"I think I found something," Mochi called from somewhere to Scootaloo's right. The filly had to take several steps before Mochi came into view; she had rounded the corner, moving on from the side to the back of the building. Once she caught sight of the mare, Scootaloo hurried over.

"Where is it?" she whispered.

Mochi merely pointed in response to a sort of thin rectangular protrusion from the wall. Scootaloo crouched down once she had reached the spot and, sure enough, there was a small metal grate screwed onto the wall. As she examined the screws, Scootaloo saw that they were slot screws—perfect for her hairclip. She reached back to her saddlebag to pull out the hairclip once more and got to unscrewing while Mochi stood guard.

As the filly worked on unscrewing the grate, she noticed Even Later stumble around the corner in the corner of her vision.

"Oh, good, you found one," the mare said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was starting to think that they just didn't have any ventilation at all."

Scootaloo didn't particularly feel like replying, especially since she had a hairclip in her mouth, so she was thankful that Mochi did instead. "I ain't so sure that it's a vent... looks a lot more like the entrance to a crawl space to me."

Later leaned forward, tilting her head around Scootaloo to get a closer look. "Right, right. But whatever it is, it looks pretty darn small."

Mochi leaned forward as well. "Hmm... now that you mention it, that's true. I dunno if I could get myself to fit in there, if I'm bein' totally honest with you."

"But what are we gonna do then?" Scootaloo mumbled, hairclip still in her mouth. She already had three of the screws removed, sitting somewhere lost in the grass below, and was making for the fourth.

"I can stay behind," Mochi offered. "Y'all can go on ahead and I can watch from the bushes to make sure that none of the guards start snoopin' around this space, and I can also work on figurin' out how we're gonna get outta here."

Later nodded. "Thank you so much, Mochi."

"Shucks, it's really no problem."

They were interrupted by a soft metal clink and then a thud as the metal grate hit the ground. Both of them turned to see Scootaloo, who had replaced her hairclip in her saddlebag and was presently peering into the opening.

"Smells weird in there," she remarked, looking up at the other two. "I bet there's, like, spiders or something."

Later rolled her eyes. "I'm sure we can take them. C'mon, Scootaloo." The mare stepped forward, past the orange filly, and flattened her torso to the grass so she could crawl stealthily into the crawl space of the building.

"Thanks, Mochi," Scootaloo said, reaching up to hug the mare. They stood there for a moment before the filly broke away. "We'll see you soon, okay? And be ready to run, 'cause I really don't know how this is gonna go."

Mochi saluted. "Sir, yes, sir!" With that, she bounded off across the grass, disappearing with a rustle into a patch of bushes.

Scootaloo sighed and turned back to the opening in the police station's foundation, which somehow was even darker than the world outside. Later shifted aside to make room for the filly and then, without further ado, Scootaloo crouched down as well and crawled into the space.

"I already feel cramped," she moaned through gritted teeth as she picked up the grate, leaning it loosely against the side of the building so that anypony who wasn't paying too much attention wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

"Aw, don't worry," Later assured her. "I'm sure we'll be out of the crawl space in no time. I mean, I haven't been down here before, but how big could it be?"