47. Graduation and Classification
Scholar Arc
Year 4, Month 11, Day 26
"The top graduates of their respective fields will now hold a short speech. First up, Steadfast, who is the top graduate for the school of combat, subclass Elementalist."
The crowd gave a hearty applause as an earth brown unicorn got onto the stage, approaching the podium as the previous speaker yielded his spot to him.
It was graduation day at the academy, and friends and family had gathered in the open space between the two buildings to celebrate with their loved ones. A grand stage had been set up, where all the teachers were seated comfortably in the background. Front and center was where the enchanted podium had been erected, carrying the spoken word across the crowd, so everyone could hear.
Steadfast began with his speech and everypony present listened intently on what he had to say. All but one.
Atlas sat on his chair in the front row, oblivious to the world around him as he unconsciously tuned it out. Over the years he’d spent at the academy, a lot had changed about him, but one thing was just the same as when he still resided in the human world.
Atlas had terrible stage fright.
While he was totally okay with talking in front of his class, the crowd currently gathered behind him was on a whole other level. Easily two-thousand ponies were seated under the blue sky, and every one of them was currently watching Steadfast while he was giving his speech.
Apparently, graduation was a really big deal in the Crystal Kingdom and usually the whole extended family came to attend. When Atlas thought about the fact, that in just a few minutes, he would have to stand up there himself, he had to choke down his panic.
Since he graduated at the top of his transformation class, he would need to hold a speech as well. As soon as he’d found out about the customary speech, he had tried to pawn the honor off on someone else in his class. To his dismay, they’d all insisted that he deserved it.
As Steadfast finished his speech with a bow and yet more applause, Atlas went over his speech one more time. He had it all written down and was currently reading it for the forty-second time since the ceremony had started.
Trying to calm his nerves he read it again and again, even though he had long memorized it to perfection before graduation day. Atlas was so absorbed in his lecture that he let out a startled yelp when something touched his shoulder.
Whipping his head to the left, the object which so rudely invaded his personal space was revealed to be the hoof of the mint green pony sitting next to him.
"Atlas, they just called your name!" She hissed over the confused murmur of the crowd. "Get up there!"
"Oh yeah... sorry..." Atlas stammered out, hesitantly getting up from his seat.
Apparently, some time had passed since his name was called out, which he failed to notice because of his nervousness. He climbed up the stairs to the stage with his heart racing at a thousand beats per minute, he could feel the gaze of the crowd following his every movement.
Not paying any attention to where he was going, he got his hind leg caught up on the last step of the stairs, causing him to stumble and face plant. A small gasp went through the audience while Atlas wished for nothing more than to just sink into the ground and disappear.
With a beet-red face, Atlas got back up on four shaking legs. "I'm okay!" He called out to no one in particular. "I'm okay..." He repeated, albeit at a much lower volume, addressed more to himself than anyone else.
Slowly he made his way over to the podium until he stood behind it, facing the crowd.
His eyes traveled over the sea of ponies before him, searching for a familiar face. While he did so he suddenly became more aware than ever that thousands of eyes were currently resting on him, waiting to listen to his words of wisdom.
Atlas froze up. He was sweating all over. His knees were weak and his legs felt like spaghetti. He was incredibly nervous, but on the outside, it looked like he was silently regarding his audience in preparation. His eyes went wide as he realized that he forgot everything he had written down, and in his panic, he forgot to bring his speech with him, which was now lying in the grass in front of his chair.
His vision seemed to go black at the edges, while non-existent walls seemed to be closing in on him. His breathing started to get quicker and he could feel himself getting sick. There was no way he could just talk in front of so many ponies.
Atlas closed his eyes in an attempt to shut it all out, not caring what everypony currently thought about him. The confused murmur of the crowd started up again and in Atlas's mind, it was so incredibly loud, almost unbearably so.
He didn't want this. He just wanted to be anywhere else.
"You can do it Atlas!"
A shout pierced through the moment and Atlas’ eyes shot back open.
