Scholar Arc
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Atlas could slowly feel his body again. After being suspended in what felt like an infinite void for an indefinite amount of time, he could finally feel the warmth of being alive once more. He opened his eyes to find himself lying face down in a cave.
The stone had a red tinge and seemed to smooth to be natural. The ground was even and the ceiling formed a dome in a perfect half circle. Confused, Atlas sat up from his prone position, not surprised to find himself in his old human form once again.
He got up on his feet and proceeded to dust off his clothes, nearly falling over from the alien sensation of standing on two legs.
"I see," Someone said behind him. "Being a quadruped for so long must have messed with your muscle memory a bit. Would you like a chair?"
Atlas turned around to take a look at the speaker, who turned out to be Hades, greek god of the underworld.
"That would be nice," Atlas responded. "Thank you."
Hades snapped his fingers and a table, accompanied by two chairs appeared out of thin air. One of the chairs appeared in such a way that it hit the back of Atlas knees, forcing him to sit down. He blinked a few times in confusion and shock before shooting Hades a semi-annoyed look.
"Thank you..." Atlas said, slightly miffed.
"Do not mention it, dear Atlas," Hades replied and approached the chair opposite of Atlas.
When he looked back down on the table, a tea set had appeared, steam slowly wafting out of the kettle next to it.
"Would you like a cup?" Hades asked politely while sitting down.
Atlas nodded and took a good look at Hades. He looked just as when he met him the last time, all those years ago. His long, black hair was slicked back against his head, accentuated by his full beard. The purple toga revealed some of his chest, although he seemed to have forgone bringing his golden bident this time.
Hades took his cup after pouring them some tea, humming in delight after the first sip. Atlas just dumbly stared at his own cup, wondering why his levitation didn't work, until he facepalmed in realization. He proceeded to pick up his cup like any normal human would, cursing himself for his stupidity.
"I must say, that was quite the humorous display," Hades said. "Although, I am pleased to see that your studies concerning runes seem to be progressing smoothly."
"Thanks," Atlas said with a slight blush. "Not one of my greatest moments to be honest."
"Oh but why not?" Hades asked. "Your fast actions saved a lot of... ponies today. That dragon may well have laid waste to half the town if you hadn't stopped her so quickly."
"I'm talking about letting her fall on me afterward... or... us? Was anypony else caught underneath her body?"Atlas asked, not looking forward to the answer.
"Oh yes, quite a few actually," Hades responded while taking another sip of his tea. "About ten ponies, flattened by a falling dragon. Not a headline you see everyday."
"So Aquamarine and Malachite... didn't make it?"
"I'm afraid not," Hades said. "One hundred twenty-three souls were lost to the furious dragoness today. Quite tragic."
Atlas somehow didn't believe him when he said it like that. In fact, Hades probably liked it when souls entered his domain. Was this still his domain, though?
"Where are we exactly?" Atlas asked, scanning the weird cave again.
"The ponies call it Tartarus," Hades explained. "It's their version of the underworld. I do feel quite honored that they named it after my prison."
"Is there someone in charge down here?" Atlas asked curiously.
"Not really," Hades answered. "This whole place just kinda manages itself, and I have honestly no idea how they pulled that off. I wasn't around when they made it, after all."
They fell into a comfortable silence, being content to just sip their tea and relax for a second, until Atlas broke it.
"So why did you pull me down here?" Atlas asked. "We both know that you don't have to come talk to me when I die, so what's the occasion."
"Oh nothing special, really," Hades answered. "It just provides a nice opportunity to relax. I did update you with that message just recently. So I guess you could say that I'm just checking in."
"Alright, well, if you don't have anything special to talk about, there's actually something I've been meaning to ask you," Hades motioned for Atlas to go on. "Most of the books about runes were eaten by that dragon that killed me shortly after we got them. We've just sort of been able to get by with what we could rescue. Could you maybe send a few more books our way?" Atlas asked hopefully.
Hades set down his cup and fixated Atlas with a deadpan stare. He even went so far as to raise an eyebrow to complete his 'really?' look, when Atlas didn't elaborate further.
