The Atlantean

Chapters

(Prologue) 1: Fall of the Empire
2: A New World...A NEW BODY!?
3: The Great Destroyer
4: Journey of Dread
5: Settling In (Part 1)

(Prologue) 1: Fall of the Empire

After what felt like days to my mental being, my vision started returning and freeing me from the unconscious realm. As my sights faded in and out, I couldn’t help but notice the warmth of some type of liquid oozing down my forehead and the aching pain that plagued my physical senses. I brought my left hand to my face and upon contact, I immediately jerked my appendage back due to the stinging sensation I temporarily created. Once my palm came into my field of vision, I took note of the amount of the deep red substance staining my hand. There was a lot.

Figuring that if I could still move, I should get up now. So with that in mind, I pushed myself into an upright position, but as shifted around, I could feel the soft sensation of flesh and fingers much gentler than mine. Turning to the area where I felt the hand, I saw the body of a short, turned over woman who wore the same gray, cotton jumpsuit as I did. Recognizing the brunette hair that was kept in pig tails, I realized who she was. Her name is Meryl and she’s the youngest of my cabinmates and section team.

I tried asking her in my low pitch voice if she was alright, but the only response was her being silent and still unmoving. I rolled her over to check to see if she was okay, but to my sights she wasn’t. Lodged in the left region of her throat and her right eye were pieces of metal shrapnel; the blood streamed out like little red waterfalls. From the look of horror in her only other eye, she saw this death coming.

The mere sight of her lifeless corpse caused me to shutter back on the ground. As I continued moving back, I accidentally bumped into another object; except this one felt like moist leather. I darted my sights to the object in question and was even more horrified then last time. I couldn’t even recognize who this person was because of the third degree burns that had enveloped his entire head. After seeing this man’s body, I shifted my field of vision all around the room and surveyed the area.

The room I sat it was left in a dark, crimson hue due to the auxiliary light’s illumination, what were originally working consoles are now smoldering boxes shooting out sparks while their monitor screens sit shattered or with spider web cracks on them, aside from the first two bodies I found, there were seventeen other lifeless figures next to me; all with various injuries and left in different positions like they were thrown rag dolls. Only two corpses were in a slightly more defined shape, a young man embraced over a woman roughly around the same age, while connecting the two together is a metallic pole was embedded through their chests. Everyone’s blood was either painted on the surrounding walls or pooled into a large puddle on the floor. I was left alone in this aftermath of chaos. I wanted to scream due to this sight.

“Over here, we’ve got another one!”

The sound of this middle aged voice brought me back to reality before terror could complete its hold on me. I turned to the source and was instantly greeted with the sight of an older gentleman in the same uniform I was in, kneeling down to me.

“Check for other survivors!” He ordered as he placed down a small blue case. “Can you tell me your rank and name? Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“First class private, Yvel. I don’t know.” I managed to spurt out.

The man opened his box and pulled out a three inch crystal and a white, obtuse shaped block with a small slot for the gem. The device was set up and the medic pressed one of the flat ends against the affliction on my forehead. The annoyance of pain was there for a moment, but as the rock lit up in a cerulean light, a soft orange glow was emanated from the tool and the stinging sensation vanished.

A distant explosion reverberated through the structure and the surrounding area shook, this could mean only one thing.

“We’re still under attack?” I hesitantly asked in terror.

The field medic nodded his head and asked, “Can you still work?”

I lifted myself back onto my feet and proceeded over to one of the destroyed console panels. From there, I noticed the crystal that had a piece of string threaded through it; the one that was given to me for my installment in my section. I snagged it up and placed the jewel around my neck.

“If I must.”

“Good, the commands deck needs as many able hands as they can get.”

With that, I wiped off most of the blood on my face and ran for that part of the ship.

It’s been five minutes now of me running. I may not be great with upper body strength, however I’m proud of my stamina; I’ve made a decent amount of progress to my destination in the short amount of time that has passed. As I continued on, my current location put me at one of the ship’s viewing halls. It was here that I had a thought. Just who or what is attacking?

Stopping to satisfy my curiosity, I could not believe the sight before me. Passed the wreckage of alliance vehicles, situated in the voids of space, and sitting around the emptiness of my world is some sort of alien monster. This creature was planetary in size with an extremely long, serpentine body; in fact I think it could even swallow the planet in a single bite because it’s that big. Two demon like wings were extended and thus further increased the mass of this beast. The tip of its tail had a metallic silver shimmer to it and a wedge look to it, almost like the end of its appendage was a sword. The monster’s head was shaped in a way so that its lower jaw was more extended out, while the top half was pushed down; giving the creature a spear or arrow shape figure for a head. And lastly, amongst the alien’s dark reptilian scales sat two horns upon its head and a single line of spinal spikes that extended all the way from the back of its head to the beginning of the beast’s sword like tail. What I’m looking at was said to be a creature of myth, an animal of legends, a beast that was said to might of exist during the time the empire was homage to a single land, I’m looking at a dragon.

How can this myth even exist!? What is something like a dragon doing here!? How can it even survive the harshness of space!? And furthermore, why is this thing even attacking!?

As the questions continued to pile in my head about this mythic beast, the dragon bared its fangs as its lips sinisterly curled upwards. Is it smiling!?

The monster gave a small glance in my direction, and with the quick jerk of its head, a multitude of explosions erupted along the port side of the ship and in clear viewing for me to witness. Aside from the debris casted off from carrier I’m in, what was left of tetrahedron shaped spatial fighters floated off into what has become a growing graveyard.

So many vessels left dead to drift in the emptiness of space. Flag ships split in half with clean cuts, carriers sat dormant with numerous scorch marks littering the outer hulls, battle cruisers remained silent while they had the appearance of being crushed inwards, and the personal units…I can’t even count the numbers.

I stood there, frozen as I stared helplessly at the reptilian creature. That monster showed no effort as it destroyed the other fleets. That snake like dragon would give one swing at a time with its tail and clear a section of fighters like they were nothing. Materializing around the entity were several multicolored orbs, large in mass, which soon fired off beams in a designated direction the second they finished forming; anything that was unfortunate enough to be caught in their paths were just completely vaporized. At one point, the beast unlatched its massive jaws and unleashed to what I can only call the basis of Hell, and incinerated all the dragon engulfed with its attack before lunging its massive head at another fleet and trapping those poor souls in its mouth. The ships that remained fighting this demon still couldn’t put a scratch on the dragon.

There’s no hope. That monster is annihilating our entire military force, there’s no chance we can win. We’re going to die. We’re going to die! I don’t want to die, not here, not like this! I don’t want to die!

“Yvel, get a hold of yourself!”

That familiar low tone voice snapped me out of the grasp of fear and back into reality. The man before me stopped shaking me the moment he realized I was mentally back. I knew who this person is. Standing before me is a man in the same uniform as mine with a crystal similar as well; his dark, walnut brown hair was styled in a wolf cut that barely covered his emerald green eyes, and lastly despite being the same age as me, he already looks to be in his late twenties. Haox, not only has he saved my life in the line of battle, he’s also one of my only friends.

“Come on, everyone is either needed in the hanger bay or commands deck.” Haox stated in a calming, but rushed voice.

I turned back to the window and looked at the monstrosity destroying all in its path, “Just look what’s going on out there! There’s no possible way we can beat this thing.”

“Sure this is the toughest obstacle our kingdom has faced, but we’re Atlanteans. No alien force has ever bested the empire.” Haox tried to reassure.

“That’s only because of the technology and the crystals the empire found on Earth. We got lucky because of that, but now…now where is the advantage we once had?”

“This creature may be our greatest challenge, but once we defeat it, no living force would dare oppose the empire. Once that happens, you can finally have the peace you want.”

He does have a point. If our forces can stop this monster, who would even think to face the kingdom? I could go through the rest of my military career without worry of dealing with combat. I could retire in peace, return to my old town and maybe even start up a family if I felt like it.

“Come on, for the honor of the empire.” My friend calmly ended as he patted my shoulder.

Right, for the empire…

Finally making our way into the commands deck, which is now a metallic, circular room with both sparking and working console monitors, Haox and I were given orders to reroute the flow of energy from the disabled turrets to the remaining active ones. So the two of us started heading up to different consoles and begin our roles.

