Entry
Twilight lifted one foreleg, pushing it forwards to test how much freedom the one-and-a-half-sizes-too-big pressure gear gave her. What she found was that she could raise her hoof almost high as normal. The real issue was just the constraints of the fabric that made up the oversized suit. She glanced at the brown unicorn stallion that had been helping her put on the suit. "Is this the smallest size?"
"No." The stallion, who had been introduced to her as Silver Star, shook his head. "These things are made to be easy to climb into. Once we get them sealed up, a little touch of magic'll make them more comfortable."
"Oh. Okay." Twilight nodded slightly as the stallion started to pull the zipper of the suit up with his magic, starting at her lower back and dragging it towards her neck. Despite how troublesome the bulky gear had proved to be so far, Twilight knew that wearing them was still a much more sensible and safe option than entering the structure with nothing more than a magical air bubble. As irritating as it was, getting suited up for the excursion was the smart thing to do.
While the stallion closed her suit, Twilight took a moment to stare at the door waiting for them across the cavern. The metal structure was now obscured by the inflatable airlock that had been set against it – a large, transparent, double-celled plastic cover which would be used to stop the unbreathable argon gas from escaping into the cave once the door was opened. While the airlock had been set up, Twilight, Lyra, and a group of seven other unicorns had shifted across the cavern to a position under the sloping ramp, where they had set up a dressing pavilion. It had taken two hours to get the necessary gear and equipment, but now they were almost ready to go. Needless to say, the wait had been nearly unbearable.
Twilight could barely contain her excitement. The amount of begging and pleading it had taken for Celestia to let her be one of the first into the structure was unbelievable. If anypony had told her that morning that she would recite please seventy-one times within fifteen seconds, Twilight would have laughed at them, before promptly pressuring her friends into a set of experiments to determine if such an action was possible. "Ah!" Twilight let out a grunt of pain, her train of thought interrupted by the sharp tug of the zipper catching near the top end of her back.
"Sorry," Silver Star apologized quickly, before proceeding to finish zipping up Twilight's suit, albeit at a much slower speed. "It'd be better if we had something to wear underneath, but then the damn things would get too hot."
"You've worn one these before?" Twilight asked, glancing over her shoulder as the zip reached the base of her neck, which was where the suit ended.
"Something like it," the stallion replied. "I was a volunteer fire-fighter for a couple of years when I was younger. Good experience. The gear they have isn't much different from this stuff."
"Huh." Twilight nodded, taking a step back to look at herself in one of the large full-length mirrors placed around the dressing pavilion. "What are you now?"
The suit was horribly ugly, made up out of a thick beige fabric that reminded Twilight of the oldest and dirtiest desks at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The back was very strange, containing two sockets for hoses, and two short curved prongs on either side of the zip for cradling an oxygen tank. Donning the suit hadn't been pleasant either. To fit in, Twilight's tail had been; tied up, curled between her hindlegs, and then strapped to her stomach. It wasn't comfortable by any means, and had been an awkward process for all involved.
"A guardpony." Silver Star's horn lit up with a creamy brown color, guiding a shiny metal tank over to Twilight. "Okay, now we just need to hook up the oxygen, and you'll be ready to go."
"Right." Twilight summed up the oxygen tank. It was about a foot and a half long and eight inches in diameter, made to fit comfortably on the back of a full-grown stallion, which meant it would be a little too big for her. It didn't really matter though, because Twilight was clearly in no position to complain. "How long will it last?"
"About two hours." Silver Star replied, gently lifting the tank onto Twilight's back with his magic. "It's a high-pressure tank, which allows it to store more oxygen, so make sure you don't puncture it."
"Got it." Twilight braced her legs to account for the new weight on her back, only to find that the tank wasn't quite as heavy as she'd expected. "What's the mix ratio?"
"Three parts nitrogen to one part oxygen," the stallion answered in an offhanded manner as he fastened the tank to Twilight's back using a set of clips. "A little bit more Oxy per every breath, free of charge."
Twilight smiled slightly at the weak joke as Silver Star fed two hoses from the tank into the sockets on the back of her suit. "So, you're a guard?"
"I am." The stallion carefully checked the hoses were secure in their sockets, while making sure that he didn't directly touch Twilight's suit with his magic. "I'm running security for you scientists, although I have no idea why."
"Neither do I." Twilight raised an eyebrow. The object was thousands upon thousands of years old, if not tens or even hundreds of thousands. What could possibly be in there worth worrying about? Maybe some dangerous machinery at the very most. She couldn't help but feel that her thoughts were just begging for something to go wrong, but it was literally impossible for a creature to survive any length of time in an atmosphere like that – no matter what measures were taken.