"I'll have you know those books were from my private collection," Hades sighed. "And no, I can not send you more books. You'll just have to figure it out by yourself."
"What?" Atlas exclaimed. "But why?"
"Those books you got, were actually smuggled in here long before your prison was completed," Hades explained patiently. "It is now impossible for any god of the Greek Pantheon to enter without it being immediately known by Zeus. It's impossible."
"But aren't you here right now?" Atlas asked.
"Yes, but not really," Hades asked. "Similar to you, it's just a part of me that's here. My soul, so to speak. I had someone install a backdoor for me when they worked on the prison."
"Damn..." Atlas muttered.
"Do not worry, young Atlas. You may not have fully realized it yet, but you have time on your side. You are immortal now, take your time." Hades advised. "But it would seem like our time today is being cut short." He added with a sigh.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Atlas asked in confusion.
Hades got up from his chair, leaving behind an empty cup. He motioned for Atlas to do the same and the furniture disappeared back into the nether it came from.
"Just look at yourself," Hades said, gesturing towards Atlas' lower body.
Atlas' legs seemed to have vanished, where they usually were, only nothingness remained. It felt weird to stand on appendages that weren't there and Atlas furrowed his brows.
"Uhmm, care to explain?"
"Certainly," Hades chuckled. "It would seem like the ponies are aiding in your recovery, speeding up the process considerably. It's time to return to the land of the living."
"Oh, that's good," Atlas said while watching how his body slowly dissipated. "I guess?"
"Let me tell you one more thing, before you leave," Hades said seriously. "You have been saddled with a great burden, and for this I am very sorry. Atlas and I were actually good friends and his fall pained me greatly. You remind me of him in many ways, and it looks like you were a worthy successor to his soul.
"The way ahead may be long and full of hardships, but remember that you are never truly alone. I can see that he likes you as well," Hades said with a smile, one hand resting on Atlas shoulder.
"What do you mean?" Atlas asked.
"You seem to stand quite a bit taller than when we last met," Hades added, his smile transforming into a smirk.
Atlas had barely enough time to register that he was right before he disappeared from the realm of the dead completely. At their first meeting Hades was almost a head taller than him, but now, they were seeing eye to eye.
--------------------------------------------------
Dull pain greeted Atlas as he awoke, once again, in an unfamiliar place. It smelled sterile and he found himself to be tucked into a warm and comfortable bed. A groan escaped his lips as he slowly opened his eyes to a blinding light. He wanted nothing more than to close them again to protect himself from the pain, but he pushed through the pain and opened them anyways.
"Atlas?" He heard a voice next to him say, undoubtedly belonging to his friend Crimson. "You're awake."
The statement hung in the air as Atlas took a look around his surroundings. He was indeed in a hospital room, although it didn't look anything like they did back on earth. Unicorn hospital rooms were a lot more homely, actually reminding him of what his regular bedroom looked like back at home. Atlas turned around with some difficulties, to face the other way, coming face to face with a tired looking Crimson sitting in a chair next to his bed.
"Crimson?" Atlas asked. "How long was I out?"
"It's been almost three days now," Crimson replied with a sigh. "Everypony was really worried about you, no matter how much I tried to reassure them that you'd pull through."
"You... you mean they don't know?" Atlas asked in disbelief.
"I don't think so, no. It took almost a day before they could safely remove the dragon without something else collapsing." Crimson explained. "They found you under it, barely clinging to life and brought you here as fast as they could. They say it's a miracle and that you got really lucky."
"That's a relief," Atlas said, letting his head fall back to his pillow, wincing at the spike of pain going through his skull.
"Where's Belle?" Atlas asked after a few moments of silence.
His inquiry was met with no reply and Atlas looked over to Crimson to see what was going on. His friend’s gaze seemed to be locked on the floor, and Atlas noticed the bags under his eyes for the first time since waking up.
"Crimson? Where's Belle?" Atlas asked once again, slightly impatient.
