Chapters Chapter 1: Departures
~
"Isn't it exciting?!"
Twilight was an energetic mess, pratically bouncing off of the walls of Fluttershy's house.
"Oh, um...yes. Very...thrilling..." Fluttershy replied, glancing away.
"Its amazing! To be at the forefront of scientific advancement! Think of what we could learn!"
"As...incredible as it is, I just don't understand why I've been invited too. I mean, I'm no great scientific mind...or anything..."
"Oh Fluttershy, think of all the sea creatures! There are bound to be some new species discovered, nopony has ever been that deep down for so long, you're special talent with animals makes you an obvious choice in a project like this." Twilight replied, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, but I couldn't possibly be gone for so long! Who will look after my animals? They'd all miss me, and what if they get scared that nopony is here? And I'd miss my home, and all my friends and-"
"Relax, Fluttershy! Everything is being taken care of, the girls said they were fine with taking care of your animals while you're gone, and you'll still be able to talk with them too! This place has a super advanced communications area, the whole thing is state of the art! Plus, I'll be there too, so its not like you'll be alone." Twilight said with a re-assuring smile.
Fluttershy was very uneasy about the whole thing. She'd been selected to be a biologist on Celestia 1, which, as Twilight had explained to her, was an enormous underwater science lab. They'd chosen her for her experience working with animals, since they were expecting to discover a lot of new life. She had to admit, it was an exciting prospect, but she just couldn't bear to leave her home behind. Although, thanks to Twilight she was starting to come around to the idea. She did say it would all be taken care of... And if Twilight was there with her, she would be much less anxious about meeting all the other ponies at the lab.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.
~
It was a little over two weeks since Fluttershy and Twilight had been made aware of their inclusion on the Celestia 1 team. It was an early start for them, waiting at the dock at dawn. It was a chilly morning, wisps of their breath visible in the air. Both of them were still recovering from Pinkie's 'You're going away but not forever so its okay' party, it had been a late night, which is never a good thing preceding an early start. Still, they were here, and they were excited.
The rest of the crew that were to man the station had spent the night on the docked ship. It was a large cargo ship that had been converted to be able to carry ponies and freight. Twilight and Fluttershy were waiting for the boarding ramp to be deployed to allow them onto the ship, but it seemed the crew hadn't woken up yet.
Getting impatient, they decided to just fly onto the deck, Twilight bringing their luggage up with her magic.
"Ah, you're here! I'd just come to lower the ramp, but I'll just go alert the captain that everypony is onboard. We'll be departing shortly, somepony will be below deck to show you to your room." The sailor trotted off towards the bridge of the ship, and the two mares made their way to a door marked 'Stairs'.
They didn't bother unpacking anything once in their room, the journey should only take a day and a half, so it wasn't really worth it. The sea was pretty calm at the moment, but Twilight had been informed by the crew member that led them to the room that it was meant to get rougher towards the end of the day. It didn't really make any difference, it was just something to talk about. Looking out the porthole, Twilight noticed the boat had crawled to a start. This was it, they were on their way.
"Looks like we're on our way!" Twilight practically squeed.
"Oh, I can't wait to see all the little sea creatures!"
"I can't believe I'm surrounded by Equestria's finest scientists! And to think I'll be working with them!"
"Oh yes, its all very...sciency..."
"Come on Fluttershy, lets have a look around this ship, we have plenty of time to kill before we arrive."
The two of them left the room to walk around the giant vessel they had found themselves on. The interior wasn't much to look at, it was just rooms and cargo bays, but it distracted them from the journey, if not only briefly.
Eventually Twilight found herself on the deck, looking out on the vast ocean ahead of the ship, with Equestria behind, growing smaller by the minute. Fluttershy had gone back to the room to catch up on sleep she had missed the night before, leaving her alone on the bow of the ship. She looked off towards the horizon, the ship steadily heading towards it.
"For science. "
~
The engineering crew had been residing in Celestia 1 since the station had been capable of supporting life. It saved a trip to the surface if nothing else, and it sure as hell beat decompression. At the moment they were ensuring everything was fully functional prior to the arrival of the science crew.
The station was built in sections on the surface, and assembled together on location on the sea bed. At the moment they were making sure all the different sections were working together with each other for smooth operation of the facility. Finding only minor faults, engineering reported the 'O.K.' up to the ship's crew.
Rusty Bolts, the leader of the engineering team stared out the window. There wasn't anything left for him to do now, until the science team arrived. Hell, he couldn't even look out the window, one of the faults the team found was that the outside lights in the admin module weren't fully operational, and daylight doesn't reach this far down.
He grumbled to himself, for the time being he was stuck with a section of the facility essentially having mirrors instead of windows. Still, it was a minor fault, nothing that could disrupt the planned order of events. Rusty returned to his desk and brought out a bottle of wine. Well, there was nothing else to do...
~
"Come on Fluttershy! We're here!"
Fluttershy blearily opened her eyes, having slept for much longer than she had planned. The clock told her it was 10:03 AM, she'd gone to bed at 7 last night, so she must have done some serious sleeping.
The ship was making its way to a floating jetty at a grindingly slow pace. That was where they'd all disembark the ship and board the shuttle submarines that would take them to the station.
Twilight had already eagerly made her way up to the deck with her and Flutershy's luggage. Fluttershy took this opportunity to clean herself up a bit before joining Twilight and the others. She was nervous about being around that many ponies out in the open, but if she stuck with Twilight she knew she'd be fine.
The majority of the science team were now milling about on the deck, waiting with great anticipation to get to the research base. Eventually the boat moored with the jetty, and the ramps were lowered. After a few minutes, the first of the submarines arrived. The subs were a small affair, each capable of taking 10 ponies and their cargo.
Twilight and Fluttershy were among the first into the the machines, Fluttershy's nerves picking up a bit now that she was in such a confined space with ponies she didn't know. Still, she was eager to see what lies on the ocean floor, everypony was. There was a sudden crackle as an intercom came to life.
"Helloooo science team! This is Rusty Bolts, head of the engineering team here at the base. Your journey should last about 10 minutes, give or take a few. Enjoy the ride, and welcome to Celestia 1!"
The submarine began to gently glide forward, diving as it went. This was it, they were on their way.
~
Chapter 2 : Arrivals
~
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... "
~
Chapter 3 : Nighttime
~
It was a simple but effective trick. Since natural light didn't penetrate this far down, it was very easy to lose track of the time. To fix this the lights at the base dimmed the later it got, light street lights in revers. It was subtle but noticeable, and while it wasn't nearly as effective as the actual sun and moon, it got across the general time of day should anypony find themselves away from a clock.