The officer in command that gave my friend and me our orders is Major General Otosis. Otosis stands seven feet tall with the standard uniform, except his suit comes with a gold and red trident emblem on the right arm. The CO’s face has aged with war as scars are lined over his flesh and graying beard while his aggressive hazel eyes stare at the holographic battle monitor. I bet in all his years of being a soldier, he has never had to deal with something like this.

“No matter what we throw at this thing, it just throws it right back at us with greater force!” Otosis muttered with his gruff voice.

That’s unsettling. If a seasoned high ranking officer is beginning to lose hope, then what hope is there to have? There isn’t any. We’re not going to survive this. We’re all going to die!

No! Come on Yvel, don’t let those thoughts get to you. There has to be some way to beat this beast. There has to be…Great, now I can’t stop shaking. If I resume working, I might be able to keep my mind occupied.

As I returned my attention to the monitors in front of me, I noticed something. This ship’s primary canon is damaged, but operational. This gives me an idea, an incredibly stupid one, but one that could possibly work.

I turned to the Major General and stated my plan, “Sir, what if we reroute most of the remaining power to the main canon?”

“Are you insane!? Given the condition of that weapon, the gun could explode from that amount of power and destroy most of the hull. If you hadn’t noticed, this ship has already been through enough abuse. What you are thinking of doing would leave us completely defenseless!” An engineer spat out.

“Hold on now! That suggestion is a double edged sword, but do you trust and believe that this could work Private?” Otosis said with interest in his voice.

Now that the Commanding Officer mentions that, and considering the fact that Otosis himself is open to this idea, maybe it isn’t such a good thing.

“If it’s a plan of Yvel’s, there is without a doubt it’ll succeed.”

I turned to see that it was Haox who added his support. Once Haox noticed me, he gave me a thumbs up in reassurance. With that, I turned back to the General and waited for his decision.

“Lieutenant, open Comms with the remaining ships.” Otosis began. “To all who are receiving this message, you are to divert all power to your vessel’s Obelisk Canon. Yes it is a risk, but one we must be willing to take. This alien is the greatest threat that our empire has faced, but with our combined power, we will prevail! We are the strength to the Atlantean Kingdom and we will prove our might to overcome any obstacle or foe! Our great nation will survive! For the honor of the empire!”

After a brief moment, “For the honor of the empire” was cried out multiple times through Communications.

“You best hope this works.” Otosis directed at me through the cheering.

If it doesn’t, either way I’m died. This just gets better by the second.

Everyone in the room started preparations by finding a working console and inserted a crystal of their own into a slot that was found at each station. Before I placed my stone in the opening, I tightly gripped it and prayed for success.

A few minutes passed while people called out the charge percentage with the passing time. Once the reserve power took over for the primary power, trepidation filled the air as our main canon neared being readied; we knew there is no room for faultier and this plan is an all or nothing attempt.

“Charge at 100 percent, all power has been fully diverted to the Obelisk Canon!”

With that, our commanding officer gave the order for all ships to fire. According to the scanner’s readings, only this ship and six others had fired; I guess that made us the last line of defense. With seven blinding particle beams, the dragon’s head was engulfed in a massive explosion. With a direct hit, cheers roared out declaring that nothing could defeat our “glorious” empire.

Did…Did we actually managed to kill it?

The light faded from the blast and to our greatest fear, the beast was revealed to be completely unscathed. Witnessing this made it so I wasn’t the only one with an expression of horror.

All eyes stared at the battle monitor displaying this behemoth, murmurs of disbelieve stuttered out of some people’s mouths, and that creeping fear from before had now fully grasped my thought process.

As the terror took its place, we all witnessed the dragon do something we would have never expected it to do. The reptilian beast verbally unleashed a rhythmic bellow, and after it finished laughing at us it began talking to us in an alien language. Just from the tone the creature spoke in, it sounded like the thing was speaking with madness or insanity.

It’s…This can’t be possible. This dragon, this monster isn’t some random beast. It’s a creature of intelligence, of decision, and its current decision is our demise. All that effort was for nothing; was it simply testing with us or toying with us?

“The plan failed, we’re completely defenseless now!” Someone shouted.

“Yvel you fucking idiot, you’ve killed us all!” Another aggressively declared as he grabbed the collar of my uniform.

“You’ve doomed us all you bastard!” More soldiers spurted out, while I remained helpless.

After meeting with the quick brush of a fist and hitting the floor, my ears were soon filled with the voices of every soldier in the room demeaning me. As I tried to get back up, I ended up winching back down as I felt a foot stomp on me.

“Everyone stop it right now!”

The assault stopped and as I looked up, I saw Haox acting as a wall between me and the angry mob.

“Yes Yvel’s plan failed, but at least he tried to come up with something! What the hell did you all do?” Haox yelled in my defense.

Right as someone else was about to object, the Major General muttered something in horror that caused the crowd’s and my eyes to return to the still functioning battle monitor. We all scrutinized as the screen displayed that dragon uncoiling itself from the planet as it slowly raised its head in preparation. Once it finished, not a moment was spared as the creature instantly lunged at the celestial body and latched its massive jaws around our world. Everyone watched in horror as the gigantic beast violently shook the planet out of its natural orbit and deeper into the monster’s own mouth, until finally the dragon stopped moving and crushed our home with its razor sharp fangs.

This can’t be. That demon ate our home. Not only does this dragon want to kill us, it wanted to devour us as well. No, please by the gods no! I don’t want to die like this…

As the dark thoughts of death continued to pile themselves in my mind, that unholy creature sinisterly curled its lips while its crimson red eyes soon focused on every Atlantean ship that remained. The reptilian beast gradually prepared to strike with its snake like body in such a way, that the very feeling given only added tension to our demise.

“Colony Alpha is lost! All personal, abandon ship!” Otosis ordered.

My mind went blank; my surroundings went white while the last of my physical sensations went numb.

It doesn’t matter anymore. This is it, I’m going to die. I’m going to die here and now, on this damn excuse for a vessel, for this damn military that I didn’t even want to join, and for this kingdom with a fucking superiority complex. If this empire is so great and amazing, then why have the gods forsaken us!? It’s because we’re not as amazing as we thing we are, and that’s why we’re all going to die!

“Wake up Yvel!” A disgruntled voice demanded.

Soon after that, I found myself back in reality, sitting on the cold metallic floor while putting pressure on my left cheek for it hurt now. As I looked up, I saw a twenty year, five foot woman with a brunette pony tail, and a very pissed off look in her emerald green eyes. As she finished cracking her knuckles, the woman extended one hand to help me back up; I graciously accepted it as I recognized her.

“Kannu? What happened?” I gasped.

“Haox gave me your ass to drag while he and some of the others force open the hanger doors.” Kannu immediately replied. “You really need to get a hold of yourself, because right now you’re still alive. This gives you the chance to survive and fight on.”

Now that I take notice of my surroundings, I can see that one of the two massive doors of the hanger bay was opened. Not everyone, but a good portion of people decided not to wait for the thing to be completely open in order to leave. I’m not sure if that is the brightest idea currently, since I can the booms of numerous explosions outside.

“Yvel, take the Lambda-9, we’re getting out of here.” Kannu stated.

“The Lambda-9? Isn’t that your sister’s fighter?”

As I said that, I clearly saw Kannu turned away in grimace.

Her body stuttered as she muttered, “She was in the engine room…That alien bastard is going to pay!”

In that case, I’ll treat Cecil’s ship with the best of my care.

As I entered the Lambda-9, I quickly got use to the set up of this vessel. Just like the rest of the personal fighters, the ship is tetrahedron in shape, with a silver coating. On both sides, near the tip, are two plasma pulse cannons, while on the very back are three thruster engines. The cockpit is a simple cushioned seat with two flight sticks positioned in front of it; these controls move vertically, forward, and backwards. And lastly is the slot set in between the sticks, this hole is for the crystal that is standard issued for each soldier.

I didn’t hesitate to insert my gem into the vehicle and power the ship on. Once energy filled the Lambda-9, a holographic console was projected in my view. I pressed in a few commands and the vessel had lift while the engines went active. With one small push forward on the controls, the Lambda-9 blasted out of the hanger in no time flat; with me barely hitting the other door that still remained closed.

I don’t know why, but as I soared through space, I had a feeling that I should look to my left. As I satisfied my curiosity, I bared witness to that dragon releasing from its mouth to what I can only describe as an orange beam of light from its mouth. That energy was being drawn through the last of the flotilla. Everyone one of those people, now die. I couldn’t care less for the soldiers on my former installment, but…but Haox was on that ship still. He deserved better than that.

