Abyss
By:
Sorren
Chapter 1 - Sea
“How are you doin’ out there Twilight?” asked a voice from the headset.
The lavender unicorn exhaled a heavy breath that reverberated loudly around the glass helmet. The rebreather hissed and streams of used air bubbled from the right side her of helmet, spiraling up and out of sight.
“Okay.” She glanced around through the murky water. The lights set in her helmet only seemed to penetrate a good six feet, the high beams filtering through the silt suspended in the water and illuminating the specs like a million tiny fireflies.
“How’s your oxygen level?” the mare asked again with a little rush of static and an atmospheric hum.
Twilight rolled her eyes, raising a hoof to check a small gauge on her suited foreleg. “My levels are fine Applejack. Just keep an eye on those scopes for me.”
Applejack sighed, sending a rush of static into the mic. “Ah don’t like any of this salvage stuff Twi. Every part of me says to pull outta’ here and get back to the surface. Ponies aren't made to be this far down in the water. We’re fathoms upon fathoms down Twilight, whatever that means. Why’d you even want to come down here, an’ why’d you drag me along?”
Twilight plodded forward, keeping her hoof-falls light as to not stir up any silt that would obstruct her vision. “I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to see this. We’re the first ponies down here AJ. Think about what we could discover!”
“Tha’s just what ah’m worried about.”
She rolled her eyes again, scanning the ground ahead through the flat, glass shield of her helmet. “What do you have to worry about? You’re all safe and sound on the Departure.”
“Ah know, but the hull keeps makin’ funny noises an’ ah don’t like it one bit.”
“That’s just the craft contracting with the temperature of the water and the outside pressure. Besides, there’s like, twenty other ponies there with you.”
“Ah know, but all these ponies here are all serious like. Ah don’t know how ah got the job of communications expert. To tell ya’ the truth, ah have no idea where the ‘expert’ part came in. Ah’m a farmpony, not a communications handler.”
Twilight smiled excitedly as a dark shape began to grow in her vision. “Well right now, you’re a farmpony on a metal farm.”
“Tha’s all very funny Twilight,” Applejack replied with exasperation. “Just try an’ keep your head while you're on whatever that crashed ship thingy you're supposed to be explorin’ is.”
Twilight spared a glance back at the faint green glow behind her, signifying the presence of the underwater vessel she had left minutes ago. “It’s not just any crashed thingy; it’s a cargo ship. From what I was briefed on, this is some sort of Royal Equestrian Navy ship that went down about a week ago—nopony knows why; hundred or so miles from shore and, poof, never got the next radio transmission.”
Twilight kicked over a piece of scrap metal, watching as flecks of gray paint flittered about like confetti.. “Hey, I took a week of dive training beforehoof. Besides, I think I was the only pony crazy enough to take the job... but really? What pony wouldn't want to take a chance to investigate the disappearance of a strange ship hundreds of miles away from any landmass on a secret mission that hardly anypony else knows about?”
Applejack laughed nervously. “Yeah... you’re unique Twilight, tha’s for sure.”
The suited pony continued on. The only audible sound was the swish of water around her helmet and the hiss of her breath through the rebreather. The two sounds mixed into one, creating a sense of uneasiness within her small space of air.
Ahead, the dark shape grew more distinct. The silt seemed to thin as she neared, allowing her helmet lights to illuminate the green hull of a steel ship. Written on the stern in large, white letters, was the name, ‘SS Audri II.’
“Well that’s strange,” Twilight mused.
“Wha’s strange?” Applejack asked immediately,
“This is a steam ship. I don’t think the REN’s used steamers for years. They all switched to magical propulsion engines years ago.”
“It could be the wrong ship,” her friend suggested.
“No, the names match.” she murmured, moving closer. “I can’t see any sign of damage—I wonder why it sank...”
“Maybe they were too heavy.” Applejack said worriedly. “Look Twi, ah can see the thing in your helmet camera. Ah don’t like the looks of it one bit. Ah know you aren’t going to listen to a word ah say, but please Twi, get yourself out of there. Ah got a bad feelin’.”
“It’s just an old ship; there’s nothing to be concerned about.” She paced around the bow of the massive vessel, admiring the curve of the hull. With a gasp, she halted. Ahead, a sheer drop lead away, down into the dark abyss. The ship was pitched dangerously to one side, appearing as if only a slight push could topple it over the edge.
“See,” Applejack declared matter-of-factly. “Big creepy ship on the edge of an underwater gorge.”
