“Ok, sure.” Crimson said. “But why?”
Belle nodded along to Crimson’s statement.
“I have no problem with calling you Atlas, but why the sudden change?” She asked.
“You don’t know yet Belle, but Atlas is my middle name.” Alex begun to explain. “My full name is Alexander Atlas Riptis.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you changed your mind.” Crimson said.
“Right.” Alex replied. “It’s just that, recently my life has been a series of giant life changing events. At first I didn’t want to accept them, couldn’t believe what was happening. But now, I know that I have to adapt to this new life I’m leading. And my old name was the last piece holding me in the past, so I decided to change.”
When he looked into Crimson and Belle’s eyes respectively, he could see that they understood his reasons, and felt joy to be accepted by them.
“Isn’t much of a change if you had the name before though.” Belle quipped, a smile on her face.
“It was never really mine before, but after all that happened I feel like it belongs to me now.” Atlas said.
Atlas looked to the ground, thinking about everything that happened in the past few months. His life had made a complete one-eighty, and even though he fought against it at first, he was now ready to make the most out of it.
He looked back up towards his friends.
“So what do you say?” He asked. “How about we go to sleep, so we’re ready to face tomorrow?”
Belle and Crimson agreed wholeheartedly before they headed out of the cave. According to Crimson it wouldn’t rain during the night, so they decided to sleep on the comfortable ground outside.
Even though Atlas woke up just a short while ago, he still felt sleepy. Apparently his respawn had taken quite a toll on his stamina.
While looking at the stars high above, he fell asleep beneath a blanket of constellations native to this strange world.
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It was nighttime on Olympus. Most of the present gods were fast asleep, although some of them were still up and about, partying the night away.
The giant hall was steeped in darkness, the only source of light being an orb sitting on the head of a large table. It showed several equines sleeping peacefully, the soft glow illuminated two figures sitting on chairs next to it.
“He wants to be called Atlas…” Zeus spoke. “What do you make of this Hermes?”
Hermes shifted his weight on the chair. “There could be several reasons.” He started, trying to find a logical explanation. “For one, it technically is his name, so maybe he just wants to signify his change by using his second name.”
“Possible.” Zeus said. “What else?”
“The second, and more likely one, would be that Atlas’s soul is starting to awaken within him.” Hermes continued. “Atlas was very proficient in the art of the soul, so he probably contacted young Alex somehow, or maybe he just feels it instinctively.”
Zeus hummed, lost in thought. “If this is truly what is happening, we might have a problem.”
“What do you mean, Father?”
“As you know we are still researching how to properly handle souls. The fact that all of Atlas’s friends denied us their help makes progress slow. The cage isn’t complete yet, and if he awakens fully before we finish, he might escape.” Zeus pondered.
“I think we still have a lot of time.” Hermes said. “It looks like he’s just starting to adapt, and even if he fully awakens, he still thinks he is in a different dimension, instead of a cage.”
“Let’s hope it’s enough.” Zeus said, while looking at the sleeping Atlas on screen.
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“Come on guys! You’re so slow!” Belle called out.
“Was she like this yesterday too?” Atlas asked Crimson.
“Not all the time.” Crimson responded. “She was kinda worried about you, so she stayed close and was less hyper than her usual self.”
Belle was running ahead of them, flitting from one side of their path to the other.
Ever since they started their journey this morning, she was running around like a young dog on speed. She seemed to be interested in almost everything growing and living in their path, just as if this was her first time out of High Rock. Considering her past, it probably was.
“Well as long as she doesn’t get us in trouble.” Alex said bemused.
“At least it won’t get boring with her around.” Crimson agreed.
“Come on guys!” Belle called them from afar.
Crimson let out a short laugh.
“You know I was supposed to lead the way right?” Crimson called out to her.
“If you want to lead you need to go faster!” Belle shouted back while darting after a squirrel.
Atlas and Crimson shared a laugh, but sped up a bit nonetheless.
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“This actually tastes pretty good.” Atlas said between two bites of vegetable stew.
“Agreed.” Crimson added.
After they decided to take a break in the afternoon, Belle offered to cook something for them, instead of eating their food raw.
Atlas always liked it when he wasn’t the one cooking. Not having to do it himself let him enjoy the food even more, so he gladly accepted her offer.
After they got a small fire going, Belle started on her task immediately. They only had one pot, which had a hole in it so they couldn’t even fill it completely. Still, Belle managed to make something that tasted pretty good, even without seasoning.