A voice spoke over my communication radio, “Unfortunate souls, aren’t they?” I recognized that voice.

“Haox, you made it!” I looked over to my right and saw his ship flying next to mine.

“We couldn’t get the hanger fully open, so everyone just made a break for it.” Haox replied.

“Cut the chatter, we don’t have time for that. Any remaining units, report in.” Kannu cut in.

Only twenty-seven people answered. Only thirty out of some couple thousands survived, that is frighteningly unsettling; even both Kannu and Haox commented on the outcome.

“Haox, set up the coordinates to Earth, we’re heading to Atlantis and informing the High King of this incident.” Kannu steadily ordered.

The Atlantean Empire becomes the strongest nation on Earth with the help of this mysterious technology. With this equipment, the Kingdom masters space flight and sent out military forces to increase the size of the Empire. And now, thousands of years later, the very people sent to conquer other worlds return in defeat. This may not bold well.

In all my life, I’ve never been to Earth; I’ve heard descriptions of what it is like, but those tales are years old. What is that planet like now? What is the main kingdom even like? Ever since the invasion of other worlds or “colonization” as it was called, there has never been form of communication between the colonies and the actual kingdom. I wonder if it is anything like my home was.

I took a look back at the place where my birth planet used to sit and noticed something missing.

“Uh guys, where did the dragon go?”

The moment I brought that up, everyone went nuts and questioned just where the beast went. As I continued looking around, I felt a very tangible force flow through me. This sensation felt chaotic, cruel, very dark, and downright evil. I turned to area where I felt this power and was instantly greeted with a constricting pupil of a blood red eye. This sight caused the group I was in to immediately scatter in fear as we all began shouting profanities.

“Damn it Haox, get that bloody rift gate open!” Kannu screamed.

“It’s not like I can press a fucking button with this!” Haox yelled back.

“Then press all the buttons!” A fellow survivor demanded.

A second after that was said, a wave of agonized screams were unleashed as a bellow of fire roared out of the dragons mouth. I barely escaped the attack, but I could feel the distinct intensity of the flames. Just what are the dragons capable of?

“Anyone alive!?” It was Kannu that asked that; I could hear the rising anxiety overcoming her anger.

“Yvel reporting in!” I announced.

“I’m still kicking it!” Haox added.

“Anyone else?” Kannu fearfully asked.

With silence being the answer, the three continued our escape.

“Portal’s open, move your asses!” Haox’s rushed voice declared.

I regained control of the Lambda-9 and found both Kannu and Haox entering a black and white opening; our exit out of this forsaken space. I sped closer to the rift as fast as this ship could take me, but once I was a few feet in front of the portal, a yellow ring encircled the hole and soon after merged an extension of light with the opening. Seeing this caused me to instinctively look back, but once I saw a gigantic, dark purple mass of energy closing in on me. After that, I forced myself back at reaching the rift before the portal closed and the horror of the situation got the best of me again.

MADE IT! Alright now to-

An explosion rang out as the cockpit lit up in red while I was violent shook around in my ship. I may have made it through the rift gate, but somehow so did that energy mass. As I erratically flew through an inverted colored tunnel, I did my best of trying to stabilize Lambda. When I brought up the command console, the actual physical console sparked up, and I felt an immediately flare of pain over my right lung. Before I could look down, I let out a cough the released a crimson liquid. I could feel my eyes widened as I saw my inner red stain the contents in front of me. Upon jerking my head down, I saw the cause of my pang. The power source, the crystal every soldier gets, is embedded in my right side.

No! Please no! Not like this!

After grabbing the flight sticks, another set of sparks blew out and blasted the left stick into my shoulder, causing me to lose further control over the ship. My appendage twitched a bit with the pain, but what really worried me is the fact that I couldn’t even feel my limb anymore. Soon after that, I began losing my vision and all physical sensation in my body.

I don’t want to die! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!

2: A New World...A NEW BODY!?

Oh my head. What happened?

...That's right, Colony Alpha was destroyed. Now what do I do?

I opened my eyes, but ended up immediately shutting them a second afterwards for two reasons. The first reason was because of sun glare instantly blinding me, but I considered this to be minor compared to the other reason. My other problem was with my eyes and the red substance that oozed into them. Noting the crimson liquid in my mind, I painfully struggled to get the back of my hand to my forehead. Just like previously, I quickly drew my appendage back from the stinging sensation. From the pang given to me, I would gladly exchange this feeling for a hangover any day.

From that one small moment of sight, I managed to gain so much knowledge of my situation. I’ve crashed landed, the cockpit for the Lambda-9 is only good for scrap metal now, and by some miracle, I’m alive with what feels like a good number of injuries. In fact, my entire body feels like a giant mass of pain. However as much I hurt, it is a good sign. Because my entire body is hurting, it means that I have all my limbs…even though they may be damaged. Since I’m up now, I should try to tend to my wounds and make contact with the others.

I reached for the release latch, but missed it. With my next attempt, I basically slammed my whole hand into the handle, but as I did that, I noticed something horrifyingly off. By the way I hit the latch, my fingers have gone straight through the metal. I tried with my other hand and had the same result.

“This can’t be good.” I muttered to myself.

I brought my hands to my face and to my dismay, I can feel my fingers on my hands, but I can’t feel any of the appendages on my cheeks.

Please no, please don’t let it phantom pains.

I positioned my arms in front of myself and slowly opened my eyes while praying.

What’s wrong with my hands!? Where are my fingers!? What happened to my arms!? My body! My legs! They’re the same! What has happened to me!?

My hands and feet have been morphed into some kind of curved, hard like surface, almost like the hooves of an equine. My uniform and my flesh-no, my flesh is still there, it’s just not covered by my uniform anymore, instead of clothes, I find that an abundance of small silver gray hairs, stained in blood, is covering my skin like a coat. And remembering how my face felt when I brought my hands…hooves…these things that are my limbs now, my face did feel slightly elongated.

This can’t be right! I have to get out of here! This is terribly wrong!

I stumbled with the release latch due to terror enveloping my thought process, my hyperventilating causing me to go light headed, and me no longer having thumbs. As time passed, I finally managed to pull the handle out and slam as much weight I could throw into the door, forcing the metallic structure open. I yelped as I landed against the dirt and soon afterwards, felt even more pain pressuring against me, but unlike the current feeling devouring my being, this one was a searing sensation in a certain part on my body. I looked to the lower left side of my chest and saw a rock, no not a rock, but that crystal of mine wedged into my flesh.

With both my hooves, I reached for it, but a medical thought ran through my brain. If I remove the jewel now, I won’t be able to treat it and I’ll likely bleed out. Both my physical condition and the thought of death made me feel empty, until tears eventually welled in my eyes.

Why? This isn’t fair. What did do to deserve this? Is it because I took part in a military of a power hungry empire? Is this my punishment? To be turned into some sort of freak? And am I to die as this freak?

“You really need to get a hold of yourself, because right now you’re still alive. This gives you the chance to survive and fight on.”

That voice, that voice belonged to Kannu.

I immediately looked up and surveyed the area. Upon realization, I figured that was just my memory replaying her words. Knowing this left me in depression again, I don’t want to be alone. No matter how I look at it, I am alone, and those words hold some meaning. I am still alive, I can still survive; somehow. If I’m going to live, then I’m going to need to get a full grasp of my situation.

How damaged is the Lambda-Holy crap! I survived that!?

A ship, once in the shape of a pyramid, is now beaten with massive dents to form a badly shaped cone. Both the thruster engines and cockpit window are gone; the only difference between the two is that the glass is simply shattered, while the engines are nothing but scorch marks that reach all the way to the seat; in fact if I had actually noticed, I could have left through the hole where the thrusters use to be. And lastly, the two plasma cannons have been bent backwards, possible due to the drag created from the crash impact. The Lambda-9 is now nothing but a huge pile of scrap metal; hardly anything looks salvageable.

As I stared at the former vessel, I saw a reflection on one of the still intact silver coated panels. The image I’m looking at is possibly a horse of some kind, with its eyes and mane a matching brown while its coat was gray. Again I looked around the area, but saw nothing. I tilted my head and saw the animal mimic the action. Suddenly my eyes widened along with the creature’s. I turned my head back and looked down, in my field of vision is a brown tail made of hair attached to me. My mouth was agape as I started back at the horse, sharing the same expression. Out of the blue, I could hear myself laughing hysterically.

