Antipodes- Chapter 24
Antipodes
Chapter 24
By PK
Hey, guys. It’s me. I just wanted to personally apologize for the truly ridiculous wait between the last chapter and this one. I don’t really know what I can do except apologize profusely and give you this chapter. It’s my second longest, if that helps!
Incendia made her way down a cobblestone pathway which weaved in between the many short buildings built into the side of the hill. She was reminded vividly of Stalliongrad- the buildings here seemed to have been pieced together out of plates of metal from some long-demolished structure, just as they had been in the slums of Stalliongrad.
This place was different, however- most of the metal surfaces were glossy and reflected the bright light from the streetlamps and the veiled luminescence of the distant radio tower. The buildings stood strong and sturdy, and almost all of them had lights gleaming out of the windows. Up and down the road, ponies were leaving their homes, some pulling wagons filled with tools or green food. Incendia’s stomach gave a sudden grumble. Whatever she had eaten that morning hadn’t filled her up very much.
She approached a rather bland-looking elderly brown earth pony who was pulling a small cart stacked high with shining tubes, which appeared to be made out of some kind of crystalline glass. She asked him if he knew where she could find food. The earth pony opened his mouth to answer, but caught himself when he saw the circular indent in Incendia’s shoulder.
“Yer one of them Stalliongrad refugees, ain’t ya?” he said after several seconds of silence.
“Yes, I am,” Incendia said. “Is that a problem?”
“Ain’t no problem,” the earth pony said, “just might be difficult fer ya to get yer hands on some food without any money. Try old Cloverhoof’s market over yonder, he’s always been kind to charity cases.”
“Charity cases?” Incendia huffed. “It’s hardly my fault that I don’t have any money!”
“Woah now, don’t split yer bit,” the elderly pony said quickly, “ah just meant that not a lot a’ folks around here would be willing to hoof a bill like that, refugee or not. Y’all got one of them maps they hand out to you folk, right?”
Incendia rolled her eyes, but her horn began to glow and the map that Quill Dipper had left her flew out of the bag slung over her back and unfurled in mid-air.
“Well, we’re here, an’ yer gonna want to head in that direction,” the earth pony said, jabbing a hoof at a large green area next to a small fountain. “Can yer see how to get there from here?”
“I think I can,” Incendia replied, studying the map.
“Well, alright then. Ah gotta git back to mah work, but it was a right pleasure talkin’ with you,” the elderly pony said, starting forwards with his cart.
Incendia rolled up the map and walked away, feeling disgruntled. “Charity case? Who does he think I am? What does he think Stalliongrad is? We don’t need handouts from anyone.”
She shook her head and continued her journey through the curving streets of Totemhoof. As she made her way further into the city, the buildings grew taller and closer together. More and more of these buildings seemed to be made of wood rather than scrap metal. She passed an enormous building which appeared to be made of some strange silvery stone. At the top of the curving ceiling was a crescent moon carved out of a brilliant crystal, which was refracting and shining the light from the radio tower down upon the street in a glittering pattern. Incendia was so taken by the sight that she collided with a scarlet unicorn, who was meandering in the opposite direction.
“Oh, sorry!” Incendia sputtered. “I wasn’t paying attention!”
“Don’t worry about it,” the scarlet unicorn replied. “I wasn’t watching where I was going eith-“
She stopped mid-sentence, staring at the small crater in Incendia’s shoulder where the teleporter had been. “What happened to your arm?”
“Oh, that? I’m a Stalliongrad refugee. I used to wear a device in my shoulder there, but it got damaged and had to be removed.”
The scarlet unicorn looked appalled. “Why did it have to be embedded in your shoulder? That’s barbaric! What did it do?”
Incendia was surprised at her reaction. “It was a teleporter, and it had to be embedded in the shoulder because otherwise there was a chance it could get lost or stolen.”
“Your protection against theft was to bury things inside your own body?” the unicorn asked, a look of disgust still evident on her face. “Perhaps it’s a blessing to the world that that place was finally wiped off the map. Luna knows we’re happy to not have it looming over us anymore. I think we should have let you… ponies… wither and be done with it.”
