13. A Chaotic Encounter
Atlas slowly approached the next village on his journey. Similar to when he and Discord went around Equestria before, he’d taken to wandering through the country. Before, their objective was to explore and get the feel for the land, but this time Atlas was travelling in order to find something, or rather, someone. But, his motivation for coming through this village wasn’t the only thing that had changed.
Just as the rest of Equestria this particular village had changed as well. Most ponies would say it had changed for the worse, but Atlas couldn’t help but look at the chaos around him with a certain mirth. Discord didn’t exactly make the ponies suffer, but his particular brand of chaos could make life… difficult to say the least.
At the very least ponies didn’t have to worry much about food what with the cotton candy clouds that rained chocolate milk amongst other strange things that provided them with a plethora of sweets. Cavities were most likely the biggest danger to their health, but they didn’t really care about that.
As far as ponies were concerned the status quo had changed which was comparable to some sort of hell. Atlas could certainly see how the recently turned peace-loving ponies could see the chaos around them as some sort of a hellish landscape, but aside from the weird day-night cycles. Atlas was having the time of his life. Food was readily available funny things could be seen everywhere, and it never really got boring.
The downtrodden looks of the ponies inside the village certainly threatened to be a bummer, but Atlas tried not to let them get to him. He did actually feel bad for them and wanted this apparent torture for them to stop as soon as possible. That’s why he set out from his cave after some time of waiting, and actively started searching for the two beings that were supposed to put a stop to this.
Atlas had patiently waited for five months in his cave. Five months, five months that he’d spent in complete isolation questioning himself and the decision he’d made together with his son. The possibility that they’d started way too early was very real. Which would mean that Discord’s chaotic “rampage” would march on until the pony saviours finally appeared, whenever that might be.
Atlas made his way around the village streets where the ponies at least tried to live their lives like they did before. A sad sort of complacency had set in some time after the “cataclysmic” events and ponies had started to adapt, or at the very least tried to. They probably didn’t know it yet, but since deep down they were beings of harmony the chaos around them disturbed them on a fundamental level.
Maybe that was the reason that Atlas wasn’t as affected by the chaos, because he wasn’t really a pony.
The conversations he overheard all carried the same undertone of barely restrained fear and impatience, and occasionally the speakers were interrupted by something strange flying past them. A pack of toasters flew past Atlas overhead and alighted on the dirt that was attached to an upside down floating house. Glancing to his right he could see a pair of cows sitting high up on an apple tree chatting happily with each other and picking strawberries.
Atlas smiled and shook his head at the silliness all around him. He continued through the village, all the while keeping a lookout for any signs of the two sisters. To be frank, he didn’t really have any idea what he was even looking for, but wandering aimlessly certainly beat sitting around a lonely cave. It had been weeks since he’d set out and he was still just as clueless.
He stopped to watch a parade consisting entirely out of cutlery to march by, and he waited patiently for the procession to end as he found himself unironically trying to figure out the cause of the parade. They seemed to celebrate something a spork amongst them had done, though. He contemplated talking to the villagers a few times before he reminded himself why he never did.
He was sure that if he asked for two powerful beings, sporting wings and unicorn horns that were supposed to save them, all he’d get in return would be tired shakes of their heads. They’d probably just think it a cruel joke by him and Atlas didn’t really want to make them suffer even more.
His progress was halted yet again, this time by a procession of paintings crossing his path, all of them sporting wings. Having nowhere to be in a hurry, Atlas stopped and appreciated the art flying past him, until he spotted something familiar on one of them and his eyes went wide.
“Paintings! Stop!” Atlas called out suddenly, and much to the surprise of everypony around him, they actually stopped marching forward.
Atlas had realized quite a while back that he held some limited authority over the more sentient objects that were created by Discord, and didn’t hesitate to use that to his advantage. The ponies around him seemed stunned, as their own pleas for any of the chaotic objects to stop were most likely met with deaf ears. Atlas didn’t pay them much attention however, as his attention was fully on the painting that just flew past him.
“You there, come over here,” Atlas said and the painting complied coming to a stop in front of him.
