//------------------------------// // Antipodes- Chapter 10 // Story: Antipodes // by PK //------------------------------// Antipodes Chapter 10 By PK Tiptoe’s eyes fluttered open. She was surprised to find herself lying on a comfortable mattress in a lavishly decorated room. The red hoofprint and R motif was ever-present on the walls. A strange, shimmering blue light shone in through a window on the left of the room. Tiptoe approached it and gasped. The city spread out beneath her. Rows upon rows on smooth, elegant-looking white towers rose from the ground below her. As she looked farther out, however, the buildings became more blocky, less clean, and less well-kept. At the edge of the line of buildings were little more than run-down shacks. On either side of the strip of buildings was green farmland, with buildings sparsely placed in rows. A shimmering blue shell of energy surrounded the entire city. Tiptoe stared out at it, taking it all in. A quiet ding and a hum emanated from the door at the front of the room, and a very small, bright blue pegasus walked in, a wide smile on her face. Tiptoe reacted instantly, jumping away from the door and extending her wings as menacingly as she could muster. The blue pegasus didn’t drop her smile. “Who are you?” Tiptoe demanded, a slight waver in her voice. “My name is Cerulean. Don’t worry, you’re perfectly safe. Your friend Jigsaw, too.” she said evenly. “Jigsaw was here? Where is he now?” Tiptoe said, retracting her wings. “He’s off with our governor. He’s perfectly safe, I assure you. He was in here earlier, in fact.” Cerulean said. Her voice was so bubbly that Tiptoe found it a little sickening. “Can I go see him?” Tiptoe asked. “Of course not! He’s very busy right now, but don’t worry! I’ve been tasked to show you around. Come with me!” Cerulean walked backwards, her smile still wide, and beckoned out the door into the plain gray hallway beyond. Slowly, Tiptoe and Cerulean left the room, the door sliding with a soft hum into the wall behind them. They began their descent down a richly carved stone staircase. ~~~ The door swung open and the hallway was flooded with a brilliant white light. Jigsaw had to avert his eyes for a moment, and Rubidium took a few steps back. After a few seconds, the light faded to a level that allowed Jigsaw to look at the item producing it. Right in the middle of a large crystalline apparatus was what looked like a miniature sun. It was a deep yellowish red color and appeared to rotate and swirl in place. Surrounding it were two long crystal arms that extended into the ceiling. White light was flowing out of the sphere and into the crystal arms and travelled into the walls. Jigsaw hesitantly walked forward into the room. “What... what is this? What is it doing?” Jigsaw asked, examining the sphere closely. It gave off a warm light. “What you’re looking at, Jigsaw, is a fragment of Celestia herself.” Rubidium said softly. He stood at the threshold of the door. Jigsaw stared at Rubidium in shock. “You’re joking, right? There’s no way this is possible.” “But it is. When the dragon split the goddesses, not every fragment was lost. This one fell here. When Tantalus attacked, we built this to harness the power of the sphere and create the shield that still protects us. We’re not entirely sure, but we think there are six in total- three for Celestia, and three for Luna. Nopony knows where the others are. Even if we did, we have no way of getting there. You’re the first that’s ever managed to get in from outside.” Jigsaw stared at the sphere and attempted to absorb all the new information. It was almost too much to take in at once. “Who exactly is ‘we’?” Jigsaw asked. “The ancient Stalliongradians. They recorded everything. I could show you to the historical libraries if you’d like.” Rubidium stood leaning against the doorway, watching Jigsaw meander around the room. “I’d like to see that, I think.” Jigsaw said. “First, though, I’d like to finish examining this.” He gingerly touched the tip of his horn to the crystal arms that jutted out from the walls. As his horn began to glow, the white light inside the crystal responded by bending towards it. Suddenly, a high-pitched whine came from the walls of the chamber and the floor began to rumble. The crystal arms suddenly began to rotate around the sphere. Then, as quickly as it began, it was over. Jigsaw looked up in fright at Rubidium, who had a small smile on his face. “What was that?” Jigsaw