"You can do it!"
His eyes darted over the crowd, trying to find the speaker. It didn't take long for him to locate the pink earth pony mare apparently jumping up and down on her chair, trying to get his attention. There, amidst of a sea of strangers was Belle, happily waving at him, despite the crowd looking at her as if she just crashed a funeral. Next to her were his other friends. Amethyst, Crimson, as well as Blue Current. All of them were here, giving him encouraging smiles.
Atlas suddenly realized that he wasn't alone. None of these ponies before him mattered right now. None, except for his friends. He couldn't just disappoint them when they went out of their way to come here today.
Closing his eyes once again, Atlas took a deep breath before releasing it slowly, a smile now adorning his face. When he opened his eyes again, he focused only on his friends, and only on them.
This speech was for them.
"Five years ago," Atlas started his speech, "when I enrolled into this Academy, I couldn't access nor control my magic. At all." He built in a little pause for dramatic effect. "Now, five years later, I stand before you as the top graduate of my class.
"Those past five years weren't easy. I loved being here and studying everything I could about magic. I immersed myself in my studies, I learned and achieved a great many things, even progressed our understanding of transformation magic by a little bit. But as much as I love what I've done, I could have never done it without the support of my friends."
Atlas smiled and tore his gaze off from where his friends were seated and let his gaze swivel over the crowd. His eye twitched as he immediately recognized his mistake and refocused on the pink mare that was almost tearing up by now.
"My time at this academy has come to a close, but my path on this road has just started. I already have a great many ideas on how to progress our understanding of magic in general. It will be a long and arduous road to travel, but I would like to remind myself as much as everypony else in the audience today; If something seems too hard to do alone, do not be afraid to turn to somepony else and ask for help.
"As such, I hope I'll continue to make new friends and connections in the years to come. Not only with unicorns, but also with earth ponies and pegasi, so that we might progress even further. Not just as a city, but as a species, unified by the bond called friendship. Together."
Atlas once again let his eyes wander to gauge the audience's reaction. While he was extremely nervous to give his speech, he recognized a certain potential with doing it.
Right now, pony kind was still divided. By including the different races into his speech and making it painfully obvious that he thought they could progress further together, he effectively turned the whole audience into his test group.
As expected he saw quite a few sour faces staring back at him, some even looking outraged at the idea. But the vast majority seemed to be mostly indifferent to it. Judging from this, relations between the tribes seemed to be not too close to the point of no return, at least on the unicorn side of things.
The one thing Atlas had tried to do ever since he arrived in this dimension, was try to find out where exactly he was in the timeline of the show, the earliest event known to him being the Hearth's Warming Eve story told by the show. As it stood, it was most likely quite a few years off.
All of this was of course little more than a theory to him, but he'd much rather know than not. Even if he could probably not do anything to change the outcome, just knowing when it would happen would be enough.
Atlas gave it a lot of thought and at this point, he wasn't sure if he should intervene, even if he could. A lot of ponies were going to suffer because of their leader's ignorance, but as a result, the tribes would unify under one banner and found Equestria.
"A wise stallion once said: "Do not pursue your dream, but your passion."
"I'm Atlas, valedictorian of the one-hundredth and twenty-second graduating transformation class. Thank you."
Taking a step back from the podium, Atlas lowered his head in a bow while the audience applauded. He held the pose for a few seconds before shooting one last look towards where he knew his friends were seated. He got off the stage opposite from where he entered to make space for the next pony and approached his seat before almost collapsing on it.
His heart was still beating at unhealthy speeds and he felt like he’d just ran a marathon. Glad that it was finally over, he closed his eyes and tuned out the current speech in an attempt to calm down.
The ceremony would most likely go on for another hour or two at this point, but at least his part was now over. All that was left was to collect his degree afterward and then attend a party thrown by his friends, which was something about today he had actually been looking forward to.