“Thanks guys!” Belle said happily. “I got a lot of practice back home. Give me the barest of ingredients, and I can make something!” She added proudly.
Atlas felt a twange of jealousy after hearing that. Making good food from scarce ingredients was a skill he lacked. Adding to that, he had close to no experience with cooking over an open fire, so maybe he could learn something from her.
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“...and then I said ‘Oatmeal? Are you crazy?”
Belle had been talking Atlas’s ear off for the past five minutes. Even though it was kind of hard to understand all of it because she was talking so fast, it was still enjoyable.
They were trekking through a forest following the beaten path. The sun was about to go down, and they still hadn’t found a suitable camping spot for the night. Crimson was currently flying above them, looking for a clearing or something else suitable for sleeping.
Belle was about to launch into another one of her stories, when their red companion descended through the canopy. He softly landed next to Atlas, adjusting to their walking speed.
“There’s a small creek up ahead.” Crimson told them. “Looks like there are quite a few spots we could settle down in.”
“Good, I’m getting hungry.” Atlas responded.
“Race you there!” Belle shouted before darting off.
Crimson and Atlas stopped for a moment and looked after her in confusion.
“Where she gets all that energy from will always be a mystery to me.” Atlas said.
“Eeyup.”
They went after her at a leisurely pace, she’d probably have found a spot when they caught up with her, so there was no rush.
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The sun was shining down on Atlas and his friends, unobstructed as they rested next to a creek. They were still within the forest and had been following it all day, since it coincidentally came from the same way they were going.
Crimson and Belle were laying down on the grass, swapping stories about their lives. Atlas sat alone a small distance away, a few rocks placed in front of himself.
Ever since he was changed into a unicorn, he tried to access his magic on a daily basis. Try as he might though, nothing ever happened. By now he pretty much tried anything he could think of, including meditation and visualization.
He tried to remember all he could from any magic story he had ever read, and the theories they had to learn. Scouring his memories of the actual show for any clues pointing him in the right way.
If he had to describe it, it felt like growing a new intricate limb and not get any instructions to go along with it. The gods were gracious enough to load some of the most basic motor functions into him, but of course they would leave out the most important thing.
His best lead for now was the one time he actually used his magic, back when he saved Crimson. Thinking back on it, the memories he had were lacking to say the least.
Everything happened so fast, and his body was flushed with adrenaline, so remembering any details or feelings was almost impossible.
At least Atlas knew his magic was green.
Today he was trying to levitate a rock. Levitating something seemed to be the simplest spell in the show, which almost every unicorn was able to do. So it was only logical to try this one first.
Atlas closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him. He tried to block them out and turn his focus inwards, trying to get a feel for his magic. As he remained in this position, searching for anything, a spot on his back seemed to be getting warmer.
Atlas got excited and opened his eyes. He could still feel the warmth and tried to levitate the rock again, by now he would be happy with any result though.
Disappointment spread across his face as nothing happened like all the times before, and he turned his head to look at the warm spot.
A pink hoof rested on his back, it was connected to a smiling Belle sitting behind him.
Suddenly Atlas felt stupid and let out a sigh. “What is it Belle?” He asked her.
“You looked like you were concentrating really hard, so I didn’t want to disturb you by talking.” She said. “We’re about to head out, you coming?”
“Sure.” Atlas said.
He stood up and went to retrieve his saddlebags, Crimson already waiting for them.
“Someday…” Atlas muttered sadly.
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Atlas, Crimson and Belle walked alongside each other. For almost two days they traveled within the same forest. Atlas never visited a forest this big, so it felt kind of weird for him to see nothing but trees for such a long time.
According to Crimson they should finally be free of it soon. True to his word, the trees were starting to lighten up, until they finally breached the treeline.
The mountains that seemed so far away before they entered the forest, were now really close, looming above them like giants. Instantly Atlas felt at home. Hailing from Switzerland, the proximity of mountains made him feel at ease, providing a familiar environment for him.
He looked left and right, seeing that the chain spanned as far as he could see in both directions.
“So what now Crimson?” Atlas asked.
“We turn left, and follow the mountains until we get to one of the passes.” Crimson replied. “Should be about half a day from here on out.”
“Alright, sounds good to me, what about you Belle?” Atlas asked. When there was no response from the pink pony he turned around to look for her.
Belle was a few feet back at the treeline, inspecting a patch of red flowers, apparently fascinated by them. Atlas and Crimson approached until they stood right next to her.
“What’cha doing Belle?” Atlas asked.
“Collecting.” Belle replied shortly.
