Chapter 1: A Revolutionary Discovery
Location: Near Mount Everhoof, along the Yakyakistan-Crystal Empire border.
Date/Time: March 5th, 15:34:54
Along the tall slopes of the Mount Everhoof mountain range, 2 Crystal Ponies from the Crystal Empire Royal Academy are climbing a slope of ice to its top as a mild blizzard of snow rages around them. One of them, the one below, is a star student to the one leading. Using their Ice axes and hoof boot crampons to climb. The student looks up at his teacher, pulls his neck gaiter down under his chin and holds onto the hood of his jacket.
"Professor! Are you sure its this way!?" The blue crystal pony student yells above him to his teacher. The red crystal pony stops, pulls his neck gaiter down, pulls his tracking device out of his jacket's pocket and looks at it then down at his student.
"I'm 100% sure! The tracker has it at the top of this cliff!" The teacher yells.
"Sir! We've investigated this area before! Plus it's been weeks since the sensors first picked up the reading! There is nothing out here! We need to head back before this blizzard gets any worse!" His student yells.
"We can't turn back now! We're so close! There has to be something here!" His teacher yells, putting the tracking device back in his pocket, pulls his neck gaiter back up and grabs his ice axe and continues up. His student looks down and grits his teeth and pulls his neck gaiter back up and follows his teacher. The 2 crystal ponies continued on until they make it to the top. The teacher reaches the top first and he uses his ice axes to help pull himself up. After brushing the ice off himself, he looks in excitement to see what set off the sensors. His eyes widen as his student reaches the top and looks out to see what they spent days to get to. He sneers and laughs as there is nothing but a plateau of ice. Just a huge, flat field of ice.
"So, this is what your sensors found? A field of ice? Hmph. Congratulations Professor. You discovered ice." The student said mockingly but his sneer leaves when he looks at his teacher's excited face.
"You look at this short-sighted my student. Where you see just ice, I see the potential of discovery." The teacher says.
"What makes you say that?" The student asks as he watches his teacher as he heads down to the ice field.
"Well evidence 1: there's a blizzard behind us and no blizzard here." The teacher says.
"I know. The mountain formation hides the wind and thus creates a natural wind barrier." The student says annoyed.
"A perfect place to hide something. Evidence 2: if you use your magic, you would have figured out that below isn't just water, and that there is something down there that isn't natural." The teacher says and turns his head and looks at his student, to reveal his horn glowing.
"What? Not natural? Come on Professor. " The student says in a mocking voice and joins his teacher and sends a pulse of magic into the ice. For hundreds of feet, there is nothing but water until it hits something. Something that isn't a natural formation. "What? What is this?"
Location: Ponyville
Date/Time: June 17th, 12:13:37
On a warm, sunny day in Ponyville, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, is walking through Ponyville wearing her favorite sky blue button-up shirt and a purple skirt carrying a stack of books. Her number one assistant and best friend, Spike the dragon, is carrying some food in a basket while wearing his red Tshirt and blue jean shorts. As they walk other ponies wave and say hi to them and they return the wave and hi.
"Wonderful day isn't it? Want to see if our friends want to go on a picnic?" Twilight asks and looks down at Spike. Spike smiles up at her and nods excitedly.
"Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun." Spike answers. They are returning to the Castle of Friendship when a crystal pegasus wearing the Royal Crystal Empire messenger uniform flies over the castle and descends to them and lands in front of them.
"Princess Twilight. I bring an urgent message for you from Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." He says as he salutes her.
"From Cadence?" Twilight says in confusion. The messenger takes out a letter and hands it to her. Twilight takes it. "Thank you, good sir."
"Any time milady. Now if you'll excuse me I have to catch up to miss Rainbow Dash." He says and salutes her one last time and then he takes off in a hurry.
"Rainbow dash too? I wonder what's going on that would cause Cadence to call her too." Twilight said and set the books down on the ground. She opens the letter and reads it.
'Dear Twilight,
I request your help along with all the Elements of Harmony. A few months ago, 2 ponies from the Crystal Empire Royal Academy discovered something buried in the ice near the border with Yakyakistan. We have yet to discover what it is and do not have the proper magic or equipment for getting to it. Thus we require the power and knowledge of you and the Elements of Harmony. I know this is sudden for all of you but we do require all 6 of you in the Crystal Empire at the fastest time. Please respond as soon as you can with all of your friends and I will send the Royal Crystal Empire train to pick you all up.
With hope and loving wishes, your sister-in-law,
Cadence.'
"A new discovery. I wonder what that is all about." Spike comments then looks at Twilight who has excitement written all over her face. "Guess we're going no matter what huh?"
"Are you kidding Spike!? Of course, we're going! A new discovery could mean a discovery of the century! Come one! Let go check in with everypony!" She yells and lifts her books with her magic and grabs spikes left arm and rushes off to Carousel Boutique, dragging Spike behind her. They both soon reach Carousel Boutique and knocks on the door. Sweetie Belle answers and looks up, at Twilight.
"Hello there Ms. Twilight. It's very nice to see you." Sweetie belle says.
"Hello, Sweetie Belle. Is Rarity home?" Twilight says with a smile.
"Uh-huh. Let me go get her for you." Sweetie Belle says and leaves, heading upstairs to her sisters' room. Soon Rarity comes down and opens the door dressed in a green wool sheath dress.
"Well, hello there darling and Spikey-Wikey. What are you 2 doing here this fine day?" Rarity says cheerfully.
"Did you get a letter from Cadence yet Rarity?" Twilight immediately asks.
"Indeed I did. In fact, I was just about to go see you about it. I take it that you want to go as well?" Rarity says.
"Yup. You too huh?" Twilight says getting more excited.
"Well, the business has been down for a bit and a small vacation to the Crystal Empire may help. Also, this discovery could spark some new ideas." Rarity says with a smile.
"And I'll be going too." A voice comes from above. Just as Twilight, Rarity, and Spike looks up, Rainbow Dash lands. Wearing Gym shorts and Tshirt she holds up her letter. "Can't forget about me."
"You'll be going to RD?" Twilight says a bit surprised that she didn't need convincing.
"Why not? It'll be just like Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone! A discovery that could lead to the ultimate adventure!" Rainbow Dash said enthusiastically.
