//------------------------------// // 22. Names // Story: Divine Entertainment // by Orthoros //------------------------------// Dusty sat on the rooftop of a small store, and watched the sun rising over the horizon. The city was slowly starting to come alive, as more sounds could be heard. Ponies were trotting past his perch, while the owner of the store opened his doors for business. He was wearing a travelling cloak, which concealed the jet black saddlebags underneath. In various places on his body, he had hidden blades as well as several other weapons. After his failure yesterday he went back to the palace to report his failure in completing the mission. After some chewing out by his superior, Dusty asked to be given enough gear to pursue his target. It took some convincing, but in the end he received the requested goods. He didn’t really think they’d approve his request and assign someone else to the task, but apparently there were still some ponies in the organization who trusted his skills. According to the report he received yesterday, Morning Sun and her friends left the city to the North. Which led Dusty to believe they were still heading towards the Crystal Kingdom. Finding them would be difficult, now that they were a whole day ahead of him, but not impossible. If he wouldn’t be able to locate them on the way there, he’d just have to search the kingdom until he did. The sun had now completely crossed the horizon, officially starting the day. Dusty jumped from his perch onto the street below him, landing nimbly, belying his advanced age. A few ponies were surprised at his sudden appearance, asking if he was alright, but he ignored them. He started walking towards the northern exit of town, with newfound determination. His task was as difficult as it was important, so he set out, ready to fulfill it at any cost. -------------------------------------- Alex awoke slowly. His senses started up one after another, giving him an idea of where he might be. First, his sense of touch returned to him. He felt a hard, jagged surface underneath him. His hearing returned shortly after, the sound of gentle waves caressing his ears, as well as the rhythmic plops of water droplets hitting the ground. When his sense of smell came back, he could taste the humidity in the air, and smell the earthy aroma of moss associated with caves. “I must be in the underworld again.” Alex mumbled as he got up into a sitting position. He opened his eyes and took a look around. While he was in a cave with a little lake beside him, there were several differences to the last time he was here. For one, the lake didn’t have that eerie glow. What confused him even more was the fact that there seemed to be an exit to his right, sunlight illuminating the cave. As he was wondering where he was exactly and when Hades would show up, a red hoof connected with his lower jaw. Pain spread out from the point of impact as he was thrown back to the ground. “You selfish idiot!” A voice shouted. Alex looked up from his prone position to look at his assailant. “Crimson?” Alex furrowed his brow in confusion. “Where am I? Where’s Hades?” “You seem confused Alex.” Crimson said much calmer this time. “Should I hit you again so you regain your senses?” Crimson wound up his hoof for another strike when a pink blur shot between them. “Crimson, stop!” Belle shouted. “Belle’s here too?” Alex asked. “Are you both dead?” “It looks like he desperately needs that second hit.” Crimson said while trying to push past Belle. “Crimson! You need to calm down!” Belle tried to reason. “At least give him time to explain himself!” “What’s there to explain!” Crimson shouted back, annoyance clear on his face. “He clearly just went behind our backs and went through with his insane plan anyway!” Alex was slowly adjusting to the situation, clearing the cobwebs off his mind. He felt for his throat first, then to his left side, where Dusty stabbed him. Both wounds were gone, the tissue had healed to the point where it looked and felt like they never existed. He was obviously still in the mortal plain of existence, which confused him. Shouldn’t he have to pass through the underworld to return to his body? Alex tried to think about possible reasons why his recovery went different this time, when he remembered something Hades told him when they last met each other. ‘While you’re dead I can pull your soul into my realm.’ Which meant that Alex didn’t necessarily need to cross the underworld. Just that Hades could pull him over there if he wanted. So judging by the fact that Hades didn’t do it this time, there was likely no new information he wished to share with Alex. Alex was thinking about if Hades was somehow able to contact him if he needed to tell him something, when Crimsons hoof once again clocked him in the face. Apparently Crimson remembered that he had wings and just flew over Belle to get to Alex. Belle stood a few steps away and looked at Crimson like one would at a little kid. “Are you happy now?” She asked him. “Yes.” Crimson immediately answered. “He’d deserve more than this. But seeing the results I’m willing to look away for once.” “Alright, now get out of the way.” Belle pushed past Crimson, making it a point to bump into him and approached Alex. “Are you okay?” Belle offered Alex a hoof, which he gladly took. She pulled him upright into a sitting position. Alex rubbed his left cheek, where both of Crimsons hits connected. “I’ll live.” Alex said. “Can I hit him once more?” Crimson asked Belle. “Please?” Belle took the task upon herself and lightly smacked Alex upside the head. She looked sternly at him for a moment before pulling him into a hug. “Please don’t ever do something like that again.” She whispered into his ear. “I was so scared when I found you this morning.” “I’m sorry.” Alex responded. Alex felt kind of awkward. He wasn't used to people, or ponies for that matter, being this up close and personal with him. Adding to that, he never really knew how to deal with overly emotional people. “I know you both said that you can’t die Alex, but I thought you were just really good at healing spells