“Collecting what?” Crimson watched as she plucked out the rather large petals the flowers sported, before she put them into her saddlebag.
“A few years ago, one of the ponies brought back a book about flowers he’d found.” Belle explained. “Colorful Flowers Guide to Colorful Flowers, if I remember correctly.”
Atlas winced at the title, but didn’t say anything about it.
“It was mostly filled with pictures and important sounding words, but some of the flowers were described to have some healing properties when properly used.” Belle elaborated. “This is one of them. If you put their leaves under a bandage they act as disinfectant and speed up recovery.” She plucked another leaf and put it in her bag. “They should come in quite useful.”
“Need some help?” Atlas asked while watching her work.
“Thanks, but no.” Belle shot him down. “They lose their properties after a few days of being separated from the stem, so taking along too many wouldn’t make sense.”
Atlas and Crimson patiently waited for her to finish. Atlas was once again reminded how lucky they were to have her along. Considering he was against taking her along in the beginning, he was glad to have changed his mind.
After Belle was done, they headed off towards the west, following the setting sun.
--------------------------------------
The trio headed towards the guard checkpoint in front of them.
Just a few hours after starting the new day, they could already see the post from afar. They’d decided to let Crimson do the talking, as he had the most experience with crossing borders.
The checkpoint consisted of a single small house, located to the right of a trail leading up the mountain behind it. They didn’t pass any other easily accessible paths on their way here, so Atlas assumed it was a natural chokepoint which the unicorns exploited.
Two fully armored unicorn guards were already waiting for them, most likely having seen them approach from afar.
They wore purple plate armor lined with golden decorations, which covered most of their bodies. Both of them had a blue coat and mane, making Atlas think their armors might be enchanted.
Crimson approached the pair with Atlas and Belle on his heels.
“Good morning, guards.” Crimson said to them.
“Good morning to you too, Pegasus.” The left guard responded. “Do you wish to use the pass?”
“Yes actually. Me and my friends are travelling to the Crystal Kingdom.” Crimson replied while pointing to Atlas and Belle respectively.
The guard eyed their little group, looking for anything suspicious.
“The unicorn may pass for free.” The guard stated. “You and the earth pony will have to pay five bits each, as per order from King Gold Bar. We’ll also have to search your bags for illegal substances and possible trading goods.” He looked expectantly at Crimson, who was already fishing in his saddlebag.
Atlas looked at Belle with a raised eyebrow, and they both took off their saddlebags. Crimson hoofed over the required ten bits and slid their saddlebags over to them, so they could take a look.
They scanned the contents of the bags briefly before giving them back.
“Looks like regular travelling gear, you are free to pass.” The right guard said. “Take care and keep your eyes open. Monsters have been spotted roaming around the area.”
“Thanks for the tip.” Crimson said while putting on his saddlebags.
As they started ascending the mountain pass, Atlas looked back to see the two guards enter the building. Once they disappeared inside he turned towards Crimson.
“What did he mean by ‘monsters have been spotted in the area?” Atlas asked with worry present in his voice.
“The mountain ranges around the Crystal Kingdom are riddled with various types of monsters.” Crimson explained. “Usually the passes are safe because they have patrols guarding them, but when they know there are monsters around, they recommend to be vigilant in your travels.”
“That doesn’t really make me feel safe” Alex muttered.
“Well, we should be fine. If we hurry a bit we should cross the range by evening.”
“I hope so.” Atlas said while looking towards the blue sky.
Well written and interesting story here, liked and followed.
Don't worry about the map, it looks fine and helps get the scale across for how far he's come.
It's a pretty good map, actually.
And Zeus did get a bit suspicious, though his conclusions are off. His wisdom did pop off and become his daughter, after all.
I like the map.
I wanted to say that I like this story and I'm eagerly waiting for more, but there's just one thing that annoys me about it: the prologue.
As far as I can tell, it serves absolutely no purpose except to remind us that Atlas survives to modern Equestria, learns a special kind of magic, gets famous and is on friendly terms with Celestia. All of which has pretty much irrelevant to everything I've read, which is a bit of a problem if you're leading with it. What's worse, it seems to advertise a completely different story, as it ends on a note that heavily implies that the real story will begin once Atlas reunites with Celestia and Luna. (Which is kinda-sorta the main source of my annoyance.)
Honestly, to me it reads more like it should be an epilogue than the start. Having it there serves no purpose, it's misleading and it kills suspense.
Did he fell assleep two times or smth?
B.T.W. Nice chapter, and the map looks good as it is.