"Ok. Great. I thought we would have to persuade you but I guess not. Thanks, RD." Twilight said with a smile.
"Right, so ill head home and-" Rainbow Dash begins but gets cut off by Twilight.
"Actually, could you travel with us? So when I get the return letter i don't have to go around finding you all." Twilight asked with a smile.
"Fine." Rainbow Dash says annoyed.
"Thanks, RD." Twilight says happily. Rarity grabs her purse and waves to Sweetie Belle and turns the sign on the door to closed and the 4 leave to head to Sugercube Corner. Upon arrival, Mrs. Cake tells them that Pinkie went to Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack and Fluttershy. The 4 set out and after a while they find the others in the barn helping Applejack with an injured sheep in the barn. They walk over and Applejack spots them.
"Well howdy ya'll what brings ya'll down here to our farm?" Applejack says and looks at them.
"This. I believe you all got a letter from Cadence too?" Twilight says and holds up her letter.
"Oh yeah. Pinkie, Fluttershy and I both got one from a Crystal pegasus a while ago. We were gonna find you after we took care of Beth's injury. We can all talk about it while we work." Applejack says and sits back down to tend to the sheep. Applejack and Pinkie keep it calm as Flutter stitches up the wound then puts a bandage and splint on it. Spike, Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow Dash pull up some hay bales and sit. "So, about the letter. I have to say that leaving the farm for a few days would be a little problematic. Don't get me wrong it sounds interesting but I have too many chores to do to just up and leave."
"I. I have to agree. W-with Applejack" Fluttershy says in her quiet and meek voice, petting the sheep. "I. I can't really leave the animals for so long."
"I'd really like to go to because it sounds fun. But to leave the bakery for so long is a little hard." Pinkie Pie said.
"Hm. I see. Well, Cadence wants ALL of us there. What if I help you with your chores Aj?" Twilight said.
"And I can help you find an animal sitter." Rainbow Dash said enthusiastically and flaps her wings.
"And I can help the Cakes bake enough treats to last a while." Rarity said.
"That would help a lot actually and then I could leave." Applejack said a bit happier.
"Oh yes. That would work. Please find a caring pet sitter." Fluttershy says in her quiet, happy voice.
"Really? That would be super duper awesome of you Rarity. Don't forget to make them really tasty." Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically.
"Oh yes. Applejack. Would it be alright if Sweetie Belle stayed here on the farm for the duration of our trip?" Rarity asks.
"Of course. Ah'm sure Apple Bloom would love to have Sweetie Belle here." Applejack says with a smile.
"Thank you very much Applejack." Rarity says with a smile.
With the last splint in place and the bandage secured on tightly the sheep smiles and wanders off. The 6 ponies and Spike split up to work. Twilight helps Applejack with her chores and her magic makes some of the chores that would take hours to do go by in minutes. Rainbow Dash uses her speed to quickly find a pet sitter for Fluttershy who would watch over her animals. Rarity helps Pinkie Pie and the Cakes bake more sweets with her magic from many years of multitasking. After a few hours, the 6 ponies gather back up in the Castle of Friendship and agree to go to the Crystal Empire. Twilight writes the response and sends it to Cadence via her magic. After a few minutes, they get a return letter from Cadence. Twilight grabs it and reads it out loud.
'Dear Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Spike,
Thank you all for agreeing to visit the Crystal Empire. I know this is completely sudden and I apologize for how sudden it is. However, this discovery may require the power of friendship, as many of the more recent discoveries have had. I hope this won't take too long and you'll all be returned back to your normal lives soon. I have sent the Royal Crystal Empire Train to pick you all up. It should be arriving in the morning. I am most happy that I'll be able to see you all again soon.
With lots of hopes and loves, your friend,
Cadence.'
"Alright, the letter says the train will be here in the morning so it stands to reason to prepare and pack everything tonight and be at the station by sunrise so we don't hold up the morning train." Twilight says. The others agree and everyone leaves to prepare for tomorrow.
The Next morning: June 18th, 05:30:32
In the morning, Princess Luna, Princess of the Moon, is lowering the moon and her sister, Princess Celestia, the Princess of the Sun, raises the sun. The ponies wake up and get dressed with Rarity dressing nicely in a blue dress and high heels. Applejack wears her normal farm clothes, a plaid button-up shirt, blue jeans, cowboy boots, and her signature cowboy hat. Twilight puts on a purple skirt and a light blue button shirt. Fluttershy has a green wool sweater and skin-tight blue jeans. Pinkie has a pink tank top crop top shirt on with a pink miniskirt. Rainbow Dash has a sport shirt on and blue jean shorts. Spike has a red Tshirt and brown jeans on.
After dressing the Ponies set off. Rarity drops Sweetie Belle off at Sweet Apple Acres then heads to the station with Applejack. When they arrive at the station and already Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie are already at the station. Pinkie is hopping in place. Rainbow is fluttering in place chewing some bubblegum. Twilight is reading a book on a bench while Spike is asleep, laying his head on Twilight's shoulder. Fluttershy is watching the morning birds as they sing. Rarity and Applejack walk over.
"Morning ya'll." Applejack says with a wave and a wink as she walks up with a satchel.
"Good morning every pony. And, well, Spike is asleep but good morning to him too." Rarity says cheerfully as she walks up with 2 large rolling suitcases. Twilight looks up from her book and waves at them. Fluttershy gives a small smile and a small wave. Rainbow Dash gives them a wave while not looking at them. Pinkie stops bouncing and gives them a huge double-handed wave with a huge smile.
"Good morning to you 2 too. And don't mind Spike. Let him sleep. I wore him out yesterday when I was ordering about late into the night to pack certain items just in case we needed them for the discovery." Twilight said and patted Spike's head. He mumbles a bit and adjusts his head a little.
"Hee. We can see that. Or was it 'other activities' that tired him out?" Applejack teased. Rainbow cracks up laughing and falls to the ground. Pinkie tilts her head in confusion. Fluttershy blushes hard enough her entire face goes red with embarrassment. Twilight looks at Applejack, shocked and blushing, dropping her book. Rarity gives a pouty face of jealousy at Applejack who is laughing too.
"A-A-A-A-Absolutely NOT! H-how could you think of such a thing!?" Twilight says in embarrassment. Applejack laughs for a bit then stops and wipes a tear from her eye.