Twilight tapped her helmet, the motion sending a metallic clank to her ears. “It feels like you’re a second personality of mine that won't stop bugging me. It’s a little weird having you see everything I see.”
“Yeah, ah reckon that makes sense... Say, do ya’ know anythin’ ‘bout that big gorge?”
Twilight nodded, only to realize her friend couldn’t see her do so. “Technically, it’s a trench. It stretches about twenty miles in either direction and spans a quarter mile wide—nopony’s named it yet, but a while ago some ponies measured it with sonar; they said it goes down about another mile and a half... Are you following?”
“Sort’a.”
“Just be glad I’m not using nautical terms, I learned them all before we came down here.”
Her comment was rewarded with a gag from Applejack. “No thank you.”
“Right.” Twilight swallowed a lump of worried anticipation in her throat. “I’m going in.” She waded forward along the side of the massive shape, passing the bow and examining the port side, trying to find means of scaling the deck. “This thing must have been on its last run or something. Steam powered ships went obsolete years ago. I don’t know anypony that would still want to use one of these for hauling cargo.”
“Maybe they were desperate,” said Applejack as Twilight reached the stern.
She found a spot where she could mount the upper deck and sprang from the ground up onto a rock a little ways ahead, leaving four rings of silt in her wake, churned up by the suction. From here, she was able to brace her hooves against the railing of the ship to peer at the riveted upper deck. With a gentle pull, she guided herself upwards, kicking and churning the water behind her with her hind legs.
She landed lightly on the horizontaly tilted deck with a light clack from the metal hoof covers of her suit on the steel paneling below.
“You okay Twilight?” Applejack asked quietly. “Accordin’ to this little meter thing here, your heartrate’s risin’.”
She walked forward cautiously on the uneven surface, each hoofstep procuring a water-muffled clank from the deck. “Applejack... I’m fine.” She reached out a hoof to wipe the building sheen of fog from the plate glass front of her helmet, only to realize it was on the inside and had been conjured by her moist breath. “Hey Applejack, is there any way to clean the inside of your helmet?”
“Um yeah, those tech ponies said somethin’ about wipin’ it down with that moisture repellent stuff.”
“I mean while you’re in the water. The glass in my helmet’s fogging up.... It’s so dark down here.” Twilight turned her head to the left and right, the two cones of white-gray light from her helmet lighting a ten foot area in front of her. Beyond that, it was nothing but darkness all around.
“Careful Twi,” Applejack warned in a near whisper. “Don’t forget, ya’ got that underwater gorge off to your right, ah don’t want you fallin’ in or anythin’..”
Reaching a steel bulkhead in the side of the ship that lead to the deckhouse, and, most likely, the lower decks, she reared up and placed her forehooves on the wheel. “I’m not going to fall Applejack. Just stop worrying... And it’s called a trench,” she added under her breath, grasping the wheel in her hooves and twisting counterclockwise. It moved about three inches before grinding to a halt. With a groan and a few muttered words, she tried to force it further, to no effect.
“I hate this suit,” she muttered, allowing herself to drift back to her haunches. “I can’t channel my magic through it; the most I can do is scratch my nose.” She thought hard. “Maybe I could teleport past the door. “ Twilight closed her eyes, focussing hard.
“No Twilight!” Applejack yelled suddenly. “Ah got this tech pony talkin’ in my other ear. He’s sayin’ if you teleport underwater... wait... wha’s that now?”
There was a rustling from the headset. When it subsided, a new voice had replaced Applejack’s. “Look, it’s Twilight, right?” a stallion’s voice asked. He spoke in a hushed tone, as if he were worried of a pony overhearing the conversation, yet his voice remained strong and firm. It contained that sort of smooth edge that silently said, ‘I know what I’m talking about.’
Twilight examined one of the seals on her suit. “Yes.”
“Okay, whatever you do, you can not teleport underwater.”
Twilight frowned, rolling her eyes to the top of the helmet as if she could look at the pony talking in her ear through the headset. “Why not? I’ve never tried teleporting in water before, so I wouldn’t know.”
“Because,” he replied firmly. “We’re a little over two miles down. That means you’ve got about five thousand pounds of pressure on that suit per square inch. When you teleport someplace, you’re filling that area rapidly with your body. That’s why there’s a little pop when you teleport; that sound is the air filling the space you left behind, and leaving the space you just occupied. Teleportation works fine in a fourteen pound atmosphere, but down here, with five thousand pounds of pressure per inch, it’s a whole different story. If you teleport to a new spot underwater, you’re going to be pushing that water out of your way when you appear.” He paused. “With your body mass, you’d be looking at somewhere around a few hundred thousand pounds of pressure on that suit. Could you imagine trying to move that much weight away from you at the speed of light? The water has more density than you, so instead of the water moving out of your way, you’d move out of the water’s way.”