"Anyway, we'll wait until we're in the airlock before sealing our suits. It saves on air." Silver Star took a step back, levitating a large spherical helmet towards Twilight. "So just carry this with you, and don't use any magic on your suit until the thing's sealed. The zippers are fine, but don't let any get near the fabric."
"Okay…" Twilight's own horn lit up, enveloping the hollow glass orb as Silver Star passed it to her "Why's that?"
"We use magic to make the suits shrink until they fit the wearer's form. The fabric was made for it. The problem is that on such short notice we could only get some of the older and unperfected versions, so there's the chance that coming into contact with any magic at all might set them off." Silver Star nodded at his own suit. "And without your helmet on, there's nothing to stop it tightening around your neck, and it'll just contract down to your throat. It's not dangerous, but there'll be no way to attach the helmet, so then we'll need to get you prepped all over again in a new suit."
"I see." Twilight rotated the helmet inside her aura, inspecting it. "But if the suit alters in size, how does the helmet stay on?"
"Its collar is designed to stretch, so that as the neck gets smaller the collar gets firmer and broader, which keeps the helmet in place. You'll see when we're all in the airlock. Speaking of which," Silver Star turned to the seven other ponies. "Is everypony ready?"
"Ready, boss." Replied one of the three other stallions, speaking for the group as a whole.
The rest of the entry team were dressed identically to Twilight and Silver Star, each one of them looking extremely uncomfortable in their comically oversized pressure suits. It didn't stop any of them from looking jubilant, though. Lyra perhaps looked the most excited. For her, this was the chance of a lifetime. It was for all of them, but this was something special for the green musician-historian. It was her field, after all, even if it was just a hobby.
"Alright then, waddle out, team." Silver Star pointed one hoof towards the airlock, drawing a smattering of polite laughter from the assembled ponies as they began to walk towards the door. Twilight almost laughed earnestly as she realized that due to everypony's bulky and ill fitting gear, they truly did waddle as they walked.
She turned her eyes forward to look at their destination again, only to notice in her peripheral vision that Lyra had managed to silently move up next to her, an excited gleam in her eyes.
"Isn't this awesome, Twilight?" The green mare flashed her a vibrant smile. "We get to go inside! How great is that?!"
Twilight nodded. "This is going to be amazing. I can't wait to see what's inside." She paused. "But, why do you think we need security?"
Lyra shrugged. "Dunno. It's always good to play it safe, though."
Twilight glared at her friend for a second. "Yeah. That's why we aren't meant to go around pressing random buttons without knowing what they do. It's really dangerous."
"You're right, but look at what pushing buttons got us!" The musician grinned sheepishly.
Twilight shook her head, giving out an exasperated sigh. "Lyra, you can't go doing stuff like that when we're in there. Who knows what could happen? You could literally get somepony killed."
"Yeah, okay." Lyra dipped her head slightly, suitably cowed by the lavender mare's scolding.
"You two look weird," a third voice cut in, drawing both Lyra and Twilght's attention. "What's with the get up?" Rainbow Dash questioned nonchalantly, her wings flapping just enough to keep her airborne beside them.
"It's safety gear for in there." Lyra replied, gesturing with one hoof at the door – which they were rapidly approaching. "The air's toxic, so we need stuff that'll let us breathe."
"Sounds dangerous." Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "You guys want me to come in with you?"
"We'll be fine, Rainbow." Twilight smiled slightly. Rainbow Dash had good intentions, but in reality the cerulean mare would most likely just get stir-crazy, act rowdy and end up causing trouble. "We've got the guards, and our breathing gear."
"'Kay then." The pegasus shrugged, before lazily drifting upwards, ascending until the two unicorns were once again alone as they lead the slow, ambling charge towards the object.
"Does she do that a lot?" Lyra asked quietly, receiving nothing but a slightly exasperated expression in response. Whether the response was in answer to the question, or simply a reaction to it, Twilight herself did not know.
The two mares came to a stop in front of the large plastic airlock, where the increasingly haggard looking Celestia was waiting for them. The white alicorn in question had been becoming increasingly more agitated and frazzled, her frayed nerves wearing down under the immense uncertainty and stress of the situation. Twilight was more than sympathetic, having contributed to Celestia's state with her own nagging, but thus far had been unable to say anything to ease the princess.
With nothing to say, Twilight smiled slightly at the princess and then took a moment to examine the airlock as the remaining seven members of the entry-team joined them, trying to make sense of its multiple curves and rounded corners. The entire thing was a leftover from a Pony-Pox scare three years ago. In such a dense population-center as Canterlot a debilitating flu like Pony-Pox could bring businesses grinding to a halt, which would cause mayhem in a city that requires mass-imports during even its most prosperous periods. It was an extremely simple object, made up out of one zipper-entry at their end, another between the two large cells, and another at the end of the far cell, which lead straight into the now-isolated recess of the door, although in this case the final zipper had been removed, and the airlock had been magically sealed to the stone of the structure itself. From what Twilight could tell, a group of unicorns were also working to set up equipment that would slowly extract the argon gas. She personally didn't see why that was necessary, although it would be good if they could get to a point where they didn't need to wear pressure-suits inside the structure.
