding open the large metal door to the hideout. Grumbling, the mare sparked up a bright green light from her horn, illuminating the bunch. And, with the light, Scootaloo and the rest of the newcomers were suddenly able to make out the hideout's entrance.

Hewn from the soft dirt of the cliffside, the dark cavern didn't even seem like it should hold. The walls were rough and uneven, looking very much as if they had been done quickly, on short notice. Yet as the slew of ponies poured inside, Scootaloo casually tapped a wall with her hoof and found herself surprised at how sturdy it felt.

"Hold on, lemme get the candles lit," came a voice from the back that Scootaloo didn't recognise. There was some amount of shuffling and the sound of hooves scuffing on the dirt, but then a golden stream of magic poured out of a red horn on the other side of the cavern, splitting off into several golden threads which impacted several spots along the wall before fizzling out. But, after just a few seconds, those spots on the wall danced alight with flame. Scootaloo realised that there were candles protruding from the wall and it was their wicks that the red stallion had set alight. "That better?" he asked. Now easily in sight, Scootaloo got a good look at him and then goggled once she realised that his mane was blue while his tail was a bright yellow.

"Very good," Turnip said. "Now, I'm going to go downstairs to talk with Cinderblock. Nerves, please come with me. Scootaloo and Mochi, please stay with the rest of the group while we go. I trust that you, Clove, can get the place locked back up?"

"Aye aye, cap'n," the reedy-voiced stallion said, trotting over to the door to slide it closed. Even Later winced once more at the grinding metalling screech.

With that, Turnip Acres and Nerves trotted off to the far corner of the room and out of sight down a hallway. The other eight ponies were left just standing there in the front side of the barren dirt rectangle, blinking at each other.

It was Later who finally broke the silence. "So... what should we do until they get back?"