Twilight nodded in perfect understanding. “So I’d turn into a golf ball?”
“Exactly.”
“Thanks for pointing that out.” She rubbed her hooves together. “Soooooooo, no teleporting then.” The thought that she had almost teleported through that door scared the daylights out of her. That had been a silly mistake; she should have realized that herself. “Well if the door’s caught, how the hay am I supposed to get into this thing?”
The unnamed stallion breathed into the mic. “Well, there’s probably air pockets here and there inside the ship—the pressure displacement is what’s keeping the doors sealed... You might be able to get in through the bridge. Chances are the windows blew out during the sink.”
“Okay.” Twilight sighed, sending a small wave of moisture across her faceplate. “I’ll just climb up to the top of the ship then.”
“It shouldn’t be too hard,” he said idly. “Here, I’ve got the spec papers in front of me here. The SS Audri II, Equestrian steamship, dual boiler, dual prop driven. Classification: six hundred and fifty foot deep water freighter.” Twilight made her way around to a small metal staircase against one side of the center of the ship, listening to the sound of papers rustling in her ears. “Let’s see here. Weight classification, no. Crew count on final voyage, forty-seven. Boiler class, no. Cargo....” He paused.
“What about cargo?” Twilight asked, having reached the top of the staircase. She now strode along a small walkway, heading towards the bow, and where she assumed the bridge would be located. Throwing a quick glance down, she took note of the six lifeboats, still secured to the lower deck.
It took him a moment to reply. “The cargo isn’t important.”
“But—”
“Ah yes! Here we are. Cabin access.” he began reading things off under his breath, spouting nothing decipherable. “There it is. Emergency bridge access: Rung ladder, located on the portside bow. That’s your way in.”
Twilight grinned in her helmet. “Thanks, um... you never told me your name.”
“Oh,” he laughed once, sheepishly. “Weaver. My name’s Weaver.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Applejack said irritably in the background. “Wipe that grin off your face and gim’me my headset back.”
Twilight gave her head a little shake as she continued forward.
Every movement was taken in slow motion, giving her plenty of time to think about absolutely anything and everything she did, every hoofstep, every breath, every blink of the eyes. The only audible sounds were that of her own breathing and the whoosh of her rebreather. Any other sound was obtained through vibration; she could literally feel sounds.
A shuffling met her ears once more and Applejack re-took control of the mic. “Okay, ah’m back Twilight... Yeah, do what he said—find that ladder.”
She chuckled lightly. “Sure thing Applejack.”
The word ‘ladder,’ had been a little exaggerated. Twilight couldn't call the ‘ladder’ anything more than a few metal bars jutting from the ship’s steel siding. Shining her helmet lights up the rusted side of the cabin, she tracked the ladder up to a small door a level ahead. It was closed, but there had been a window fitted in the door, which had since shattered, along with every other window on the bridge.
Fixing her hoof on the first rung, Twilight pulled herself up.
Climbing a ladder was one thing. Climbing a ladder underwater was totally different. There was much less downward gravity, but with every step up, her body seemed to want to go out and away from the ship as well. The weights on her suit kept her from floating upwards; if she fell, they would bring her back down to the steel walk below. The fall wouldn’t be enough to hurt her, but it could damage something in the suit, and if the suit were damaged, she would find herself crushed like a paper cup.
To sum things up, she didn’t feel like falling.
After a moment more of struggling, she managed to pull herself up to the door, which, much to her surprise, swung open upon applied pressure. “No problems opening this door,” she muttered, stepping into the waterlogged cabin.
“That’s because the pressure’s equalized up there,” she heard Weaver say faintly in the background.
“Would y’all get out of my ear?” Applejack snapped.
Twilight paced through the room, every hoof-fall sending up small furrow of sediment. “So, I’m supposed to be taking audio logs, right?”
“Sure are sugarplum,” her friend replied. “Whole conversation’s bein’ recorded, so jus’ say whatever and it’ll be saved to whatever this recorder doohikey is.”
