Firehearted

@, "I still haven't gotten your name" Why in the name of Celestia was I doing this? I don't even know his name and I've practically offered up my entire network to him... I don't even trust him all that well! Ugh... "You still need your meds or no?" I sure do hope we got to land soon.

@, "Sorry to say but you've got my pity" I really did feel bad for him. "Well you won't get your new life where we're headed. You're best shot is to stick with us until we got back to Equestria then make a break for the border..." Was I really about to do this? I didn't even know his name... "Tell you what... As I said, I know ponies. I can get a good word for you into the Royal Guard and if you haven't stolen anything that big I may be able to get you a royal pardon from a couple high-ups I know. If that doesn't work I can call a favor with a Griffon Baron in the Griffon Kingdom and get you a place to stay in one of their keeps. To me you're somethin'. I know ponies who have gotten themselves killed on the path you're on." I've got too much blood on my hooves as it is. "If you're as you seem "becoming an urchin" won't work and you'll just go back to thievery" Yep, I'm helping him. "Name's Atlas by the way"

@, "If you don't want me to turn you over, you'd better tell. You get in trouble with someone? If I ain't that big I can probably get it cleared, let's just say I know some ponies. I don't normally extend this offer to complete strangers but you seem to be in a jam and till you're out you don't seem like you'll talk... I'll go get your meds too" "I have no heavenly clue where we're headed. All I know it's got knowledge and exploration to be done with is enough for me"

@, I huffed and dropped the act. "It seems I had you wrong... I assumed you were some idiot brute... I still don't trust you" And why should I trust him? "That was Пісня Смерті, the Song of Death. Old Griffon song they used to sing whenever they were about to kill someone, a 'witch', traitor, anyone... I thought you may crack but seems not" Reasons? Sure. "Reasons you say? What kind of vacation 'cause this is going to be the hardest vacation of your life. I hope you don't get gutted once we're on shore" And I did. "My deal? My deal is some pony comes up cloaked for no good reason and barfs all over the deck. Somethin' ain't right there. You've got two options: I let you on your merry way and wait for some crew member to catch you or you're mine until we get back to Equestria. Your pick"

@, I gave a surprised look. He's got some balls. Or he's an idiot. I don't really care. "Who said I was interrogating?" I walked to my pack still talking. "If you want me to interrogate you that can be arranged" I pulled my sword from its sheath and spun it a bit before putting it back. Sure... I'll interrogate him. Maybe make him think I'm a lunatic. That normally works... Put a few nice lies in there too. If he doesn't crack I can blow it off as a "test" easy. I don't trust him one bit. "You're in no place to negotiate... I don't give a flying feather about your migraine, my leg is hurts like hell and I've got no cure for it. How do I know if you won't run off when I get your "medication." Once again I can interrogate if you want" I produced a devilish smile. I pull out my sword again and began to swing it about recklessly. "вонзание отвори і розщеплення вам у двох, Ставка ви хочете, ви спали, але це не сон!" (Stabbing holes and splitting you in two, Bet you wish you were asleep, but it's not a dream!) I began singing fast paced in Old Griffon butchering a number of words but to the untrained ear you could never tell. "Blood dripping everywhere and choking, the smell of hair" A few words he could understand so he gets the message. "Ми опинилися в пастці в циклах і кінець ніколи не ясно!" (We are trapped in cycles and the end is never clear!) I put my sword to his throat and began to sing in a whisper. "Your head turned up toward sky and gaping struggling to keep a scream" That'll do. "What to talk now, дрібнота?" (Small One)

@, "Eeyup. When I'm dealing with someone who is under suspicion I do that" Did he really just ask that? "No. No I don't. Be glad I had the ginger at all... What's your name? Why did you stowaway on this boat? And do you have an experience in the wilderness?" Getting right to point.