I’m a horse? I’m a fucking horse!? Oh this is just un-fucking-believable! Wait, I’m not even a full horse; I’m a fucking pony! This is just so fucking lovely! I always wanted to be a damn pony! Are you deities up there having fun toying with my life!? Come on you almighty smiters, if you’re going to do this to me, then at least have the decency to smite me already you assholes!

Oh what’s the point of arguing now? If I continue to flip out, I’ll eventually suffer from too much blood loss, and then that would be it for me. It’s not really an ideal death.

“Survived a crash land only to bleed out as a pony” I dramatically stated to myself. Boy, I can tell this is already going to be fun. I guess I should go look for a doctor now, or in my case a vet.

Okay now, how do four legged animals walk so easily? Maybe it’s like a baby crawl. If it is, then it shouldn’t be too hard.

First, I’ll start by getting myself into a sitting position. With my new limbs, I gradually forced myself up twice onto my bottom. My entire body is still hurting; there goes any idea of this being a cinch.

One…Two…Three!

I rocked myself forward on the third number and made it onto all fours without fall over. Even though I was being eaten away by pain, I found that standing was actually relatively easy. I’m not sure how I’ll work the back legs, but my front limbs move as freely as my arms use too, allowing me to balance myself. If my hind legs are anything like my old appendages, then maybe I can keep my center and walk.

First step with my front right leg, success. Second step with my back left leg, this feels so awkward. I can feel my limb moving, but it feels just so unnatural to me, I can’t fully comprehend the knee bending the opposite direction.

With the lost sense of balance and unable to reorient myself, I soon found myself with a face full of dirt. I coughed out the ground, but what I saw spat out with the mud terrified me, aside from my saliva, there was also a crimson hue in the mix. I’m still feeling light headed, and with the amount of blood I’ve lost, I probably won’t make it that far.

Why didn’t I train to be a medic?

After a few agonized hisses and struggling back up, I finally got the hang of walking…on my fourth attempt. And can I even call this walking? I’m more likely shuffling my feet-I mean hooves along the ground. Either way, this will have to do.

Next I had to get a layout of the land. Flat grass land beneath me, healthy looking trees to the distance in front of me, trees to the right and left, even more trees behind me, and a scorched trail leading to my ship. At least there isn’t a cloud to cover up the sky and sun. If this is Earth or a planet like Earth, the sun should move in the same direction. It was a harsh couple of minutes of standing around, but I managed to determine that this planet’s sun is setting west.

With my knowledge now, I headed to the northern tree lines.

I don’t know how long I have been moving for, but as I continued on through the trees, I mentally noted that one side of the forest was nothing but the healthy looking trees and plants, while the other side seemed gloomy. That half of the forest had darker green leaves, along with a thicker plant life and different vegetation; there were lifeless and dried out trees scattered along its land, vines entangled with the area like spider webs, and giant leaves that blanketed the area and shrouded it from all light.

Seeing all this made me instantly agree with my gut to stray away from this place. But as I began to shuffle away, I heard a howl followed by growling. I scanned the dark region with my widening eyes with the hopes of spotting nothing. My legs violently trembled as I witnessed blocks of lumber with glowing green eyes, moving towards my general direction. I have the feeling that they don’t fully see me yet, but they definitely know my location.

I panicked. I threw myself in the opposite and unintentionally collapsed on my stomach. It wasn’t the sound of me tripping, but me screaming out in pain that triggered these predators to begin chase. I didn’t want to yell out, but as that crystal embedded in me got pushed further in, I couldn’t help myself.

After a cough of red mist, I vigorously threw each limb out for my forward direction. As much as I wanted to summit to the pain and rest so I could momentarily stop hurting, I couldn’t. I knew if I did, the barking creatures sprinting after me would kill me. I have to get as far away as I can.

I take back my comment about calling the gods assholes and telling them to smite me. I’m sorry!

With each beat of my heart, with every push of my hooves, and every pant I exhaled, I could help feel myself slipping away. My body burns, my vision is starting to fade, and I feel like I’m drowning. Have I really come all this way just to become food to these animals? No, I can’t give up yet. I refuse to die like this; I’m going to go out like a coward.

With all my remaining might, I flopped myself onto the trunk of a nearby and scraped my four legs along the bark in such a way, I managed to climb my way up the plant while staying latched on.

The jagged wood cut into my flesh while that rock in my chest was wedged even deeper, both worsening the affliction I was already plagued with. But no matter how much I struggled, no matter how agonizing it was, if I can succeed, I can end this life of mine on my terms.

The moment I hit the strong branches, I hooked my left hoof around the one that was going to be my perch and released my grip on the trunk. Unfortunately I didn’t have the strength to pull my body up, so I ended up dangling like hanging fruit. As I hung, one of the animals lunged at me, it hit, but wasn’t able to sink its teeth in me to drag me down. The bright side of that attempt was that I was pushed with enough momentum and force, that the swing was enough to for me to bring my other limbs onto my branch. I hugged that tree like a child would to his or her mother.

In my final moments, I decided to see what the creatures chasing me actually looked like. Once I directed my eyes downwards, I could see a pack of dogs; five dogs all made of wood. Three would jump up and snap at me, while the fourth barked at me as the fifth used its leaf like tongue to lick up the blood I had just vomited out.

I guess this is it…

As I lay against the wood, I gradually moved my front hooves to the jewel that remained inside me. I did my best to clasp onto the crystal, but the second I reached it, all control over my limbs were lost and my legs swayed in the air.

With nothing left I could do, I simply watched these predators; however something was odd with them now. The pack remained motionless as they all stared off into the same direction; whatever was over where they look emitted a strange blue light that I could catch a glimpse with the corner of my field of vision. Suddenly my ears picked up on the sound of an explosion, which caused the light’s illumination to increase. Whatever this thing was scared off those who were about to it me.

Leaning my head in attempt to see what the source was, my sights were greeted the tree branch and the rest of the world spinning. If I could still feel my body, I bet that would have hurt.

My vision now was met with the red stained grass and something purple in the distance. It looked like a horse-no a pony. This equine was odd with its colors; this animal stood in a lavender coat while both its mane and tail were a darker purple that had a pink streak through the hair. There were three other highly odd things I noticed about this pony: the first was the tattoo like symbol on its flank, the second was the horn that sat on the animal’s forehead, and finally the third were its bird like wings. Just what crazy world am I on?

“Oh my goodness! What happened!? Are you alright!?” A female voice asked from the pony's mouth.

The pony talks? Well I must be going insane in my last few seconds.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to help you. Come on stay with me!”

At least my crazy brain gave her a sweet voice.

The last thing my eyes could pick up was a pick light glowing from that mare’s horn. After that, I couldn’t feel anymore, I couldn’t hear anymore, and I couldn’t see anymore. My entire world was consumed by darkness.

I’ve heard people say many things about when you die, that you feel at ease, you get to see all your dead relatives, and if you got to die in peace with no regrets, your afterlife will be perfect for you. Either people have false fantasies about death or I don’t get to receive that serenity.

Right now my conscious seems to be floating in an inky black void; there is no happiness, no relief, and on the bright side, no pain. But this realm of this, what is its purpose? To bring the dearly departed into the dark depression that is being lifeless? Or to show that being alive is merely just being in a shell we call life? And what in the gods name is that pinging sound?

The entire time I’ve been in this black realm, there has been a constant beeping sound with no point of origin. Whatever it is, it’s annoying.

With nothing to do in this void, time has become truly tangible; I wish something would happen to pass the boredom, something aside from that noise.

As that thought flowed through me, my eyes noticed something. There was a light breaking into the darkness of this world. I can’t tell what it is, but I can sense freedom emitted from it. I reached out to the light and chased it. The moment I reached the illumination, I was consumed by it. For some reason, I felt no fear as my body disappeared in the luminosity.

My body hurt…Wait, my body hurt? How is that possible? I died, didn’t I?

Aside from physical senses, my vision has also returned. I can see a blinding over head light and an extremely white ceiling followed by a flat beige wall. Within my peripheral I could make out green drapes covering my left while sitting on a metal table on my right was a small little box with a grid on its screen, in fact that box is making the noise I could hear.

I extended my arm out to make this thing stop, but as I did that, I noticed my arm was still an equine’s leg. Witnessing this froze me.

What has happened to me? Why am I a horse?