“Okay then.” Walking forward, she shone her headlamp around the cabin before coming to rest on the helm. Cautiously, she approached the large wheel. Every part of the cabin had been perfectly preserved. Unlike the old underwater ships in pictures and books, this one had not a scrap of moss growing, not a single fish swimming inside. If you were to take out the water, it would be a perfectly normal ship.
Poising her hooves on the wheel, she examined the controls. “It appears the occupants of the vessel had some warning to the incident,” she said for the audio logs. “Both engines are set to stop.”
“One sec Twi. Weaver’s yellin’ in my ear to tell you somethin’... He says that those levers didn’t actually control the engines. Apparently, when the captain pulls that lever there, it moves another lever in the engine room. Then the ponies in the engine room mess with some knobs and buttons to match what the lever says.”
Twilight sighed, watching as the bubbles escaped her helmet to float up to the roof. The little silver orbs ran along the length of the ceiling and pooled in the far corner of the cabin, creating a little triangular air pocket that glimmered in the lamplight. “Are you telling me I have to go all the way down to the engine room to see if the engines were really stopped?”
“Weaver’s askin’ about how much oxygen you have left,” Applejack stated.
Twilight checked the gauge on the tube leading to her helmet. “About thirty minutes worth.”
“What the hay are you doing?” Applejack asked suddenly, sending a little jolt of surprise through Twilight.
“What?”
“No not you,” the farmpony replied. “This other pony here.”
There was a crackle on the line and Weaver’s voice cut into the conversation. “Found another headset,” he declared. “Okay Twilight, I’ve got the ship’s blueprints out here in front of me. You should be able to get to the lower levels from the door in the back of this cabin.”
“Show-off,” Applejack muttered.
Turning, Twilight half-swam, half-walked towards the bulkhead door on the back wall of the cabin. Miraculously, this one opened with a clockwise turn of the bulkhead. “Now you should be in a stairwell,” Weaver said. “Yeah, I can see it in your helmet cam. That should take you down to the crew quarters, which is a level below. Further down is storage, and the engine room is right at the bottom. You should have enough oxygen to make it all the way down and check the engines.”
Twilight started down the stairs, practically bouncing as she descended the metal steps. There was no way to make a smooth descent in the water. She felt weightless, yet, there was gravity everywhere. Honestly, being underwater was one of the strangest sensations she had ever experienced. Movement was the hardest; she couldn't walk, she couldn’t swim. The act of movement was some sort of hybrid of both, a step here or a churning kick there.
“Should have enough to make it back,” she mused, rounding a corner and passing a destroyed wooden door. A plaque mounted on the wall to the right of the mangled frame read ‘crew quarters.’ “Well Weaver, you certainly know you stuff,” she thought aloud.
“Thank you,” the stallion replied cheekily.
She glared at the visor. “You weren't supposed to hear that.”
“Sorry. I can’t, not hear anything you say out loud.”
Applejack snorted. “Maybe ya’ shouldn’t have a headset on.”
Twilight soared down another flight of stairs, nearly bouncing off the wall ahead. “Maybe you two should stop arguing in my head.” After descending three more levels, she reached a door labelled, ‘engine room.’
“You an’ your blueprints,” Applejack muttered.
Twilight ignored her, instead, bracing her hooves on the wheel and turning. She clenched her teeth and pulled with all her might, but it didn't budge.
“um,” Weaver started after a moment. “You’re turning the wheel the wrong way.”
Twilight was glad neither Applejack, nor Weaver could see her blush. “Maybe if you two would stop distracting me!” She reversed direction on the wheel and the door opened smoothly.
“Well that there’s a sight,” Applejack said in awe.
Twilight swung her head about, casting ghostly shadows against the rusty orange inner-hull with her helmet lights. Pipes jutted from the ceiling and floor, running to two large machines near the rear half of the room. A mound of soaked coal lay piled in one corner, a steel shovel still protruding from the soggy black pile.
Slowly, her gaze was drawn to a bloated pink shape pressed up against the ceiling. With a gasp, she clamped her eyes shut. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”
“Mind turning your head Twilight?” Applejack asked, sounding sick. “Ah can see it in your helmet cam.”
She hurriedly turned her head towards the floor. “You said there was a crew of fifty?” she asked feebly.
“Yeah,” Weaver replied. “The engine room crew consisted of ten.”
Feeling brave, she spared another glance at the ceiling and wished she hadn't. Many pastel lumps were pressed against the orange steel above her head. “Celestia,” she whispered. “They never even made it out.”
