Celestia 1: An Account

Chapter 2 : Arrivals

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The interior of the submarine became darker and darker as it slipped further below the surface. The low lighting combined with the crampedness of her surroundings was making Fluttershy uneasy. It was starting to get to her now; miles away from home, in a dim, claustrophobic environment she couldn't leave, surrounded by ponies she didn't know...

Twilight could see that Fluttershy was starting to tremble, it was only a matter of time, really. Twilight wrapped a wing around her for re-assurance, which seemed to have the desired effect.

"Hey now, why don't you have a look out the window?"

This was a good call. Though the porthole was tiny, it was very easy to make out vast schools of fish and other creatures, considering they were still relativity close to the surface. It worked perfectly, calming her right down.

"Oh my, its beautiful! Look at all the fish! I never get to spend any time with sea creatures, for, um...obvious reasons..."

"Yes, its very pretty, and to think we'll be able to see it whenever we want while we're at the base!"

The sub quickly descended further, into the darker waters that sunlight doesn't reach.

"...Or not..."

"Oh I'm sure we will." Interjected a voice from behind. "All the windows on the station are illuminated, it wouldn't be much of a research base if we couldn't see what we were researching, after all!"

~

After around 10 minutes of darkness, the station came into view out of the porthole. It was an incredible sight, a sprawling maze of a building set on the floor of the ocean, it's powerful lights illuminating the area around it an inordinate distance, bringing itself and  everything around it into view.

The base was split into various sections, each connected by tunnels. Despite the utilitarian nature of the building it was by no means ugly, quite the opposite. I was clear no expense had been spared designing it, sharing its architecture with some of the new modern-style buildings that had started popping up around Canterlot. It was still obvious that it was designed foremost to work, re-enforced structures were visible everywhere, keeping the building standing against the weight of the ocean upon it. It was truly an incredible feat.

"Well then, it would appear you've reached your destination." Rusty Bolts' voice re-appeared from the intercom. "You'll be arriving at the dock shortly, there'll be a group of the engineering team waiting to show you to your living quarters. Please try and disembark as fast as possible, we need to get back to the surface and fetch the rest of you scientists. Once again, welcome to Celestia 1." The message finished with a crackle.

The submarine slowed to a crawl as it approached the base. It descended slightly, passing under an overhanging part of the building, before rising again, up into the building itself. The sub emerged in the dock area of the base, it was greeted by a waiting access ramp and a team of engineers who had been living here for weeks now, and knew their was around it like the back of their hoof.

"I suppose we should get this show on the road, then."

One of the team made their was up the ramp and to the hatch of the sub. He swung the hatch open to find the occupants of the submarine already queuing to get out.

"My my, you're certainly an eager bunch, I had to coral the last arrivals out!"

He stood next to the hatch, giving a hoof to anypony that needed assistance exiting. Checking to make sure it was empty, he sealed the hatch again and sent the submarine on it's way to bring down the next group of arrivals. He trotted down the ramp to the window where the group of ponies had congregated, transfixed by the sight outside.

"Well, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Arc, and I helped build this place. At the moment I'm here to show you to where you'll be staying, and around the rest of the facility after you're settled in. You'll want to keep up, this place is pretty vast and easy to get lost in, trust me, I know." He finished with a chuckle.

"Right now we're in the docking area. This door goes to the common area, and everything splits off from there. If you'd like to follow me."

The group trailed behind him as he led them through the glass tunnel that connected the dock with the rest of the facility. The common area was already visible thanks to the lights.

"This place is enormous!" Twilight exclaimed. "How many ponies are going to be living here?"

"Hmm, well there's about 1000 of us in the engineering team, and in the notification we were told to expect a further 2500 or so ponies made up of scientists and families." He turned his head but continued along. "We have room for a lot more, but hey, more food for me this way!"

Twilight's mind boggled, 3500 ponies living in an underwater facility, it was closer to a town than a research center! This became even more true once they entered the common area, it was full of shops and entertainment!

"Boss worked cinemas, shops and the like into this place to make sure none of us went crazy from boredom while we're all down here."

"Where did all this stuff come from?" Twilight asked, gesturing towards a fully stocked shop.

"Those subs you came here in are automated, we can send one up to get anything we can't make down here."

This place truly was incredible.

"You'll all be able to get a better look around later. If you'll follow me, we're approaching the residential area."

The group entered another glass tunnel, this time leading to a group of 3 high-rise style buildings. A shoal of fish swam in between them, shimmering in the light from the facility, it was a breath taking sight. The group stopped in a plaza which connected the three towers, Arc turning to face the group.

"Ok then, I guess you can think of this as a reception area, I'm sure you can figure out how this'll work. Just head on over to the desk and give them your names, they'll tell you which of these fine buildings you'll be residing in, and give you your key. I'll be back later to gather you all for the tour proper, but for now I have to escort the next set of arrivals here too, so just settle in for a bit. Oh, and welcome to Celestia 1." With that, he turned and left.

Twilight went over to the desk to collect her key, Fluttershy did not. She was taken away by the view outside. Kelp and seaweed lazily drifted in the currents of the ocean, a school of fish darted around. Most impressive of all though, was the incredibly large whale which was now making its way between the residential towers. It could only be described as majestic.

"Maybe this was a good idea after all..."

~