Twilight hadn't noticed this, she had spent the last few hours staring out of the window of her undersea apartment. The base looked pretty, there was no doubt about it, all lit up and modern, but it was the nature and life outside that captivated her most. The only place you be able to see anything remotely similar to the view from her window would be an aquarium, but the two just didn't compare. Jelly fish caught the lights and lit up hues of pink and purple, fish reflected the lights with their scales, shimmering like stars, and in the distance, larger, more terrifying sea creatures were just about visible, but far enough away for comfort.
There was a knock at the door. Twilight answered it with a scowl, she did not like to be interrupted.
"Hello Twilight!" Fluttershy greeted her, but quickly noticed the look on Twilight's face. "Oh...I can leave if you want me to, I just came to get you for the tour. T-that is, if you want to go..."
"Of course I do!" Her expression lightened. "Sorry, I was just captivated by, well, out there !" She gestured towards her window.
"Oh yes, its magical isn't it? I could just stare out the window all day.."
Twilight left her room and the two of them made their way back down to the plaza. It could easily have taken longer than it should have, considering the amount of windows there were to distract them, but they arrived fairly on time, meeting up with the other ponies who were also being walked around the facility.
The group was guided around the commons area by one of the engineering crew, a unicorn by the name of Sully. He took the scientists around the building, pointing out things of note and where the exits were and so forth. After this they were left to wander around and find the other sections for themselves, seeing as the commons area was the only part of the facility where navigating could potentially be tricky. Plus in the other parts, they would be able to just ask around for where to go, but the commons area was for relaxing.
Twilight looked at the map, of which they'd all been given a copy. On one side was the commons area in detail; cinemas, restaurants, shops, everything they should want to find, as well as the locations of the entrances to other areas of the base. The place even had a bar! They had really made it as comfortable as possible to spend a long time down here.
The other side of the map showed the whole facility, albeit in far less detail. This side really brought out the scale of the whole thing. The commons area sat in the middle, the largest part. Residential was to the south, Oxygen and food production to the east, the docks and engineering centers to the west, science faculties to the north, and other departments shooting off in directions away from the middle. Everything was connected by tunnels, and somepony could easily spend a day making their way from one end to the other, and much much longer if they got lost or sidetracked in any way.
Twilight and Fluttershy broke away from the larger group, finding their way to a door labeled "Communications". A short tunnel led them to an off shoot of a building, connected in such a way to allow easy access from all sections of the base. Finding herself some paper, Twilight began to write out a note.
"Hey everypony!
We arrived safely at the base earlier, no problems at all. This place is incredible, its like an underwater town! And the views are something else! I think you girls would really like it down here, its just amazing. Right now we're making our was around the place, and getting familiar with were everything is, we should probably get back before anyone notices we're gone. We'll write again soon, I promise it.
Twilight Sparkle "
She put the letter into one of the devices in the room, an artificial dragon fire machine. The invention of the machine revolutionized communication in Equestria, making sending a letter large distances quick and easy. This one had been modified and designed to use extra magic, because of the extra distance the letter had to travel. It would make its way to the Ponyville post office and be delivered soon enough.
"Oh my..."
Twilight turned to find Fluttershy staring out of a window. A shark was attacking a large school of fish, fairly successfully, leaving a panicked crowd of animals, and a fair amount of fish bits behind.
"Come on, lets get back to the others." They turned to leave, but something caught Fluttershy's attention.
"Oooh, what's this?" She gestured a hoof towards the window. Climbing up the outside of the glass was a large, darkly camouflaged crab like creature covered in spines.
"It doesn't look like anything I've seen before in any books. It could be a new species!"
"Oh, how exciting!" Fluttershy beamed. "Should we tell somepony?"
"I shouldn't worry about it, I'm sure there will more of those around somewhere. Besides, we don't know for certain if it is a new species or not. I'll make a little note of it though, it could be useful." She quickly wrote down a brief account of the creature's appearance, she'd be able to research it more once she was back in her room, with her books.. "Come on, how about we go and get something to eat?"
The two mares left the communications sector. The crab like creature, however, did not move from its spot on the window.
~
Chapter 5 : Loomer
~
Gleaming Waters was in the process of going back to his apartment. The tests that the doctors had run didn't discover anything, so he'd been given the all clear and told to rest for a day or two. He swayed slightly as he walked, feeling pretty out of it. Was he paler, too? Maybe, but he had lost a fair amount of blood. He hobbled up the stairs of the residential area, trying to keep weight off his injured leg. Leave the staircase on the 6th floor, turn left at the split in the corridor, and you'd find his apartment, Number 335. He let himself in and slumped down on his bed. He still felt off . The way his injured leg tingled, the lightheaded-ness, the fact his balance was off. It wasn't anything bad, just odd. "Probably side effects from the pain killers when they stitched me up. " He settled down in his bed, ready to just sleep the whole thing away.
~
There was a great sense of foreboding among the biology staff today. One of them was going to have to deal with the crustacean creature that attacked Gleaming. None of them dared to enter until Fluttershy had arrived. A group of scientists were milling around outside the room where the creature was contained. One of them, the unlucky one who had to go in, had donned a deep sea diving suit in an effort to protect himself better.
There was a collective sigh of relief as Fluttershy entered the hallway. She really didn't want to be back here again, but it was something she had to do. The scientists cleared a path for her to the door, and she made her way to where the stallion in the diving suit was standing.
"Shall we?" He asked, moving towards the door.
"I guess sooner would be better than later..."
The door opened to reveal the room exactly as she had left it yesterday, scattered office equipment and blood on the floor, and the creature still in a holding pen. The plan was to study the creature, and get it the hell out of the facility. Fluttershy cleared a space in the clutter, and nodded over to the stallion, signaling him to unlock the holding pen. He brought out a camera, and took a few pictures of the creature in the pen, before unlocking the door, and backing into the room.
The creature erupted out of the door, but seemed to slow down upon seeing Fluttershy. She corralled the creature into the space she had cleared, and the stallion took more pictures. The creature had taken on a defensive stance again, occasionally making a swipe with its claws.
The stallion put a tape measure down next to the thing, it was too distracted by Fluttershy to notice. He took the picture, and turned to her.
"Okay, that should be fine. Now to deal with this...thing..."
Their plan was to flush it back out into the sea using an airlock in the room next door, much in the same manner the creature had been brought in. The stallion opened the door that connected the rooms, and opened the air lock in advance. Fluttershy began to slowly back the creature into the other room, and then finally into the airlock. The stallion swiftly pulled down on the lever, closing the creature away and letting it go into the open waters.
A job well done.
~
"...and so I'm about to surface in the dock, when I see these huge crabs, must've been 4 or 5 of them, all climbing around on the supports. I get nearer and one of them nips me through my suit! Can you believe that?! It wasn't deep or anything, but it went through the suit and drew blood. Luckily I was right at an entrance anyway, my suit could have flooded..."
Twilight didn't mean to eavesdrop, but the ponies having the conversation were rather loud, and walking past her slowly. She couldn't really not listen. It was a rather interesting discussion too, Fluttershy had told her yesterday that one of the biology team had been bitten by a large crab too. Could the species as a whole be aggressive? The mare who was talking mentioned seeing 4 or 5 of them together, did they live in packs?