or something.” Belle said. “So when I found you lying in a puddle of blood I thought we really lost you.” “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” Alex said sincerely. “But look Belle, I’m all better now! Not a single scratch.” Alex tried to take a step back so he could show her, but Belle apparently didn’t want to let go of him. “You better be sorry Alex!” Crimson interjected. “If you ever just go behind our backs again like this, a few punches are going to be the least of your worries. Belle was scared out of her mind!” Alex looked past the pink mane obstructing his vision to see Crimsons angry face. It was clear that Crimson wasn’t happy with what Alex had done, but he could also see that Crimson really cared for him. Alex knew that the two of them wouldn’t approve of his decision, and he was prepared for the backlash. But he also knew that If he didn’t go through with it, the risk of being found would be substantially higher. Their group couldn’t afford to have dead weight right now. Ever since Alex was brought into this world, he had just kind of went with the flow. Fate had dealt him a bad hand, and there were powers moving in the shadows making sure they stayed bad. At the same time he had gained some advantages, that would help him cheat in this extreme game of cards. He had an informant who could reveal part of his opponents hands, as well as a little trick that technically allowed for infinite redoes. If he played his cards right, he might just win in the end. So he had steeled his resolve, and decided to accept who he was now. To use the power that he had been cursed with, and turn it into a gift. His friends hadn’t come to terms with it yet, and Alex hoped he wouldn’t have to use it again any time soon. But if he could save his friends lives by giving one of his own, he’d do so in a heartbeat. “I promise.” Alex said. But for now, his friends wanted to hear something else from him. They just wanted what’s best for him, and he loved them for it. Just as they would protect him, he would give everything to protect them. “I’ll hold you to it.” Crimson said. Alex put a hoof over Belle, who was still hugging him, and drew her closer. “It’s gonna be ok Belle.” He said to her. “You won’t lose me. Or Crimson. We’ll protect each other.” Belle finally let go of Alex and took a step back. Her eyes were a bit wet, but she didn’t look sad at all. A big smile adorned her face as she enthusiastically nodded. “You know?” Crimson said, sporting a smile himself now. “I still had my doubts about you. But after actually seeing you heal up like that, I guess there’s no denying it anymore. You really are immortal aren’t you?” “I told you so.” Alex said. “How long was I out?” “Almost a whole day. The sun’s about to go down outside.” Crimson answered. “Did I miss anything?” “Well watching your wounds just close up was pretty interesting I guess.” Crimson said. “But other than that it was a pretty uneventful day of travelling. Except for the the fact that I had to lug around a dead unicorn of course.” “Heh. Sorry.” Alex said. “From now on I’ll be able to travel normally with you guys, so I guess we’ll be faster.” “Even though the method of achieving this was a bit extreme.” Crimson reprimanded Alex “So how far away from the border are we?” Alex asked. “Any rough estimates?” “I’d say we still are about two days away.” Crimson answered. “Problem is soon after the border we’ll have to take one of the main roads. Otherwise we won’t be able to cross the mountains. I’d suggest we go out of our way and travel at least a day east or west before heading for the kingdom. That way Dusty probably won’t find us on the road.” “Sounds good to me.” Alex said. “What about you Belle?” “I’m alright with whatever you guys decide, you’re allowing me to tag along after all.” “Okay, I don’t particularly care for the direction either, so I’ll leave the decision up to you Crimson.” Alex said. Crimson nodded in acknowledgement before taking out Alex’s map from a saddlebag, trying to map out their best route. Alex looked towards Belle and remembered something he wanted to ask her. “Hey Belle?” He said. “Yeah?” “You know, after you told us about yourself I was kinda wondering what we should call you now.” Alex explained. “Is Belle okay? Or would you prefer Morning Sun?” Belle looked surprised at the question, so Alex patiently waited for her answer. “Umm…” Belle started. “Belle’s just fine actually. I don’t really like my old name. There’s just so many bad memories connected to it. On the other side, Charity Belle is a name that was given to me with love.” Crimson and Alex nodded, accepting her answer. “Allright, Belle it is then.” Alex said. “But why bring this up now?” Belle asked him. “You could have asked before you, you know…” She waved her hoof around in the air for a bit. “Because I have an announcement to make.” Alex said. Crimson looked up from the map, signalling that Alex had his full attention now. While Belle just sat down, looking at Alex expectantly. Over the past few weeks Alex’s life had changed drastically. His boring yet comfortable life had changed into one filled with adventure and danger. Up until recently he was still fighting those changes, not wanting to fully accept them. But after what happened in High Rock, he finally came to terms with his new life, and the fact that he would most likely never return to Earth. Even though he usually doesn’t remember his dreams, the one he had the night of Dusty’s attack stuck with him. He could remember it as if it really happened. After thinking about it over and over again, he was sure that he was contacted by Atlas in his sleep. All of this made him realize that he wasn’t just Alex anymore. He had ascended to a godly level, although not out of his free will. After his second death, he finally accepted what he was and decided to leave his old life behind to start over in this world. To symbolize this, he decided to change the very thing that defined himself as who he was before to what he was now. He decided to change his name. “From now on. Please call me Atlas.” He said to his friends. “Just Atlas.”