Hmm, Alexander is a Greek name, meaning "Defender of the people". Riptis is anagram of Spirit. I wonder if it will come into play in future?
7275042
Well, it was already stated that Atlas' soul shard will protect him from dying from mortals and natural causes, and Zeus will protect him from other gods for at least several thousand years. I can see how it's can be viewed as advert of "real story" (which is very far away, or even only in sequel) and makes everything else seen as some sort of "prequel", but it never kills suspense.
Personally, I'm okay with it. It shows that time skips between arcs (or books?) are very much possibility.
7275213
Well, that's your prerogative. It just annoys me that this story leads with a possible hook to a sequel or a new arc without even hinting that that sequel/arc is not the story we're getting.
7274711 thx, hope you'll enjoy your stay
7274889
7274987
7275010 Thanks guys, took me like three hours or so. Used it for drawing practice and followed a tutorial for things like the forests and mountains.
7275106 ...fuck. Thanks for pointing it out!
7275042
7275213 I've mentioned this in a previous comment, but the situation is as follows: When I first uploaded the first chapter and submitted it, the story failed moderation, because it wasn't "pony" enough. So I wrote the prologue(at this time it was chapter 2). After resubmitting, it passed. At this point in time i probably could remove it, but I'm not sure how well liked that would be by the moderators. Maybe I'll shoot Meeester a message sometime.
7275213 Riptis is actually a greek name too, got it from a generator ^^ seems to be a variation of raptis(sewing/tailor). Don't read too much into the names, even though two of those three will kind sorta come into play ^^
Orthoros, I think you missed an opportunity... "and for an extra five bits you can have an escort. Not the kind you're thinking of, but Gold Bar doesn't pay as much as you think" you know, entrapment. I could easily see griphin guards setting something like this up.
7275619 Haha, what would they need an escort for? I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
7275042 on the other hand, it builds suspense. It's like reading a chapter at the end of the book, you have some insight, but not how it occured. I like suspense like this, but to each their own.
Interesting story.
Pretty much guaranteed that these guys are the first Elements of Harmony, though. And that will probably have something to do with stopping the Greek Gods.
Judging by the map, they're going over a mountain to get to the Crystal Kingdom. Why? They could completely ignore the mountains by going to the right instead of the left.
7276808
While I get that the Gods aren't invulnerable, I doubt the Elements of Harmony could do anything to them. Technically, they created them.
7277242 last chapter they decided to take a detour to avoid bumping into Dusty
7278245
Butt Dusty's behind them... They're just letting Dusty get to the CK before them...
Was kind of hoping to see how Celestia knew Atlas. But I guess we'll get there one day.
I'm so sad you didn't take the opportunity and say that the flowers were either the magical cure all you were talking about, or they were the very similar looking flower by a very similar name that was actually a dangerous poison.
7288599 Wow dude, that's a lot of commenting for one guy :D Love the D&D analogies, also as DM I didn't forget to feed him, Alex/Atlas just sucks so hard he can't even manage that.(He's a newbie after all ^^)
The thing about the suicide, that's one way to look at it, but I'm just going to explain it away with the fact that he isn't really a demi-god. The Atlas fragment is bound to his soul and assists him, but technically he's still more mortal than god. (For now ;D)
7289354
Yeah, sorry about that. When I read a story straight through I sometimes just keep commenting...
Either A, the author missed a capital, or B, this story just got a lot bloodier and the conversation with the guards is just apart of Atlas's mind.
..... I'm leaning toward the former in this case.
Keep up the good work by the way.
7293966 thta was plan B in case they found the drugs ^^ thanks for pointing it out :3
Aw cool, all of my favorite books have maps drawn in them.
Interesting. Despite apparently having the capability of creating fully functioning worlds in a pocket dimension filled with living, sentient beings, they can't deal with souls very well? If that's the case, I have to wonder who originally handled it in this verse, or who does so in their place.
Well, According to the maps, they missed the pass.
Is there a scale for this map?
Yayy! Consistency!
I miss vibrant already
twinge
7274987
*snort*
Your map makes me think of the map from The Elder Scrolls:Oblivion
I'm calling it now: she is pinkie pies great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-*deep breath* great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandma
8836339
Or just pinkie herself.
When u see an image your like, "Yay!"
But then the images says, "This image is no longer available."
No map
No map!
Images no longer work.
Magic = Atlas
Kindess = Belle
Loytally = Crimson
Laughter = ?
Generosity = Vibrant
Honesty = ?
Who knows I could be completely wrong about this. Better find out by reading more.
yep. Belle is Laughter