Anger began to bubble up inside Incendia, but before she could do anything about it, the scarlet unicorn huffed and turned, proceeding into the cathedral.
Incendia stood there for several seconds more, debating whether following the unicorn inside would be worth it. Before she could make the decision, however, a stream of earth ponies filed out from the side streets and the cathedral and marched past her. The unicorn’s words momentarily forgotten, Incendia watched them march past in wonder.
They seemed to be an equal mix male and female, and they all wore deep midnight blue cloaks, but the fabric was unlike anything Incendia had ever seen before. The material seemed to shimmer gently with a light of its own. The reflected glow from the cathedral roof seemed to be dampened and absorbed by the cloaks, almost as if they were bending the light inwards on themselves. Incendia figured it must be magical.
The cloaks were not what she was devoted the majority of her attention to, however. She was more concerned with the heavy, spiked balls attached to their tails and the lances gripped at sharp angles in their mouths. As unfamiliar as Incendia was with her surroundings, she knew a military movement when she saw one. These ponies were gearing up to fight.
Then, as quickly as they had appeared, they had gone, marching down another street and out of sight. The street was now deserted but for Incendia and the crystalline moon’s peculiar sheen.
Incendia continued down the path the map had indicated, and it didn’t take long for her thoughts to wander back to that infuriating scarlet unicorn. Totemhoof’s wonder was wearing off quickly. She had spent her whole life fighting for the good of the people of Stalliongrad, and is this what her efforts had led to? The destruction of their homes and the corralling of whatever paltry survivors that remained into a city that at best merely tolerated them, or thought of them as “charity cases?” After generations of oppression and fighting, this was the ultimate fate of her people?
Incendia could hardly stand it. She could feel her temperature rising. Small fires crept up into her brilliant copper mane only to abruptly extinguish themselves. She had to maintain control. She didn’t think the population of Totemhoof would be any more understanding if she burst into flames. As far as she knew, that wasn’t a very common ability.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to concentrate. After several seconds she had cooled down enough to continue on, though her mood hadn’t really improved.
The streets widened as she made her way forward. She figured she must have passed into some kind of commercial district, as nearly every building she passed was brandishing a sign above its door. Advertisements behind clouded glass windows depicted smiling fillies clutching dolls in their mouths or burly earth pony colts swinging hammers down upon some molten metal on a black anvil. There was even an advertisement showing a midnight blue mare in a lacy saddle. Incendia lingered in front of that window perhaps a bit longer than she should have.
Eventually, she found the spot the map had indicated. A fountain depicting a majestic alicorn- Incendia assumed it to be Luna- surrounded by kneeling ponies stood in the center of a small cluster of carts loaded to the brim with all sorts of ingredients. A lime green unicorn with a four-leaf clover cutie mark stood behind a counter and a very rusty cash register. Several ponies milled about among the carts, idly filling bags with various goods.
Incendia approached the unicorn behind the cash register.
“Can I help you?” he asked, smiling.
“I hope so. My name’s Incendia, and I’m a refu-“
“A refugee from Stalliongrad?” the unicorn finished. “I assumed as much. Well, you’ve come to the right place. The name’s Cloverhoof. Pleasure to meet you, Incendia. That’s an interesting name. How did you get it?”
Incendia dropped her eyes to the cobblestone ground. “I don’t know.”
Cloverhoof evidently sensed that he’d trodden on a sensitive subject, for he cleared his throat and continued, “Well, help yourself to anything in the square. Stalliongrad refugees get one free pass.”
“One free pass?” Incendia asked.
“I couldn’t stay in business if all the refugees just came and took what the wanted all the time. As much as I want to help you out, I have mouths to feed too,” Cloverhoof said. “And I want to drum up business. Trust me, once you taste my food, you won’t want to shop anywhere else!”
“Thank you,” Incendia replied. “I think I’m going to take a look around now.”
She turned on the spot and rolled her eyes, cantering off towards a promising pile of bright red flower petals. A steely grey pegasus stallion with an anvil cutie mark was standing near the cart, reading a label on the bottom. He looked up when he saw Incendia, but quickly lost interest and went back to examining the label.