Celestia cleared her throat delicately as the final pony joined them in front of the airlock, drawing Twilight's attention away from the mass of plastic behind her. "I'm glad to see that you are all ready to go." The Princess began evenly, her voice sounding extremely strained. "I believe that it goes without saying that this is a very important scientific excursion, and that there are vast quantities of potential information to be gathered here." She paused for a breath, before continuing. "I trust each of you to do your jobs properly, and to be as careful as possible while you are inside this structure. Above all, I want you to make sure that everypony stays safe, and that nothing dangerous that may lie behind this door is meddled with."
"Yes, your majesty." The nine ponies chorused.
Celestia nodded. "Very good. Before you get started, I believe that it would be best if everypony was introduced, and that we understand who is responsible for what."
The group voiced another round of affirmatives as Celestia raised on hoof and beckoned to Silver Star, who quickly stepped forward and turned to face the others.
"I'm Sergeant Silver Star, of the Canterlot Royal Guard." He announced clearly, his deep voice easily cutting through the background noise in the cavern. "It's my job to make sure that everypony stays safe. To help me accomplish that, I have Corporals Blune," he gestured to a bulky blue unicorn that seemed to have a hard expression permanently fixed on his face, before moving his hoof along to point at a more pleasant looking and less-bulky cream coloured unicorn. "and Arwell. If anyone has a problem, or finds something that could be dangerous, you come to them or me."
Both guards nodded in acknowledgement of Silver Star's announcement, even as the Sergeant himself returned to the group and Celestia resumed her own speech. "On the science team we have Lyra Heartstrings, the local authority on Ancient History."
The green mare blushed slightly at the praise, mumbling a quiet; "Well, I don't know about that…" as Celestia moved her eyes along the group.
"Twilight Sparkle, my personal student."
Now it was Twilight's turn to blush, shying a half-step backwards as the collected ponies examined her, many of their eyes judgemental.
"Earthy Stables, Canterlot's resident geologist."
The only pony present who was not a unicorn, a grey-coated earth-pony, raised his left hoof and smiled weakly as the group's eyes fell on him, looking extremely uncomfortable with their attention.
"Professor Bastion Yorsets and Doctor Apple Polish, representing the University of Canterlot." Celestia nodded to two grey-coated unicorns, one male and one female. The two respond to her attention with stiff bows, their faces stoic and professional.
"And Capstone Drafts, Architectural Engineer." Celestia finished her group introduction with an aqua-blue unicorn mare sporting an extremely tired face, who acknowledged her words with a dignified nod, despite the star-struck expression on her face.
Celestia paused, taking another moment to run her eyes over the faces of all the present ponies. The bags under her eyes weren't looking any less pronounced than before, and Twilight was starting to get a little worried by how agitated the princess seemed. She wasn't talking in her usual warm, calming voice anymore. Instead she utilized a harder, more commanding tone that wouldn't have been out-of-place had it been used by a Griffon. The white alicorn gave an ever-so-slight sigh as she looked over the collection of stallions and mares. Why she did so, Twilight had absolutely no clue. Her day so far had been one of confusion and questions, so it seemed typical that Celestia's attitude would encourage that.
"Once again, I feel I should stress just how important this discovery is," Celestia spoke again, putting a large amount of emphasis on important'. "What's behind this door is completely unknown, so it goes without saying that you are all to be extremely careful once inside. As tempting as it may be, I don't want anypony touching anything unless they know what it does. Understood?"
"Yes your highness." the collected ponies spoke in unison, with many of them looking slightly unnerved by the no nonsense tone being used by their normally friendly and approachable monarch.
Celestia nodded twice, lingering for a short moment longer before stepping to the side and allowing access to the entry zipper. "Okay then. Let's begin."
As the rest of the group began moving towards the airlock entry, Twilight took a moment to glance away, searching the cavern for her friends. The cave floor was now populated by a good thirty ponies, almost all of whom had stopped whatever they were doing to form a very large semi-circle around the door into the structure. Twilight wasn't actually sure why they were giving them such a wide space, but it created a rather interesting image. She cast her eyes further to the left, finally finding the rest of her Ponyville friends among the many unicorns and work ponies. Twilight smiled slightly and lifted her hoof in a wave, which prompted a group wave and a few cheers of "Go Twilight!" from Pinkie and Rainbow Dash.