"I'm sorry Sugercube. I couldn't help but joke about it." Applejack says and picks up Twilight's book and hands it to her. She takes it and looks at Applejack.
"Not funny AJ." Twilight said.
"What's going on? What are 'other activities'? Is it fun?" Pinkie asked getting excited.
"You really want to know Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash says with a sly grin. Pinkie nods quickly to Rainbow Dash but before Rainbow Dash can answer Twilight cuts in.
"L-Lets save that topic for another time. The Train is here." Twilight said as she points down the tracks. They see the Royal Crystal Empire Streamliner coming down the tracks. It brakes hard as it comes to a stop at the platform. The ponies cover their ears from the screeching sound of the brakes. The sound wakes Spike up with a startled face and he too covers his ears. The train stops at the platform and the door opens, a crystal pony guard exits and salutes the mares.
"Princess Twilight. Milady, we have arrived to pick you up as ordered by Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Her Majesty is expecting you in a timely fashion. Please board and we will take you to the Empire with great haste." The guard says.
"Thank you, kind guard. Let's go girls and Spike." They grab their suitcases and board. The guard bows to them but deeply bows to Spike. As soon as the guard boards the door closes and the streamliner sets off with amazing speed. Along the way, they are treated to first-class accommodations, especially Spike, much to his embarrassment.
5 hours later. 10:43:21
The Streamliner steams out of a snow and ice gorge and onto the summer plains of the Crystal Empire. In order to protect the kingdom, the Crystal Heart has created a barrier to keep the violent snow and cold away. The ponies never tire of watching the scenery change from ice and snow to the summer plains. Spike, on the other hand, is being treated more lavishly by his 2 attendants, both of them feeding him crystals as he relaxes on a soft couch. The train begins to brake again but the train car blocks out the sound of the brakes. The train soon comes to a halt at the station platform and the ponies disembark. They go to grab their luggage but the Crystal Pony guard stops them.
"My apologies your highness, however, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza requests that you do not dawdle and head straight to the Crystal Castle. Do not fear for your belongings, I will personally escort them to the castle." The guard says.
"I see. Very well. Thank you." Twilight says and the ponies turn and leave the station. Finally, Spike comes out and hurries after The Mane 6. Immediately as soon as he steps off the train, Crystal Ponies swarm him and praise him calling him 'Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious'. He smiles and thanks them as he tries to push through the crowd and shakes their hands. He soon manages to squeeze through and runs to Twilight and the others. The giggle as he catches up.
"Having fun there, Oh great hero of the Crystal Empire?" Rainbow Dash teases.
"I forgot my disguise is all." Spike said. The ponies laugh and continue on. As they walk crystal ponies wave and cheer for Spike, much to his embarrassment. They all soon reach the Crystal Castle and the guards let them enter. They head up to the throne room where Cadence is sitting on her thrown reading a document while her husband, Shining Armor, stands next to her with his arms crossed and helps her from time to time. Shining is wearing his purple and blue armor, with his helmet on the ground. Cadence is wearing long pink and purple corset dress with half arm long sleeves. Both of them have their cutie mark on their chests of their clothing. As the door opens they both look up and see their friends enter.
"Twilly! Welcome back, little sis!" Shining Armor said excitedly. They both run to each other and hug each other. They break after a bit. "Did you all enjoy the ride here?"
"We did. Thank you for the accommodations, my favorite BBBFF." Twilight said and Shining smiles and chuckles. He then steps aside as Cadence walks over and Twilight and Cadence hug too.
"Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhh. It's been so long Twilight. I've missed you so much." Cadence, the Princess of Love, says as they embrace.
"I've missed you too Cadence. How's Flurry?" Twilight said as she embraces Cadence. Cadence breaks back and smiles.
"I think she's awake. Let me go get her. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you all, especially Pinkie Pie." Cadence says and teleports away. About a minute later she returns holding Flurry Heart, still in her diaper but wearing a pink, crystal heart romper. She squeals and reaches for Twilight when she sees her. Cadence hands Flurry to Twilight who caresses her and nuzzles her.
"Hello, there my sweet niece. It's been so long, you've grown quite a bit since I last saw you." Twilight says and they cuddle for a bit until Flurry spots Pinkie and immediately flies to her. Pinkie catches her and spins her around as they both laugh. Twilight gives a small sigh but watches with a smile, content that they are both happy. Twilight turns and looks at Cadence.
"So, what was this big discovery that you called us here for Cadence?" Twilight asked.
"Oh yes. The discovery. Well, let's begin at the beginning and have the ponies who made the discovery tell you all about it. Shiny?" Cadence says then looks at Shining Armor. He nods and leaves. After a bit, he returns with a red crystal pony dressed in the Crystal Empire Royal Academy's formal outfit with a cloak over it all with badges on it and a blue crystal pony dressed in a fine suit. "This is Professor Rock Knowledge and his pupil Solid Ice. They made the discovery back in March." Cadence said. The 2 stallions bowed to her.
"It's an honor to meet the Princess of Friendship, our savior, the Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious, and the elements of harmony." Rock Knowledge said as both he and Solid Ice keep their heads bowed to Twilight and the others.
"Thank you, you 2. Its a pleasure. But please, call me Twilight." Twilight said softly and humbly.
"And please, just call me Spike." Spike said back to them too. They raise their heads and smiles at them and the others.
"You 2 grace us too much. Thank you both. Thank you, all of you." Solid Ice said and looks at every pony in the room. They all smile at him.
"So, tell us, what happened? What did you find?" Twilight asked, getting excited. Rock and Solid nod to each other and Rock casts a spell onto the floor. Twilight and the others back up and Pinkie walks over and cradles Flurry as she walks over to watch. Rock generates a magical 3-D model of the Mount Everhoof mountain range.
"2 weeks before we made the discovery, we began to get readings from sensors we placed all around the Mount Everhoof mountain range. The sensors picked up a large object in this area." Rock says and the area is circled and zooms in on the field of ice. "The readings were faint and unidentifiable so Solid and I went to investigate. When we reached the summit we found this flat field of ice. The ice is a few dozen feet thick. Below the ice is a lake of water around a kilometer deep. Well, it's more like a void of empty space as there is literally nothing in the water. Nothing, just water, and an unidentified structure." This surprises The Mane 6 and they all look up at him.