Incendia sniffed at the petals and, glancing around, snagged one off the side of the pile with her mouth and chewed. It was sweet and watery and reminded Incendia of the berries they had eaten on the hillsides. She wondered if they came from the same plants.
She made her way around the cart to the label that the grey stallion had been examining earlier. It read:
BLOODBERRY PETALS
Freshly picked by one of our highly-trained scavenger teams, these are the most pristine bloodberry petals this side of the Divide! Get them while you can- supplies are highly limited.
Incendia regarded the label idly before lifting a small bundle of petals off the pile and floating them towards her pack. Before they had made it even halfway, however, a deep voice sounded from her left.
“Excuse me, miss, but are you-“
Incendia jumped and turned to face the sound. Her old battle reflexes kicked in- every muscle in her body tensing. The crimson petals suspended in the air were incinerated in a flare of light and heat. Standing before Incendia was the grey pegasus she had seen earlier, a very shocked expression on his face.
Incendia exhaled sharply and relaxed. She glanced back at the remains of the petals- a pile of ashes on the ground- and cursed under her breath.
“I’m sorry, miss, I only wanted to know if you were a Stalliongrad refugee.”
Incendia stared blankly at the stallion for a few seconds before she understood what he was asking.
“Oh! Yes. I’m sorry about the petals- I was just startled is all. I’m a refugee.”
The grey pegasus smiled uneasily. “That was some powerful magic you just did,” he said. “I could feel the heat from here.” He chuckled nervously, and his eyes flicked down at the crater in Incendia’s shoulder before darting back up to meet her gaze.
“It was damaged in the escape attempt,” Incendia said. “I had to remove it.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare,” the pegasus said. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?
Incendia wondered if she should be truthful with him for a moment. She had learned early on in Stalliongrad not to give out her name to just anyone- she might be recognized as the leader of the resistance. But, after a moment, she remembered that she had already told her name to Cloverhoof. Besides, Stalliongrad had gone, and Rubidium’s followers with it. Probably. She figured she could take him anyway even if he did start a fight.
“Incendia,” she said curtly.
“Good to meet you, Incendia. My name is Ironmane,” the grey pegasus replied, “and I have a favor to ask you. I was in one of the first immigration waves to arrive and I’ve already used up my one free pass here. I get enough food at home-“ he stopped mid-sentence and glanced away from Incendia. “At where I’m staying, but I love these little red petals, and I can’t afford them. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to get me a bag?”
Incendia didn’t even have to consider it. “Of course I will. We refugees have to stick together, don’t we?”
Ironmane’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, miss!”
Incendia loaded up her bag with the petals and brought them over to Cloverhoof, who marked an inventory list then told her she was free to go. Incendia dropped the bag at Ironmane’s hooves, and he grabbed the strap in his mouth and slung the bag over his back.
“Sorry about scaring you earlier,” Incendia said apologetically, “I’m just still a little on edge. Things have been a bit… harrowing since Stalliongrad.”
“I know what you mean,” Ironmane said. “Sometimes I wonder if we’re even better off here. Did you see that march a while back? Something big is going on and nopony is willing to tell us anything. That, and..” he dropped his voice and looked around. “All this Luna worshipping business creeps me out, frankly. The goddesses never did me any good, and they sure don’t look like they’re doing this place any good either.”
Incendia nodded absently. She had never really stopped to consider what she thought of the goddesses- she knew that a piece of Celestia had been powering Stalliongrad, but it had never occurred to her that people might still worship the goddesses. She had assumed the fragment had been just that- a fragment, some tiny part of the powers that once were that still lingered. Nopony in Stalliongrad had really worshipped it- they respected it’s power, but the goddesses were mere bedtime stories at best.
Then Jigsaw and Tiptoe had come along and changed everything she had thought she’d known about the state of the world. Tantalus had always been a far-off threat, something that was probably terrible on the outside but also something the city’s shield had always been able to keep out. Sometimes, before Jigsaw came along, she used to wonder about whether Tantalus could possibly be worse than being trapped in a fishbowl with Rubidium like that. At least Tantalus only killed ponies, he didn’t suck them dry to add to his own power. And the Attenuators were nothing more than a genetic anomaly- ponies capable of withstanding the power of Celestia flowing through them. But then Jigsaw had absorbed the fragment and escaped the city. She had seen a piece of Luna personally- the thought of the creature animated by it still made her shudder- and she had seen Tantalus up close- and driven a statue through his eye, no less.