I pushed myself up into a more comfortable position, laying down on my back didn’t really feel that good. This pain signifies I’m alive, it signifies that I truly am a pony now. I wanted to scream.

Before I could do anything, my ears picked up on the sound of a young woman humming next to me. When I turned to see who it was, there wasn’t anyone there except a gray pony with a blonde mane and golden eyes that she kept cross-eyed. I noticed two things with this equine; the first was the set of bandages wrapped around its head, while the most notable thing about this animal was the bird wings on its sides.

The female humming stopped when the pony noticed me staring at it. This can’t be real…

“Hello there!” The pony said in a goofy voice.

“Hello.” I responded.

WAIT! The pony just spoke! H-how!? If this mare just talked, then wouldn’t that mean that the one I saw before…It’s official, I’ve gone insane.

“My name is Derpy, what’s yours?” She said with a smile.

“I’m…I’m Yvel.”

Great, I’m probably adding onto my own insanity by talking to the pony. Just what should I do?

“Hi Yvel, so how did you get yourself here?” Derpy asked while still maintaining her smile.

Considering how she has that bandage and examining my body again I’m almost fully wrapped up, “here” must be a medical station.

“I’m not sure, being honest.” As much as I don’t want to prove to myself that I’m crazy, I’m at least not going to lie to the imagination. What would be the point to do so?

As Derpy was about to say something, an audible, metallic knock echoed from our left. We turned simultaneously to the sound and witnessed it open. Entering the room was a light purple pony, in fact that’s the same one I saw before blacking out.

“Princess Twilight!” Derpy declared with a bow and an even bigger smile.

In the same voice I heard the lavender mare speak in before, she spoke. “Hello Derpy. I heard you got into a little accident, how are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling much better, see!” The wall eyed pony lifted up the front of her mane and part of the wrapping to reveal a single line of stitches on her forehead.

“That’s good to hear, just try not to touch it while it’s still healing.” The pony who I had no trouble determining to be this Princess Twilight, then turned to me. “How about you? You gave me quite the scare when I found you.”

I couldn’t find the words to say, or to be more accurate I didn’t find anything to say to my figments of imagination. In the end, I turned my sight downwards.

“It’s alright; you don’t have to be shy around me.” Twilight spoke gently to me.

“I’m not shy, it’s…”

“It’s what?”

If I’m going to be honest, now is the best time. “I’ve gone insane.”

“Insane? How?”

“Well…talking ponies. That’s absurd, and plus, well I’m a pony.”

There was a moment of silence while Twilight gave me a shocked look, Derpy on the other hand looked more like she didn’t understand what I was talking about.

The purple pony’s expression soon turned into a light chuckle, “Maybe you hit your head too hard, but if you truly think you’re insane, then I’ve got news for you. I’m real and so is everypony else, this includes you.”

My eyes went as wide as dinner plates, “that’s not every reassuring.”

“Why do you say that?” Twilight’s tone changed to a slightly dejected one.

“If you’re all real, then that’s fine. But if that is truly the case, then why am I a pony?” I could feel my words shake with trepidation.

The mare placed a hoof on one of mine, “Easy now, just try to relax. Why don’t you start from the beginning? If you’re not a pony, then what are you? Where are you from?”

I looked deep into Twilight’s purple eyes and felt at ease as I saw concern behind her expression.

“I’m an Atlan-“

“Twilight you’re back!” A bubbly and high pitched voiced screamed.

The next thing I saw was a pink blur zip past my eyesight’s and crash into the lavender mare. Now on the floor was the purple equine, but being hugged by another, one that was completely pink with a poofy mane and tail.

“Oh I missed you sooooo much Twilight, but now you’re back and we can have lots and lots of fun! Come on Twilight, you don’t want to be late for your welcoming back party!” This mare’s words were filled with so much energy, I could barely comprehend it.

“I missed you too, but now isn’t the best time Pinkie.” Twilight sighed, but still managed a smile to the one she called Pinkie.

The hyper energetic mare helped her friend back up, but once she spotted me, she bore a giant grin.

“Hey I’ve never ever EVER seen you before! I know everypony in Ponyville, but since I’ve never met you before, you must be new here! Hiya, I’m Pinkie Pie, what’s your name?”

I can barely keep up with her, but at least I managed to tell this Pinkie Pie my name.

“Nice to meet you Yvel, so how did you end up here? By the way what kinds of desserts do you like the most? I like chocolate, cake, brownies, chocolate again, ice cream, and anything sweet!” After saying that, Pinkie unleashed a loud gasp. “Derpy? I didn’t know you were in this room! I’m glad you’re alright, and here I got you your favorite!” Seemingly out of nowhere the hyper mare pulled out a plate with some type of bread on it.

“A muffin? Thanks Pinkie, you’re the best.” Derpy announced as she took the food from Pinkie.

My eyes darted between both Twilight and Pinkie, hoping for some sort of answer on how that pink pony did that.

“That’s just Pinkie being Pinkie, now what were you about to say?” Twilight said.

“Right, I’m an-“

“Ah think found her, ah can hear Pinkie chatting away in this room.” A woman with some type of accent I haven’t heard before shouted outside the room. Soon afterwards, a tan pony with a fedora entered the room, after her was a cyan blue mare with wings and a rainbow mane, then another winged pony, except her coat was a blonde yellow and her mane was pink, and lastly was a snow white horned mare with a deep purple mane that was curled.

The four new equines crowded around Twilight, all of them welcoming her back and embracing her with a hug. Considering how Pinkie and these new ponies are acting around this Princess, the six of them must be close friends, while Derpy isn’t as close.

“When we heard you had returned, the five of us didn’t expect you to be here at the hospital.” The white mare began.

“Yeah, so what brought ya here Twi?” The tan pony asked in her strong accent.

“Sorry I wasn’t able to meet you at the library like I said I would, the reason why I’m here is because of him.” Twilight directed at me.

“Oh I see, looking to get yourself a coltfriend, ayy Twilight?” The blue pony slyly stated.

“Rainbow!” Twilight voice rose as she blushed.

What’s a coltfriend?

“Don’t worry, I’m just pulling your leg.” Rainbow teased.

“I’m here to find out what exactly happened to Yvel. You see when I returned to Equestria, I found him critically injured.”

“Oh my, um sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt. Please continue.” The yellow mare added while being very quiet.

“Thank you Fluttershy. Please continue Yvel.”

“Well as I was saying, am Atlantean. My home was attack, and after that I ended up here…in this body.”

“That sounds a bit crazy to believe.” Rainbow commented as she scratched her head. “You’re attacked, and then you turn into a pony, yeah…”

“Now Rainbow, as odd as that sounds, that was just rude.” The snow mare mentioned to her friend.

“What’s an Atlantean?” Pinkie energetically asked, but seeing how she’s always hyper, this might be normal for her.

As the questioned lingered in the air, all eyes laid upon me.

“I guess the best way to explain what an Atlantean is…human?” I wasn’t really sure how to answer that question; these ponies probably don’t even know what a human is.

“Wait, so you’re saying that you’re actually a human that was turned into a pony?” The group closed in.

This is either a sign of hope or doom. What is so interesting about a human to them?

I nodded and waited for a response.

“If you’re actually telling the truth, can you come to the library located in the center of town?” Twilight asked with a beaming smile.

I don’t know why, but I found this expression of Twilight’s to be adorable, I was about to agree because of Twilight’s cute face until the white pony jumped in.

“Now Twilight, we all know you are probably eager to test out what you learned, but you just returned.”

“Yeah, plus you probably wouldn’t want to accidentally blow the new guy up, now would you.” Rainbow started teasing again.

What!? Just what does this girl plan to do to me? I’m a bit afraid to ask.

Twilight nervously chuckled, “It happens one time and they don’t let you live it down. Okay, what do you suggest then, Rainbow?”

It is official, I’ve returned to feeling uncomfortable. I do not like where this is heading.

“Hmm, I know someone that can help.” Rainbow stated.

“Are you thinking-“

“Yup, him.”

Before this goes on any further, I wanted to get a say in before the whole situation turned against me. For starters, who this person is that they are thinking of, among other things.

I was too late to add my voice, for a walnut brown stallion wearing a white coat entered the room and stated, “I’m sorry ladies, but visiting hours is over for now.”

“If you’ll excuse us Yvel, we’ll see you later.” Twilight declared.

This resulted me feeling a bit dejected, I have so many questions I want to ask, but it seems a timed schedule just ruined that chance for me.