@, *CRASH* Now what? I looked up to see Mr Invisible. "Well, well. Not very sneaky are you?" I didn't even bother making a move for him. "I wouldn't try running. By the time you got to the door I could pounce on you again and drag you back... Eat this" I pushed the ginger into his chest. "It's ginger. It'll make you feel better" Now then... "You've got some answers to give. In my experience someone cloaked is either about to stab somepony in the back or is trying to go unnoticed otherwise... So why the hell where you invisible? You clearly don't want to get caught with whatever you're doing 'cause you tried to get out of here"

@@The Shadow Stallion, "Be careful 'round those. They'll mess you up ... I'd imagine we're close to land by now. Name's Atlas by the way. See you then" I waited for a moment for him to get out of sight before I frowned... It had been weeks since I'd had a relapse... That wasn't a bad one though. It almost always happens when I talked about "dangerous artifacts." Why'd I ever smash that thing on a rock... I could have just held onto it... No. Don't think like that or you'll just get worse... I picked up my book again and read trying to force the memory of my atrocities away. How was that pony doing? I peeked up at him... Still out cold... Huh. I went back to reading...

@@The Shadow Stallion, "Met everyone of every sort. I've never met a "warrior librarian." You sound like something out of a Daring Do book" Like I have room to talk. "No offensive of course. Sounds honorable, more so than me. Normally if I find anything I sell it off to the highest bidder who's clearly not some evil jackass. I hold onto the dangerous stuff of course" Dangerous stuff... Yeah... I went pale and my eyes glazed over. The image of the guards flashed in my mind... The- I snapped out of it. It couldn't have been longer than second. "Yeah, all the dangerous stuff. I've run into some things no pony should have" I blew it off like it was nothing. Maybe he didn't notice...

@@The Shadow Stallion, "We've all lost friends" I patted him on the back assuming he had lost those he knew whether through an enemy's sword or a loss of heart. "Best not to dwell on stuff like that... A warrior librarian? I thought I'd meet them all?" I said trying to change the topic.

@@The Shadow Stallion, Really now? "Someone knows what it feels like to nearly get killed every other day! I've had my fair share of injures. Broken bones, a few stab wounds, walked in poison joke once, that wasn't fun. I got this here" I stuck my front left leg out showing a large scar across my leg. "That one's my worst. Took it with a fight with De Flanko, some pony from Celestia knows where who wanted the same thing I did. I almost bled out then. I still got a limp from the damn thing" Limp indeed. My job? Do I really want to tell him... I just meet him... I see no harm but I won't give him too much. "I'm an explorer/archaeologist/soldier-for-hire/peacekeeper/most-wanted. It depends on who you ask. I consider myself an explorer of sorts. I've arguably made the most expeditions into by any one pony. To the big wigs at the Cannterlot Royal Museum I'm a freelance archaeologist. To some Griffon Baron I'm a just a hired sword. To the gangs of Manehatten I'm the one who keeps them out of trouble. To more than one Griffon Baron I'm there worst enemy and want my head on a platter... Yeah, I've done a lot in the past seven years. Where we going? No idea. I just heard 'uncharted lands' and jumped on board. But enough about me. What do YOU do? You seem to have a history if you tested your mettle in old ruins"

@@The Shadow Stallion, I smiled. "I'm surprised you can recognize it. Most ponies just think it's chicken scratch" And it was easy to see why. The characters were sharp and were always made up of series of lines. "I spent two years in ruins up in the Griffon Kingdom, not two years straight of course, looking for texts and inscriptions of Old Griffon after griffon scholars refused to teach me it. Eventually I picked up enough to read a few books in Old Griffon and now I can say I'm fluent. I can hardly speak it of course though. I don't have a beak 'n' all so-" And I'm going off again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go on like that. I've got a habit of rambling everyone once and a while" I hate it when I do that... "So you don't know him... I hadn't seen him on board either" Maybe cause he was invisible for a reason... Why though?

@@The Shadow Stallion, "Huh?" I looked up from my book. Who was this? I put my book down in front of me. "Yes, sir everything's alright. Seasickness got to him is all. I found him out cold on the deck" Maybe not 'found' him. "but he seems to be in good health besides that. You know him? I sure don't. If he's your feel free to take him" I doubted this pony knew this one but who knows when you're on a boat full of strangers.

Playing RUSE with my buds in North Carolina online who stayed up the extra 6 hours so we could celebrate my New Years.