She must have gone silent for a long time because Ironmane scuffed his hooves against the cobblestone road and said, “I didn’t mean no offense if you hold with the old goddesses, miss.”
“No, no, it’s alright,” Incendia said, coming out of her introspective reverie. “I was just… thinking about things. I didn’t take offense.”
Ironmane nodded and said, “You know, I really appreciate what you did back there, getting me these petals and all. Why don’t you come and meet my group? Like you said, us refugees have to stick together, right?”
Incendia shrugged. “It was no problem. And sure, I suppose.”
Ironmane led her through a few blocks of winding sidewalks and tall, industrial-looking buildings, before he came to a quaint cottage nestled between two much larger buildings. Incendia guessed this had originally been a residential district, but all the houses had slowly been replaced with factories and shops.
“Home sweet home, I suppose,” Ironmane said. “Come on in, I’ll introduce you to Aurora.”
Incendia followed him inside. Though it looked like wood from the outside, Incendia was surprised- and a little relieved- to discover that it was actually sheets of metal painted to look like wood. She didn’t do too well in wooden buildings.
The inside was warmly lit by wall-mounted light fixtures in the shape of torches. There was very little furniture, just a table with a few chairs. The kitchen appeared to be built into the far corner of the room, though it was separated by a long countertop. There were three doors on the left, each of them closed.
“Aurora!” Ironmane called. “I’m back from the market. I got the petals and I brought a guest!”
“You got the petals?” came a female voice from behind one of the doors. Incendia heard paper rustling and the sound of a quill clattering against a desk, then a dark blue unicorn came out of the farthest door. Her tail was a light purplish-blue, and her cutie mark was a ribbon made up of all the colors of the rainbow. Incendia had to concentrate to stop her jaw from going slack- this unicorn was gorgeous.
But Aurora ran up and embraced Ironmane, and Incendia’s hopes fell. “Just my luck,” she thought, “all the pretty ones are taken.”
“And who is this?” Aurora said, turning towards Incendia. Incendia noticed with a start that she had a teleportation device embedded in her shoulder- a proper one, smooth, round, and flush against the skin. The display flickered weakly between green, red, and blue.
“This is Incendia,” Ironmane said. “She gave up her one free purchase to get us the bloodberry petals.”
"How nice of you!" Aurora said with a smile. "I don't know of many ponies who would do that. You're welcome to stay for dinner if you like, but we don't have much in the way of food. It would help so much if this place only had an oven," Aurora said, pouting. "Oh well."
"And oven?" Incendia said with a wry smile. "I think I may be able to help you with that."
~~~
Fifteen minutes later, Incendia was standing in the kitchen, all of the ingredients laid out before her, as well as a menagerie of pots and pans. She didn't recognize most of the food- strange, lumpy brown roots, green stalks of what looked like celery but had no rigidity, strange fruits of all shapes and sizes. Some foods were familiar, however- ruby red apples, carrots, and grass clippings were present.
"Now, the locals tell me these-" she indicated the bulbous brown root- "are delicious baked. Do you think you could do that?"
"I can do you one better," Incendia said, grinning. "You might want to step out of the kitchen."
Aurora did as prompted, though she looked a little bemused. Incendia closed her eyes and concentrated on the food on the counter. Her horn shone with a brilliant orange light, and the food on the counter was soon enveloped in a haze of magical energy. It all lifted off the counter and began to sort itself into pots and pans of various shapes and sizes. Next, she lifted the pots off the counter and ran them under the tap, allowing them to fill with water. She gritted her teeth- levitating so many objects simultaneously was difficult, and now that they were full of water, they were heavy to boot. She wasn't done yet, however. The main event had yet to begin.
She closed her eyes again and focused harder on the heat radiating from her horn and burst into brilliant golden flames.
She heard Aurora and Ironmane gasp in the other room. "Don't worry!" she called, her voice wavering with the strain of the magic. "I'm okay! Just keep back!"