“It appears the bodies haven't waterlogged yet,” Weaver stated idly. “After a while, a body will soak up enough water to sink back to the floor, kind of like a stick after—”
“Stop, Weaver,” Twilight made an attempt to rub her head with a forehoof, but was stopped by her helmet. “You aren't exactly helping here.”
“Sorry,” he apologised hastily before switching topics. “Go take a look at those engines and then you can get out of there.”
With a flick of her ears, Twilight turned towards the lever in the center of the room, which emulated the one on the bridge. Slowly, she swept her gaze over the two engines, making sure Weaver got a good look. “What do you think?” she asked.
“The engines are still set for full steam. The order from the helm was never followed.”
Applejack groaned. “So what’re we sayin’ here? That there were ponies on the bridge after something happened in the engine room?”
“Exactly,” Weaver shot back. “Whatever happened, it happened down here first. I’d say something—” His voice was suddenly cut off. Experimentally, Twilight tapped her helmet and received a hiss of static. “...that could possibly...” He faded out again.
“Weaver?” Twilight asked, “You’re signal isn’t coming through. Can you hear me?”
“Yeah, I—chzk—Twilight.” Her headlamps flickered as the radio cut out.. With a tiny whine, the left lamp died.
“Weaver!” Twilight yelled, panicked. “Applejack! Are you there!?”
The radio died altogether, along with the other helmet light, plunging her into complete darkness.
“This is not happening, this is not happening.” She blinked twice, noting no difference between having her eyes open or closed. Twilight could feel her breath quickening, queuing an increasing hiss from the rebreather as she began to hyperventilate. She was miles below the surface in a sunk steamship, with no lights or radio communication; this was worse than buried alive. Her mind strayed to the bloated ponies glued to the ceiling, sending her further into a state of hopeless panic.
Twilight tried to stay calm, but calm was not an option here. The feeling of being trapped in a little suit in a little room at the bottom of the sea and surrounded by dead ponies was enough to drive even the most rational pony mad.
“Come on,” she whispered, tapping the panel on her back with a forehoof. “Turn back on, please.” Not only was this terrifying, it was irritating. Ask anything about any book or bit of history, and she could spout off facts for an hour. She knew nothing about this technology; there were hardly even books about it. Imagine that, a fairly new technology with no books yet written about it, absolute nightmare.
She could feel the darkness closing in around her, the cold pressing in on her from the cold waters. Not a thing she could hear apart from her own breathing and the metronome thud of her heart in her head.
Going into a state of pure panic, she glanced frantically around at the blue-lit walls of the engine room. With a quick flash of confusion, she realized that she could once again see. With even further confusion, she realized that the light wasn’t of her origin, but from a source across the room.
Twilight found herself backing away as the luminescent shape sat suspended before her, casting its eerie blue light about the engine room. “W-who is it?” she stammered, backing up until she was pressed against one of the engines. “What d-do you want?”
Slowly, the shape drifted towards her, taking on the semi-distinctive shape of something similar to a pony. Twilight didn’t know whether or not she should continue to balk at it, or run for her life. Every instinct in her body was telling her to run, but the inquisitive part of her mind was screaming stay.
Twilight’s hooves stayed rooted to the spot as the luminescent form halted mere feet in front of her. Gentle blue light washed over her, gleaming in her eyes, as pure as sunlight but as gentle as the reflection of the moon. A sense tranquility filled her mind, soothing her tensed muscles and washing away any sense of worry. Nothing mattered but the alien shape, and the power it seemed to possess, equal to that of Celestia herself.
Then, as fast as it had come, the light winked out, plunging her once more into darkness. A tiny electronic whine emanated from her suit and the electrical functions were restored. The engine room was once again lit a bright, rusty-orange as her headlamps flared to life. There was a burst of static from the radio as it searched for the connection.
“Twilight!” Applejack yelled. “Are you okay!? We lost you for a minute.”
“Did you guys see anything?” she asked absently.
“No,” Weaver replied. “We lost all feed from your suit. We thought something terrible had happened.”
Twilight gave her head a shake. “Did I even see anything?” she asked herself quietly.
“Twilight,” Applejack said worriedly. “Did somethin’ happen down there?”
“I-I... No. The suit just cut out for a minute.”
“Well you better get yourself out of there,” Weaver said commandingly. “I don’t want something like that happening again. Get back to the Departureand we’ll see what’s going on.”
Twilight nodded slowly, knowing they couldn’t see her but doing so anyway. “Okay... I’ll... I’ll start heading back. See you in about ten minutes.”