"Twilight?" Lyra called her name from over at the zipper, where there was just her and Capstone still waiting to get inside. "You ready?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Twilight turned back to the airlock, quickly breaking into a canter as she approached. "Sorry."
"It’s cool." Lyra replied nonchalantly, holding open the zipper flap for Capstone, who muttered a bashful "Thanks." as she passed through. "I just want to get in there before the Manehattan ponies show up!"
"Right, right." Twilight ducked through the flap, which Lyra was still holding open, before levitating her helmet through behind her. "Then I guess we'd better get to work!" She glanced behind her as Lyra slipped through the opening, which was promptly zipped up by a cheerful looking Poppycock. "Okay. So I suppose that we just put these-"
"Alright, Everypony." Silver Star spoke up loudly, unwittingly cutting Twilight off. "The process for putting your helmet on is very simple. Somepony else will place your helmet on your head, secure the clasps, and seal it with magic. Then I want you to check that your lights are working, and that there no leaks, like so." He motioned for Arwell to step forward, taking the stallion's helmet in his own magical field. Carefully, Silver Star lowered the helmet over the other guardpony's head until the base met with the collar of the pressure suit, whereupon he snapped three claps closed, securing it. "Okay, then you come to me, and I use a shrinking spell on the suit. There's no time for everypony to learn it, so I'll just handle that." Silver Star's horn lit up with a silvery blue glow, which was almost immediately followed by Arwell's suit as it was encased in the Sergeant's magical field.
The seven ponies all watched quietly as the two unicorns stood there for a few seconds, before the silence was interrupted by a grating noise that sounded similar to someone squeezing and rubbing a balloon. The uncomfortable sound was accompanied by Arwell's suit suddenly shrinking. If Twilight had blinked, she would have missed it. The fabric simply tightened, loosing all of its bulkiness and instead now appearing more like a thick second skin over the stallion underneath - save for the outline of the two oxygen hoses running from the sockets on the suit, over his shoulders and back up into the bottom of the helmet.
"Underwhelming…" Lyra muttered out of the corner of her mouth, and Twilight nodded ever so slightly in agreement. For some reason, she had expected something more interesting than the suit simply slimming down so quickly, as it had.
"And that's it. Again, don't forget to check your lights." Silver Star motioned with one hoof for everypony to put their helmets on. "Just a heads up. They're old fashioned magic lights. These suits are kinda old, so there's no powered equipment. I'd suggest only using one at a time so that nopony tires themselves out."
Twilight took a quick moment to examine her helmet as the Sergeant concluded his instructions. True to his word, the helmet did look a little old, although it thankfully wasn't scratched. Essentially, the entire thing was a three-quarter sphere with a slightly flattened front. The missing quarter replaced by a plain metal ring and a collar made out of some sort of elastic material, The inner edge of which appeared to be an odd semi-rigid frame, which Twilight guessed was there to make sure that the stretchy fabric of the collar retained its shape. The interior of the helmet was very simplistic, containing nothing but one pair of braces, which were made to rest on Twilight's neck and support the helmet, as the collar could not support the glass sphere, due to its lack of any proper rigidity. All in all, the helmet was extremely plain. Its only other notable features were the two flashlights set into each side of the helmet, positioned so that they were level with the wearer's horn.
"Here." Lyra's magical field enveloped Twilight's helmet, gently plucking it from her own grasp. "I'll get that."
"Thanks." Twilight smiled slightly, before holding her head up straight and standing still as the mint unicorn slipped the glass dome over her head.
In a single careful motion, Lyra slowly moved the helmet into place, twisted it into the correct position and snapped the clasps closed. "Okay. Let me just…" The light around her horn faded briefly, before flaring back up as the mare sealed Twilight's helmet to her suit. "There you go. Now all that's left is the air tank."
Twilight nodded as she felt a slight tug on her back as Lyra turned the valve on her oxygen tank, feeding breathable air through her suit and into the base of her helmet. "Thanks."
"No problem." Lyra grinned, her voice notably muffled as it passed through Twilight's helmet. "Okay, I'm gonna go get somepony to help me. You should get your suit shrunk.
"Okay." Twilight smiled at Lyra as she turned away, before giving a slight shrug. She didn't need anypony else to deal with her suit. She was the Element of Magic, after all. Twilight paused briefly to compose herself, before sending a small charge of magic from her horn down into her suit, creating little rivulets of purple energy that coursed through the fabric. The lavender mare giggled ever so slightly as the suit suddenly tightened around her form, pushing air up her body in the form of large rather comical looking bulges that were quickly expelled into her helmet. "Ooh, it tickles."
With the suit sealed Twilight turned her head to the transparent plastic floor and her attention to the two lights mounted on either side of her helmet, giving them each a brief burst of magical light. The left, and larger, fixture produced a wide and bright light which Twilight guessed was for general illumination, while the right hoof light produced a more focused beam that seemed only slightly wider than a standard flashlight, although it was certainly brighter than a typical household torch.