Incendia could hardly see through ferocious inferno whipping around her. She could feel all of the pots and pans floating in the air nearby- the water already beginning to boil, the roots baking. She braced herself harder against the metal floor of the cottage as energy continued to pour out of her horn.
From the outside, all Ironmane and Aurora could see was a swirling ball of fire, brighter and more intense than anything they had ever seen before. The heat was immense- when Incendia had first ignited, Aurora thought for a moment that her eyebrows must have been seared off. As they watched, however, the fireball began to swirl less and less rapidly. The individual pots and pans could be seen flying through the air, orbiting Incendia like planets to a sun, each encased in another deep red fireball of their own. Soon, the fireball diminished until it was so small that Incendia's outline could be seen, an intensely blazing golden form standing on a red-hot metal floor. Eventually, the flames ceased licking up her coat, and it cooled gradually from white hot to dull red to black. Her mane seemed to burn longer, like a wildfire streaming out from her head and flank, until the wisps of flame coalesced into strands of coppery orange-red hair. For a long time her eyes lingered as pools of molten metal, but before long, they too cooled from blazing white to their normal orange.
With a grunt of effort, Incendia set the pots and pans down on the stone countertop, all filled with perfectly cooked steaming fruits and vegetables.
"That was more difficult than I expected," Incendia said, panting slightly. Sweat trickled down her flank, not from heat, but from exertion.
Ironmane and Aurora stared at her for a long moment, long enough for Incendia to think that she had done something wrong.
Then they began to whoop and holler, clopping their front hooves down on the metal floor.
"That was incredible!" Aurora said. "I wish I could do magic like that!"
"In all my years of working the forges, I've never seen a pony that could work heat like that!" Ironmane said. "That was amazing!"
Incendia smiled. "Thank you. I've had... plenty of opportunities to hone my skills."
"Well, I think this counts as a special occasion," Aurora said. Her horn began to glow pale silver and a small green saddlebag came zooming out of the farthest door on the left and landed in front of her feet. She opened the top and began rooting about inside it.
"This was in my bag when I escaped from Stalliongrad... ah, here it is!"
She pulled out a ruby red bottle with an ornate silver-topped cork firmly fastened at the top.
"This is my great-grandmother's famous fermented dandelion juice. Must be at least a hundred and fifty years old. Probably the last bottle in existence."
"You saved some of your dandelion juice?" Ironmane asked, a huge grin splitting his face. "Maybe Luna is watching over us!"
"I've never had any," Incendia said.
"Oh, just you wait," Aurora said. Her horn sparked, and the cork shot out.
~~~
Incendia, Aurora, and Ironmane all sat around the small table. Empty plates of food were stacked in the kitchen, but the bottle of dandelion juice was still being passed around. Incendia had made a small fire in the center of the table, and it's light and warmth warded off the cold of the outside air.
"That was delicious, Incendia," Aurora said. "Thank you."
"It was my treat," Incendia replied. "I haven't gotten the chance to do any magic for a few days anyway and I was getting antsy."
They chuckled.
"So, what did you two used to do back in the city?" Incendia asked, taking a swig from her glass.
"I worked in the forges, if that wasn't obvious," Ironmane said, glancing towards his anvil cutie mark.
"A pegasus working in the forges?" Incendia mused. "Unorthodox."
Ironmane shrugged. "It's not like I had much of a choice. I wasn't born into doing what I wanted like my beautiful wife here," he said with a smirk.
Aurora giggled and bumped against Ironmane with her shoulder. Then she turned to Incendia and said, "My father was a scientist working directly for Rubidium, assigned to the personal teleporter project back in the day. We were... lucky. That's why I got this," she said, jerking her head towards her shoulder, "and why I was allowed to be an artist."
"An artist," Incendia said, placing her glass down on the table. "Didn't meet too many of those in Stalliongrad. Who did you work for?"
"Another scientist. Working on the Attenuators. He wanted sculptures for his home." Aurora's eyes fell. "I didn't like what they did to those poor unicorns. I'm not proud."
"Now, honey, don't pout. What's done is done, and it's all over now," Ironmane said, nuzzling Aurora.
