//------------------------------// // 23. Travels // Story: Divine Entertainment // by Orthoros //------------------------------// “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. -------------------------------------- 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. -------------------------------------- “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. -------------------------------------- “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. -------------------------------------- “...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. -------------------------------------- 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. -------------------------------------- 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.