"Ah, I think we're almost there," the guard apparently named Stout said once they were a ways down the path. Later couldn't quite tell how he knew, since the light was so low and the whole tunnel looked the same; however, at least on this, she trusted him. She definitely couldn't trust him on anything else, though.

Sure enough, not a few moments later, they rounded a corner and the end of the tunnel was easily visible, light pouring in from the inside of the city. Dessic, who was still trotting beside Cotton, gave a little chuckle as he saw the light. "The lights down there never cease to amaze me," he explained, after earning a few confused glances from Later and Cotton. "They're just so... bright. I mean, yeah, we've got electric lights back in Chalance, but nothing quite as bright or as large as these."

"Don't you work here, like, every day?" Cotton asked, confused.

"Yeah... and even as the bulbs burn into my retinas, I'm still amazed. It's been years." Dessic sighed. "Gotta appreciate the little things, you know?"

"Mhm..." Cotton replied, shrugging. She didn't really have to reply, though, as Dessic's attention was pulled further by the fluorescent lights up ahead. The small group passed out of the tunnel into a balcony overlooking the CDK below, and as they approached, Stout moved aside to allow Later and Cotton to lean against the railing, glancing down at the city.

The CDK was technically a lot like Umberlight in design and layout, but on a much grander scale that meant visually they could not compare. And not just in how large the ground area was, either; the colossal buildings spired all the way up to the top of the dome in places, and between them spanned a webbing of translucent streets and pathways, bending up and down and every which way. While Umberlight had almost completely been a two dimensional city, the CDK played with all three dimensions in odd ways as layers intersected and led up to different portions of the buildings. Some space was even left for small hovercrafts, which zoomed through specified holes in the streets as they watched. Indeed, the CDK stretched so far down that Later and Cotton had no hope of seeing the bottom, being so close to the top as they were.

After a moment or so, Cotton pulled away. "Eugh..." she moaned. "Not a big fan of heights."

Dessic gave her a reassuring pat. "Don't worry, I wasn't either for the first few months I worked here. Heh... I had to get a garbage can just for my desk, 'cause I'd be puking after I came into work half the days."

Stout turned to Later. "You coming? I kinda need to return to my post, so it would be best if I got you ponies on your way sooner than later."

"Oh, yeah, of course," Later replied with a nod, still looking out up on the city. She finally wrested her gaze away and followed Stout, Dessic, and Cotton Fluff down a small incline that appeared to lead towards a door onlooking the closest street.