She practically squeed, all these unanswered questions, more discoveries waiting to be made, it was all so exciting. But she could be excited by it later, right now she had to focus on the task in hoof. She loaded the sand samples she had collected into the machine, and awaited the results. She would know for sure what it was made of, and then could begin to speculate how it was formed.
Knowledge!
~
Gleaming Waters was feeling much worse for ware. He had a splitting headache, he had become very sensitive to the lights in his room, and his limbs felt like dead weight. It was cold, even when he was wrapped up in his bed. He swallowed a lump in his throat, it felt like sand paper. "Should I go back to the doctors? No, no, I'm sure I'll be better later. The tests said nothing was wrong, just gotta relax. "
~
"How come I get roped into doing this, this was supposed to be my day off. " Snapshot rapped his hoof on the door, number 335. He'd been sent to check on Gleaming, nopony had seen him for 3 days now, and they were starting to get worried. Snapshot knocked again, having received no response the first time.
"Hey Gleaming, you in there? Its Snapshot, just came by to see if you're ok."
"Maybe he's not in... "
His train of thought was disrupted by the sound of something stirring behind the door. There was a clattering as something fell, and audible hoof steps, but the door remained closed as ever. Snapshot brought an ear to the door to listen; the movement inside sounded erratic, and he could hear things hitting the floor, apparently being knocked over. There was a sudden thump against the door, causing Snapshot to pull away, surprised. Pressing his ear back to the door, he could hear the hoof steps getting further away again.
"Uh, Gleaming, are you okay in there?" No reply came. "Hang on, I'm gonna go get somepony to open this door, don't go anywhere."
Snapshot quickly trotted back to the staircase and made his way to the desk at the plaza, explaining the situation to the pony behind the desk.
Two or three minutes later Snapshot was back outside number 335, with the receptionist in tow. She unlocked the door, he nodded in thanks, and pushed it open. The smell of vomit hit him first, followed by a wave of warm, humid air. He wretched a little, and stepped into the apartment. The place was a mess, the floor was littered with books, utensils, ornaments, stuff that shouldn't be on the floor. There was a big pool of vomit in the center of the room, and more worryingly, flecks of blood.
"Gleaming, are you ok?"
"Of course he isn't you idiot, there's sick and blood on the floor. "
"Gleaming?"
He began to search glance around the place for a sign of Gleaming, he'd definitely heard somepony in here a few minutes ago. He noticed the bedroom door was open, and tentative made his way over to it. He reached the door frame and let out a sigh of relief, Gleaming was standing next to his bed.
"There you are, you had me worried!"
Something wasn't right. Gleaming didn't acknowledge his presence. He looked very pale and disheveled, and looking around there was more vomit on the bed. Something was certainly wrong. Snapshot shakily made his way over to where Gleaming was standing, avoiding the pools of sick on the floor.
"Gleaming, whats wrong?"
Gleaming's head suddenly shot around to face Snapshot. His eyes, once a deep brown, were milky white and empty. His eye sockets were dark and recessed, and dried blood and vomit trailed from his mouth, clinging to his coat as it trailed down his face and body.
Gleaming let out a loud snarl and quickly turned his whole body around, lunging at Snapshot.
~
Chapter 6 : Debaser
~
Gleaming hit the door frame with an almighty 'crack', Snapshot having scrambled back out of the room, slipping around on the polished wood floor of the apartment. Gleaming emitted an angry groan and came charging out of the room at Snapshot, slightly stumbling over his own possessions that now resided on the floor. Unfortunately, Snapshot found himself in the same situation. One wrong hoof placement sent him tumbling to the floor, having fallen over a pile of books.
Gleaming took his chance and bolted right at Snapshot, sending the both of them across the floor in a pony-pile. Snapshot backed up against the wall, keeping Gleaming away with his forelegs, not an easy task considering the amount of thrashing around. Gleaming snapped at Snapshot fruitlessly, he was being kept at too great a distance to land a hit.
There was a clang, and a yelp, and Gleaming was on the floor. The mare from the reception desk was stood behind Gleaming, frying pan in her mouth, and a terrified look in her eyes. She dropped the frying pan and helped Snapshot to his hooves, not glancing away from Gleaming for a second, lest he get back up.
"We should go get somepony?" She said.
"What? Who?"
"Medics, security, anypony!"
"Let just...lets just get out of here."
The two left, shutting the door behind them, should Gleaming get backup. The receptionist took up post by the door, and Snapshot ran off to go and get help. Help from who, he had no idea, but any help.
~
"Run this by me again, at a speed I can comprehend this time." Said the doctor.
"Okay, so I came up to check on Gleaming Waters earlier, and he wouldn't open the door. I went and got help and got the door open, but when I went in there was blood and sick everywhere. I found gleaming, but he was all pale and vacant, then he got violent and tried to attack me! Luckily the receptionist came in at the right time and clonked him out. Then, I came to find you two." Snapshot gestured to the doctor and the security officer.
"So then, why are we here?" Inquired the doctor.
"Well, we figured you're our best bet to find out whats wrong and how to fix it. And we wanted security here incase Gleaming got violent again."
The security officer grimaced. If it did get violent, there wasn't anything really he could do. Being a research base, there was really little to no need for any security, it was just an after though to deter minor offences like shoplifting and whatnot, not violent assault.
"Well, if something is wrong, I guess it is our job to help..."
Cautiously the two made their way to the door of room 335, Snapshot tailing them. The receptionist unlocked the door and took a step away from the door. The three made their way inside, closing the door behind them. Gleaming had not moved since Snapshot had left, he was a twitching heap on the floor. It was a rather unnerving sight, especially since his eyes were still open.
"Oh my..."
The doctor gingerly made his way towards Gleaming for observation. He was very pale, his eyes had no colour, and his coat was stained in places by blood. It was not a pretty scene.
Gleaming let out a grunt, and all three of them jumped back. After a few seconds of continued stillness, they returned to Gleaming, satisfied he wasn't getting up. At least, not right now.
"Well...we really should get him to the infirmary for observation, and to treat...whatever this is..."
An uneasy glance was exchanged, and Gleaming was loaded onto the doctor's back, separated by a sheet to prevent contact. They had also tied up his legs with a sheet, in case he started thrashing around again. The way they had it planned out, security would walk infront of them, and keep any ponies that might be about out of the way, for their own safety if nothing else. Once they got to the infirmary, they'd put Gleaming in a room by himself, again for the safety of every pony, and try to figure out what was going on.
~
"Excuse me Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step aside."
Fluttershy did as she was told, not wanting to cause a scene, content to just observe and not cause any trouble. The security officer walked on ahead, followed by a doctor carrying somepony in sheets on his back, and a third, very nervous looking pony trailing behind.