"A structure on the lake floor?" Twilight says.
"Yes, Princess Twilight. That's what intrigues me. Then, there's this." Rock said and a small scale 3-D representation of the ice field. They watch as the ice field rises into the air, a body of water follows it and below it is nothing but soon a structure below the ice appears. It is comprised of 2 sections. One of the sections is a rectangle with a dome on top while the other section is a long rectangular section. They are connected in a T-shape. The dome section is taller than the rectangle section. Both sections are black since they don't know what the actual structure looks like. All The Mane 6 look in disbelief at the image.
"And this has been under the ice and no pony has known about it?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Apparently, then again, no pony has been in that area since the Crystal Empire disappeared over 1000 years ago and we didn't have the technology that we had back then that we have today." Solid said.
"How do we know these aren't natural formations?" Rarity questioned.
"For 2 reasons. Reason 1 is that natural formations aren't this smooth. Reason 2 is that even if they could be this smooth, they would be this large. This rectangular section is about 200 meters long with the dome section longer at 400 meters." Rock said. The ponies look at him in astonishment then back to the image.
"Do we know what's inside or how to enter?" Applejack asked.
"Neither, I'm afraid. We've tried our best to locate the entrance but haven't found it yet. That's where you all come in. Since we can't find a way in or know what's down there, we were hoping that you all could help us." Rock says with a smile but to his surprise is met with glares from The Mane 6.
"So, we're just keys to you? You couldn't find the entrance so you used my sister-in-law to contact us to find and unlock the entrance?" Twilight said a bit angrily.
"Well.......i...uh......" Rock sputters and looks at them stunned. The 3-D image disappears. Cadence steps in between them.
"He didn't ask for you, he came to me first. He asked for my help first but when I couldn't help I called out to you and your friends. Please, don't blame Rock." Cadence said a bit sternly. Twilight and the others soften.
"Oh. Uh...wow. I'm so sorry Rock Knowledge. I completely took that the wrong way. Please forgive me." Twilight said and bowed to both Rock Knowledge and Solid Ice.
"Please forgive us too for doubting you both too." Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, and Spike said together and bowed to them as well. Flurry Heart hangs onto Pinkie as she bows and Pinkie holds her tightly. Both Rock and Solid look at The Mane 6 and their savior with wide eyes of surprise.
"No no. Please. Princess Twilight, Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious, and every pony. It is ok. I shouldn't have said it as I did. Please forgive me too." Rock said and bowed back. After a few seconds of silence, the bowing ponies smile then begin to laugh and stand back up.
"We're both at fault then. No pony is guilty then." Twilight said through her giggles.
"Very well. Fair enough." Rock said and they soon stop laughing and Twilight regains her composure and smiles at Rock who smiles back.
"I would be happy to assist you in unlocking this discovery, Professor." Twilight says with a smile then turns back to her friends. "What about all of you?"
"Yeah! We'd be glad to help." They all say. This brightens up Rock and Solid.
"Thank you. Thank you all for this." Rock said with a huge smile and Solid smiles just as big too.
"So, when do we leave?" Twilight asks excitedly.
"Tomorrow morning." Rock said. This kills all the ponies' excitement as they groan. "I'm really sorry. However, if we leave today, it'll be night time by the time we reach the camp. We have to climb mountains and such and that's extremely dangerous at night so we must wait till tomorrow to venture out."
"I see. That is true. Very well. Understood." Twilight said feeling better.
"For today, you'll all be studying how to travel through rough and cold weather conditions plus how to ice climb." Cadence said.
"Ok Cadence." Twilight said with a smile.
"Alright, so we'll leave in the morning as the sun first rises." Rock said.
"Understood." The Mane 6 said.
Smiling Rock and Solid lead The Mane 6 to a presentation room. Pinkie gives Flurry back to Shining Armor and heads off to her friends. For the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening, The Mane 6 learns how to survive in the frozen tundra, how to climb ice walls safely, safety measures for ice climbing and what to do if they get separated from the group. They are then given a test with the stipulation that no pony, or dragon, can leave without getting a 95%. Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Applejack all ace the test their first time. Pinkie and Fluttershy get it their second time. Rarity and Spike all have the hardest time nailing it and after several attempts finally ace it as well. Afterward, all 9 of them are treated to a royal banquet with Cadence, Shining and Flurry. That night they are all given separate rooms to sleep in. Twilight has a hard time falling asleep because of how excited she is but after some time she does fall asleep.
The Next Morning: June 19th, 04:15:25
In the morning the ponies wake up and gather in the royal dining hall to eat their breakfast. Twilight is extremely excited as she eats her pancakes. After eating the ponies return to their room and begin to get dressed in heavy winter clothing on. They all are wearing the same thing, a heavy coat that matches the respective pony that is wearing it over layers of thermal shirts, layers of thermal leggings under thick thermal pants, heavy gloves and heavy boots. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all fold their wings against their backs as the heavy coat covers their wings, now they can't fly but it keeps their wings from freezing. They then all meet at the northern Crystal Arch just as Princess Luna begins to set the moon and Princess Celestia raises the sun. The Mane 6 and Spike meet Rock and Solid at the arch.
"Good morning everypony. I hope you all slept well." Rock said with a smile.
"We all did, Thank you," Twilight said with a smile.
"Excellent. Now we're just waiting for the last 2." Solid says and pulls back his watch and looks at the time, it reading 05:23:49.
"Other 2?" They all say. Twilight realizes who they are and sighs.
"Oh, here they come," Rock says with a smile. All the ponies turn around and see Cadence and Shining Armor running up to them. They catch up, panting, and look at them. Cadence is wearing a pink heavy coat and pants, Shining wears a white coat and pants.
"We're so sorry for our lateness. We had a hard time getting Flurry Heart to calm down with the caretakers until Sunburst arrives." Cadence says.
"Cadence, Shining, are you 2 really going to come with us?" Twilight asked.
"Of course we are. This is a massive discovery and part of my kingdom. As its Princess, I must bear witness to this monumental event. My ministers and aids will be running the kingdom while I'm gone, which shouldn't be more than a few days." Cadence says.
"I see. That is understandable and I hope they do a good job in your stead." Twilight says.