“Hey wait, before you go, can you tell me what this place is?” I asked, catching the group before they were gone.

Twilight stopped and turned around, “Oh, I’m sorry. As one of the royal princesses, I’m glad to be the first to welcome you to Equestria.”

The six mares left, leaving me alone with Derpy who was still eating the meal Pinkie gave her. Seeing as the gray pony had a full mouth, I decided to just get some rest; it certainly has been a day I’ll never forget.

Equestria, what yonder await me here?

I closed my eyes and thought about all that has happened to me recently, but as my memories played back the feeling I received from that dragon, I was filled with dread.

I can sense the dragon, it’s here…

3: The Great Destroyer

Seeing how the daylight illuminating from the window is appearing brighter then it was before, I’m guessing it’s somewhere around noon of a new day. If I’m correct, then I’m amazed at myself for managing to sleep through the entire night while experiencing such nightmares. As I rested, the dreams that plagued me were that of the monster that devoured my home and slaughter all I knew. I can still see the evil and the darkness in the dragon’s eyes, all the death it brought, and all the chaos it wants to spread. Everything about that creature has been burned into my brain. And to make things worse, I can still feel the horrid presence of that dragon. The sensation is all around me, but at the same time it feels that the darkness is far away.

Why can I still sense that monster? Maybe the reason why I can still feel that thing is because the dragon is the one who caused my physical aliment. But if that is the case, then why leave me alive as a pony? What if I’m being used as a beacon? Maybe that’s how the dragon finds new worlds to devour. It eats one planet, and then transports a survivor to a random sector in space to find other celestial bodies to consume. But if that is true, then what is the purpose of transforming the survivor to appear as a native of the new realm? That dragon is intelligent enough to be capable of speech, so surely it would predict that its beacon would try and warn its next victims or cause some sort of commotion about the incoming danger. Plus, the presence of that massive creature was very easily noticeable, so that would cause further reason for alarm and action to try and thwart the beast’s plans. However, seeing how that monster was able to single handedly annihilate my colony with next to no effort, it might just find the attempt to fight or flee as simple entertainment.

If this is the intention of that massive reptile, then I’m a danger to any place I’m currently residing. I need to leave this planet as soon as possible. Before I depart for Earth, I should also warn Equestria of the impending threat. And if it comes all comes down to another confrontation with that beast, maybe if I’m lucky enough, I can convince these Equestrians to side with the Atlantean Empire to battle that dreaded dragon. I’m not sure what these ponies are capable of, but with the combined forces, we may be able to defeat that menace. But one major problem is still going to cause trouble in getting my kingdom and this planet to ally with each other. Who is going to believe that a giant space lizard is coming to eat them? With that thought in mind, I took in a deep and let out a long sigh.

Everyone is just going to think I’m crazy; some sort of freak of nature to humans, and just an injured stallion that might have hit his head too hard to these Equestrians. I wish I was human again.

As I laid there on the hospital bed, I couldn’t help but overhear the gentle and happy humming of my roommate. Turning to the source, I was greeted with the same sight from when I first saw her; that gray mare being blissful to the world. It put me in a euphoric state just by watching this simple yet cheery act, all my worry seemed to just disappear and was replaced with what felt like hope for life. I could feel a small grin perk itself up across my face. Shortly after, Derpy stopped humming as she noticed me staring.

“Hello.” She greeted with a smile.

“Hey.”

Since the two of us finished our pleasantries, I don’t see why we should stop there. A conversation would be nice to have, considering the circumstances I’m in. Plus Derpy seems to radiate this vibe that tells she’s a good person-pony, I mean.

“So Derpy, how did you end up here?” I began as I situated myself up right.

“I got into an accident.” The winged pony answered in her soft goofy voice.

“What kind of an accident? What happened exactly?”

“I was delivering packages and when I looked away for a second, some of the really heavy ones fell on top of me.”

“Well it seems like you weren’t hurt that bad, you look pretty fine compared to me.” I made a quick glance at the bandages that were expertly wrapped around my wounds then back to her seemingly healthy looking body.

“Yup. The doctor said that this was the worst of my injuries.” Derpy then proceeded to use both of her front hooves to lift her blonde mane up to reveal the small stitching on the center of her forehead.

“By the way, how come you said you were human?” Derpy questioned as she dropped her hair.

“Well, because I am.” Or rather I was.

“But you don’t look like a human, you look like a pony.” The mare instantly responded.

With Derpy herself bringing the topic of humans back into my mind, I was again reminded that these ponies knew what humans are. And based upon how those other equines reacted when I told them that I was human, it could most likely mean that there is some sort of positive relationship between these ponies and humans. If I’m lucky enough, there could even be some form of a communication network set up for Equestrians and Earthlings. But the one thing I do find bothersome is the fact that the equines have no clue on what Atlanteans are; the race of people from the most expansive nation on the planet Earth and its nearby solar systems. Either way, this could be my chance to establish contact with Atlantis.

“Hey Derpy, are there humans here in Equestria?”

The wall eyed pony looked up towards the ceiling as she took a moment to think, “There are, but not many.”

“I see, well is there a planet called Earth near Equestria’s solar system?”

I know for a fact from historical archives, that the planets near Earth do not contain active life, so Equestria has to be somewhere else in the galaxy; if it is in the same galaxy that is.

Derpy was silent for a moment as her crossed yellow eyes gave me a blank stare, and then a few seconds later, the mare quietly responded, “Earth is in a different universe.”

Dif-different universe? What!?

“Wha-wha-what do you mean?” I immediately stuttered.

“That’s what everypony told me, Earth is in a different universe.”

I don’t know what to say anymore. I don’t even know what to think anymore. This changes everything! My brain is now drawing a complete blank as I try to fathom this information. A different universe, that would mean inter-dimensional travel. Just how? That subject is something of rumor, myth, and theory. So how is this possible and even real?

“Yvel?” Derpy started up again.

“Give me a second, I-I just need to finish comprehending what you just said.”

I just need to relax for a moment and calmly think things through, this isn’t all bad, just something I don’t understand. Okay, let’s take things back a bit. The equines know what humans are, they know about Earth, they have no clue of Atlanteans or their empire, and they have some sort of means of traversing to and from different dimensions. The two things I find disturbing are that these ponies have a capability that humans don’t, and the whole absence of Atlantis and its people. The second I see a human, the very second I see a human, I will bombard that person with the questions these equines don’t have answers to.

“Are you okay Yvel?”

I turned to Derpy, but instead of seeing the young mare sitting in her bed, the majority of my field of vision now consisted of the gray pony staring at me from point blank range. Due to the equine suddenly appearing next to me, I was literally surprised out of bed and soon found myself groaning against the bland tile floor. Shortly after the scare and hanging her head over me with a look of concern was the very same culprit who spooked me into my current position; at least she was kind enough to ask if I was okay again. I wanted to tell her the truth, but I chose to lie and say I was fine to prevent her from feeling bad.

After being helped back up, there was something catching my eye and sitting on the metal table to the right of my bed. Leaning against that beeping box was a small crystalline rock with a string threaded through it. Derpy noticed me looking at the object, and then immediately picked up the gem via her mouth. The winged pony dangled the item over my gray hooves with a smile drawn across her face. I wasn’t going to tell Derpy, but I’ll at least admit to myself that Derpy has an adorable smile; in fact her happy expression is pretty cute itself. The mare dropped the jewel onto my appendages, to which I struggled to hang the string around my neck. I wish I had my thumbs back so I could properly get this necklace on.

As my “new” limbs held the thread open, my roommate decided to help me again by again using her mouth to pull on the string to create a third point on the necklace and allow me a bigger hole to slide my head through. As Derpy pushed herself up against the bed and slowly drew her head up, the gray pony slipped on my covers and landed directly in my lap.

The mare gave me an apologetic smile and did also say she was sorry, while she did that, I couldn’t but help feel the searing pain in my legs and admire the dainty equine. After that brief failed attempt, we went for a second go. I lowered my head as Derpy raised herself above me, and as we did that, I couldn’t help but feel my eyes lowering themselves down the pony’s body. After I finished unintentionally scanning the soft looking stomach of the mare’s, my sights focused on her small hanging teats. Once there, I could see my field of vision going straight into the spot between her legs. As I was observing this spot, my thoughts began to-WOAH! Brain, stop that! Bad Yvel, bad me.