"Hmm, useful," Twilight muttered as she gave each light another jolt. "Left for close and wide lighting, right for long distance."
"Yeah," Lyra, whom Twilight was not aware had returned, spoke up cheerfully. "Hey Twilight, check this out."
"Huh?" The lavender mare promptly stemmed the flow of magical energy streaming from her horn and looked up, only to be instantly blinded but the musician's own torch. "Agh!"
"Hah! Gotcha." Lyra turned off her lights as Twilight reeled back, spots dancing in front of her eyes. "That was way too easy."
"Ow!" Twilight steadied herself on three legs and raised her fourth hoof to viciously rub at her eyes, only to have it connect dully with her helmet. "Lyra!"
"Oh come on," the green mare giggled. "You gotta admit, that was a good one."
"No, it really wasn't." Twilight grumbled, blinking rapidly as her vision cleared up. "What if you'd blinded me?"
"Then we'd have fixed you up with magic," Lyra replied smugly. "Come on Twi. You're making a big deal outta nothing."
"Mmm…" Twilight grunted in irritation. She couldn't really be that annoyed. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie had done worse. "Ugh. Sweet Celestia, that hurt."
"Hey, that isn't anything." Lyra smirked. "When I first got here, one of the mining ponies accidentally flashed me with a floodlight. Blinded me for five whole minutes, but I still able to kick his flank."
"Uhh..." Twilight raised an eyebrow at the musician. "But didn't you say it was an accident?"
"Yeah, what's your point?" the green mare's smirk widened slightly as she turned away from Twilight. "Hey, I think it's time."
Twilight frowned. When her friends around Ponyville had described Lyra as 'a little quirky', she'd expected her to have an odd sense of humor, or something to that effect. Instead, the green mare seemed to be more than a little eccentric, with a sense of humor on par with Rainbow Dash's.
It seemed that Ponyville had a habit of producing colorful characters.
"Right." Twilight spoke slowly as she and Lyra moved towards the center of the plastic cell. "You know Lyra, you can't keep doing that in there. It's dangerous, and annoying," She added the final words much more quietly, trying to keep Lyra from hearing her, but at the same time not really caring that much anyway. Judging by the green mare's silence, Twilight's complaint had gone unnoticed entirely.
The two of them moved forward, joining the rest of the group as Arwell unzipped the airlock's inner seal with his hoof and opening the way into the second cell. It was only now that Twilight realized that while she had been distracted, Silver Star had handled the shrinking of everypony else's suits, which made her feel ever so slightly guilty for not doing more to help out. This was meant to be a team effort, after all.
One by one, in an excruciatingly slow fashion, the nine of them filed through the opening and formed a loose semi-circle around the door. Twilight found herself near the apex of the curve, although Bastion and Silver Star had managed to solicit the lofty center position.
After a brief pause, Silver Star turned to Apple Polish, who was standing closest to the console by the door. "Ma'am, if you'd kindly begin the entry procedure."
"Of course," The ashen mare, who Twilight only just now realized as being one of the officials at her entry exam for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, nodded curtly, before turning to face the embedded terminal. "Just one moment."
Twilight watched the grey unicorn as she quickly looked over the interface, before turning her own eyes back to the ominous chunk of metal blocking off the interior of the structure. What strange, or not so strange, marvels lay behind it? What would they learn about the time before ponies?
She glanced back towards the large audience of their entry as Apple Polish continued to examine the futuristic computer and its interface. Through the two layers of plastic behind them, Twilight could make out the warped image of the excavation crew grouped together a good distance back from the airlock, among whom she could see her friends and the two princesses. It seemed that everypony in the cavern had stopped work to watch their first entry – although she still could not fathom why they had apparently decided that the airlock should be given such a wide berth. What were they afraid of?
"Beginning entry," Apple Polish reported in a loud clear voice, which was still muffled by the two helmets it had to pass through to reach Twilight's ears. "in three, two, one, zero." On her own cue, the beige unicorn's horn lit up, telekinetically pressing the 'Y' on the keyboard. Upon completion of this task, she quickly stepped back to retake her place in the semicircle the rest of the group as they waited for something to happen.
The group stood in silence for a good ten seconds, every single pair of eyes affixed upon the ancient door in front of them. Twilight had no clue what each pony was thinking. Some of them might have been apprehensive, some as eager as her and Lyra. What she herself hoped was that the door would actually open. That would save a lot of time over them having to force their way in, which would likely damage the door itself in the process. Still nothing had happened, and Twilight was starting to get extremely worried that whatever mechanisms driving the door had failed. Even with the structure filled with Argon, that didn't completely ensure the safety of its contents, as any number of factors could have damaged or destroyed them.