"They are all trusted advisors. I have faith in them." Cadence said with a smile. Twilight smiles back and nods. Rock claps his hands a few times and the ponies line up shoulder to shoulder.
"Good. Now everypony is here. Listen up. We'll be walking for quite some time. It'll be about the early afternoon when we arrive at the base of the cliff. Then we HAVE to arrive at base camp by nightfall. The cliff is 1 mile high. We'll have to move fast yet carefully in order to reach the summit before nightfall." Rock says.
"What if we don't reach the summit before nightfall?" Applejack asks.
"We have a small camp at the base of the mountain. If we don't reach the summit we can stay there for the night." Rock said. The ponies nod and smile. "Good. Then are we all in agreement and ready to go?"
"We're ready!" Everyone says.
"Then let's go." Rock says.
They all begin to walk the Crystal Empire-Yakyakistan highway road. As soon as they leave the safety of the Crystal Heart's barrier, they're hit full force by the blizzard. For a few hours, they travel the road but then take a detour off it and towards the west side of Mount Everhoof. As they walk off the road the blizzard gets worse. They all pull their neck gaiters over their face and pull their goggles down over their eyes. They continue on as they all follow Rock and Solid. At noon they all stop at a tall snowbank and sits under the slope and break out rations for a quick lunch. Rock, Solid and Twilight have fun discussing what may lay inside the structure. Soon they all finish and continue on. At 14:34:12 they all reach the base of the mountain. Rock talks with the camp manager to ensure everything is ok and when the manager assures him they walk over to the ice wall. They look up and can barely see the summit.
"Wow. So there's a lake all the way up there and an ancient structure at the bottom?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Indeed there is. Its exciting isn't it?" Rock said.
"Uh...yeah. Sure. Exciting. Well, I'm just here for the adventure. Not really for the discovery." Rainbow Dash answered.
"Hm. Well, here comes the more dangerous part of the adventure. I hope everyone remembers the lesson from yesterday." Rock said. All the ponies nod and begin to prepare to climb. They put on harnesses, crampons, belay devices, helmets, and their ice axes. Rock nods and is handed a radio by the bottom camp manager and he radios the top.
"Bottom camp to summit base, this is Rock Knowledge. Does anypony copy?" Rock says. A few seconds of static follow then somepony answers.
"This is Opal Digger, we read you loud and clear professor. Welcome back." A mares voice said.
"Thank you, Opal. I need to know if the lifeline is secured. I have royalty, the Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious, and the elements of harmony and I'd rather not have the rope break with them on it." Rock says.
"Understood. Let me go and check it." Opal said and leaves to check on the rope. A few minutes later, and the radio comes back to life. "The rope was frayed sir. We've got a replacement and sending it down now. Watch your heads." Opal says and a few minutes later and a fresh new rope hits the ground. The old rope is soon being brought up to the summit.
"Thanks, Opal. You're the best. Be up in a bit." Rock said and attaches his belay device to the new rope and looks back at The Mane 6. "Everypony and dragon ready?" Rock askes.
The others begin to attach their belay devices to the rope and nod. Rock smiles and takes out his ice axes and begins to climb. The rest soon begins to follow. Twilight is second, followed by Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Cadence, Shining Armor and finally Solid Ice. For a few hours, they keep climbing towards the top. A few times, someone slips up and nearly falls but the belay device immediately stops them from falling into the pony or dragon below them. After helping them back to their axes they continue on and soon reached the top of the summit at 18:34:52. They reached the top just in time as the Sun is setting and the moon is rising. Rock helps everyone up and over the ledge. The wind stops as the mountain creates a natural barrier. Snow falls as the ponies and Spike looks out over the frozen lake. They all pull down their neck gaiter and pushes up their goggles to take a good look. The lake is large and wide yet they can still see the distant side of the shore.
"So, below this ice lake, is the structure we seek?" Twilight asked.
"Correct. However, we do not possess the necessary equipment to reach the structure and teleporting into it is a bad idea since we don't know what's inside of there." Rock said.
"Why not use a submarine?" Rainbow Dash asks.
"Well, that's extremely dangerous. Bringing a submarine, even a small one, onto the ice is dangerous itself and making a hole big enough to fit the sub is also dangerous. Even if we could get it on the ice and into the water and take it down, I don't think there's a dock for subs down there." Rock said.
"Hm. True. You've got a point." Rainbow Dash said.
"Right. Now that's all for today. We can't do too much with the moon high in the sky. We can continue in the morning. Is everypony ok with that?" Rock said. They all agree. "Good. We have cabins set up. You'll all feel warm there. Solid, could you show them, please?"
"Of course professor. This way, please." Solid said. He leads The Mane 6 and Spike to the cabins just as the ponies turn on floodlights so everypony can move about. Solid takes them to an 8 pony cabin with 4 bunk beds, a heater, sockets, and a table. "We tried to spruce it up a bit for you all. I hope it's to your liking." Solid said as The Mane 6 walks in and looks around.
"Well, considering where we are and how remote this place is, I must say it's like a 5-star hotel." Twilight says with a smile and the others agree. Solid smiles as a worker bring in their belongings and leaves. "I'll notify you when dinner is ready. Please make yourselves at home here."
"We will. Thanks, Solid." Twilight said and Solid leaves, closing the door. Once the door closes, the room immediately warms up to a nice warm temperature as the walls are heavily insulated. The ponies begin to claim their beds and settle in with Rainbow Dash and Applejack in one bunk, Twilight and Rarity in another, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie in theirs and Spike gets his own. As they settle in, they all talk about their experiences thus far and discuss what's going to happen next. A few minutes later there's a knock and a silver Crystal Earth Pony mare enters and closes the door.
"I'm sorry for the disturbance everypony and Great and Honorable Spike. I am Opal Digger, the pony in charge of equipment and the camp itself. It's an honor to meet you all." Opal says with a smile and bows to them.
"Thank you, Opal. Also, thank you for the new rope earlier." Twilight said with a smile.
"Of course Princess Twilight, I wouldn't want some of Equestria's biggest celebrities to fall and perish. Princess Celestia would banish us to Tartarus for that." Opal says.
"Well, banishment to Tartarus sounds a little extreme for a mistake but Princess Celestia wouldn't let our death do unpunished." Twilight said jokingly. Opal giggles and smiles at them and stands back up.