said. “The attenuation rods need to realign themselves periodically. Now follow me. It’s not safe to be in here for much longer. There’s going to be a powerful blast of magical energy. Which, coincidentally, is why we don’t have electronics down here.” Jigsaw took one last look around the room before heading out behind Rubidium. Together they walked into the pod-like elevator and began the ride back up. Jigsaw simply stood and watched as the scenery flashed by his eyes. They were about halfway up the tower when it slid to a halt. The doors on the front whooshed open to reveal a brightly lit library. The room was rectangular, with what looked like polished wooden walls. Jigsaw cantered out of the door. “You wait here and read anything you like. I have to tend to some business.” With that, Rubidium’s horn glowed red, and the elevator’s door shut silently. It then began its descent down the tube and out of sight. Jigsaw had only taken a few steps towards a bookshelf when a portion of the wall slid open to his left. Behind it were Cerulean and Tiptoe. “Tiptoe?” Jigsaw said, surprised. “Jigsaw! You’re all right!” Tiptoe said, running into the room. The two embraced as the door slid shut behind them. “Where have you been?” Tiptoe said after they had separated. Jigsaw then began to recount the tale of what had happened to him while Tiptoe was asleep. At the revelation of the fact that Celestia and Luna were broken up into fragments, she gave an audible gasp. Eventually, Jigsaw finished, and silence fell as she digested the information. Finally, she spoke. “Jigsaw, do you entirely trust these ponies?” ~~~ Rubidium rode the elevator down to the second lowest level. He stepped out into the stone hallway, squinting through the dim, greenish light. Only the emergency lights were left on this low. He began to trot down the hallway. About halfway down, a sudden flash of rainbow light flashed behind him. He didn’t need to look back. He knew Cerulean was behind him. “I led the pegasus to the holding area, just liked you asked. I assume the plan is going to proceed as we discussed?” Rubidium shot a glance in Cerulean’s direction that made her freeze in place. “He opened the door. He walked right up to the fragment of Celestia as if there was nothing there. He’s far too valuable to dispose of now. The pegasus can go, though. Is the subject ready?” Cerulean breathed out a sigh of relief and replied, “Of course. Right this way.” They continued walking on in silence. Eventually, they came to an unassuming mahogany door to the right of the hallway. Cerulean pushed it open and Rubidium entered. The room looked as if it had once been a war room, though it was now heavily altered. The far wall appeared to have been carved out and extended several dozen yards into solid rock. Several pieces of equipment and magical apparatuses lined the walls. At the far end the wall, surrounded by all kinds of machinery, was a table. Strapped onto it was a purple female earth pony. As Rubidium approached, she began to struggle, but the metal clamps around her hooves kept her latched on tightly. Cerulean looked away. Rubidium approached and a small apparatus on a metal rod extended out from some device on the wall. At the tip was a series of concentric circles. Rubidium inserted his horn into the device and it began to glow ruby red. The earth pony shuddered and whimpered as a beam of red light issued from her chest and was funneled into Rubidium’s horn. His coat became smoother, he stood taller, and his muscles became better defined. In a few moments, it was over. Rubidium stepped away from the device and it retraced into the wall. The earth pony in the shackles was dead. It looked as though it had aged a lifetime. The floor in front of the table slid open and the shackles unlocked. The body fell into the open pit and the floor slid shut again. Rubidium stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Cerulean, who was still looking away. “I think it’s time you retrieve our young intruders. I’ll be in my quarters. Don’t take too long.” Cerulean nodded and pressed her wings against the small disk hidden under them. She began to glow before a flash of rainbow light filled the room and she was gone. She appeared in the hallway directly outside the library. She took a moment to compose herself and assume her signature smile before swiping a hoof across the door controls. They slid open in front of her, and she let out an audible gasp. The room was empty.