What could happen to cause this unity of countries? Nothing... Nothing at all... This would never ever ever happen... What would this country be called? North America? Maybe? What would be the system of government that would run such a large country? Democratic Republic How would the rest of the world react? "Does NATO still work?" "Who gets that UN security seat now?" "Are you guys still going to go to war?" "Now how we tell the difference between US and Canadian tourists?!" How would people within the countries react? Canada: We got noticed! Sorry about it though, eh. US: Does this mean we can still arrest the illegals? Mexico: We won't be poor anymore! How would you react? I hear England's nice this time of year.

@, Maybe I was a bit hasty in the whole attacking part but too late now. "Why the hell were you invisible then?" And he's gone. I really didn't want to deal with a sick pony today... I tilted his head to the side making sure he didn't choke on his own vomit. After a second of letting the vomit out of his mouth and checking to see if he wasn't dying I threw him a bit hard onto my back. I almost beat him silly so I guess he's mine to take care of. I carried the sick unicorn below deck letting some poor cabin boy deal with the vomit on the deck. After navigating the ship's bowels I came to my little corner of the ship and gently placed him onto my cot the best I could. From my bag I dug out some ginger just in case for some reason I got seasick. Once he comes to I'll let him eat it. I sat next to my cot waiting for him to wake up reading a book in old griffon for the sixth time while on the voyage. He'll wake up eventually...

I looked out at the sea. Magnificent. I could porbelby watch this for hours... *CRASH* What was that? I turned around to watch a number of crates and barrels spill about and see ...Vomit come out of thin air? That wasn't normal. I attempted to reach for my sword but found it not there. I'd left it bellow deck. So I did the next best thing. @, I fly into where the vomit had come from tackling the unknown figure. Anyone I can't see isn't something good. "You've got five seconds before I beat you to a pulp!"

Three months... Why'd I sign up for this trip again? Oh yeah, because I can't resist the idea of unfound knowledge or missing out on the adventure of the lifetime... Then again I've been on a lot of "adventure of the lifetimes" before. Maybe I should think things through a bit more... Arg... My leg was killing me again. I dug in my saddlebags for a moment and pulled out a purple potion. It took a quick swig making sure not to drink too much. This stuff was hard to make. I placed it back in my bag relaxing as my leg dulled. That should last me a good day or two. Not bothering to grab any of my belongings I went topside to look outside. Thank Celestia I don't get seasick. @, "Excuse me" I told a pony walking below deck his sword dangling at this side. Who carries there sword around the ship? I emerged from below to be meet by the smell of saltwater and ocean air. *Sigh* How I wish I was at home right now. I looked out at the sea from the side of the boat watching the waves.

"ACH!" He'd forgot how resilient the wolf was. The teeth in his neck didn't help either. "HA!" Atlas laughed roughly despite the teeth digging into his neck. "You forgot, wolf. Unless your teeth are silver you can't kill me!" Seth was trying to throw him off the castle was he? Why not? Atlas shoved himself off Seth in tow. "Forget I could fly too?" He smirked. He had Seth dangling high above the ground only by his teeth. "Now do me a favor, pouch, and let go" Atlas laughed at his now seemingly helpless attacker.

All around him the world changed from an underground tomb to a mighty fortress of the night. A new age was dawning and he was in the middle of it. Whether the question was for him or Seth it didn't matter. He had to pick a side in this matter. One would bring prosperity and wealth to him the other death, most likely. One he would be helping the rise of a dark and evil empire the other a death fighting for Ponykind. He had to make a decision. So he embraced the madness around him for better or worse. All thoughts of morals and what was right and wrong was thrown to the wind. The lines between Atlas and Rage blurred and it could no longer to told where Atlas began and where Rage began. Atlas glanced at Seth and delivered a clean, solid punch to his jaw. "That's for back at the airport!" And again. "And that's for messing with my niece in Canterlot!" And again. "And that's cause I felt like it!" Good bye old Atlas, hello new Atlas. Meanwhile... Hunter had knocked Zecora out cold. She would be fine. To his horror he watched as the castle rose from the earth. Whatever it was it couldn't be good. But what about Atlas?! He would have told him to run. Save himself. Hunter threw the zebra on his back and fled to warn the nearest town.