Settling himself in he tried to at least get comfortable, a thing that was almost impossible on the lawn chairs that were set up. Yet another one of the weird parallels of their dimensions. Why did they have human chairs when they weren't even comfortable to sit on as a pony.
Atlas chalked it up to the gods being lazy once again, as he did every so often when he noticed things like this.
---------------------------------------------
Scholar Arc
Year 5, Month 1, Day 1
"Come in."
Atlas opened the door he just knocked on and entered. Looking around the office he tried to gauge the personality of its occupant. All in all, the room was decorated rather sparsely. The walls were decked out with a plethora of certificates, medals, and awards. Towards the back, a huge desk filled out the room, a purple rug under it bearing the Royal Guard's emblem. A shield with the depiction of the lonely mountain at sunrise on it.
Behind the desk was a large and comfortable looking chair, currently occupied by an elderly stallion. His coat was a dull green and his mane had long since turned gray. Upon his body rested a snugly fit uniform, sporting the usual purple colors with gold highlights the guard was known for. His face was littered with wrinkles and scars alike, giving him the general look of being tired. Just one look into his deep blue eyes confirmed the opposite to be true for Atlas, since they seemed to be full of life, watching him intently like a hawk.
"Please, take a seat." The stallion said, gesturing towards one of two chairs in front of his desk.
While they didn't look as comfortable or expensive as the one behind the desk, they still looked like a piece of luxury. Atlas did as he was told and moved to take a seat. Once he was properly settled in, he expectantly waited for the stallion to continue.
"I am Colonel Jade Spear, do you know why you're here today?"
"Yes, sir." Atlas dutifully answered.
Since his education had been completed, the time had finally come for him to make good on his contract and start his service in the military. Although, if his current location was anything to go by, they would most likely stick him into the guard.
Shortly after the ceremony, Atlas had received a letter telling him to come to the royal guard recruitment center, where he would receive further instructions.
"Good." Jade Spear simply responded. "Then, first off, let me congratulate you personally on your stellar academic career."
"Thank you, sir," Atlas responded.
"Usually somepony else would give orders besides me, but as I'm sure you are aware you are a somewhat special case. So, I’d say it’s my honor to be the one to tell you what you'll be doing from now on, we'll also have to discuss a few things that are rather delicate and not meant for the lower ranks to know."
The colonel looked at Atlas as if he was expecting an answer.
"I understand, sir."
"Good, the sooner we get started the sooner you can get out of here." Jade Spear said as he levitated a few documents out of a drawer in his desk. "First off, we have to assign you to a division where you'll fit in and be of use to us."
He spread out the documents and seemed to read over a few of them.
"It says here that you are quite the gifted water elementalist. How do you feel about a more combat heavy division? Ever heard of Teras?"
"They hunt down monsters around the kingdom if I remember correctly. I met a few of them on my travels, and one of my friends recently joined them," Atlas explained. "Although, I'd really rather not do anything with a combat role. I was hoping to maybe be assigned to a research division?" He asked hopefully.
Jade Spear clicked with his tongue, obviously annoyed.
"Is something wrong, sir?" Atlas asked cautiously.
"No, nothing," Jade Spear replied. "It's just that the higher ups technically already transferred you. Although, if you told me you wanted something different it could still be arranged. The lads down at Teras are always looking for new recruits, you sure you don't want to help them out?"
"Yes, sir," Atlas replied. "I feel like I will be more useful in as a researcher expanding the kingdoms knowledge."
"It's a damn shame, it is." Jade Spear sighed. "Moving on then, here are your orders. Mind that you don’t lose them."
A small stack of documents floated towards Atlas' side of the table.
"Read through them carefully once you get back home, for now, here's the gist of it," Jade Spear explained. "You really impressed some important ponies with what you achieved while at the academy. That card game you made was especially intriguing to them. Not to mention you're the first pony with a triple affinity ever, which means those science quacks want to keep you close.
"As such, you'll be transferred to our 26th Research unit, located on the same island as the Academy you went to. You might be familiar with it since you probably were tested by the guys at some point. You'll find further information in the papers I gave you."
