//------------------------------//
// . 
// Story: 80 Days: Under the Waves 
// by Sharp Spark 
//------------------------------//

Then I saw a light far below us, steadily growing closer. As we descended, I could make out more and more of a small metallic structure, lit by magiflourescent lamps on stakes. The building was barely big enough for a pony, with the top concave and ridged. Cables stretched out from its base into the darkness.

“We’re here,” Crankshaft announced. The Hippocampus drew closer until directly over top of the structure, and then with a minor jolt, we settled into place. I realized the purpose of the cradle as Crankshaft turned to another part of the submersible, flipping down a panel to reveal a system of readouts.

“This is where you generate the power?” I asked.

“Store,” he grunted. “Even now we’re not close enough for optimum gathering efficiency. I have mobile condensers mounted on extraction units that drill down. I just store accumulated energy here. But--” his hooves ran across a series of switches, flipping some and ignoring others. “We have a problem with one of the extractors.”

“So, what, we need to go fix it?” I let out a sigh. “How long will that take?”

“I’ve had them slowly drilling into the bedrock, utilizing their own power. This one has stopped, which means something has broken… Or that it ran out of bedrock.” He prodded the diving suit that Minnow had been hiding with. “I’ll need to go check and make sure.”

“I’ll do it,” I said...
“Just hurry,” I said...