"Oh dear, I hope everything is alright... "
The doctor stumbled slightly, jostling the sheets around, which revealed a little of the pony underneath.
"Goodness! Is that... "
"Mr. Waters?"
Fluttershy started to make her way over to the convoy, but was stopped by the pony on the back.
"Please, stay back Ma'am. Something...has happened."
"I-Is Mr. Waters okay? What happened?"
"I...We don't know. Its just dangerous, so please, stay back."
At this point Gleaming began to stir on the doctors back dislodging himself with a grunt.
"Snapshot! He's waking up! What do we do?!"
"Uhh...His hooves are still all tied, just stay back!"
Gleaming rolled and snarled on the floor, struggling to free himself from the sheets. Upon locating the doctor, he started fruitlessly snapping his jaw in his direction, still trying to get up.
"Ma'am, you'd better go!" Snapshot started pushing her away, he didn't want anypony else getting tangled up in this mess.
"O-oh, okay. Get well soon Mr. Waters." Fluttershy trotted off back towards her home, casting worried glances over at the scene until she rounded the corner.
"Oh, I do hope everything is okay... "
~
"Shit shit shit, what do we do now? I can't carry him like this!"
"Uhmm...what if we go find a unicorn to carry him with magic!" Snapshot offered.
"So what, we drag somepony else into this to, put them in danger? No, we can't."
"Well.." Snapshot pondered.
"What?"
"What if- What if we ask the princess?"
"Seriously?" The doctor shot Snapshot a glare. "You think we should ask royalty to haul a rabid pony around? Thats your idea?"
"Uh, guys-"
"Think about it, this is something new, yeah? And you want to observe it. What does the princess love doing, if not research and all that?"
"Guys!"
"We can't just ask her to come out here and perform manual labour for us! She's the princess!"
"GUYS HE'S GETTING FREE!"
The two turned to face the guard. He was freeing his baton from his belt, as Gleaming stood up having dislodged hid bindings. He had time to mutter a quick "Aw hell no!" before Gleaming pounced. The baton made contact with Gleaming skull and threw him off to the side. Gleaming was already recovered and ready to strike again just moments later. It was very much a battle of call and response, Gleaming going on the offensive, and the guard avoiding his attacks.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE, HE-"
He was cut off by the impact of Gleaming bounding into his side, winding the guard and sending them both tumbling to the floor. Before he could get back on his hooves, Gleaming was all over him, furiously smashing his hooves against the guard's head and rib cage. The guard was using all his strength to push him off with his forelegs. He managed to roll Gleaming off of him, when Snapshot and the medic managed to pull him away.
This managed to break Gleaming away from is fixation with the security officer. However, now his attacks were aimed at Snapshot and the doctor. He manage to deliver a swift buck to the doctor's legs bringing him to the ground. Seizing the moment, Gleaming delivered a smack to the doctor's head, and a bite to his neck.
Snapshot managed to break off and retrieve one of the sheets. Acting swiftly, he wrapped it around Gleaming's head, pulling him away from his attack. Gleaming let out several aggravated grunts and batted his head around in a fruitless attempt to free himself. The security guard limped over to the remaining sheets, the two of them using the sheet to trip Gleaming over and ensnare him.
"...Shit.."
And so it was, the four of them: One rabid, one beaten, one bitten, and one barely any worse for wear, still had needed a way to proceed, and now a way to stop the doctor's bleeding before they reached their destination.
~
Snapshot entered the infirmary with the doctor on his back. The guard followed him in, dragging Gleaming behind him, still trapped in the sheets. This was far from ideal, but it was really the only solution they could think of. Gleaming was placed into quarantine, and after being patched up, the doctor also insisted on being placed in quarantine, being sure he had contracted whatever Gleaming had by being in such close contact with him.
The guard had two broken ribs, but was otherwise fine. He left after being seen to by the medical team. This left Snapshot, who was just sitting in the waiting room, contemplating what it is that just happened.
"This is bad. "
"This is really, really bad. "
~
Chapter 7 : House Full Of Garbage
~
Fluttershy hurried back to her home after her encounter. It pained her not to help Mr. Waters, but she wasn't stupid, and it was clear that whatever was happening was far beyond her skill. The others seemed pretty insistent that anypony else keep away, so what else could she do?
She picked up her pace; the base could get unsettling at 'night'. With the lights dimmed down, the only thing visible out of the windows was an infinite inky blackness. It made her feel small. She still didn't feel entirely comfortable in her new home, but it was a more reassuring space than the vast, empty corridors used to navigate around the facility. Echo-y hoofsteps were eerie, and the carpet in her abode dampened the sound, plus she could turn the lights up if she wanted to. It wasn't as nice as having a fireplace light up a room, but a fireplace would hardly be practical underwater.
She could hear a conversation echoing from some other part of the tunnel. She didn't enjoy eavesdropping, but any sound other than her own hooves making contact with the floor was welcome. She continued on her way, ears perked up.
"-so I shoo it off, but it keeps coming back, and its getting angry every time. I don't know why I put up with it! I could've deep-sixed him, wouldn't bat an eye." Said one voice.
"Ooooh, big brave stallion, could've killed an underwater insect. Excuse me if I don't swoon right here and now." The other voice replied. Fluttershy could almost hear the unknown mare's eyes rolling.
Fluttershy frowned a little. She didn't appreciate ponies talking about violence, especially killing, even if it was an empty threat.
She continued on her way. From the sound of echoed hoof falls, she assumed the other two where on their way as well, albeit wordlessly. Turning off from the corridor, she entered the big common area of the housing buildings, and made her way up to her 'apartment', for lack of a better word. Fluttershy robotically went about unlocking her door, and locking it up again behind her, then made herself a simple meal of toast. With little else to do, she went to bed early.
~
Twilight woke up yo knocking on her door. A glance over at the clock reveled that it was early, or at least earlier than she would've liked to start the day. She got up out of bed with a grumble, and opened the door. She was surprised to see the head of security on the other side.
Twilight's bemusement quickly gave way to confused irritation. The stallion bowed and started rambling about something or other, she was still mostly asleep, so paying attention was difficult.
Though she had no position of authority, the ponies in the base often deferred to her for help/advice/authorization regarding something or other, because she was a princess. While she didn't mind helping, she disliked the fact that a lot of the time, they came to her because they assumed she was in a position of power, and one of the other ponies in charge had just rejected their idea. She was basically a back up to them. One that didn't work, because she wasn't in charge.
"-and what with all the stuff going down at the infirmary, I need the go ahead to start having a security presence there, at least until everything calms down." He finished.
"Captain, first off, I hold no power here, and I'm in no position to approve or deny your request." The captain slightly drooped his head at this, attempting to evade Twilight's gaze.
"Secondly, what do you mean 'stuff going down in the infirmary'?"
