maddjak said:
What's the greenhall?

Intrigued by the greenhall, you decide to make your way into the Work district.

As you wander the streets westward, you find them to be rather empty, not to say quiet. The noise of countless machinations emits from every corner and window you pass by, and industrial rumbling reverberates lowly in the distance.

You eventually reach a large open gate with a sign that reads "Greenhall". From inside the gate, you see a loaded cart just departing, leaving behind a young stallion who seems ready to head back to work. Before he leaves, however, he notices your party approaching, and stops to greet you.

Stallion: "Ah, hello there, and welcome to the greenhall! Can I help you with something?"

You introduce yourselves to the stallion, and ask about the greenhall.

Stallion: "Outlanders? That's wild! Sorry, you probably get that a lot. The name's Chipper Sprout, and I'm a worker here at the greenhall. We're just about to close for the day, but if you'd like, I could give you a quick tour of the place."

You agree to Chipper Sprout's offer, and he invites you inside. Complying, you enter a vast hallway, with ramps spanning multiple floors, and lengthy stone walls separating dozens of labeled doors.

Chipper Sprout: "Let's start at the beginning of the production chain: the plantations!

Much like farmlands on the surface, these take up a lot of space, but one advantage of being underground is that we can build vertically. Don't worry, though, I won't have you visit all ninety-six of them!"

Behind each door you pass by, you catch a glimpse of a room furnished with rows upon rows of plant containers, all lit by the same ceiling windows that illuminate the city streets. You follow the stallion into one of the closer rooms, in which seems to be growing some kind of grass.

Chipper Sprout: "As you can tell, the greenhall is the Undercity's primary source of food. We grow most edible grasses, grains and other vegetables found on the surface of Midgard, and try to emulate the same climatic conditions as best we can."

The tour guide then gestures to one of many devices, which looks like a mechanized watering can suspended from the ceiling.

Chipper Sprout: "Like rain, for example, which is done by our automated irrigation system. Each cloud-sprinkler travels along these rails, watering the crops, then goes back to the basin over there for a refuel."

Despite the unicorns' strangely impersonal approach to agriculture, and the admittedly pale, nigh-wilting results, you can't deny that their technology is creative.

You continue your visit, next stopping by a room filled with machines interconnected by conveyor belts, reminding you of a mill. A few workers along the production line wave your way, amused by the distraction.

Chipper Sprout: "Any harvested grain is processed through the threshing and winnowing machines here to remove the chaff. What gets filtered out is sent to the compost facility, and comes back to the plantation as fertilizer."

Once you've had a good look around, you loop back into the main hall, and return to the large gate you entered from.

Chipper Sprout: "And finally, this is the loading bay, where all of the produce is loaded into carts, and delivered to the bank for distribution. Typically there are carts in here, but I think you caught the last one on its way out earlier. And I think that about concludes our visit! Do you have any questions?"

Apple Basket: "Uh, I got one. Do y'all grow any fruit trees down here?"

Chipper Sprout: "Not yet, unfortunately, but soon I'm sure! In the meantime, a few ponies from the surface kindly share some of their sugary harvests with us."

Moonflower: "Ooh! I like the sky windows! Do you know how they work?"

Chipper Sprout: "I'm not an expert by any means, though calling them sky windows is quite appropriate!

To my knowledge, these glass panels are linked to the surface somehow, providing our plants — and the rest of the city — with natural sunlight. Ponies at the factory can tell you more about the inner workings, I'm sure."

You thank Chipper Sprout for the tour.

Chipper Sprout: "It's been a pleasure! It's not every day that we get to share our accomplishments with the outside world."

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