In the tunnel, Hogan sat in a corner, debating all possible exits while Carter leaned in, listening to Twilight talking. “… and that’s how we resealed Discord in stone,” she finished, opening her eyelids to Carter’s gleaming eyes.
Carter sat back. “Amazing.” He smiled, childish. “Sounds like you’ve had a lot of adventures!”
Rainbow Dash lay on her back in the dirt, her face bored extremely annoyed. “Yeah, I wish we were on one right now.”
Rarity was resting peacefully on a blanket. “Come now, Rainbow, think about it; we’re in a different world. There’s plenty of room for adventure!”
Rainbow flew up near the ceiling. “Then why can’t we be THERE instead of this dusty hole?”
Fluttershy interjected her point next. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of adventures once we get Applejack back.” She was resting in the dirt next to Rarity.
“Eh,” Rainbow Dash sighed, returning to the ground in defeat. She rested her chin on her folded hooves. “The time my wing was broken was more fun…” she muttered to herself. Suddenly, she lifted her head at a breakneck speed. “Wait a minute! Where’s Pinkie?” Everybody quickly looked around, but no Pinkie could be seen.
The scent of LeBeau’s cooking overfilled the barracks, the aroma tantalizing and arousing the saliva glands of the men around. With a proud gleam in his eyes, he brought over a platter with five white bowls adjourned with a thick, brown stew. He placed the tray on the long table and removed the five bowls, placing each one adjacent to a chair. Holding the tray underneath his arm, he tapped the board and waited as the lower bunk flew up, revealing the passage. He climbed down.
LeBeau finally got their attention. “Dinner is served!” Despite the aroma, everyone was speechless, frantically searching about, leaving him in a confused stupor.
Pinkie Pie stood upright against the cooler’s cold wall, flattening herself to the metal. Her face showed worry; however, her eyes were sparked with excitement. Two guards walked by, watching out for any prisoners. Suddenly, they stopped at the corner perpendicular to Pinkie’s location and leaned against the wall. They started chatting amongst themselves, discussing rumors floating around, in German. Pinkie smiled a coy and mischievious grin.
“I’m gonna have to distract them if I’m gonna be able to get back to the others…” she muttered silently to herself. The guard closest tilted his head and began to sneak over. Quietly, he tapped the other and creeped close to the end. Suddenly, he jumped the corner, gun at the ready. He looked around to the empty lot where Pinkie once hid.
Around the other side, Pinkie Pie tip-toed her way back to the barracks, the ‘TPTPTPTPTPTPTPTPTPTPTP’ sound following with her.
The front door to the barracks suddenly swung open, surprising Kinch as he lay on the top bunk over the tunnel. He sat up as a long pink blur flew into the underground. Confusion overtook him as he got down and inspected the odd occurrence.
Underground, Rainbow Dash was searching under a table, her eyes darting back and forth. “Where could Pinkie Pie be?” She took her head out from underneath to come face-to-face with her friend.
“I’m right here, silly!” Pinkie responded with a giggle. She hopped around in the dirt joyously.
Twilight walked beside her. “Pinkie, where were you?” Her voice was full of concern.
“I was just looking around!” she stated happily, stopping her hopping. Her smile faded slightly. “It was way too boring down here.”
Rainbow Dash took to her wings. “I knew I wasn’t the only one.” She folded her front hooves in a grump.
The sound of a clearing throat echoed into the tunnel. Every being turned their heads over to LeBeau, who stood as tall as he could. “Lunch is served,” he stated proudly, bowing slightly before he climbed up. Each of the girls looked among themselves before they followed behind, leaving Hogan and Carter to debate the escape.
Each ponies’ expression was relatively the same- unsure and slightly disgusted- as each of the girls walked up to the table. Twilight put on a brave smile and tried to seem pleased with what sat in front of her. “Looks… great. Um, what is it?
LeBeau’s face faltered slightly before it came back full force. “A French dish we call Daube.”