"Uhh..." After a full thirty seconds it was Lyra who became the first pony to speak, her voice going unacknowledged by everypony else as they kept their gaze fixed on the door. "Maybe we need to find a-"
'THUNK.' The mint unicorn was cut off by the sudden noise, which was produced by the door as its two rows of yellow circles suddenly extended out a good two inches from the surface and revealing themselves to be a set of eight cylinders. If Twilight had to hazard a guess, she would say that they were part of an upsized pin-locking system for the door. Four for each half. It seemed like the most likely use for the cylinders, but with this strange technology the pins could have been doing anything. The door began to emanate a low rumble, which was shortly followed by its two halves separating by a few inches, creating a horizontal gap through which a very dim but pulsating orange light could be seen.
Twilight was unable to tear her eyes from the scene. This was a momentous historical occasion. The greatest archaeological find in history, which presented unheard of evidence of a possible pre-pony civilization generations more developed than their own. To think that her, a simple student of magic, would going to be one of the first ponies to study what lay inside. It was absolutely surreal. Like so many other events in her life, it was something Twilight had never thought could possibly happen; studying as Celestia's protégée, defeating Nightmare Moon, becoming an Element of Harmony. In a way, this could be her greatest achievement yet, at least in the academic field.
The door's rumbling, which had faded ceased following the initial separation, suddenly returned as the plates started to move apart once more, sliding into the ceiling and floor of the door-frame. The movement was incredibly slow, increasing the gap only by a rough inch every two seconds.
Every single pony present continued to stand, transfixed, as the two metal plates pulled away from each other at an agonizingly slow pace. The mounting atmosphere of cautious anticipation only served to intensify when the door-halves briefly stopped halfway through opening to retract the cylindrical pins into the six-inch-thick sheets of metal, as them still being extended would have stopped the plates from sliding further into the surrounding rock. Finally, with a notable but muted thud, the door plates disappeared entirely into the top and bottom of their frame, leaving only their slightly-recessed connecting edges visible and giving the ponies a clear view of what lay beyond the freshly removed barrier.
"Oh boy is that ominous!" Lyra spoke loudly, accenting her observation with an extremely enthusiastic and out-of-place tone. "Good thing we've got flashlights."
"Yeah..." Twilight stared apprehensively at the admittedly unnerving image presented to them.
The source of the pulsating orange light she had first observed was now revealed to be two warning lights affixed to the ceiling just inside the door, similar to the kind that one would find on a piece of construction equipment. The left one was revolving slowly, sending its opposing shafts of orange light along the walls, while the second light was on but apparently unable to rotate. If this structure was as old as Twilight thought it was, then the fact that even one of these lights could still spin was amazing. Beyond the lights, there was nothing. The single revolving bulb wasn't bright enough to illuminate more than a few feet, and the inky blackness of the underground quashed their view into the tunnel down to a short five feet.
Without speaking, Silver Star stepped forward and turned on his right-hoof flashlight, sending a beam of light up the length of the interior floor. The ray continued for a good ninety feet before finally striking what appeared to be a back-wall in the distance. For the entire length of the beam there was nothing. No obstructions or features on the surfaces. Just a perfectly crafted tunnel.
Twilight glanced at Lyra, who in turn glanced at her. "Looks like we've got some exploring to do."
"Yeah," the mint unicorn replied slowly. "Looks like it."
Once again assuming his position as leader of the expedition, Silver Star turned himself around so that he was facing the rest of the group. "Alright then. Is everyone ready?" As a group, the collected ponies took a few seconds to glance between themselves, checking the many faces for any uncertain expressions or hesitation. Once none were found, Silver Star raised one hoof and waved it at the blurry shape of Princess Celestia visible through the multiple layers of plastic. "Okay." The stallion's voice dropped in volume as he turned to again face the open maw of the structure. "Then let's go."
In quick succession the rest of the group turned on their own flashlights, bathing the entrance of the tunnel with multiple unsteady shafts of light that glanced across the four surfaces in a confusing jumble of white beams.
"Here we go..." Lyra whispered to Twilight, her voice laden with excitement. "This is going to be so awesome."
"As long as nothing goes wrong," Twilight muttered back, tentatively taking her first steps over the threshold of the thick door that had previously barred their path. "Then yeah, this should be amazing."
The Lavender mare glanced over her shoulder as they slowly sank into the oppressive darkness of the tunnel, taking a quick look at the fading rectangle of light behind them. She didn't have any worries about what lay inside this strange ruin, because any living creatures would have died out long ago in a pure Argon atmosphere. Twilight's true fears were about the construction of this place and its structural integrity. What if they disturbed the environment enough to cause a cave-in? Then what? They'd run out of oxygen before anyone could reach them.