"I suppose," she said. "I never felt like I was doing anything with my life back there, though. I'm not sure I even miss it," she said, taking another sip of dandelion juice.
"How did you two meet?" Incendia asked.
"She needed metal for a sculpture, and I was the one they sent to deliver it," Ironmane said. "One look and I knew she was the mare for me."
"Oh, stop it, you," Aurora said. "But, yes, that is the bare bones of it. How about you, Incendia? You haven't told us much about yourself. Any special stallions in your life?"
Incendia sighed and picked up the glass of dandelion juice and took a swig. "No... no stallions."
"Aaah," Ironmane said. "I'm not one to judge."
"Why don't you tell us about her?" Aurora said.
Incendia hesitated for a moment, then took another drink of dandelion juice.
"Her name's Tiptoe. I didn't meet her until just recently- only a few days before Stalliongrad's destruction, in fact. I didn't think too much of her then. The last few days were... ah, hectic for me. Once I got out and got to know her... I don't know. I don't usually go for the quiet types, but she just... she has this, pardon the pun, flame. She's been through more than I even want to think about and she's still so... innocent. I never really... I don't think most of us knew innocence back in Stalliongrad."
There was a moment of silence, where they all stared at the magical flames in the center of the table.
"That, and she's pretty damn attractive," Incendia said, swirling her glass in mid-air.
Ironmane snickered. "I'll drink to that," he said enthusiastically.
Aurora just shook her head, but she still clinked her glass with the others and drained the remaining dandelion juice.
"So, are you two together, then?" Aurora asked.
Incendia's smiled faded away. "No."
"I recognize that tone," Ironmane said. "That's girl trouble, right there. What's wrong?"
Incendia sighed again and prodded the flames with her horn absently. "She's taken."
"Oh, you poor dear," Aurora said. "I'm so sorry."
"So am I," Incendia thought.
"Can we change the subject, please?" Incendia asked.
"Of course, dear. I'm sorry I even brought it up," Aurora said.
"It's no problem. So, how did you guys escape?" Incendia asked.
"Same way as most, I suspect. As soon as the shield fell, it was obvious the worst had finally happened. I knew that horrible dragon would be arriving any moment, so I gathered up as many ponies as I could and teleported out of there."
"How did you know the teleporter would work?" Incendia asked. "You couldn't teleport out while the shield was up. How did you know where to point the coordinates?"
"My father helped build these," Aurora said. "I can do more than make pretty sculptures, you know. Besides, I could ask you the same thing," She winked playfully.
"As soon as the shield was down, I just dialed it as far as I could from where I was. What I didn't know was how many ponies I could take with me."
"How many can you take?" Incendia said. "I've never taken more than three or four."
"I managed to get about forty," Aurora said. "I might have been able to get more if not for all the chaos right before the end."
"Forty?" Incendia said incredulously. "That's insane!"
"I didn't think it would work," Aurora said, "and it almost didn't. That's why it's been just flashing colors since, I expect. I don't know anypony who has a working one anymore, though you're the first I've met who had one taken out."
"How many ponies do you think escaped?" Incendia asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
"Oh, probably in the hundreds," Aurora said. "The government workers and their families- really anypony with a teleporter- was rounding up as many ponies as they could and getting them out of harm's way. Some even risked going into the outer edges to get some of the less fortunate. Didn't... you do the same?"
"I only brought two others," Incendia said. She felt bad lying to her, but it was a small lie, after all. Besides, she was too happy about the survivors. The upper class had actually put themselves in harm's way to save the "lower" ponies, in defiance of what Rubidium would have wanted. Perhaps it was the dandelion juice, but just thinking about it made her feel warm inside.
"Well, I don't blame you," Aurora said. "It was so chaotic. Riots in the streets. If I didn't know in advance I could take ponies with me, I probably wouldn't have tried."
"Except for me," Ironmane cut in.
"Yes, except for my dear husband," Aurora corrected.
"So, what about you, Incendia?" Ironmane inquired. "You haven't told us much about yourself yet."
Incendia had a cover story prepared, of course. She had to have some way to explain her appearance.
