"The EC gee what now?" asked Applejack.
"The ECGR," said Solstice, "it's an acronym."
"An Afro what now?" asked a jumpy Pinkie Pie.
"An acronym, it's a span of letters that represent something." said Solstice. "Our acronym stands for the Equestrian Center for Galactic Research. See where we get it from now?"
"I think so Mr. Summer Solstice." said Rarity.
"Oh please, call me Sol while you are here. That is my nickname." said the director. "Now, please follow me and I will give you the grand tour of this facility followed by a briefing of your future mission."
All the ponies trotted into the building in a big group. The girls' bags were taken to dormitories on the far side of the building. The inside was just as or more amazing than the outside. Only the highest of quality materials were used in constructing the center. There were statues her and there, a couple of Celestia herself. There were banners of the Equestrian symbol placed over openings into hallways. Sol was going to say something about the lobby but judging by the other ponies faces, he felt it was uneccesary. They moved on to the laboratories.
The laboratories were filled with hi-tech machines and scientists working hard to purely discover. The six friends were astonished at all the different studies going on at once. So many ponies trying to get more knowledge about space.
"As you can probably already tell, this is where we make many discoveries that relate to space. Our biggest project right now is discovering other planets, you six will be a part of that project soon." said Sol.
They walked through the labs trying to avoid colliding with the working ponies. They eventually reached their next destination, the training facilities.
"Going into space requires more than just guts, you need to be physically and mentally fit as well. You will train your minds and bodies here so you will be able to charge into space head on. You will meet your trainers in the next few days, but for now, let's move on to our next location."
They walked through many more halls before they reached the final place of their tour, the dormitories.
"This is where you all will be staying for the next few months. We hope you find these rooms to fit your liking. The Princess told us about your personalities, your rooms are based on such facts."
The girls each opened the doors leading to their rooms and all gasped. Each room was matched perfectly to who ever resided in it.
"You really nailed our rooms for sure!" Said Twilight.
"They are......um.....very nice indeed." Whispered Fluttershy.
"Mine has balloons!" Yelled Pinkie, "Oh wait, those are the ones I packed..."
"You only packed balloons Pinkie?!" Said Rainbow.
"Well duh, when your me that's all you need! Well, that and some food."
"Did you pack food then?" Asked Rarity.
"No you silly filly! Who packs food anyways?".
"You mares are a truly interesting group," said Sol. "This will be an intriguing next few months indeed."
"Yeah be ready buddy, this is the normal us." Said Rainbow.
.........................
After being let to be in their rooms for awhile, Director Sol came back and asked the girls to follow him. We he led them to was a conference room with a strange symbol on the door.
"What does that symbol mean?" Asked Rarity.
"That would be the symbol for infinity." Said Sol. "You will learn why this symbol is here in a bit."
Sol unlocked the door by using a hoof scanner. Inside it looked like a normal confetence room, other than the strewn files that had "secret" stamped on them.
"Please, everypony take a seat. Your briefing will begin shortly." Said Sol.
A few minutes later, a scientist trotted in. He wore a white lab coat and glasses. He mane was a light yellow and his fur was a light tan. He also had a mustache.
"Girls, allow me to introduce Professor Emsee." Said Sol.
"Where is his cities Mark?" Asked Twilight.
"Oh ja, that." Said Emsee. "I had a little run in with some paint and well....it dried." The Professor also donned an accent similar to German.
"Anyways, my name is Professor Emsee Squared and I'm the assistant director of this project. You all know you are to be the first ponies in space, ja? Well, this is mostly true. You see, your frst stop in your voyage will be to the Luna International Space Station...."
"Oooooooo, the LISS!" Yelled Pinkie.
"Was?" Asked Emsee.
"An acronym professor. Girls please be aware, Emsee may break into some German at points like he just did." Said Sol.
"Okay then.....as I was saying, there are already ponies up on this station preparing for your arrival. Still, you will be the first ponies on an alien planet! We have recently discovered a planet near ours that looks like it can sustain life. Even this puzzles us due to its distance from Celestia's sun, we want to learn more. You six will take a space shuttle to this planet we call X-24 right now, land there, and gather as much information about the planet as possible. You will each be assigned a certain area to take data on but for now we have other things to worry about. Doesn't this all just sound Wunderbar?!"
"We getta land on an alien planet?!" Gasped Applejack.
"This doesn't sound safe anymore...." Squeaked Fluttershy.
"When did it ever sound safe? It's so dangerous its cool!" Yelled Rainbow.
"I hope that aliens have a good sense of fashion...." Muttered Rarity.
"This sounds like an excellent learning opportunity!" Said Twilight.
"Prima! I hope you will learn while having fun as well. But do be careful now! You do not mess around with space or the equipment we give you. You must use these things in the correct way. Nothing will go kaput on my watch!" Said Emsee.
"Thank you for the briefing Professor." Said Sol.
"Kein Probleme, Director." Said Emsee.
"Girls, you can retire to your rooms for a bit again. We will soon have dinner waiting for you in the Cafeteria. Oh, welcome to Project: Infinity!"
.....................
The dinner the girls were treated to was technically a buffet. The type of foid varied but there will stil a lot of choices. After dinner the girls retired to their rooms for the night. It was only eight-o-clock so each of them hung out and soaked in the amazement of their personalized rooms. Even though they were amazing, they all still missed Ponyville. Applejack missed her family, Twilight missed Spike, Rarity missed Sweetie Bell (and Opel), Rainbow missed the open skies, Fluttershy hoped her animals were taking care, and Pinkie missed the Cakes and their kids. Even though they were going to have the expierience of a ligetime, they would still miss home.
After an hour or so of just laying there, Twilight decided it was time to turn in. They just had a pretty long day and training started tomorrow. They all needed some rest. As Twilight's eyelids slowly closed, she thought of the upcoming months. along with the launch. She then drifted off to sleep and entered the world of dreams.