That seemed to do the trick as Crimson was shaken from his stupor and he instead looked out the window.
"On the day the dragon attacked, Belle and Blue Current met up at your home," Crimson told Atlas. "You two had just come back, so they got together to cook something nice for you and me. Wrapped it up all nice and warm and rushed out the door to bring it to us.
"Belle was on her way to bring you lunch when the dragon attacked Atlas, She was at the academy."
Atlas hooves started to shake and he began to feel a little queasy. His breath got a little shaky as he thought about the implications.
"What happened?" Atlas asked, dreading the answer.
"She took shelter in one of the buildings when it all began, and... the building... it was one of the first ones that collapsed.
"Atlas... She..." Crimson swallowed empty. "She didn't make it."
Atlas went into shock. His eyes started to water as he processed Crimsons words. He didn't want to believe what he was just told, didn't want it to be true. But when he saw the tears falling from Crimsons face, he just knew it was true.
His love was ripped from him, possibly by a mistake he himself committed. The world seemed to lose all of it's color, and for the first time in his life, Atlas truly felt...
Alone.
You asshole... But yeah more please
Oh shit... That was very unexpected.
Wait, wha-
...
...
...
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-
Oh this must hurt like a bitch. Hadn't Atlas blown her head already I'd say the dragon would be in for a world of hurt.
Poor Belle too. She was too young to die. And without even saying goodbye
I LOVE IT.
Nooo... Nooooooo... Belle... ... Damn.
7960019 Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn That's a long ass comment :O
Well, first off, thanks for liking the story, really appreciate it. Since most of it is just theories, I'm not going to respond to them since I'd most likely let some sort of spoiler slip. What I can say, though, is that Belle is actually generosity, as can be seen from the chapter title.
As for the concerns of how the timeline works, since we don't really have any canon information aside from (that's a powerful enemy from 1000+ years ago), I've had to create one myself. It's still kinda wobbly(as time tends to be) and constantly changing(read=being optimized). In terms of "modern" items being around, I guess I could just chalk that one up to me being a lazy fuck.
I'm not 100% sure anymore, but I believe Atlas was without food, but with water, for some time around three days...
All in all, I'm pretty aware of most of the flaws the stories has, as well as my storytelling. It's my first story after all, and not even written in my native tongue. Character development and dialogue is IMO my strongest point, so everytime I dare to venture into a battle or romance and stuff, I'm trying something new. I hope you'll continue enjoying the story, cause we still got places to go :D
I've actually given up on estimating how long the story is going to be. When I started writing it I thought it would be somwehere around 120k words for everything. But look where we are now, 150k words and not even done with the first part... *sigh*. Part two and three are going to be a lot shorter than part 1... or at least I think so. Who knows ^^
God-f*cking-dammit.
7960326
Poor Belle too. She was too young to die. And without even giving me my lunch
*internal screaming* FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF- *5 days later* UUUUUCK God damnit why!
Belle didn't deserve to die offscreen
You kill her like this? You're a monster! A heartless monster! Not even giving her the dignity of her own chapter!
oh damn it.... She survives the assassin just to die because some stupid unicorns wanted to loot a dragon den....
F'ing... really loved Belle's energy and the joy she brought to their everyday lives.
Can't say I'm terribly surprised there. Things were going well for Atlas, and that doesn't usually last especially for immortals. It's also a step closer to the detached attitude he showed in the first chapter. Still, it's a low blow with him finally getting married and now this happens.
Hm. Seeing as we know (or at least most of us should) that Belle is Generosity, I'd be willing to bet she's not as entirely dead as this chapter makes it out to be.
And for that reason alone I shall stay my mouse, and refrain from removing that bright yellow star I have checked at the top of this story. I'm not one for doing stupid things like that over something I don't care for in a story, but the ending of this chapter really made me consider it for the first time.
I just... ugh! Now I'm restless and annoyed. Guess I get to go make that two mile hike to my local Wal-Mart sooner rather than later. I feel like I'm going to go crazy if I don't get up and do something.
indeed, fate is a cruel mistress.
