All was still. The air moved, slightly, but it barely made a sound; Scootaloo could only tell it was there by how it brushed against her coat, shifting the tufts of fur on her side. It made her uncomfortable—itchy, even—but she couldn't lift a hoof to scratch it. Grumbling quietly, she bit her lip.

"Do you hear that?" Kaylee hissed from beside her. Scootaloo blinked, and looked toward the green filly, who rolled her eyes and pointed in the opposite direction. Scootaloo whipped her head back, looking over to where the guard sat asleep. She waited for a moment, trying to listen for whatever it was that she was supposed to be hearing. And sure enough...

There was a tapping on the dome—barely noticeable at first, but growing louder and louder. Scootaloo was nearly afraid it would wake up the guard, but after a moment of stirring he appeared to have settled once more. She wondered briefly if anything could wake him.

Not a moment later, one of the plastic panels in the surface of the dome started to shift, creaking as the sides lifted. The panel only opened about a centimetre at first, not held open enough so that Scootaloo could see within; however, after another moment, the panel quickly jerked upward and she caught sight of a green face. Later. The mare paused once the panel was tilted about a half a metre upwards, and her face was fully visible.

Scootaloo watched as the mare turned her head to look at the guard, eyes widening once she saw how close he was. Later remained there looking at him for a moment before turning back around. At this moment, Scootaloo lifted her hoof from Kaylee's torso so that Later could see her, and once the mare saw her pop into view she smiled. Scootaloo returned the expression and then, without hesitation, stood straight up. She could hear the dome creak as she stood and as her companions shifted about, confused why she was standing, but within a minute everypony seemed to understand the situation, standing up and all pressed against Kaylee once more.

Slowly, silently, the group shuffled back over to where Later was perched beneath the panel and, without saying a word, they began to climb in. Scootaloo and Flight went first, gliding down slowly and letting their hooves clink down softly on the metal grating, and they were followed by Mochi and Kaylee right behind, with a little help from Later. Once all five of them were inside there on the top landing of the maintenance passage, Later slowly lowered the panel back into place.