Rainbow Dash leaned in closer to her plate and took a couple whiffs. Instantly regretting it, she sat up straight, face distorted in a disgusted frown. “What is it?” she muttered.
LeBeau bowed slightly closer, still smiling. “It’s beef braised in wine, vegetables, garlic, and herbes de Provence.” He took great pride in his work.
Rainbow Dash tilted her head over to her left, whispering to Pinkie, “I think the ‘herbs dei providence’ made me lose my appetite. A harsh-toned flew through the air as Twilight shushed her friend.
Meekly smiling quickly afterward, Twilight bravely used her magic to levitate her spoon into the dish and extract a brown cube surrounded by the flowing liquid. She nervously brought it to her lips, the smell starting to agitate her nostrils, and sipped it into her mouth. The instant it struck her tongue, she retracted her gag reflex, causing her cheeks to round and her face to turn a pale green. Struggling just to shut her eyes, she chewed and swallowed the morsel. Even though she’d downed the spoonful, Twilight didn’t even realize her tongue was hanging out until Rarity gave her a slight, indiscernible nudge. Twilight looked back to LeBeau, his face still anxious and proud. “I… assume you would... find it… amazing?” Twilight struggled out, trying to let him down easily.
Luckily for Twilight, LeBeau got the hint. His pride really took a hit as his smile fell flat. His voice didn’t give off any sarcasm, but plenty of it was strewed across his words. “I suppose you’d rather I collect some dandelions?”
Rainbow Dash had her tongue extracted, not even a thousandth of an inch away when she’d heard LeBeau’s statement. She sat straight up. “I could go for some dandelions!”
“Oooh, ooh, me too!” came Pinkie’s excited voice.
“I-If you wouldn’t mind,” whispered Fluttershy who constantly glanced between her bowl and the chief.
Rarity’s face was twisted in a worried smile. “I’m sure this is really high-class, but I think I’d rather some as well.”
LeBeau looked horrified. Twilight quietly muttered beside him. “It’s not that we don’t respect your hospitality, it’s just that…” she looked LeBeau up and down, “we aren’t exactly the same species.”
LeBeau nodded slightly, less offended at Twilight’s explanation. A voice came from the recently opened underground. “It smells great LeBeau- the men and I will make good use of it.” He walked up and patted his comrade on the back.
The front door was sudden opened up, an echoing slammed reverberated through the barracks. Standing tall in the doorframe was the one and only Shultz. His eyes closed and chin raised high, he proceeded to announce the orders. “Hogan! All prisoners are to report outside for an hour of exercise by order of the Kommandant.” He opened his eyes and overlooked the barracks. “Also, no pris…on…ers.” He stared at the multi-colored creatures who sat around the table as if they were always there. They all had looks of horror, shock, and fear as they gazed at the behemoth standing at the exit. Shultz stuttered, his eyes wide and mouth agape. “Wh-wh-wh-wha” was all he could get out. Suddenly, he spat out, “What are these things and what are they doing here?”
Hogan walked up next to Shultz and placed a reassuring arm over his shoulder. He began to walk Shultz back to the outside world. Clearing his throat, he answered the guard. “You see Shultz, ever since I met with the horse, I felt a need to make more-“
Schultz looked over to Hogan, his eyes still wide. “Bu-bu-but how did you-“
“With enough cardboard and markers, you can make anything.” Hogan smiled.
Schultz looked back to the shocked ponies. “Those things are flat?”
Hogan walked Shultz away from the sight of the beings. “You’d be surprised.” Hogan walked in front of Shultz and looked into his eyes. “Now, anymore orders from the Kommandant.”
Shultz’s eyes stayed bugged and surprised, but as he blinked, they slowly returned to their regular dimensions. “Ye-yeah, n-no prisoners are allowed to go near the Cooler…”
Hogan patted Shultz on the back, smiling. “Great, I’ll just get all the men ready to go.” He walked back into the barracks, quickly closing the door behind him. Shultz’s whole body tingled and shook as he walked back to the Cooler, muttering, “I saw nothing… I saw nothing…” the entire way back.