"Those ponies going feral and attacking anything? I did explain." He retorted.
"Which brings me onto my third point." She said with a slight scowl. "Captain, it is five in the morning, I am still half asleep. Could this not have waited an hour or two?"
"I deemed it important enough to warrant getting up a bit early, Miss Sparkle. These ponies attack anything that gets near them. If it is some sort of disease, it needs to be contained."
Twilight paused.
"How many?"
"Two at the moment, but there are a few more showing early symptoms. We have them contained. as well."
"Symptoms?" She inquired.
"One of the doctors who was sent out to help got attacked. Poor soul is a wreck, constant shivering, pale, averse to bright lights. There are to or three others showing the same signs."
"I see." She looked at the floor, suddenly downcast. "Do we have any idea how this happened?"
"Well, the first one to come down with it was admitted before after he was attacked by those crab-things that like to live on the supports. The doctor was attacked by him, and the other two mentioned incidents with the crabs too."
"Well, I can't imagine its a coincidence. I think I'll start an investigation right away. Thank you."
The security stallion nodded and turned to walk off.
"Oh, and Captain?"
He stopped and turned his head back to face Twilight.
"You are head of security. You didn't need me or anypony else to approve your actions."
Twilight promptly closed the door and attempted to go back to sleep.
~
Six hours later, the medical unit found itself home to a group of guards. There was one positioned outside each of the four rooms currently housing the afflicted, and two more by the entrance, just in case.
The atmosphere was unnerving and foreboding, the guards standing stoically in complete silence, except for the banging and growling emanating from the room Mr. Waters was being held in. Occasionally the door would be the subject of his attacks, causing the guards to tense up, but he usually moved on after a short while.
Hours later, the same routine began from the doctor's room. The morale among the clinic staff dropped dramatically. Nothing they tried had worked. They could only hope that any other treatment would work on the other two patients, and that they would somehow be able to reverse the effects of the whole thing. It was a daunting task.
~
Twilight was distracted, and staring out of the window. She was supposed to be researching the native crustacean population, but she wasn't trained in using the bulky suits, so she couldn't go out and observe them in their natural habitat, she'd have to wait for one of the diving team to retrieve here one, or see if another one surfaces in any of the docks.
For the moment she settled for watching a maintenance team out the window. Besides, there was a chance she'd be able to watch the crabs from here, if they came out.
The divers were doing something to a nearby window frame. They were close enough that she could make out their faces through the portholes in the suits. Three of them were working while one was turned away, on 'crab watch' as security had called it. It was a brand new procedure meant to prevent encounters with the creatures.
Something seemed off about it, the way the watcher would sway slightly, then shake her head, only. to start swaying again. Twilight could see her face through the mask, she seemed dazed. Walking up to the window, she noted a repair patch on the foreleg of the suit.
'Wait a second... '
She remembered.
" I see these huge crabs, must've been 4 or 5 of them, all climbing around on the supports. I get nearer and one of them nips me through my suit! "
'No. '
She started frantically banging on the window to get the rest of the crew's attention, to seemingly no effect. The team continued on with whatever it was they were doing. The mare in the suit began to shudder violently, before vomiting up blood, which obscured her visor, which she then started frantically clawing at with her hooves.
At this point the rest of the team either noticed Twilight, or heard what was happening over the communication spell. They rush over in an attempt to calm her, but are greeted by panicked flailing. The presumed leader sent the other two back, probably to get help, leaving just him and the afflicted outside.
He attempted to hold her down, but was quickly bucked away and left in a crumpled heap on the floor. The mare shakily trotted off in a random direction, leaving him alone on the sea floor.
A few minutes later, the other two came back down, accompanied by a third pony. The two seemed alarmed by the mare's absence, as well as their leader on the floor. They picked him up, and were about to set off looking for the mssing member of the team, when they were stopped by the new pony. Instead, they just headed back to the dock.
Twilight couldn't bring herself away from the window.
~
Chapter 8 : Protect Me You
~
Fluttershy was jolted awake by the furious banging on the door to her room, leaving the pegasus a shivering heap on top of her bed.
"Hello? Fluttershy, it's Twilight." Came a muffled voice from behind the door.
Fluttershy calmed down upon hearing the friendly, familiar voice. She pulled her self off of her bed and trotted towards the door to her residence, stretching her wings slightly as she did. The door opened with a quiet click of the latch, revealing a rather jittery alicorn.
"H-hello, Twilight, what brings you here at this hour? T-T-Thats not to say you're not welcome to come in, but it is rather late....um, early..."
"Sorry Fluttershy, it's just that...something...has happened, and now I can't sleep."
"Oh?" Fluttershy stepped aside and gestured for Twilight to come in, closing the door behind her.
"There's a disease, going around, Fluttershy, a bad one. Its making ponies go crazy. Yesterday morning the guard captain came to me asking for extra security, and now the admin team are putting these warning posters up everywhere." She turned and looked a Fluttershy with melancholic eyes. "I saw somepony get infected yesterday, outside. I thought the team had just left her to die on the ocean floor, but the guards came and tried to restrain her. She was kicking about wildly, I think she broke one of their leg's. But when they'd secured her, she turned and looked right at me through the window...there was so much blood..."
"Oh dear, that's terrible!" Fluttershy said softly with a hoof over her mouth, remembering her encounter with Mr Waters the other day.
"And just now I get a knock on my door saying that more ponies have been admitted to the infirmary with symptoms of the disease, and I don't know what to do!"
"I don't know what to tell you Twilight..."
"I want to help, Fluttershy. Those ponies in the hospital are sick, and no pony knows why beyond that it has something to do with those crab...things." Twilight scowled, but quickly became more downtrodden. "But I can't do any reasearch to find a way to help because I can't get a hold of any of those crab-things, admin's called them a 100% no-go zone, but they may be our best chance to fix this."
"Uhm, well, have you tried asking Princess Celestia? She might be able to change their minds." Fluttershy offered.
"Hmm, she did say to contact her or Luna if there was an emergency, which I'm sure this more than qualifies as. At any rate, I should let her know what's happening down here."
"Good idea, Twilight. There's a writing desk in my room. That is, if you want to use it..."
"Thanks, Fluttershy. Sorry about waking you up so early." Twilight grinned sheepishly.
"Oh, its no trouble at all, it was important after all." Fluttershy paused, yawning. "E-excuse me. Would you like some tea, Twilight?"
"Thank you, Fluttershy, that sounds lovely." She smile, and made her way to Fluttershy's desk.
~
"There we go, all done." Twilight floated her tea cup over and took a sip of her drink, reading over her work to look for mistakes.
"Dear Princess Celestia,
"I hope this letter finds you, and the world above, well. I apologize for not keeping in contact as often as I should, but things have been rather hectic down here.