"Thank you, Princess Twilight. Now, I came in to tell you that Dinner is ready and waiting in the lounge cabin for you all an I am to escort you to it." Opal says with a smile.
"Alright then. Let's get ready. Were starved." Twilight said and everyone else agrees.
They put their coats and gloves back on and follows Opal to the lounge cabin. They enter and 2 long with lots of chairs line the middle of the lounge. A kitchen is blocked off in the back. In the front of the lounge are a ping-pong table, darts board on the wall, a card table and a couch. Already many of the research and labor ponies are inside talking and awaiting their meals. They all take notice of the Elements of Harmony and their hero and rush over. Soon all 7 of them are surrounded by the staff as they shake hands and accept congratulations. They are all soon sat down at the left table with Spike sitting at the far end of the table with Rarity, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy sit to his left. Opal sits across from Applejack and everyone begins to talk with them. Soon Cadence, Shining Armor, and Rock enter the cabin and they walk over and sits to Spikes right with Cadence sitting across from Twilight, Shining next to her and Rock between Shining and Opal. Soon the chefs come out and begin to serve bowls of soup with pieces of bread. Everyone gets a single large bowl of soup and a piece of bread with cups of water to drink. They begin to eat and chat.
"So, when should we wake up to start work?" Twilight asks Rock.
"Work for us is normally begins at 8:30 sharp. But as you and your friends are guests, you may wake up any time you please." Rock said.
"I see. Thank you for your consideration." Twilight said with a smile. Rock nods and smiles.
Everyone soon finishes and since work is finished for the day, they remain in the lounge to talk and play. Applejack soon finds herself in a darts rivalry with Opal and Pinkie. Rainbow Dash soon has a winning streak at the cards table only for her to be beaten by Solid Ice. Rarity gets into fashion and beauty talk with some of the Crystal pony mares. Fluttershy talks with some conservation ponies. Cadence, Shining, Spike, Rock, and Twilight discuss tomorrow's plans on how to find the entrance and what may lay beneath. Soon it gets late and ponies begin to head to their cabins to turn in for the night. Soon Twilight and the Mane 6 say good night to Cadence, Shining and Rock, and heads back to their cabin. When they arrive they begin to change into their nightclothes, with Spike facing the wall in the back blushing hard as he changes too. They all lay down on their beds and talk until they all fall asleep.
The Next Morning: 7:30:34
With the sun in the sky and the moon gone, Rock Knowledge, Solid Ice, the research, and labor ponies begin to wake up and get breakfast at the lounge cabin. Meanwhile, The Mane 6, Cadence, and Shining are still asleep. The ponies begin to reset their equipment up and begin their analysis on trying to find their way down and in. After some time, at 9:12:45, the Mane 6 and Crystal royalty begin to wake up and begin to get dressed, putting their layered clothes on and coat and all 7 of them head to the lounge cabin to eat. Twilight is excited to get to work today. Once they enter the see Cadence and Shining are already awake and waiting for breakfast. Cadence is the first to spot them.
"Good morning, everypony. Sleep well?" Cadence asks as Rarity enters last and closes the door.
"We did, thank you Cadence." Twilight said. They sat with the Crystal Empire royalty as the chef came out and sees Twilight and The Mane 6.
"Oh. Princess Twilight. Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious. The Elements of Harmony. I didn't know you all had entered. I will immediately begin to cook you all breakfast." The crystal pony chef says.
"It's ok, we just arrived. Please take your time." Twilight said with a smile as the chef sets down Cadence and Shining Armor's breakfast and heads back into the kitchen to cook for The Mane 6. They all sit down and wait for their food, they all chat. Soon the meals are served with the ponies getting pancakes and Spike gets roasted gems. They begin to eat and chat. At 10:32:33 they all finish with their breakfast.
"Once again, that was delicious." Rarity says as she pats her mouth with a napkin.
"Indeed. The soup last night was exceptionally good and these pancakes are extremely delicious." Twilight said
"Thank you for your kind words, Princess Twilight. I'll be sure to hold up to your expectations." The chef says happily as he gathers the plates and takes them to the kitchen. Cadence smiles and holds Shinings' hand then looks at Twilight and the others.
"So, shall we get to work?" Cadence says to The Mane 6. They all excitedly agree and stand. They get their coats on and leave. They head towards the lake and see Opal Digger and a few labor ponies on the shore tending to some cables. Opal looks up and sees The Mane 6, and Crystal Royalty walking towards her. She stands up and bows to them.
"Good morning everypony, and Great and Honorable Spike. I hope you all slept well." Opal said and smiles as she stands back up.
"We did, thank you very much. Is Rock Knowledge or Solid Ice around?" Twilight said
"Yes, they are. They, and many of the others, are out on the ice. Just follow these cables." Opal said.
"Right. Thank you very much, Opal." They all wave to her as they walk onto the snow-covered ice and follow the cables. A few hundred meters onto the ice they find the research ponies at work with scanning equipment from normal sonars to high tech X-ray machines for deep viewing. They walk over with many of the ponies too busy to notice them. Soon they spot Rock Knowledge working with Solid Ice on a sonar machine. They walk over and pats Rock on his shoulder. He flinches and looks back in surprise and sees Twilight and the others. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are snickering from his flinch.
"Oh. Princess Twilight, Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious, The Elements of Harmony, Princess Cadence, and Captain Armor. I'm so sorry. I had no idea you all were here." Rock said taking a few deep breaths. Twilight giggles and smiles at Rock.
"I'm really sorry Rock. I didn't mean to surprise you." Twilight said with a smile.
"It's ok. Thank you for coming." Rock says as he straightens himself.
"So, any luck in finding a way in?" Twilight asks, becoming more excited.
"Unfortunately, no. Nothing it makes no sense. The is no entrance. Come, take a look at this ma'am." Rock says and leads the ponies to the X-ray machine. "This X-Ray machine is designed for taking high-quality pictures from deep underground. But, this is the picture we got." Rock presses a button on the machine and an image of the facility below appears on a large screen. "As you can see the buildings below are just down there. Nothing else. It's mind-boggling. No doors. No lifts to the surface. Just..........nothing." He says and twilight leans in and looks at the picture in more detail and notices something.