I quickly shut my eyes as fast as I could, while I could feel my face heat up. Why did I just think of doing such a thing with her? Derpy’s a horse; a winged horse; a talking, winged horse; an alien compared to me! Please let this just be a side effect caused by my aliment.

As the saliva soaked parts of the string slid across the coat of my neck, Derpy stepped down with a cheery smile.

“Th-thanks.” I stated while trying to force away my blush.

I watched as Derpy made her way back into her bed, but not while I also shook my head and freed my mind of any dirty thoughts. Once I finished clearing my brain of any sexual acts with her, the gray mare next to me followed up on having a conversation.

“So what is up with that necklace? The doctors said that it was with you…or did they say it was in you?”

Knowing how satisfying the pain was for me, I decided to simply tell the pony that the crystal was on my person to avoid further worry for my injuries, and then I proceeded to explain its purpose, “Many years ago, my people found this mechanical structure that had no known origin, and tried to use it for the benefit of the Atlantean kind. They failed until this mountainous crystalline feature was discovered to have a connection with the technology they found. This alien formation emitted a strange energy that was somehow able to power the machine. After that discovery was made and established, the original structure was turned into the Kingdom of Atlantis while the tech was repurposed for human kind. The gem we members of the Atlantean Military carry is a fragment of that very crystal used to power my empire.”

I surveyed my walleyed roommate’s reaction to my information; the winged mare tilted her head in what I imagine her processing what I said. I don’t blame the girl for being confused if she is; even I, even the Atlanteans are still confused about the thing we found. We may have learned how to control it, but we still can’t fully understand it; I bet the only beings to actually understand the secrets of this machine are the creatures that created it.

“Do you know how it works?” Derpy quizzically asked.

“Not a clue.” I quickly and casually answered.

The pony gave a small giggle at my blatant reply, possibly for me being in the same boat as her. Whatever her reason was, I found this side of Derpy to be quite enjoyable.

“So what was it you did exactly?” Derpy started inquiring about me again.

“I did engineering and maintenance.”

“Then how come you said you don’t know how your thing works?” She immediately jumped.

“Well, there was so much more potential for this tech that was discovered that we Atlanteans couldn’t figure out. We still haven’t been able to translate the language that came with it. We only know the buttons and how to physically operate it.” I replied.

Before we could continue any further, three loud knocks reverberated through our door. Soon afterwards, the entryway seemingly opened by itself as the ponies, Rainbow and Twilight entered. Once the two of them entered, I noticed that Twilight’s horn was lit up in a pinkish purple aura momentarily, and as shined, the door closed on its own. I was about to say something about what I just witnessed, but Twilight spoke first.

“Good afternoon you two.”

Derpy and I greeted them; mine being a simple “hello” while Derpy’s was filled with excitement.

“Sorry if we’re interrupting anything, but we may have a solution for your situation, Yvel.” Twilight continued.

“Yeah, we know someone who might be able to help.” Rainbow declared immediately after.

Thinking back to yesterday, these ponies did make mention of someone who may be able to assist me. I notice that the equines had referred to this being as “someone” instead of “somepony” like Twilight did to herself and I yesterday; it’s possible whoever they’re taking me to might be human. If this entity can truly cure me of my physical ailment, then maybe he could also provide me with the answers I seek.

“Really? So where is he?” If these ponies really did have someone who could help, then why isn’t he here with them?

The blue mare answered my question with, “He’s chillin’ at the lake outside of Ponyville.”

“I take it he was too busy to come then?” I soon questioned.

“No, it’s more like he’s rubbed off from Rainbow a little too much.” Twilight’s voice slightly rose as if to tease Rainbow about it.

“Hey! It’s not my fault he found a perfect place to nap during his breaks.” Rainbow nonchalantly countered.

From that statement, it gave me the impression that both Rainbow and whoever this person is might be lazy. But I wasn’t going to bring that up since that could poorly reflect back at me for stating such a thing about this friend of theirs and the cyan equine.

“So what are we going to do?” I asked, regaining the two mares’ attention.

“We’re going to take you to him.” Twilight declared with a causal smile.

I took a quick look at my body, and then turned back to the purple pony.

“I’m not really in the best shape to be going anywhere long distant wise at the moment.”

“Don’t worry, I got that covered.” Twilight stated.

The room went quiet for a minute as Derpy, Rainbow, and I all watched as Twilight’s horn begun to glow in the same hue of color I noticed it was earlier. A moment later, I soon found that my entire body was blanketed in a pale lavender light, all the while as I could sense a slight warmth spread through each of my limbs. Once I could feel the heat evenly flow throughout my entire mass, the illumination intensified. Out of fear due to the unknown, I shut my eyes while I became what felt like a small star. Shortly after hiding my vision, I felt completely alleviated; the annoyance of pain was gone. With the sensation of being freed from the restraints of an affliction, I rapidly opened my eyes and examined my chest and appendages. I felt normal, or at least as normal I can be in my current situation. The last thing I noted in my head before realizing what had exactly happened to me now was I could clearly see that same purple glow encasing my wrapping and forcing the cloth to carefully undress my former wounds.

After my eyes finished widening in shock and my jaw dropped, I quickly threw my attention to the purple mare to whom I saw bring up her left hoof and wipe away a sweat.

“Feel better?” Twilight causally asked with a smile.

“How did you do that!?” My words were somewhat rushed as I still fully comprehend what she just did to me.

“I simply used my magic to cast a healing spell on your injuries.”

I repeated Twilight’s words in my head like a recording and kept coming back to that one phrase. Magic. She said magic, she used magic. Just what kind of world have I entered? Each passing second, I’m being presented with topics that I just have so many questions that I want to ask. Where I came from, the ability to use magic was something of myth; and if it was real, magic was probably never noticed due to us Atlanteans being so reliant on the science and technology we found. I’m actually both afraid and curious of what wonders I could find in this realm. Twilight said something about a library here; after I meet this guy, I’ll pay a visit to see what I can learn about the mysterious of Equestria.

“You ready to leave?” The purple pony began.

“Y-yeah, I guess.” I managed blurted out in my amazement.

“Come on then. Let’s go!” Rainbow announced as she eagerly hurried Twilight and I out of the room, but before we fully left the room, the mare that is now going to be my ex-roommate waved me good bye, and I in turn did the same.

After moving around with my shuffling fashion, going down three flights of opaque colored stairs, and finally having my reaction to being rejuvenated called out, I explained to my escorts how the concept of magic was foreign to me since my life has been mostly involved with technology. When I finished informing the mares about this, Twilight took the liberty of explaining how the denizens of Equestria can use magic and spells. She told me that the Equestrian races of pegasi and earth ponies don’t have supernatural abilities, but have talents elsewhere. Twilight also told me how the only two types of ponies to conjure up magic were unicorns and alicorns, and they can use these powers by channeling the energy through their horns.

“So this place, Atlantis, is solely based around science?” Twilight asked in an inquiring voice.

“Well it is based around the science we found.” I said turning directly to the mare.

“When we get the chance Yvel, I would like to hear more about this place; I’m quite interested.” She stated.

“Sure, while we’re at it, you can tell me more about Equestria. Seeing how this place is based around magic has got me interested in it.”

“Quick question, why are you shuffling your legs?” Rainbow butted in.

“Well, it’s because I’m new to this-“

I gave a few steps back and rubbed the part of my face that I accidentally bashed into something. After that, I immediately looked up to see what I bumped into and was greeted with the sight of a burly brown stallion donned in a sun golden chestplate and helmet. The built pony looked down at me with his stern, sky blue eyes, and then switched his sight over to my alicorn companion.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, I know you’ve just returned and would like to rest up before returning to your duties, but Princess Celestia would like to have an audience with you.” The knight announced in his deep voice.

My lavender escort turned to Rainbow and I and said, “Sorry to leave you two like this, but I should get going.”

“No prob. Just don’t take too long, we got some catching up to do.” The cyan pegasus replied.

After saying our good byes, Twilight departed with the armor covered stallion while Rainbow and I took an opposing dirt path that seemed to go around the town that the hospital overlooked.

In order to avoid a long and quiet trip, I decided to inquire about what Rainbow and those other ponies do for a living; if Twilight is royalty and Derpy delivers mail, surely everyone else has some sort of occupation.

“I’m the best flyer in Equestria.” My winged escort proudly stated.

“That was boldly put, but that doesn’t really explain much to me.”