Atlas let his eyes wander over the strokes of paint that formed a landscape depicting Equestria from atop of a mountain. A sight very similar to what Atlas once had seen when he came here. But, what actually caught his attention earlier was located in the bottom right of the painting. A single, green imprint of a hoof which served as a sort of signature by the one who created it. He had seen this particular one quite a few times and was reasonably sure of who painted this, a smile spreading on his face.
“Lead me to where you came from,” Atlas said giddily to the painting in front of him.
The painting saluted with one of its wings almost falling out of the air in the act, but eventually it floated off into a seemingly random direction. Atlas followed behind it at a sedate pace, as the rest of the paintings behind him continued on their merry ways.
“How did you do that?” a stunned pony asked as Atlas passed him. “These things never listen to us…”
“Have you ever tried asking nicely?” Atlas said and shot the stallion a smile which just seemed to confuse him even more.
Leaving the stallion behind Atlas continued following the painting which lead him through the streets of the moderately sized village. It didn’t take long for the duo to leave the village proper, and Atlas began to worry that he might have to chase the painting half-way across Equestria before they arrived wherever it originated. His worries were stilled the moment the painting seemed to head into the direction of a house in the middle of a field, though.
The painting flew towards the front door of the one-story building and hung itself upside down next to it. Atlas took a proper look at the house which seemed like it was largely spared by the chaos around it. While he was pretty sure the walls weren’t meant to be pink, it looked just like an ordinary Equestrian home.
Satisfied with his inspection from the outside. Atlas knocked on the door only to be surprised when it slowly swung open when his hoof made contact for the first time. Shrugging his shoulders he opened the door the rest of the way and peered inside.
“Hello? Anybody home?”
His gaze wandered around the cozily furnished interior. He was currently looking at a spacious living room containing a dining table, a tea table with two couches on either side, as well as a fireplace and various storage units. What really caught his eyes, though, were the various paintings hung on the walls. Each and every one of them bore Vibrant Color’s signature letting Atlas believe he had hit the jackpot.
A large grin spread on his face as he stepped inside.
“Hello?” he called out once again. “I’m coming in! Vibrant? Are you here?”
Once properly inside he could see that a door to his left lead to a kitchen area, and towards his right was a hallway that seemed to have three rooms attached to it, even though all three doors were closed.
“Hello?”
Not hearing a response, Atlas surmised that whoever lived here was probably not home. He approached one of the paintings in front of him and marveled at the craft. Vibrant was very talented, and it seemed like she only got better in the time Atlas hadn’t seen her. He moved along the wall, looking carefully at each of the paintings, until he came to the fireplace. Various smaller paintings were situated on the top more resembling pictures.
The first one showed Vibrant herself happily smiling with what Atlas assumed was her husband, a navy blue unicorn. If he had doubted that fact before that this was Vibrant’s home, he was now absolutely sure of it. There was no way she’d sell pictures like that to anypony.
The next picture was of a quaint little house in the middle of nowhere. If memory served correctly, it was her old home where Atlas briefly stayed when he first was brought into this world. He snorted when he saw the next picture, which seemed to be a slightly off painting of himself. She must’ve painted this sometime after they parted, maybe to just not forget how he looked. The lack of an actual model distorted some of his features, though, he was reasonably sure it was meant to be himself.
At the next picture, his smile grew even wider. Once again, Vibrant could be seen with her husband, together with--
The sound of something falling over to his right made him snap his head around. Maybe someone was home after all?
“Hello?” he called out once again. “Is anypony home? It’s me, Atlas!”
He waited for some time, but no reaction came. There was a very real possibility of something having simply fallen over in one of the rooms. Or as crazy as it sounded something having gained sentience that didn’t have any business having one. Nowadays that wasn’t unheard of, but still, Atlas decided to investigate. If somebody was hiding from him he could just explain to them who he was, and they could wait for Vibrant to confirm his story.
He approached the hallway and eyed the three doors before him, one on his left, and two to his right. Shrugging once again he approached the left door and carefully opened it.
“Hello?” He called out once again, as he peered inside.