"Sir, thank you, sir." Atlas beamed.
Truth be told, Atlas was actually kind of scared before coming here. At his graduation ceremony he talked big about his plans to further their understanding of magic, but if he would have been assigned to a combat unit, all of his plans would have fallen through right then and there.
"Moving on then," Jade Spear said, another stack of papers floating to his front. "You are aware that you are still being observed since you have been deemed a potential danger to yourself and those around you almost five years ago, yes?"
"Yes, sir," Atlas answered.
In all his time at the Academy, he never once saw one of his supposed shadows. It actually slipped his mind some time ago, so being reminded of it was a tad unsettling to Atlas.
"As of today, that ends." Jade Spear said matter of factly. "The researchers, as well as the relevant authorities, have deemed you safe enough since you have displayed the necessary amount of restraint and control over your abilities. I'll just need you to sign here."
Jade Spear floated over a single scroll, as well as an inkwell and a quill towards Atlas, indicating with the quill where he needed the signature to be. Atlas took them in his own magic and read through the scroll once before signing it enthusiastically.
He might have never noticed anyone following him, but that didn't change the fact that they were there.
"Thank you," Jade Spear said while filing the scroll appropriately. "Well, then there's just one more thing I'll need to tell you. The two guards assigned to you wanted to officially meet you. You'll find them in conference room three, just down the hall. Do you have any questions."
"No sir," Atlas said.
"Well then, you're dismissed," Jade Spear indicated towards the door. "Have a nice day, and welcome to the Corps."
"Thank you, sir."
Atlas left the Colonel's office, and once outside, let out a sigh of relief. This talk had quite literally decided his future and could have taken some bad turns. In the end, the results were in his favor, which was like a weight falling off his shoulders.
He started trotting down the hall, looking for the conference room. Since he was now more or less a free pony, he might as well meet the hide and seek world champions that tailed him for the last several years of his life.
Spotting a small plate indicating the room next to it as conference room three, Atlas stopped to take a deep breath. He let it out through his mouth and along with any lingering nervousness from the serious talk before. Satisfyingly calmed down, Atlas gave three sharp knocks on the door and entered without waiting for an answer.
As far as conference rooms went, this one looked fairly standard. Big table, lots of chairs and a huge blackboard. At the end of the table, two seats were occupied.
On the left side sat a dark brown unicorn stallion. His mane was cut short and an even darker brown than his coat, almost black even. His cutie mark was obscured by the table and he shot Atlas a nervous smile once he saw who entered.
Opposite of him sat an orange unicorn mare. Her mane was blond and hung lazily down the side of her neck. Since she sat on Atlas's side of the table he could perfectly see her cutie mark, which consisted of two question marks and one exclamation mark, each a different color.
Atlas's eyes went wide as his eyes slowly traveled up the mare's body until they eventually met a pair of deep blue eyes he was all too familiar with.
"Uhh... hi," Amber said, giving him a small and awkward wave.
I made this badge for the Royal Guard. Could have made a better one, but I'm satisfied with this :D First multi-day chapter, yay!
Also, a shoutout to Heidao, you called it! You are now officially on my shitlist.Technically you were ever since you wrote your comment. I can just call you out for it now :D
Once again, thanks to my editor Azriel and my proofreader Kilobytes for a job well done!
Special thanks to Azriel, who helped out a great deal with this chapter. Lots of questions were asked and his military knowledge came in really handy in this chapter!
Today's chapter was brought to you by this song. I went to watch "Why Him?" and Steve was in it. Love that guy!
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The moment you reminded me about the guards I figured Amber would be one of them
Lets see if Atlas goes the understanding route, shocked/confused route or upset route. I hope for option A or B.
Whoa, I was not expecting that.
Oh ho! what a
!
Also...
s3.amazonaws.com/achgen360/t/bMWOLy7X.png
... Heh. Wish I had called it officially, because that would have been more satisfying to be able to point backwards to a previous comment, but oh well.