Unfortunately, it is with regards to the base that I am contacting you about now. It seems that some of the inhabitants have contracted an unknown disease, likely from the local wildlife. However, I cannot confirm this due to the lack of research subjects, the administration is unwilling to allow me access to an example of the crustacean in question, and have even gone as far as to restrict journeys outside.
I believe that with access to a specimen of these creatures I could help in determining the cause of this mystery disease, and even begin working towards a cure. The symptoms of the disease are not pretty, and I'm sure everypony concerned would like to see a solution sooner rather than later, I'd rather not see another pony go through that.
I know you don't like using your status to get your own way, neither do I, but I think that the administration would listen to you, and allow me end this whole mess.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle "
With a silent nod and another sip, she rolled the letter up and held it in her magic, making her way out of Fluttershy's room. She found the pegasus curled up on her sofa, bleary eyed and struggling to stay awake. A quick glance at the clock made the time to be 6:05 AM, and Twilight had already been there a good hour or so.
'Sorry Fluttershy. '
Fluttershy's ears perked up at the sound of Twilight entering the room, she looked over at her friend with a smile on her muzzle.
"All finished?"
"Yes, thank you. I'm just going to head down to the mail room to get this sent off, the sooner the better."
"I'll come with you, if that's okay. I have to be down in the biology department at 8 anyway." Fluttershy said, getting up off the sofa.
"Of course its okay, we'll go in a minute, if you're ready." Twilight replied.
Fluttershy nodded and put her cup down in the kitchenette before turning for the door.
~
"I've never seen this place so quiet..." Said Fluttershy, her voice echoing down the empty hallway.
"Mmm hmm, I hope there's somepony there to send this letter out."
The lights were still dimmed to indicate night time. The fact it was so early meant that there was a pretty good chance that the letter would be left sitting in the mail office for an hour or so until anypony arrived. Twilight grumbled, it was her own fault she was up it so early, but it still annoyed her.
Because it was still 'pre-daytime', the great undersea sprawl of a research base was largely void of life, Twilight and Fluttershy having yet to see another pony walking around. This also meant that it was eerily quiet, especially with the lack of any ambient sounds from outside, the only noise was the echo of their own hoofsteps.
Reaching the end of the tunnel, they found themselves at one of the many entrances to the vast plaza. Even here, the hub of the base, only one or two ponies were up and about, mostly from the engineering division carrying out routine maintenance before the daytime rush of ponies came about. They exchanged nods of acknowledgement with the workers, continuing across the base. Their hoof falls echoed loudly around the huge chamber, this time accompanied by the various clangs and whirs of tools.
Twilight and Fluttershy had just passed a newsagents and were about 15 minutes from postal when the already-dim lights shut off completely.
This wasn't something that happens. The power doesn't just 'go out'.
"T-T-Twilight, what's going on?" Asked a shaky Fluttershy.
After a few seconds, the whole chamber was bathed in a dull red glow as the emergency lighting came on.
"Looks like the power has gone out. Must be running on back up."
The generators shutting down meant one of three things: They were under maintenance, they need fresh gemstones, or they were broken. Twilight hoped that it wasn't the last one.
The sounds of tools had stopped and was replaced with the confused mumbling and speculations of the now-distant engineers. If they had no idea what was happening, then it clearly wasn't planned maintenance. That left the other two options...
She'd try not to think about it.
"Come on Fluttershy, lets just get to the mail office." She nudged the pegasus, causing her to jump involuntarily.
"O-okay."
Fluttershy stuck closer to Twilight, she didn't like these new, darker conditions. The red lights made everything seem much more imposing.
"Don't worry, we're almost their now." Twilight said, with a re-assuring smile.
~
Hoplite was stood outside Room 3 of the infirmary. The banging from the occupants within had died down, so he relaxed a little. He'd just started his shift about half an hour ago, and they'd been beating the door since, so the reprieve was welcome.
There were six rooms in the corridor, all of them guarded. It seems that more ponies than first thought had encountered those...things. In all honesty, he didn't know what was happening, just that there was a disease caused by them, and it was pretty nasty. Frankly, based on what he'd heard, he didn't want to know any more.
Another guard, Kite Shield, poked his head around the corner, offering coffee, to which he received half a dozen tired 'Yes Please's. Hoplite sighed, this job, while well paid, was incredibly tedious at times like these. Effectively, he was watching a door.
Kite Shield came around with coffees. It was okay, better than not having one, and at least he didn't have to go make it himself, and by extension, for everypony else. He sighed again in annoyance as the banging started all over again, this time from room 5. It broke up the monotony a little, but in a very unwelcome way.
'One hour down, just five more to go... '
The lights went out.
All of them, even the ones on the doors.
That meant that the power was out. Which meant the doors weren't locked anymore.
"DOORS ARE UNSECURED! DEFENSE POSITIONS!" Came the call fro down the hall.
All of the guards turned to face their respective door just as the emergency lighting came on. Hoplite clutched his spear in his magic and widened his stance, prepared for the occupants of the room to come barreling out at him. The doors opened inwards, which should buy some time. Hopefully enough for the power to come back online. It shouldn't just go off like that.
Unless something bad had happened.
'No, no, everything is fine everywhere else. I bet the engineering guys are already on it. '
The emergency lights cast an eerie red glow down the corridor. The situation was incredibly tense, and there was still banging coming from room 5. All it would take is for one of their hooves to catch on the handle and they'd be let loose.
'No they wont, because we'll stop them. That's our job. That's my job. '
He could hear the other ponies in the building being escorted out for their own safety. That, and that it meant there were less ponies to infect in the building.
'I really need to stop thinking so negatively all the- '
"DOOR ONE IS BREACHED!"
Every guard turned to face room one. A unicorn and two earth ponies had stumbled out of the room somehow. They were all covered in blood and sick, it was vile. General Legate was keeping them away the best he could, trying to force them back into the room. One of the earth ponies let out a hideous screech and lunged for Legate, only to be greeted with the sharp end of his spear.
She just got back up and made another move.
'Sweet Celestia... '
"DOOR THREE HAS BEEN BREACHED!"
Hoplite spun around as fast as he could, finding himself now face to face with a bloodied, dead eyed earth pony of his own. She was close enough that I could smell her breath, it stank of vomit and iron.
He levitated his spear in front of him as she jumped. He felt the resistance as something impacted it, she'd skewered herself through her left shoulder. This only seemed to make her angrier. It also left Hoplite weapon-less until he could extract it from her body. Every time he'd get close she'd snap at him and lash out with her hooves, or try to bite him. It was risky, but he was dead without that spear.
Holding the shaft in his magic, Hoplite took a deep breath, and bucked her in the ribs with all the strength he could muster.
He now had his spear back, but this mare just got back up again.
This time though, she went for Kite Shield. Hoplite was about to make a move, when he was unexpectedly knocked to the floor. He'd completely forgotten about the second patient in room three. He rolled back upright, only to be battered again, this time to the head. His vision went red and fuzzy as he felt the hooves repeatedly crash into his side, and the teeth tear into his flesh, the warm trickle of blood down his neck. His whole world burned as the abuse continued relentlessly.