Belle... didn't make it? I... wow... I really didn't expect that turn. Jeeze man... Atlas was having such a good run too... I mean, he just earned dragonslayer status...
I'm interested in what that 'you're taller' thing means. And how it relates to Atlas and his status both in Equestia and in the prison.
7960359 you say that now, and i bet they will be longer XD
7960359 "... it's more like a big ball of wibbily-wobbly timey-whimy stuff."
You collosal cuntasaurus-rex! Fucking hell give me more
No books? That is an even bigger tragedy!
dammmm
if this story ever enters the ''hiatus'' i WILL find you......
is this gonna be like the scene from Disney's Hercules, where Hercules in this case atlas jump's into the river death to get the soul of his loved one
7961021
Do you have a very specific set of skills?
....... why?
Yes! YES!
Rip our heart to shreds some more and... and... and...
Damn...
I forgot what I wanted to say...
Well I guess I'll just compliment you on the chapter instead of dropping some half dramatic comments instead.
But seriously, this is a nicely designed chapter. I do wonder what the next one holds for us readers.
I am sure you already know
Well I wasn't expecting that, so how long was Atlas and Belle married for? I'm somewhat saddened that this happened, but at the same time glad (more so than sad) as it pushes Atlas and the story forward. Glad and sad, that's not a feeling many things can produce, I congratulate you for your fine writing skills.
11 or so years, and no child...
We implore thee to go fornicate thyself by placing thy posterior... upon a cactus!!!
7961278 A flaming fucking cactus
THOU HAST MADE A MISTAKE MORTAL!!! WE WILL PERSONALLY WAGE WAR WITH THESE PUNY DRAGONS, AFTER KILLING THE PONIES WHO TOOK HER EGGS!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!!!!!HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!! BE PREPARED DRAGONS!!! THE NIGHT, SHALL LAST, FOREVERRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!
Ahem, hi, imma break character for a bit. While I AM sad about belle's death, its was going to happen eventually anyways. Atlas is immortal and belle isn't. And while it may sound horrible, I'm kind of excited to see where this takes the story.
Also, just something for readers to think about, would it be better to lose her now? Or in 70 years when they've spent a life time together? Either way its bad, and sad, but it may be less hard on Atlas to lose her now when he has friends. Cause in 70 years when Belle would have died, guess what, Crimson, Doctor Brown, Amethyst, and Blue Current go to. So now he has friends to comfort him, and he doesn't have to deal with five deaths in quick succession.
I wonder if Atlas is going to take a page from Orpheus at this point.
Excellent chapter, but man was that ever a turnaround!
7961387 a vibrating 10 foot long flaming cactus.
Sadly it would have happened eventually.
IF YOU WENT STRAIGHT TO THE COMMENTS TURN BACK AND READ FIRST, BIG SPOILERS.
Well this sucks, now Atlas can fully focus on his study of runes with no distractions now. I was really hoping that that my other idea was going to pass.
7960303 I like the way this story sucks.
Ouch...Atlas was going to deal with Belle's death eventually-he's immortal and, thus far, he hasn't figured out how to imbue other beings with extreme life spans or outright immortality, so her death was going to happen well within his lifetime. That beings said, it's going to be interesting to see how he handles her death, if he withdraws, takes up drinking, or what else.
Also, interesting fact that Tartarus runs itself. In my own worldbuilding, that's more or less the same. Tartarus is a genius loci that draws in the most evil laden of souls, and also acts as a place that ponies occasionally banish nigh unkillable monsters to. Cerberus itself is its only "Good" inhabitant, and is in a symbiotic relationship with the place-the prison gets a gargantuan, strong, nearly invulnerable guard dog and Cerberus gets a place to sleep and...food.
7960359
I found and completely read throughout this story today. You are now wielding a very powerfull force perhaps unwittingly, but somehow I believe it was planned.
First off, what we do know from the actual show is the events of Hearths Warming Eve and then a huge timegap to King Sombra. That timegap has to be at least 500 to 1000 years long.