Without a doubt, their expedition was risky, mostly due to the huge number of unknowns the structure presented. Nonetheless, Twilight's ravenous desire to learn more about the massive artifact far outweighed any risks she could think of. As Rarity said with her most ambitious dresses, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"Hey, you know what's weird?" Lyra whispered, leaning in to Twilight until their helmets connected with a dull tonk sound'. "Our voices don't sound that different. Kinda muffled because of these things, but apart from that, pretty much the same."
"Huh. Yeah." Twilight nodded slightly, drawing back so that she didn't hit their helmets together again in the process. "I'm not sure why. I don't know that much about Argon."
"Well, isn't Argon meant to be way heavier than Oxygen? They did that whole class on that 'element table' back in school..." Lyra trailed off, her expression thoughtful as she cast her gaze around the perfectly shaped stone walls of the tunnel.
"I don't think it works that way" Twilight replied quietly, not wanting to get caught up in a conversation about something neither of them actually understood.
"Yeah. I guess so." Lyra ducked her head in a shrug. "Suppose we'll need to find out, right?" The green mare smiled slightly at Twilight, who returned it.
"I suppose so."
The two of them fell silent, allowing the muffled hoof-falls of the others to take over as they continued their trek deeper into the ancient structure.
Twilight looked over her shoulder yet again, noting that the entry was now so small that she couldn't make out the revolving lights. To their front was what Twilight had previously mistaken for a wall. When it was actually the ceiling of the tunnel as it slanted downwards, moving deeper into the bedrock.
The group paused at the beginning of the slight slant, tracking their lights over the walls that slanted down and to the left in a long, shallow curve that hid where it actually finished.
"Well," Silver Star spoke up for the rest of them to hear, not taking his eyes off the shallow descent in front of them. "We have a lot to do and only two hours to it in. Let's get moving."
As a group the other eight ponies chorused their respective affirmative answers and then started walking forwards once more, taking them deeper into the bowels of Equis.
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Wow. I was thinking about this story not 15 mins ago, wondering if it was going to update soon. Look at my favourites list, and what's sitting at the top of my list? This.
I am officially a psychic.
Yes! It is here!
I await another thrilling chapter from you, sir. Keep up the good work!
Not to sound too bitchy but, don't you think that was dragging it out too much? I'm not saying to rush it but it took half of 6.7k word chapter for them to get from the entrance to actually going inside.
A visual demonstration.
MORE!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MORE!!!
Yes! I'm so glad you updated this story! I can't wait to see what happens next.
1908184
Yeah, that was a bit much wasn't it?
Fantastic chapter, as expected, but "Sargent" is a name, the rank name is "Sergeant".
I was disappointed... as promising as this story is, I was very disappointed in this chapter. As much as I love facts and learning the background behind things I read, I might say you added a little too much this chapter, but hey, I'm a plain ol-reader not a critic.
On the proofreading front, here's one you missed:
"It's a high-pressure tank – that allows is to store more oxygen – so make sure you don't puncture it."
That should be 'it'.
You misspelled sergeant and protege.
"'Kay then." You have an extra quotation mark.
'From what twilight could tell, a group of unicorns were also working to set up equipment that would slowly extract the argon gas.' You forgot to capitalize Twilight's name.
These were all I can remember finding while reading.
GAH! SHORT EVIL CHAPTER!!! WHY U STOP WHEN IT GOT GOOD!!??
ugh cliffhangers, everyday i come to this site and only walk away with more cliffhangers.
Still loving the story though.
1908170
This story doesn't just tell you it's updated through the site, it tells you through your mind!
I did exactly the same thing.
You misspelled Sergeant several times, using the incorrect spelling sargent instead of sergeant.
I felt that you lingered too long on the prep before they entered the chambers- I even started to skip over bits of the chapter since it was not that interesting to me.
Can't wait to see what they find inside though.
All I can do is wait for the next chapter..... I really don't like waiting for so long though even if it is worth it with the rising action and subtle plays at things to come.
I curse u for taking so long
Uh, just want to point out that argon isn't toxic. Sure, if you breathe it in you'll suffocate, but you can say that about any number of things. Water, for example. So yeah, argon. Not actually toxic.
I feel sorry for Twilight, gas-tight SCBA suits and gear are not fun at all.
Pretty excited to find out what level of technology humanity was at when the place was built, would have been nice to see more of it. In the little writing i've done trying to balance the technical details of the environment and making sure the plot goes forward is one of the hardest things to achieve. I do love the hard sci-fi in your writing though, this is the first fic i've read that has taught me something scientific!
1908184
Pretty much this.
Another good chapter, if a bit slow-paced.
"...which would be used to stop the toxic argon gas from escaping into the cave once the door was opened".
