Antipodes
Chapter 1
by PK
Pony legends spoke of a time when the moon and the sun moved across the sky at the behest of two great goddesses, but those times had long since passed. One day, they simply went... missing. No trace or hint of their whereabouts were ever found, and worse, the sun and moon froze in place above the planet. At first it hadn't been too bad- ponies on the daylit side frolicked and enjoyed the constant sunshine, while the ponies on the night side enjoyed the cool calm of the world at night.
Then, things began to take a turn for the worse...
10,000 Years Later
Jigsaw's horn shone a blue light on the dark walls of the cave. A creamy yellow pegasus trotted along behind him. Both shot glances over their shoulders every few minutes.
"Are you sure we're going the right way, Jigsaw?" said the pegasus.
To be perfectly honest with himself, Jigsaw was just as scared as his new apprentice. He'd been put in charge of the tribe's water management system several years ago. The cave had a massive system of pipes, valves, and tubes linking the general populace to the only source of water for hundreds of miles: a vast, underground lake. At one time, the lake had been a safe and even pleasant place to visit, but those days were long gone. Horrible creatures had moved into the lake, and any visit there risked a fight with one of them.
Jigsaw's job wasn't easy, even if he didn't have to worry about things lurking in the dark. He had to adjust and reroute the water depending on broken pipes or areas that had fallen to the monsters- and there were more of those every year. The very survival of his civilization depended on it. This year, however, the Tribunal had seen fit to give him an assistant to train. Jigsaw found it strange that her special talent was stealth. How could that help him? He tried not to think about it that much, though. He was glad he was no longer alone.
The blue light cast by Jigsaw's horn made sharp shadows appear on the rocks ahead of him. Tiptoe ruffled her wings.
She never thought she'd be going into the lower sections of the cave. Nopony did- except for water maintenance and some "daring" adventurers. The Tribunal had been attempting to put a stop to it for years- their numbers had already been reduced dangerously.
There had been a time where thousands of ponies lived down there- you could still find the empty, carved-out caverns if you walked far enough. But ever since the Grand Cataclysm so long ago, they had sealed themselves off from the outside world of sun and desolation and attempted to make a life in the caves. They numbered only in the hundreds now.
Suddenly, the claustrophobic tunnels opened up to a narrow walkway that spanned the length of the cavern, ending with a spiral staircase that led up into a smooth rock sphere cut into the ceiling. Metal pipes ran out in all directions and down into the lake. Mercifully, the water was still and nothing stirred in the darkness.
Jigsaw trotted out first and slowly made his way towards the staircase. The top of it stretched off towards the cavern’s ceiling. Tiptoe spread her wings wide. How she wished she could take off! She'd never seen a room so large. She could do more than just hover- she could really soar! Unfortunately, she knew that that was a bad idea. Something could be lurking up there.
Back with the tribe, the largest room they had was the main chamber, and that was no more than the height of twenty ponies. Pegasi were ground-ridden most of the time. Sometimes, in excavating caverns, there were drop-offs that required pegasi to fly over to help to build a bridge, but those were few and far between. Pegasi were still treated well- the Tribunal was made of two delegates from each type of pony, but the pegasi as a race were declining. Less and less were born, and more and more earth ponies were taking their place. Some pegasi never even got their cutie marks at all. Tiptoe was one of the lucky ones- her feather cutie mark represented her light weight and ability to sneak, which had proven very useful when attempting to clear out monster infestations. That’s how she came to be assigned to work with Jigsaw. She was supposed to find ways around creatures instead of confronting them.
"C’mon, Tip!" Jigsaw yelled at the pegasus. She was simply standing there at the tunnel mouth, her wings spread wide, her jaw agape. "Silly pony," he said to himself, "she wouldn't last a second on her own. "
He knew the feeling, though. The cavern was the largest room in the entire cave complex- so large that nopony had ever walked the circumference around the lake, or at least, nopony that tried ever made it back. The ceiling was several hundred feet up and shrouded in darkness.
She trotted up to the staircase and clambered up the wide stone steps towards the stone sphere that served as the control panel for all the water systems throughout the cave. Even the sphere, which seemed tiny in this enormous cavern, was wide enough inside for about thirty ponies to stand abreast. Jigsaw was waiting for her at the top.
"Okay, this is how it works. First step is to turn on the working lights."
He flipped a switch and the room hummed to life. Various dials and gauges on the walls began moving and from somewhere up above a ticker began printing readouts on paper that had yellowed with age.
A deep rumble shook the room, a splash could be heard below, and a huge reptilian head shot out of the water and raced up towards the shining orb on the ceiling. It was triangular and had milky white eyes that appeared to glow yellow in the harsh light from the viewing port that wrapped around the orb.
"What IS that thing?" Jigsaw yelled, jumping behind Tiptoe and putting his horn out hastily. "I've never seen anything like it!"
Amazingly, seeing the two ponies in the room, the serpent appeared to recoil and slink back into the water. The two ponies looked at each other and shared a nervous giggle.
A bright light shot out from where the dragon had been, metal pipes groaned and snapped, and the sphere broke free and plunged into the water below.