A few minutes later, the restroom door squeaked open and Even Later slid out from the room inside, her hoofsteps barely audible in the dimly lit hallway. She glanced ahead of her and then behind her, making sure there were no ponies in the immediate vicinity. Truly, she hardly had to worry—even in the larger, more accessible portions of the observatory, there had hardly been any ponies wandering about—but one can never be too certain of these things when about to embark upon a bout of sneaking.

And sneaking is indeed what Later did; she kept close to the wall as she continued rightwards—rather than left as Dessic had instructed—and past the hallway with the restroom until she came upon more stairs, stairs that spiralled upward as they hugged the wall. The mare trotted up step by step, trying to stop her hoofsteps from clattering with each one. She didn't think Dessic would hear her, or notice anything out of the ordinary, but... it wouldn't hurt to be careful.

"They should've been here by now," Flight grumbled. Her joints ached from crouching down by the dome's surface. "Argent... I'd give just about anything to be able to stand up right now."

"They'll get here when they get here," Mochi replied, though she didn't quite sound certain. "I'm sure we'll find out if something's keepin' 'em."

"...How?" Scootaloo asked. "We don't have any way of contacting them. We're... kind of sitting ducks."

"It'll be fine," Mochi assured her, shooting her a concerned glance. "Plus I don't think this guard is waking up anytime soon."

Indeed, the guard to which she pointed who was still sitting a few metres away still had his eyes closed, and his chest moved rhythmically with his slow, even breaths.