Then there was darkness.
~
"T-T-T-Twilight, what was that?"
Sounds once again filled the air, different sounds. There were distant echos of unintelligible shouts and impacts, hard and soft, and odd clatterings.
"I'm sure it's nothing. Come on now, we're practically there!"
"I-If you says so..."
The pair rounded a corner, and sure enough they had reached the mail office. Unfortunately, it was closed as Twilight had speculated. The only thing she could do was to drop the letter into the 'out' box and wait.
"Well, nothing more we can do he-"
"Attention all residents, this is an automated security announcement. " The PA system blared. "Please return to your dormitories and remain indoors until further notice. Thank you for your co-operation! "
"Oh dear! Twilight, we should get going!"
Twilight opened her mouth as if to reply, but then turned her head to face further down the hallway.
"Twilight?"
"Can you hear that, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy swiveled her ears in the direction Twilight was facing. Hoof falls and panted breaths reverberated around the corridor. A group of about nine or ten ponies rounded the corner, a mix of medical workers and guards, they all seemed to be worse for wear, their clothes crumpled and creased and their eyes wide with fear.
"YOU!" One of the guards pointed at them from down the hall. "DIDN'T YOU HEAR THE ANNOUNCEMENT? GET BACK TO YOUR ROOMS, IT'S NOT SAFE OUT HERE!"
Fluttershy and Twilight exchanged worried glances.
"GO! QUICK!"
Another sound came from down the hall. Gurgling, punctuated by shouts, all accompanied by rapid, uneven hoofsteps. A small, white unicorn mare came barreling around the corner, face covered in blood. She screamed and began to gallop full pelt towards the fleeing group.
"Oh shit..." The guard brought out his spear. "GO! RUN, FIND SOME PLACE SAFE, I'LL HOLD THEM OFF!"
Not needing to be told again, the pair ran off the way they came, glancing behind them as they did so. The guard was putting up a valiant fight, but no matter what he did, the mare just kept getting back up. Without realizing it, Twilight had stopped running and was watching the whole scene unfold. The mare would lunge, the guard would push her back, there would be growls. By now the floor was covered with blood, and another diseased pony had just entered the corridor. Then a third, and a fourth.
The guard started to panic and was looking for an escape route. Putting all his energy into his magic, he threw the spear as hard as he could, hitting the mare square in the chest, where she finally slumped and fell, not getting back up. He turned to run, but was jumped by one of the others. The guard attempted to buck the pony off of him, but he was pinned. His struggles ended when his attacker bellowed out a primal growl, and closed his jaw on the guard's throat.
Twilight was left wide eyed, feeling sick, still staring at the scene.
'That's...no. Ponies don't KILL other ponies... '
"Twilight, we're meant to...be..."
She tore herself away from the aftermath to find Fluttershy next to her, her pupils as small as pinpricks, and her mouth slightly open, her eyes lingering on the grisly scene in front of her.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight tried to snap her out of her stupor, fruitlessly. Her efforts did not go unnoticed by two of the three diseased ponies, however, who quickly began to make their way towards the pair, snarling as they approached.
"Come on Fluttershy, we have to move!" Twilight did her best to re-engage her friend, but to no avail.
"T-T-Twi-l-l-l.." Fluttershy was still an unresponsive, jittery wreck.
The two were drawing ever closer, and even the third pony, no longer occupied by the fallen guard, began to pace towards them.
With no option left, Twilight threw Fluttershy across her back, and began galloping for dear life back towards the plaza. She was already getting out of breath having to carry her friend as well, and the trio were only getting closer. One trip or mis-step and it'd be over for the both of them. She couldn't let that happen.
She cast a weak, small shield spell behind her, tripping her pursuers up and buying her a little more time. She heard them fall, but didn't dare risk looking back.
The plaza was still empty, there was no sign of the medical workers or the guards from earlier. Twilight assumed that meant they'd reached safety.
Her legs were burning now, she'd over-exerted herself for too long, she was slowing down and was still a good five minutes gallop away from the residential building. She'd need to find somewhere safe to stop soon, very soon, what would happen if she couldn't didn't bear thinking about.
By now she could hear that the other ponies had caught up with her again. Twilight frantically scanned around for something, anything she could use to her advantage.
'Come on, air vent, door, anyth- '
Twilight noticed that the little newsagent shop from early had it's metal security shutters lifted a bit, the owner must have left after hearing the security announcement. If she could get inside and close the shutters they should both be safe, at least for a little while.
'Okay, concentrate, Twilight, Fluttershy is counting on you. '
She took a deep breath.
'3...2...1 '
Twilight suddenly darted to the right, her pursuers overshooting her. She felt her tail brush up against one of them, pulling out a few loose stands.
She focused her magic on the door, causing it to shoot up with more force than was needed. The infected ponies had returned, and were coming at her at full speed now. Twilight cleared the door frame and slammed the shutters back down behind her, holding them down with her magic.
She slid Fluttershy off of her back, and collapsed to the floor panting. The ponies were furiously attacking the metal shutters, causing them to rattle loudly, but they weren't getting through them. They were safe.
For now.
It suddenly dawned on her how close she had come to not making it. At the end they were right on her tail. If she had been any slower-
'NO! NOT THINKING ABOUT IT! NOT NOW! '
She cast her attention towards Fluttershy. She was sat on her haunches, shaking uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face.
"T-T-T-Twili-i-i-i-ght-t-t"
Twilight rose to her hooves, despite her body's protest, and trotted over to her friend. She was such a delicate thing, and nopony should have to have seen what she just did. Twilight wrapped a wing around Fluttershy, and she broke down. It was just too much for the poor pegasus.
"W-w-why is this happening, T-Twilight?"
Twilight didn't answer, she didn't know. She wanted to know, she was going to know, she was determined to find out. But right now, all she could do at this point was comfort her friend.
~
Eventually Fluttershy had cried herself to sleep. Twilight didn't know how long it had been, there wasn't a clock in the tiny shop, and the power was still out anyway. The pounding on the shutters had stopped some time ago, another relief.
This gave Twilight time to think, thankfully something she was good at. If she was going to fix all this, she was going to need a plan...
~
Chapter 4 : Job To Job
~
Operational week: 4
Working week: 3
Incidents to report: None
Errors to report: None
Details: N/A
~
It had been almost four weeks since the arrival of the science team. The facility had been a blur of activity, there was so much down here that nopony was aware of before. Many new species of sea life had been discovered by the exploration teams, fish, squids, and so much plant life.
Twilight had even been out her self to collect samples of the sea bed. The geology team had been working hard, breaking down the composition of the ground, so they could learn how and when it was formed. It seemed that Equestria had entered a new golden age of discovery.