"I think, that's because you're looking in the wrong place, Professor." Twilight says. This surprises Rock and everypony that hears it. Rock Knowledge leans in to look at the image to see what Twilight is talking about.
"What are you talking about Princess Twilight?" Rock asks.
"Right here. This part of the facility. It backs up to the mountain wall." Twilight said and points to the rectangle section of the ship. Just as Twilight said, the X-ray image shows the rectangle section connected to the wall of the mountain.
"You're right, Princess. But what makes you think that the entrance would be there? I mean it makes sense, but still." Rock said curiously.
"Well, if you think about it, it's highly logical. If you want to hide an object, move the entrance away from the complex, and it'll be hard to find it." Twilight said confidently. Rock stands back up to think.
"You make a strong point Princess Twilight. Hm..........well, there's no harm in trying. Let us find out." Rock said happily. Twilight looks back and smiles at Rock excitedly.
"Right. If I'm reading this correctly, the building connects to the mountain right in the middle." Twilight said. Rock nods and looks at all the ponies.
"You heard the princess. Pack everything up and begin to move it towards the mountain. Neighlas." Rock began to command and turns to a young crystal pony student who stands up at attention. "I need you to run and tell Opal and the others of what is going on. Have her make preparations to move the camp if we need it to be moved." The young stallion nods and salutes and runs off towards the shore and camp. The other ponies begin to pack up the equipment and prepare to move to the mountain. Rock Knowledge, Solid Ice, The Mane 6, and Crystal Royalty start off first. They reach the mountain first and begin to look it over to find a way in. With no success, Twilight fires a pulse of magic into the mountainside to scan the interior and smiles when she gets the results.
"I found it! It's this way!" Twilight called out and began to walk to the far side of the mountain. The others follow and soon they reach the side and Twilights feels around and smiles. "Here. Right here is where we can enter. There's a door behind this wall with a corridor that heads down to the seafloor."
"Well, how do you propose we get to it, Princess Twilight? One false snow shift could cause an avalanche." Solid Ice asked. Twilight gives him a smirk.
"Like this." Twilight said a bit smugly. Her horn lights up and she blasts the ice with her magic. The purple magic beam cuts into the ice and Twilight begins to move the beam and cut out a chunk of the ice. The chunk of ice is large and Twilight uses her magic to slowly pull the block of ice out to reveal a double metal door. The ponies look at it astonished.
"Incredible. All this time. And it was right here. Under our noses." Rock said.
"Can we open it?" Solid ice asked a bit concerned.
"Well, let's see if we can." Twilight said and walks to the door and knocks on it a few times.
"Were you expecting somepony to answer?" Solid said a bit smugly. Rainbow Dash chuckles a bit.
"No. I was listening for sound distortions. It seems to be that the door has 16 bar locks on the inside of the doors. 8 on the top, 8 on the bottom." Twilight said.
"And no keyhole on the outside. How do we open it?" Rock said as he, Cadence and Shining come over to take a look. They stare at the door for quite a while. During that time the rest of the research and labor ponies catch up. Spike, Solid Ice, and The Mane 6 are standing around while Twilight, Rock, Cadence, and Shining are still examining the door.
"Ugh. This is so boring. How long does it take just to open 1 simple door?" Rainbow said and kicks a fluff of snow.
"Longer than you think RD. This isn't a Daring Do story. This is reality and this takes time." Twilight said sternly.
"Ugh. I don't care. It's cold and I'm bored as Tartarus." Rainbow Dash said and high kicks the ice wall next to the doors. This alarms every one as a few chunks of ice break off.
"RAINBOW DASH!! Be careful! The shift in any of this ice could cause an avalanche." Twilight said sternly.
"Well, I think I just found something." Rainbow Dash said. Curious the other ponies walkover and takes a look. Just under the ice, half-buried with a small part of it exposed from Rainbow Dash's kick, is a metal panel with a large metal button.
"What's this? A switch panel?" Twilight said and used her magic to uncover the rest.
"Indeed it does look like one." Cadence says.
"Maybe it'll open the door." Rock said.
"Well, let's give it a try." Twilight said. The ponies swallow hard as Twilight presses on the switch. A loud clang comes from the door and it squeaks the top 8 bars on the top retract into the wall. The ponies listen to it as the bars stop.
"Not bad Rainbow Dash. You found one of the keys." Twilight said. The other ponies give Rainbow Dash smiles of appreciation. Rainbow Dash has a huge smile on and chuckling to herself. "Now, we just need to activate the other switch. Which is..." Twilight activates her magic and does a thorough scan and finds the other switch. "Over there." Twilight points to the other side of the door. Rainbow Dash runs over and immediately kicks the ice again. It breaks off and exposes the next switch. She presses the switch and once again the door gives a loud clang and the bars squeal as they are retracted into the wall.
"Is it done? Can we enter?" Cadence said excitedly. They watch as the doors slide open. One goes right, the other sliding left. The doors open to a straight, metal corridor.
"I-I guess we can." Rock said a bit nervous. Twilight, Cadence, and Rock are given large flashlights. They turn them on and head in. As they walk down the corridor Twilight, Cadence, and Rock lead them. The corridor is long and blank with the only decoration being weld markings. Soon they come to a large cargo elevator. The elevator doors open as they near it.
"I see. So this is how we get down to the facility. Before we go let's get all the equipment and staff and head down." Rock said.
Agreeing they all turn and leave. As they walk away from the elevator the doors close. They head out and back to base camp. There they talk With Opal and she agrees about moving everything inside. As the ponies begin to pack everything up Rock gets on the radio and talks to the mountain base camp manager to inform him that they are about to enter the facility. He confirms but he says he's going to return to the Crystal Empire. Rock acknowledges and helps the others out on packing the camp up. After a few hours, everything is inside and placed on the cargo lift. By 15:54:23 everything and everyone is on the lift. Twilight hits the down button and the lift doors close and the lift heads down. As the lift descends all the ponies begin to talk to each other. Twilight is particularly giddy and super happy. After some time the lift hits the bottom. The doors open up to a long hall which is cold and before anyone can exit Pinkie Pie jumps out first.
"First!!" Pinkie happily yells as she leaps over everyone and exits the lift. She lands on one hoof then there's a loud crunch noise and Pinkie immediately freezes in place. Twilight flicks on her flashlight and aims it as where her hoof landed and her face, as well as many other ponies faces, go blue.