Secondly, almost no details or hints have been given about the history of Equestria in that time or even after Nightmare Moon's banishment sometime after King Sombra was banished and Discord was set in stone.
With that in mind it's 100% concievable that whatever you write into your story that fits and works with the current canon could potentially be actual canon.
IN CONCLUSION YOU'VE WRITTEN YOURSELF PERFECTLY INTO THE POSITION OF CREATIVE GOD!
That is all.
Gotta say, hearing about Belle's death was lackluster after seeing the death count.
7961779 we also know that Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Sombra were all defeated in a quick succession 1000 years before the show, since all of the enchantments seemed to break 1000...
Wait, if the elements of harmony stop their foes for 1000 years, then how was Nightmare Moon free before Discord and Sombra, since Luna helped imprison/defeat those two?
7962039 I'd imagine that to some degree the elements are sentient, seeing as they chose to find new wielders the very night Nightmare Moon escaped. So my head cannon is that they chose to release the least bad baddie first.
7962064 makes sense. I do remember reading one story where nightmare moon wasn't actually luna... There was no luna until 1000 years after he defeat. It was just a one shot, but it basically said that the elements restore harmony based on what the ponies think it is, and that meant that they thought celestia was supposed to have a sister. I wish i could remember the name of that story.
Ohhhh, that is just cruel.
7960455
Well, it's obvious the Element will be reincarnated, somehow the Belle family line lives on in the future.
Rarity Belle
Sweetie Belle
Either through simple naming, or something happens.
7962098 FOUNT IT!(I think) The Forbidden Wing
On topic: Soul-crushing... Really curious what he'll do now...
7962146 yes, that's it! Thank you for finding that. Imagine if that was the secret behind luna in this story... *shivers*
Well my head-cannon involving the elements has been destroyed; unless Atlas starts practicing necromancy or improves his school of life affinity to god level... oh wait.
7960303 Yeah, agreed.
7962343 lol!
7955558 Ohhhhh. OK. I thought it would be too big of a coincidence, I was just confused because there were several songs in there I had never heard of. That makes sense.
So. I found your story four days ago, and caught up two days ago, and have been considering what to comment. First of all, I was going to ask if English was your first language, because Atlas seems to be based close to if not almost entirely off of you, based on what I read in author's notes. However, you did reply to someone down here and say it wasn't, so let me be the one to tell you, you write better in English than any other person I know personally, other than myself. Seriously, I couldn't tell until you said so.
Next, while some are praising you for such an original idea as an HIE that takes place or at least starts in the distant past, I must say that while it hasn't been overdone, it is far from original. That's one of my very few gripes. That being said, you are really taking it to the next level. Good on you.
Next, I would like to express appreciation for the extremely accurate portrayal of the Greek pantheon. It is hilarious. Zeus IS an asshole.
Next, I noticed that you focus hard on character development more than world building, which is fine, I just find it a bit odd, seeing as you are creating a past from scratch. I think it's a bit too late now with the death at the end of your latest chapter and the direction the story will most likely go because of it, but I think you might have benefitted from having Atlas interact with characters from the Pegasus lands, and given us a view on what's going on out there, and maybe had a bit more follow up with Eventide. Maybe some kind of retaliation. Seemed like a bit of a loose end, but hey, bit late now. And it's just my opinion anyway.
OK, next up, speaking of that death, I must congratulate you. It had everything a character death should have. It came out of nowhere, it was a character we loved and did not want to part with, and it had significant effect on the story while reminding the readers that there are real stakes being played for. I, myself, loved it. Hate it, but love it for that.
Next I would like to say that you must be careful when facing someone with Chekov's Gun. Your best bet in defeating such a foe is to find professor Red Herring and acquire a Mcguffin, which you must use to find an Epileptic Tree, and enter a Lotus-Eater Dream. That's right, I can trope too.
Anyways, I would like to wrap this comment up by saying that other than the small, subjective things, I am really loving this story and look forward to more.
Here's looking at you kid. - Lil' J