~
Fluttershy had been called to the science block urgently, apparently one of the animals that had been brought back to study had proven very unruly. The doors hissed open as she made her way down the tunnel leading to the biology section of the lab, not allowing herself to be distracted by the view outside, this was far more important.
She looked through the window of the bulkhead door that separated the biology section. Lots of ponies were crowded around one door particularity. Taking a deep breath, she entered the hallway to see what the commotion was about. Quietly making her way to the front of the crowd she was able to get a good look. One of the scientists was backed into the corner of the room, using a clip board as an impromptu shield. Also in the room was a large crustacean, about half the pony's size, lunging towards the scientist, and trying to get at him with its claws. Fluttershy recognized it, it was the thing she'd seen on her first day here, but whether it was the same one or another was unknown.
The crab-thing made a move for the scientist, only to be swatted away by the clip board. Both the crab and the stationary flew across the room. The crustacean quickly righted itself and made another run at the now defenseless stallion. The scientist made a run for the door, but was intercepted and thrown to the floor by the mass of his attacker. The creature lowered itself down onto the stallion, and he let out a shriek.
Fluttershy almost vomited, she could not handle the sight of another pony's blood. She wanted nothing more than to just run away, but that stallion, and the rest of the biology team were counting on her to rectify the situation. She knew what she had to do. She gulped, and shakily entered the room.
"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
The creature removed itself from the stallion, blood fresh on its mandibles, and turned to face Fluttershy, It dropped down into a defensive position.
"I'll be having none of that! Just look what you did to this poor stallion!" Fluttershy gestured over to the scientist, who was hurriedly making his way over to the door on his 3 good legs. "Now he is going to have to go to infirmary, do you think that's what he wanted? He just wanted to understand you better!"
The creature climbed up onto the wall, giving the appearance of an enormous spider.
"You climb down this instant!" Fluttershy said with a scowl. The creature did not budge.
"Fine then, I didn't want to have to do this..."
She unleashed the stare on the creature. There were a tense few moments, in which the crustacean remained still, apparently resisting. The creature poise itself to lunge at Fluttershy, but relented when her scowl deepened. Seemingly defeated, it slowly got back on the floor. Fluttershy corralled the creature into one of the large holding pens, and locked it shut.
She stumbled out of the room; using the stare like that had really taken it out of her, and the blood in the room left her feeling uneasy, there was a worrying amount of it. What drove the creature to attack like that? Was the poor scientist going to be ok? She exited the biology department to various "Thank you"s and "Well done"s, and made her way back across the facility, to her new home.
~
Twilight had just finished organizing her notes when a knock came from the door. Standing in the hallway was a trembling Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy? Whats wro-"
She was interrupted by Fluttershy, who had broken down crying and had Twilight in a hug.
"I-i-it was awful! There was so much b-blood..."
"Blood?! Is everything ok?"
Fluttershy gently nodded. "Y-yes, now...but it was so terrible..."
"Come on now, lets go inside, you can tell me all about it over some tea, how does that sound?"
~
Gleaming Waters did not have a good day today. First he's late getting up, then when he gets to work, he's attacked by an unknown creature. Now he had to stay in the medical bay overnight while they ran 'tests', and with his foreleg like this, it could be weeks until everything was back to normal. Still, It could have been worse, he could be dead...
There was a knock on the door. "Visitor for Mr. Waters."
A visitor? Well, now he wouldn't just be milling around mindlessly, the infirmary staff were no fun anyway. He leaned up in his bed to get a better look. The door opened, and a yellow pegasus walked in. It was a yellow pegasus her remembered, this was who had saved him from that...thing. What even was it, anyway?
"Oh, hello miss..." This was awkward, he didn't know her name..
"Fluttershy..."
"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."
"F-Fluttershy..."
"Well then Miss Fluttershy, I owe you a massive thanks. I dread to think what could have happened to me had you not stepped in..." He held up his bandaged foreleg to emphasis his point, there were red blood splotches around the bandage.
"Oh, its quite alright, I just wanted to say sorry for not coming in sooner...Maybe if I had come right in you wouldn't need to be...here..."
"Please, you give yourself too little credit, I don't think I've ever met anypony who performed a heroic act, and then apologized for not performing it sooner!" He chuckled. "You should be proud, and I'm very grateful."
Fluttershy stood awkwardly for a moment, not entirely sure what to say.
"Well, I'm glad you're ok." She shifted uncomfortably. "I-I should get going. Get well soon!"
The door clicked closed as she left the room.
"She seemed nice. Awkward, but nice. And I guess that broke the monotony...briefly. "
He settled back down in his bed, he was likely to be here until tomorrow, maybe longer. He looked down at his bandaged leg and sighed. Something was off, and not just that he had been attacked by a weird animal. Something felt wrong. Wrong wrong.
"Well, if there is something bad going on, I'm sure it'll come up in the test. "
He started counting the tiles on the wall. There was precious little else to do for the time being.
~
Operational week: 5
Working week: 4
Incidents to report: 1
Errors to report: None
Details: Attack on a staff member by an unidentified animal. The creature has been contained and the staff member has been sent to the infirmary for treatment.
~
Interlude: Making The Nature Scene
ATTENTION ALL RESIDENTS
After a number of recent incidents, all ventures outside must now be made in a group of no less than * 4** ponies, with at least one member of security included. Ponies not part of any diving teams are advised to remain clear of any docks around the facility.*
Following these incidents, any and all sightings of the indigenous crustacean population should be reported and/or made record of. Be advised that these creatures have exhibited hostility towards all ponies during the times they have been encountered, and will attack.
DO NOT APPROACH THE CREATURES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE
Should one or more of the creatures be discovered inside the facility, alert a member of security immediately. Do not attemt to confront the creatures.
Should anypony come into contact with a crustacean, ensure they are immediately escorted to the infirmary for treatment. Should you come into contact with a creature, report to the infirmary, or to the nearest member of security.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE SHOULD AN EFFECTED INDIVIDUAL BE AWAY FROM THE INFIRMARY
Be aware of anypony exhibitng the following symptoms:
Small Wounds
Shivering
Paleness
Headaches
Aching Joints/Muscles
Aversion to bright lights/Loud noises
Swaying/Loss of balance
Loss of eye colour
Vomiting/Vomiting blood
Inability to speak
Shortened temper/Highly aggravated/Highly hostile
Violent outbursts
Loss of fine motor control
Anypony exhibiting these symptoms should be immediately escorted to the infirmary or the nearest member of security. Should this not be possible, security should be made aware of the location of the effected pony.
AVOID CONTACT WITH EFFECTED PONIES
All those living on site should be made aware of this information. This information should prevent any more incidents from taking place. Please ensure this information is retained for your own safety, and the safety of all those on site.
This has been a message from the Celestia 1 Administration team.
CELESTIA 1 : KNOWLEDGE BRINGS US FURTHER