"Pinkie. Listen to me carefully. Step back slowly. And whatever you do, do NOT look..." Twilight said but, too late, Pinkie looks down at her hoof and she lifts it up to reveal shes stepped on a bone. She goes blue in the face too before screaming and jumping into Applejacks' arms, shivering hard. A labor pony turns on a high powered flashlight and shines it down the hall. To everyone's horror, they see many skeletons lining the walls of the hall.
"H-how? How did ponies get in hear before us?" Cadence said in horror. Twilight looks down at the skeleton that Pinkie stepped on and then walks to it and looks at the skeleton.
"These aren't ponies. I think we really ARE the first ponies here." Twilight said. This snaps many of the ponies out from their horror-stricken daze and looks at Twilight.
"Why do you say that, Twilight?" Cadence says.
"Well, these creatures have a different physiology than us. Look." Twilight said. Curious The Mane 6, Crystal Royalty, Rock, and Solid take a look. "The head is different. It has no snout. It's just flat." The ponies lean in as Twilight examines the creature's head. "Also, the teeth on the creature. It as 2 pairs of canine teeth. 2 on the top, 2 on the bottom. And then the legs as well. They only have 3 pronounced joints, at the hip, knee, and ankle. Unlike us who have 4 pronounced joints. And finally, they have feet with 5 toes. As far as I know, there is no creature like that, at least in this world."
"Incredible. To think that such a creature existed. They must have been the ones who built this facility." Rock said.
"But if these creatures created the facility, then where did they come from and how are their bones still here? Shouldn't the have decayed away?" Cadence asks.
"Under normal circumstances but this cold must have preserved the bones." Rock said but then notices Twilight has a look of nostalgia yet curiosity on it. "Princess? Is everything alright?"
"Huh? Oh. Yes. I'm fine. Just in deep thought of what creature this is." Twilight said. "I recommend we get some bodybags and respectfully take these bodies up for burial. But make a few casts and models so we can study them."
Rock nods and writes it down and the group moves on, leaving most of the equipment on the lift. As they move down the corridor they make sure not to step on any more bones. As they step over the bones they notice that some of the bodies seem to be hugging each other. Past lovers and families who died together. As they walk they open any doors they can. Many of the doors lead to bedrooms, storage, kitchens, entertainment areas, and finally a maintenance area with a generator. Rock has a few ponies stay behind to examine the rooms. He tasks the last few ponies to the maintenance room with their main job to get the generators on. This leaves The Mane 6, Crystal Royalty, Rock Knowledge, Solid Ice, and Opal Digger. They make their way down the hall and finally to the last door. It's a large double door. Spike, Shining Armor Rock Knowledge, and Solid Ice pry them open. They enter it and the domed rectangle section but it's too dark to see, but they can tell by the way the air moves that the entire section is open. Just as they stop, one of the labor ponies manages to get the generator running, restoring power to the entire facility. Extremely bright headlights come on over the ponies and on the floor temporarily blinding them. All 12 of them rub their eyes, turn away from the lights, and blink as their eyes adjust.
"Ow. Ok. That smarts. I'm going to kill whoever did that." Rainbow Dash said as she lands and lets her eyes adjusted. She looks up as the others look up and their eyes adjust too.
"Don't blame them. They had no idea we were in here or that those lights would turn on." Rock said as he gives his eyes one last rub and a few more blinks. Then every one of the notices they are all in the shadow of something and turn around. Their jaws drop as they cannot believe what they are seeing.
"W-what. In the world. Is that?" Rainbow Dash asks.
"Ah have no idea." Applejack said.
"Is......is it a ship?" Fluttershy asked.
"Maybe. But I've never seen a ship like this before." Pinkie Pie said.
"I-its a beautiful looking ship no matter what though." Rarity said.
"It's a warship I think." Shining Armor said.
"And its been here for way over a thousand years." Solid Ice said.
"But how did it get here?" Cadence asked.
"Indeed. This is a lake. Cut off for miles with no rivers nearby so it couldn't have sailed here." Rock Knowledge said.
"Maybe it was placed here by the creatures we saw. Like they cut off the water to this place or flooded the facility." Spike said.
"It flew here." Twilight said. Everyone looks at her as she takes a few steps forward and smiles. "It's a Starship."
The structure turns out to be a large starship. It looks like an old battleship sitting on some clamps that hold it in place. At the bow, it has a large bulbous bow protrusion. Above it, on the prow of the ship, is a ginormous hole for what looks to be a giant gun port. 2 anchors adorn the bow, with 1 on each side of the ship. 6 closed ports for what look like torpedo doors can be seen on the bow as well. A large bulge is on the top deck of the bow. Further down are 2 of the main turrets followed by a secondary turret, all of them carrying 3 guns with the first 2 turrets having a bigger caliber than the secondary turret obviously. In between the first and second turret, on the hull are 2 observation domes with 3 rectangular windows on them.
Midship is the ship's superstructure with a tall main foremast housing most of the ships' bridges and radar scanners. Behind that is a rectangle smokestack with vertically launched missiles in it angled towards the stern a bit. Behind the smokestack are 3 antennas, the tallest one in the middle has a V-shaped sprout at the top, 2 smaller antenna flank it, 1 on each side and they are angled outward away from the main antenna, all 3 are angled towards the stern. Below the superstructure are dozens of small caliber Anti-aircraft guns bunched up together. Some of them are in quad mounts but most of them are in twin mounts. Below the guns are 16 missile launchers in the hull, 8 per side. Below the keel of the ship is what appears to be a third bridge shaped in a D-shaped, the rounded side facing tooward the bow, saucer with 2 side antennas and more vertical launched missiles that launch downward. A little ways back, on the lower hull side, are 2 half capsule structures, both with a shutter-like piece in the middle of them.
At the stern lies the second, secondary turret and third main turret. 2 fighter catapults are also present on the stern of the ship as well. 6 more torpedo tube doors run along the sides, 3 per side. Finally, a huge main thruster takes up most of the stern with secondary thrusters below the main one. 3 fins protrude out front of the nozzle, with one on top, and the rest below the ship near the waterline. Most of the ship is painted gray with only the tip of the smokestack and the bottom half of the hull, where the waterline would stop, is painted red.