Argon isn't actually toxic, however, it'll still kill you in high enough concentrations regardless.
Actually, even if the surrounding gas was sulphur hexafluoride, a gas so heavy that you can actually make things float on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PJTq2xQiQ0
It still wouldn't be weird that their voices sound the same. The soundwaves get created in normal air (thus sounding normal) get transferred to the heavy gas (thus getting distorted) and then transferred back to normal air (getting distorted in the opposite way, thus sounding normal again) before hitting the ear.
To get sound distortion either the source or the receiver needs to be in a substance with a different sound velocity. That's why people don't sound distorted even though there is a wall between you and them.
Not gonna start til this reaches at least 5 chapters because I like reading binges. Sorry
If you're looking for a name for the planet, a lot of authors go with Equis. Suitably pony-ish, without being too obnoxious, and having an air or Terra about it.
I hope they see unans but in these preserved sleeping chambers next
(Fixed) I hope they see humans in their preserved sleeping chambers next
half the chapter is a hazard suit manual...boring.."yaaawn"
1908361 I think it's because the air inside the structure is almost pure argon. If a leak happened in their suits, it would surely kill them simply by replacing all the air in the suit.
If a leak happened in the containment bubble, the tunnels would get flooded with the stuff, suffocating anypony who couldn't get out in time.
Quite interesting... I have to wonder just what they will find in there now.
Dude I don't care what the others say about how long this took and such
I say you should take your time so you can do this story the right way the first time instead of rushing it and making a stupid mistake
Good Job etc.,etc. I enjoyed it from Ch. 1. Keep up the good work.
OK, I'm a little confused here. You said that Twilight is an Element of Harmony, but aren't the Elements themselves the necklaces and the tiara? Would it not make more sense for her to be the bearer or the representative or something like that?
Can't help but wonder what they're gonna find in there. I mean, it could be anything, not necessarily just humans, could be like a robot or an android. Who knows?
I think they refer to the planet itself as Earth. Mostly because they named the ponies without any outstanding features Earth Ponies. Why else would one do that?
Le Equestrian HAZMAT team...
anyway, just a note Argon (and most other gasses) are really cold when in pressurized storage...what's the atmosphere of the...dome? yeah dome
The dome like? Was it like pump filled, because then it should probably be pressurized. (They normally end up over filling with pumps) Just putting that out there...
I liked this chapter better than the first one, especially the writing style. Now...we wait for something bad to happen and trigger the plot line!
Also new episode and new chapter today! FTW
EDIT; Figured out there's no new episode today...:(
One minor nitpick: Argon isn't toxic. Since it's a noble/inert gas, it will NOT combine with any other element except under extreme pressures or temperatures.
However, since it won't combine with anything, large quantities of argon will displace all oxygen inside the lungs. You won't get poisoned, but you WILL suffocate.
1908437
Pinkie actually called the planet Earth in Hearth's Warming Eve. So the question is whether this is actually its name, or if it was just Pinkie being Pinkie. Or if it was like the arcade cabinets: a throwaway gag that the writers didn't consider the implications of.
1908663
Technically, she called Equestria Earth. But personally, I think that was Pinkie being Pinkie.
1908668
She said "the Earth is round". I'm pretty sure Equestria isn't big enough to be round. :V
(...OR IS IT)
((No. Countries can't be spheres.))
(((Usually.)))
Ahhh yes preparation, its necessary yet a bit dull but that keeps it realistic.
This sort of writing really falls right in my street and i love it.
Awaiting for more.
And you misspelled sergeant as sargeant.
Somewhere in the middle when the helmets are put on.
Hmm, me thinks the 30-40 seconds it took for the door mechanism to start was the time the airscrubbers needed to filter out the argon and replace it with O2. Atleast thats what I think but I could be wrong.
What could possibly go wrong?
I guess our protagonists will have to find out.
Carry On
no
To all of you claiming the author misspelled sergeant, you are wrong. Clearly this is a separate rank in the Equestrian Guard spelled Sargento. They are in charge of all the cheese.
Also, to 1908518, the community often has the Equestrian public refer to the Mane Six as simply the Elements of Harmony, since they do wield the darn things.
I wonder...automatized security systems? There SHOULD be some sort of security systems. Maybe doors shutting close or perhaps gun turrets. It would make sense.
1908184 THIS.
Dear author
If there are no mutant zombie humans there will be hell to pay
NO. FREAKING CLIFFHANGER. STOP DOING THIS TO US. IT HURTS.
Naw, the chapter was fine. Not everything has to be Michael Bay explosions.
I believe fanon dictates that Equestria is the pony country, Equiis is either the name of the planet or the star.
Also, need more~<3
I can't help but notice that Twilight doesn't seem to be considering the possibility of killer evil death robots.