“Well what I officially do for a job is being the captain for the weather team, but I’m also a member of the Wonderbolts.” When Rainbow said she was a Wonderbolt, the tone of her voice changed to where it sounded like she spoke highly of herself.

I asked, “So what is a Wonderbolt?”

“Only the best flyers in Equestria.”

Seeing as how this is probably going to continue to circle around “best flyer in Equestria” I decided to ask about her friends.

“Rarity has her own business in designing dresses, Applejack works on her family’s farm at Sweet Apple Acres, Pinkie helps the Cakes with their pastries at Sugarcube corner, and Fluttershy cares for animals.” I detected no lowering in tone of her voice, so I’m going to guess that Rainbow doesn’t think little of her friends while she’s part of an elite group. Kind of reminds me of Haox a little.

When Rainbow finished listing her friends’ jobs, our walk did end up becoming silent; however it did not once see boring. With each step I took, I could feel a terrifying shiver crawl through my spine, the air grew thick with anxiety, and a rising, dark dread filled the corner thoughts of my mind. I recognized this sensation of fear, and with it overwhelming me, I couldn’t help rapidly jerk my eyes in all possible directions. I could not for the life of me see that monster; the only thing my vision could pick up was just a simple dirt path that was surrounded by a sea of trees.

With the sensation of horror consuming every fiber of my being, I could feel my movement falter. I can’t see any hint of that dragon nearing this place, so I don’t know why the feeling is stronger. Maybe this is part of the curse it put on me, it could be like how I could constantly sense that entity while I was in the hospital. But if it isn’t, what does that mean? Please in the name of all that is good; don’t let it be that the demon is approaching.

Come on Yvel, don’t freak out before you can get help, it could impede my progress of being cured and warning others of the threat that is that evil dragon. I want to tell the pony in front of me what’s going on, but I’m not sure how much she’ll believe me. Come on you’ve got to focus Yvel, take your mind momentarily off that beast.

I looked around to keep my mind occupied on something for the time being, but the only thing that caught my attention was the tattoo like image on Rainbow’s flanks. The design was a single cloud with a lightning bolt made up of the colors blue, yellow, and red. Now that I think about it, didn’t the others ponies I’ve met have something similar to what Rainbow has? I’m not entirely certain since I was more focused on the fact of talking ponies, but I believe they have a tattoo in the same location.

“Enjoying the view?” Rainbow started up.

“What?” I soon realized that since I was looking at the mare’s tattoos, my eyes were focused on the region of her butt. “What!? No no no! That’s not-“

“Save it, I can see it in your face. You want a piece me.” The cyan pony said as she approached me.

“No! That’s not-“

“Yup, you want a piece of the Rainbow Dash. What are you thinking? Looking at this hot stuff got you to wild up? Thinking of doing me here, or taking me up to the trees and leaning me against them? Imagining that as you stare at my pussy, you can’t help but rub that hardening dick of yours against the lips of my pussy; simulating the both of us to the point where I’m starting to seep my juices on your erecting member. You feel like I’ve soaked you to the point to where your cock has been lubed up enough to push in me without it being too rough. You think that as you slide your way in me, the lips of my vag will tightly squeeze and hold you in me. You can’t help but wrap your hooves around me and listen to each and every songful moan I scream out with each of your forceful thrusts. As our waists continuously push and rub into each other, you can’t help but enjoy the my warm, moist hole as you pump yourself in and out, in and out, IN AND OUT! Your rock hard shaft just cooooonstantly sliding against the wet walls of my cunt as you push deeper into our pleasure zone. What am I going to be doing during all this? Am I’m going to be drunk on the ecstasy you’re giving me, or am I going to be fully aware as my body tightens around you and begs for more? And this will all continue until it finally comes to the point where you feel the pressure building in you and you can’t hold it anymore. So you thrust faster and faster, increasing the pleasure devouring your body and increasing the rate of my orgasms until it finally happens. With your final thrust, I climax as you explode in me, releasing that pleasurable hold on you and spraying your cum deep inside me. Is that what you want?”

No that’s not what I want! Why is she saying such things? Ugh, the thoughts she’s trying to put in me, the images she’s trying to implant in my brain, I just-Damn it penis now is not the time!

“Do…do you want to do it?”

I can’t believe what I just said. I can’t believe what I’m thinking! I actually want to have sex with Rainbow Dash. I want to do everything she just said and much more. The thoughts of hearing her voice turn into sexy moans and the sensation of her inviting vagina is putting me on the edge. I’m sorry human self, but I can’t help myself but feel urged to.

“Do…do you want to have sex, right now?” My voiced almost sounded like I was begging. I’m pathetic.

“Nope.” Rainbow casually and blatantly stated.

What? I think my jaw just hit the ground right now.

“Then why did you say all that?” I quickly demanded.

“Because I noticed you checking me out and decided to torture you for it. Live with it pervert, we just met.” She replied.

By the gods, is that how is interpreted my thoughtful expression?

“Well what if I was someone who tried to force you?” It’s not in my personality to try something like that, but I do know that there are people who will act so vile.

“You seem scrawny enough to where I can easily take you.” As insulting that would seem, Rainbow has a point. I’m not even a good fighter.

“Sooooo…Do you think that something between us will ever happen?” I can’t believe I’m stilling thinking sexual thoughts about this pegasus; it’s probably because I don’t want to live the rest of this trip with an erection and because of what she had very recently said.

“Nope, not ever, and I’m not about to cheat on my husband.” The cyan pony answered.

“Wait, you’re married?”

Rainbow extended her left wing, allowing me to see a gold ring with a single diamond in between two sapphires encrusted into it. After showing me the circlet the mare said, “For two and a half years now.”

I bet he’s a lucky guy for having someone like you. “So what’s he like?”

“He’s a really cool guy and I’m glad to be with him. In fact, he’s the one we’re going to see about your whole ordeal.”

I didn’t know how to respond to what was just said. I figured we were simply meeting a friend of the ponies, not Rainbow’s husband. Considering how things have played out so far, if he can help me, he’s probably extremely powerful with magic and not actually a human like I had originally thought. But either way, this might make conversing with him easier since I’ve established acquaintances with his wife. Maybe Rainbow is different from what she appears since she’s in a relationship with such a unique being.

After another twenty minutes of Rainbow walking and me shuffling next to her as I managed to calm myself down, the two of us arrived at a body of water. It was a gentle serene lake resting peacefully as the trees crowded it as they seemed to witness the body of water in perfection. With hardly a cloud in the sky, the sun was left beaming its light onto the surface, creating little diamonds floating above the liquid. As I continued to survey the area, I noticed that the only living things here were the local wildlife, my escort, and I.

“So where is your husband?” I asked.

Rainbow Dash didn’t answer me, instead she approach the bank of the lake and took in an inhale, preparing her diaphragm I suppose.

“Hey Inrei.” She called out.

From nothingness, a very thick and tangible dark force flow through me like the breeze of a strong wind, but instead of it being all around me, I could pinpoint the source of this power. It was in the lake. I peered deep into the body of water and could clearly see a massive shadow, about the size of the actual natural feature, shifting around under the water. Suddenly the surface of the lake was thrown into the air as two gigantic, demon like wing flew up. Following the scaled appendages came to what appeared like a serpentine body with serrated spikes going down the spine. Finally the head rose up, allowing the clear liquid to drain down its face like numerous waterfalls; it had two horns on the back of its head while the top half seemed pushed down as the bottom half extend out, giving the creature’s head a spear shaped appearance. Looking beyond the night colored scales; I gazed deep into its blood red eyes and was greeted with the same sensations as I first peered into its eyes. I tried to deny the truth in front of me, but my brain soon flashed back to the moment that monster destroyed my home and killed everyone I knew. After that, my memories placed that dragon from then with the one before me now. The exact feeling of terror, the look of absolute evil, and the sensation of darkness all rushed back to me as I stared at the enormous beast before me. The feeling back then is the same as now, as I look at the dragon before me with my horror filled eyes. Besides a planetary size difference, everything is completely identical. The two are a precise match, this is the same dragon. I don’t know how or why, but this is the destroyer!

My heart felt like it was about to burst from my chest as it continued to rapidly beat, I could feel my chest constantly expanding and retracting as my fear escaped my lips in exasperated pants and gasps. My entire mass refused to do anything aside from the movement of completely shaking in terror. With the last bit of my hyperventilating, I could have sworn I saw the blue of the sky before everything turned white.

4: Journey of Dread

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5: Settling In (Part 1)

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