Atlas watched in awe and horror. What was his part in this? What was he gaining from this? What part of him would die with this new, vampire form? Those questions would just have to wait. No. Rage seemed almost dumbfounded. No! NO! How could I have failed?! Rage was much to absorbed in his own anger than in Atlas or any other happening. That wasn't Boom... No... That couldn't have been the Boom he had been with for the past few days. But was it? Questions swam through Atlas' head. But once again this was no time for idle questions. Next to him was Seth, completely oblivious to Atlas, filling to the brim with raw rage. He could attack him but what for? What was his stance here? Who's side was he truly on at this point? Rage had failed, Bliss was dead, Boom wins. That was it... Boom. Wins. The long and drawn out race starting with Sidewinder on the mountain to the damned book to running around Canterlot to this ruin was over. The prophecy was fulfilled. The story is over. The End. But once one chapter closes another must begin. "Boom" Atlas began. "You know what you're doing?" A simple question. Atlas really didn't know what to say at this point. Just maybe a quick realty check would help just to see if she's really in there.

@@Hypn0ticD, "Yes, I think we both want to forget last night" He nodded. "My story? I'll try not to bore you to death" Atlas called as she left. His story? Atlas sat dumbfounded thinking. He had a detailed history but what parts to actually tell? Most of what he went he would go on about she wouldn't know about. He could just explain it though... But he still shouldn't make it too long... Atlas noticed he was thinking too hard about this. He's just wing it. While he waited Atlas practiced with the fork. He's taken to it okay while eating. Sure he had grabbed it like one would grab a lever or bottle but it worked. He didn't know any better. Atlas tried to imitate the way Colette had used it but he just fumbled with it. He glanced at the screen. So that was Celestia? He really didn't know how to feel about it. He guess she looked nice. He still had the mind of a pony so he still was attracted to pony mares. Right? He did a quick realty check. Was he right in the head. Yes. Moving on. He'd never seen her truly shocked before. Whenever she addressed the public she was calm and collected. Whenever she was at the gala, the same. Th only time he'd seen other emotion out of her was the two times he'd talked to her in person. It was purely for business of course. Those other emotions was slight concern and concentration. The entire meeting they had kept proper social stance. He was the subject and she was the monarch. He never stepped out of the boundaries nor did she. He looked about the room idly. He gathered everything mentality and archived it. If he was going to get by here he needed to get info on everything he could.

@@Hypn0ticD, A video game? Christmas? YouTube? All this human stuff made Atlas more confused than before. "The Princess Celestia?" Playing in the big leagues now. "I can't tell if it's a good thing she's here. That means Equestria doesn't have a leader right now. She been on the throne ever since the overthrow of Discord which was... A few thousand years? Did she anything about a Princess Luna? If she's around here Equestria's in real trouble" He took another bite of food. "From what I've gathered I nor anypony else is in our world" Ya don't say, Atlas? "Probably some dimension gunk. I'd ask a unicorn but... Can we get to the Princess soon? She could probably make a spell or something. She's practically a god" Atlas put his hand over his mouth thinking. "When you're ready we should get going. I won't rush you. In the meantime I've got about ten thousands questions and thanks for helping a complete stranger with probably the strangest story you've ever heard. If a pony claiming to be in a different body and accusing me of random crap I'd slam the door in his face"

"Sorry, Alpha. I can't let you pass" What was this wolf going on about? Were they all like this? "Whatever is down there, Atlas can handle it. Kill me though? Turn me? What are you taking about? Atlas would never kill me and turn me? What does that even mean? He was a bit hurt. Who was he to say what Atlas would and wouldn't do? "How do you know him? Why do you care about his business? You're one of those out to hunt him aren't you? Back off before I kill you both! No one touches him!" Jumping to conclusions Hunter went into defensive mode. No one was getting to his only real friend if he had anything to say about it. "Back off!" He shouted again. He gave a low growl beginning to slowly strafe right.