"Firefighter," she said. "As you saw before, I've always been good at controlling fire. I teleport in, get the survivors out, then put out the fires."
"Were you a noble's daughter, then?" Aurora asked.
"Middle class," Incendia said. "My special talent caught the attention of Rubidium's administration."
"Admirable occupation," Ironmane said. "Spent a lot of time in the outer rings, didn't you?"
"Naturally," Incendia said.
"Might have saved my life once or twice. You should have seen the conditions of the forge I had to work in when I was young. They actually used paper in the walls. Paper!"
"Smart," Incendia said, giggling.
Ironmane shook his head. "It's no wonder we had about three fires a day."
They sat in silence, watching the fire flicker on the tabletop. The mood in the room seemed to shift, becoming more solemn.
"I do miss my workshop," Aurora said quietly. "All my best pieces were there."
"I know what you mean," Ironmane said. "All they have me doing here is forging maces and swords. They won't even tell me what it's for. I appreciate the hospitality, but I'm not sure I like the secrecy. They're gearing up for something big, I’m sure of it."
Incendia's ears pricked up at this, but she said nothing.
Outside, from one of the many street-posts, nine loud buzzes announced the time.
"I'm getting kind of sleepy, dear," Aurora said to Ironmane.
"I am too," he said. "It was wonderful meeting you, Incendia, but I'm afraid we're going to have to close up shop for the day."
"That's okay," Incendia said. "It's probably time for me to get going too. It was nice meeting you, too."
Ironmane and Incendia stood up at the same time. Ironmane gave her a respectful nod and walked to the closest door on the left and entered it. Incendia's horn ignited and the fire on the table was sucked into her horn.
"Are you coming to bed, Aurora?" Ironmane called from the other room.
"In just a minute. I want to say goodbye to our guest," Aurora called back. She got rather unsteadily to her hooves.
"Thank you for having me," Incendia said, smiling. "It was a very nice evening."
"Incendia," Aurora said with a sweet smile, "I may not look it, but I've been around a while. I can tell when somepony isn't being entirely truthful."
Incendia's guard went up immediately. "What do you mean?"
"Now, now, it's not my place to pry," Aurora said. "You've done right by me as far as I'm concerned, and everypony's entitled to their secrets. But I can tell that you're hurting inside, and I'm going to guess the source was that mare you mentioned earlier. If that was a lie, I'll eat my hooves."
Incendia didn't make eye contact with Aurora, but she blushed intensely.
"Now, I know it's not my place to give relationship advice, but if you truly love somepony, I think it will work out no matter what the situation. I mean, look at me. I fell in love with a pegasus from the poorest parts of the city. Do you really think I even thought it had a chance of working? Of course I didn't. But just look at us now- maybe it's not exactly how we imagined it, but we have a roof over our heads, we're together, and we're safe."
She walked over to Incendia and placed her head gently on her neck.
"Just remember you're not alone."
With that, Aurora turned and trotted towards the bedroom, the door closing behind her with a gentle click.
Tears fell down Incendia's face, turning to steam before they reached the end of her snout.
~~~
The trip home was uneventful. It was lightly drizzling. The mysterious light from the radio tower had diminished significantly in brightness, but spindly, trident-shaped streetlights had flared to life along the roads, casting the city streets in a somewhat eerie blue.
She arrived home at roughly the same time as Tiptoe, and her smile at the sight of Incendia made the water coating her flank curl off her in trails of steam. Incendia hoped she didn't notice.
"Rough day?" Tiptoe asked.
"You could say that," Incendia responded.
They opened the door and walked in together. Incendia was surprised to find Jigsaw already in the house, sitting at the table, a grim look on his face.
"We need to talk."
Stats
Page generated in 0.038 seconds
Total duration
1,063 users online
2,241,875 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
NEWCHAPTER!!!!!!!!!
A wild cliffhanger appears!
Now I have to wait another three weeks for more story.
Am I the only one thinking it's been too long? Well, probably, but I'm still glad we've finally got a new chapter. Second longest or not, I'm happy to get anything Antipodes.