Good luck, Amber and Atlas. Hope he doesn't kill her now, she was just doing her job.
Woooooooo
I forgot who Amber was :D
7874761 last member of the group, the mare who walked in late to a class and had to sit next to Atlas, back in ch 42.
I really want Atlas' reaction to just be a massive groan/facehoof, saying something about how obvious this should have been. I mean, he's more or less living in a (old) fairy tale, he'll probably connect the dots before she tells him.
7874064 Yuss, I love me some gamerscore :D (I'm at like 125k rn)
7874139 Thank god you didn't! Every time someone calls out one of my planned twists I have to restrain myself from answering to their comments and get incredibly pissed at myself for not hiding it good enough :P
7874761 They literally played a card game together in the last chapter. What are you? A Goldfish? If the answer is yes, you could join Azriel in his club.
time to craft spell cards for soldiers to use!
7873693 option D, he is turned on and has no idea why
great to see en other chapter again, and can't wait to see what will come next.
7876166 Don't forget to throw some interrobangs in there, they're Azriel's favourite!
7874986
Thank you.
7875009
Wow. No need to be so mean. I have short term memory loss. Had it for as long as I can remember. I forget things easily.
7876440 Wow, for real? Sorry to hear that. Be assured I meant no real offense. Just that me and Azriel often joke about his less than stellar recollection of what's actually happening in my story, comparing his memory to that of a goldfish's.(around three seconds.)
Nice twist. I wasn't expecting it, and I really liked how you executed it.
Too bad you never got to have him irritate any of his observers incessantly with poorly sung lyrics to songs from the human world, but alas it was not meant to be.
7876814 Oh he did, under the shower, in the bath, alone in his room and probably every single time he saw Amber. I just didn't write any of it. Still canon tho :P
7876166 you dare?! very well then!! <,<>.>,>,$#^*$@~~~~~%$*^/..,,.\][\\;/;'],/[\][\>*%*|*:*%*$^{
7876653
It's okay.
7875009 Every time we make the goldfish joke I think of this video at 0:24 sec.
7876366 No they're not.... Wait a sec, mother of god, you basically made Amber's cutie mark an interrobang! I hate you lol.
7877917
7876366
I hope you realize that the damn site only tells me if you responded if you put it in the same chapter as mine.
And his face hoof was heard all the way in the PO
Earth pony kingdom
More soon, please?
7875263 And if you don't know where you are, find your local killer rabbit to guide you back to civilization! Be careful though, they like to gnaw on bones!
Huh, I would've thought they'd toss him into a war college after his standard education or had an ROTC course on campus to supplement training of those volunteering and to see if there'd be any prospects for future officers. While Atlas was indeed viewed as a threat, the idea of a one of a kind triple affinity eventually joining the military, it would've made sense someone high up in the chain would've wanted such a pony as a subordinate or have a level of authority for breathing room as a researcher among other military scientists.
With this set up now, Atlas may have been given the chance to research but will most likely be outsourced to senior researchers for his insight, and as a subordinate, his findings are his superior's findings. He'll need to work fast in choosing a project and making proper progress if he ever hopes to gain leeway.
7882912
Well, they probably would have put him through a training course if he had gone into the actual military, and not just the R&D section.
amidst a sea of strangers
kingdom's
I figured as much, now on to the upset it will cause.
Huh, i was hoping for a plot twist. But nope its Amber. Hard to believe Atlas didnt figure it out.
Now the real question. Before i go to the next chapter i must ponder if Atlas will be rightly pissed that his "friend" was keeping watch on him, or will the author force bygones to be bygones.
Lets find out.
Oh shit, didn't see that coming, good thing Atlas didn't tell her about his true origins or his companions, then this would had been an awkward meeting
[sorry for the quality of writing, I'm writing through Google] Shouldn't the date be more than a month? He had started his training earlier to learn basic magic manipulation.