The room was quite big and accommodated a large bed confirming his suspicion about it being the master bedroom. Nopony was in there though, so he closed the door again and turned around to face the door behind him. He was just about to open it when he heard the sound from before once again from the door to his left, followed by somepony making hushing noises.
Atlas lifted one eyebrow in amusement and approached the door.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m coming in!” he called out, before very carefully opening the door.
The room behind the door was obviously a room for young foals. What gave it away instantly were the toys scattered around, as well as the crib sitting next to a kid-sized bed. The crib was occupied, although it’s occupant was covered by the sheets. A small filly, apparently a few years older than the one lying in the crib stood next to it, eyeing Atlas suspiciously. The small unicorn had pristine white fur and a pink mane.
Atlas wasn’t in the least bit surprised, as he had seen the filly in the picture earlier, and he adopted a disarming smile. He didn’t want to make a bad first impression with Vibrant’s daughter.
Although that might already be out of the question since he technically just waltzed into their home without permission.
What surprised him, though, was that there was only one filly in the picture he saw earlier, and yet, there were clearly two of them occupying the room.
“Hello, my name’s Atlas, an old friend of your mother’s,” Atlas tried explaining. “Maybe she has told you about me? No? Well, that’s okay, do you know when your parents will come… home…” Atlas trailed off when he spotted that the little filly sported a cutie mark unlike in the picture above the fireplace.
A cutie-mark he had seen a lot of times. In fact, it was drawn in great detail in a little blue book he owned.
A cutie mark depicting the sun.
“Umm…” Atlas said awkwardly, as his train of thought somewhat derailed.
“You knew our mama?” The filly asked, the suspicion in her eyes lessening a bit.
“Umm, yeah, I do…or did.” Atlas stammered. “From a long time ago, there’s a painting of me above the fireplace…” He said absent-mindedly and curiously eyeing the crib.
“You don’t look like the pony in the picture,” the filly retorted. “Mommy's drawings are perfect, so you can’t be that pony.”
“I believe she painted that after we… parted ways,” Atlas responded. “Um, do you… would you mind if I took a look in that crib?”
“Why?” The filly was immediately on guard again.
“I’d just like to confirm something,” Atlas said reassuringly. “Just a quick peek is all I need. I promise.”
Atlas did the motions for a Pinkie Promise which he realized held no weight in this era, although he wouldn’t be surprised if the pink menace herself popped up if he broke it. The filly seemed to hold promises in high regard, as she seemed to allow it. Carefully, Atlas approached the crib, magically lifting away the sheets to reveal an awake and happy midnight-blue unicorn filly with a light blue mane.
Atlas blinked a few times looking into the curious blue eyes looking back at him, before putting the sheets back to their original position and sitting down on his haunches.
“Little filly,” Atlas said with a bit of trepidation and contained excitement. “May I ask for your name?”
“Sure, my name is Celestia,” the filly said happily. “My mommy gave it to me, and I think it’s a beautiful name. Oh, and this is Luna.” Celestia said while pointing at the crib.
“It sure is, Celestia,” Atlas chuckled dryly. “It sure is.”
Of all the places he could have stumbled upon the sisters, it would happen to be in the home of his first friend in Equestria. And they were her daughters, no less. Destiny if it wasn’t a cosmic joke was a funny thing. She’d never believe him if he told her what these two would achieve some day. Atlas felt a twang of guilt, when he realized, that if he and Discord would have waited a few more years everything would have worked out, but he couldn’t let this weigh him down right now.
“Do you know when your parents will return home?” Atlas asked nicely making sure to not drop his smile.
Celestia started squirming around and fixated her eyes on the floor. “I.. I don’t think they will…”
“What do you mean by that?” Atlas furrowed his eyebrows.
“I think they both are… Umm.. what was the word again?” Celestia seemed to think for a moment. “I think they are both dead, Mr. Atlas.”
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AIN'T THAT A PLOT TWIST HUH?
8456917
uR m0M's a pl0t-Tweest
8456922
THA FOK U SAY ABOUT ME MUM
... Explain. NAOW
ouch, my feels
You got me so excited to see Vibrant Colours again, only to rip my heart out in little less than a sentence.