...Though, I would suggest getting rid of that little disclaimer at the top. If you've been busy, you've been busy; there's no need to apologize for living your life.
what mind said RL first we can wait
Incendia's rough day wasn't nearly as rough as I had expected. But I really enjoyed what it turned out to be. Soul searching is a very healthy sport and she did it well, given her conditions and background.
What bugs me is that it looks like the next chapter is going to end at the same point in time… AGAIN!
Well played, PK, well played.
But no matter. Nice work. Hope to see more… Stalliongradians?
YAY
more reading of awesomeness.
I am currently triying to build future Stalliongrad on the sandbox survivial game "Minecraft" The shield will be made out of glass, I have pretty much completed Rubidium's tower and the inner city, I have yet to finish the outer city part....
After I am finished with Stalliongrad, I shall build Totemhoof, if I can....
Enjoying this.
28166
*Brohoof*
28166 Must. Download. World. When. Done.
28344 alrgiht I'm starting the Resistence's headquarters now I have been working on it all night. and only got four hours of sleep....
29141
HA
you're the first person to get where i got the inspiration for that from. :P pendragon is one of my all time favorite series
I'm so glad Incendia didn't die with Stalliongrad as it was implied she did. Not only would be lacking awesome superhero-style fire magic, but she wouldn't be able to go around being gay towards everypony. I just find lesbian fire ponies *puts on sunglasses*
Hot.
YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
And, speaking of, I wonder what will happen when she finally comes out of the stable to Tiptoe? I'm seeing possible ponygamy, with all this talk of "don't sacrifice your own happiness" and "love will find a way." It'll be fun to see how that works out, involving Jigsaw and such.
*Sees antipodes updates* *blows up the house and 50 msgs 2 friends later* *reads* FKJEWLkfjwl;kajflwejflwfej :D I LOVE THIS STORY!!!
29241
Flumes are mentioned in Chapter 9? Now I have to read Antipodes T_T How dare you reference one of my favorite series! (Are they still made of Dark Matter? Oh well, better read and find out...)
28166 ALRIGHT after hours of work. Minecraft version of Stalliongrad is semi-complete. All the buildings are done, later I will add minor details. But The big details like the Resistance HQ and the
Attenunator I have created. I am trying to recreate the entire antipodes world in Minecraft. like the frozen waterfall and the campsite, I am now working on the spiral starcase going up to the ruins of Canterlot. I estimate that the ruins of Canterlot will be completed around next week....
Soon I will be creating a sever in the world, for anyone who would like to help me add in the minor details of the city, they can. For anyone who would like to sit on Rubidium's throne and murder everyone, they may. For any idiots that would like to jump in the Attenunator, they may.
Rule 1: NO GRIEFING THE SHIELD THAT SURROUNDS THE CITY!!!!!!!
31676
I'm actually very interested to see how you interpreted the city and how you realized that in Minecraft.
Made Rubidium on pony creator
http://ponibooru.413chan.net/post/view/86405
You did say he was deep red. I was too lazy to add the cutie mark.
If anyone can do better than do so.
I love this story! Can't wait for next chapter
Wow, I couldn't stop reading once I started, I love this. its not often I get so absorbed. I almost cried in places
, I'm looking forward to the next chapter 
Makes me wonder, what with what everyone is saying, if it doesn't end up in polygamy or something... Anyhoof, I go. ALLONS-Y!
29241
Holy crap, I KNEW it sounded familiar!
Well, it seems that the cult has come.
Well, funny story that. I was experimenting with a teleporter and I somehow exchanged it for a leg.
WELL, THEN. Somepony's cruisin' fer a bruisin'...
Um... I'm sorry, I just find this hilarious.
I knew I had a bad feeling about it. Glad others share the sentiment.
Awww shiiiiiiet. Tread carefully, filly...
Actually, I'll rephrase: Awwwwwwwwwwwwww shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiet!!!
I knew there was something fishy about the Cult of Luna.
Here's this chapter's lost image:
https://www.deviantart.com/csimadmax/art/antipodes-chapter-24-268069889
http://web.archive.org/web/20140708005707im_/http://i43.tinypic.com/2w30zg4.png
http://web.archive.org/web/20140708005707/http://www.fimfiction.net/story/20/24/antipodes/antipodes-chapter-24