It takes a special kind of someone to do that.
It really does.
edit:
You flipping twat. You should be ashamed.
That'll do pig. That'll do.
now i know why they called him their father.
The ending..... she's dead?! What?! No! No!!! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!
Glad we finally met the sister's though.
You cant leave us with a cliffhanger like THAT!!
Welp, that happened...
Now for some stupid twist endings:
I really hope it's just Tia's silliness and Vibrant is not actually dead. My heart can't take it! She was my favorite!
I also miss that orange cutie that loved that game Atlas made. I hope she is doing alright.
8456925
She be Tweestin ALL DAY LONG
Oh manohmanohmanohmanohmanohmanohman NOOOOOOOOOOOOO Y'ALL GOT ME SO EXCITED IT WAS GONNA BE A HAPPY REUNION WITH LITERALLY MY FAVORITE CHARACTER NEXT TO BELLE BUT NOPE!
SHES DEAD TOO!!!!!!
...
you monster xD
um
Ooooooo... You absolute little monster of a tease...
Edit: Also, Celestia's a tad blase about her and her sister being an orphan, is she not?
8457152
Depending on how recently Vibrent died, it may be that Celestia is still in a shock over her death. Luna is still very young, so Celestia is having to care for her while also keeping them safe, along with other ADULT responsibilities. Age isn't mentioned, but Celestia is young here. This kind of self reliance at a young age affects the mind's development a lot.
This will clearly be a recurring factor if Atlas is aiming to keep the timeline similar to canon. I can easily see this evolving into a disconnect that causes Luna to turn into Nightmare Moon. Luna thinks Celestia is trying to keep the spotlight on herself, while Celestia is still in the mindset of baring all of the weight of ruling, unaware that Luna is ready to help her.
This, of course, doesn't take into account what effects Atlas may have on Celestia and Luna, but that's how I can see things moving from here.
aww... so kindness is dead now? wait... how many of them are dead now? ... welp to reread everything!!!
What?....
8457193 To be fair, Atlas (and by proxy, the reader) IS immortal and generally behind the times. Who knows how long it's been?
Oh. Well, guess no need for artificial pony creation with Celestia and Luna, just adopt some dead couple's child work too.
8456969
It is a good song though...
s2.quickmeme.com/img/7b/7b703c294fa76e39670104cf55def8aa32b59629976c1f016e53e1fa732de50d.jpg
8456925
hE sAId Ur M0mS a pL0t
8456922
Also, you just love killing characters don’t you?
Why can’t anyone be MIA or go on a long adventure to never respond.
XD
8457737
Starswirl is. He's stuck in The Place That Doesn't Exist Yet.
8457818
As far as we know anyway.
8457349
Can't have been that long, the sisters are very very young. Vibrant had to be still going enough to have children and raise them.
So some thirty years at most?
Woah Woah Woah What? Also rather blunt for a small child lol
NNNNOOOOOO I WANTED VIBRANT BACK!!!!
💔
8457986 Pfft. Who knows? Ponies in that world supposedly do have pretty lengthy lives.
That went 0 to 100 real fast
Dammit, just can't catch a break
8458031she probably doesn't fully understand the weight of death yet.
I ACCIDENTALLY UNLIKED YOUR STORY BECAUSE I WANTED TO LIKE IT AGAIN.
I think there is a comma in there somwhere
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/288/653/844.jpg
dammit... My interest has increased exponentially for the coming chapters...
WHAT!? Oh come on, that's a mean cliffhanger. At least the sisters are here, but still, what a cliffhanger.
Eager for more.
...
I...
...
...
What?...
...
...
[[TRIGGERED]]
Welll..... shite. That last line....
8461100
I second this statement. Now having caught up from the beginning. GREAT now I have new story ideas coming in...
8456922
for the ending of this chapter you deserve to get a call from the cup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OVO5uEakNk
I started reading the first story yesterday and now I'm here!
I really need to learn to pace myself...
Well that's... blunt... I wonder how they died, if they are in fact dead?
WHAT!!!???
well now this is one heck of a plot twist and cliffhanger all in one.
i love this story it is just a super happy story to read.