//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: King Sombre's Rise and Derpy's Heroic Decision // Story: Muffins: A Super Duper Derpy Hooves Adventure! // by SunshineSprite //------------------------------// King Sombre just stared down at Celestia. He cackled devilishly as he said with a loud and booming voice, “Ponyville, branch of Equestria! “Bow down to me at once, for I am your new ruler: King Sombre!!!!!” Celestia stood appalled, mouth agape. Then, out of nowhere, Derpy landed right on top of him. “Ooooof!!!” he cried out. They both crash-landed into the town hall. The mayor ran out, screaming for her life. “Oh my feather hooves!!” she cried. Derpy emerged from the sudden pile of debris, which was what remained of the town hall. Trying to focus with her walled-up eyes, she scanned the scenery, and then gasped. The whole town was engulfed in darkness. Quickly, she spotted Celestia trying to restrain the darkness that started to consume her. Derpy ran up to her quickly and started shaking in a state of panic. “Derpy!” Celestia cried out. Derpy whipped her head around and cocked her head to one side. “You must run! Go! Find someplace safe to hide!” And with that being said, Celestia was gone, only a whip of darkness standing in her place. Derpy screamed and ran as fast as she could, and miraculously, dodged everypony and everything in her path. She scurried out of Ponyville and watched sadly as the entire town was engulfed in black. She spotted Dinky Doo and Dr. Whooves, and, tears welling up, watched their terrified faces disappear into darkness. She ran off into the one place where she knew that nopony would dare try to find her: the Everfree Forest. Zecora saw the awful tragedy as it struck down on Ponyville like an unwanted meteor. “Oh those dear ponies, what a sad sight! To have to be a part of this awful plight!” she rhymed sadly. Just then, she heard a cry for help: Derpy Hooves! Just as she was about to open the door, who none other than to slam right into it was Derpy. Zecora forced back a giggle as she observed how ridiculous the poor dear looked, having face-planted into a door. Wobbling to her hooves, Derpy looked at Zecora, her eyes going around and around in a circle. “Heh heh, oops! My bad! Sorry Zeboka!” Zecora furrowed her brow and said, “It’s Zecora, dear one. Might I ask what has happened to you, hon?” Derpy smiled proudly. “I just face-planted into a door! It was fun!” She fell to the ground, laughing. Zecora face-hoofed and shook her head. Derpy managed to sit up after a couple of minutes, and then gave Zecora a bored expression. “Listen up, young filly, for this is no time to be silly. Celestia needs our help, or well, she needs your help. The Mane 6 and others have been captured by King Sombre, like a poor fish trapped in a sea of kelp.” Derpy’s ears drooped lower and lower with each word said. Suddenly, a loud crash was heard. Both zebra and pony turned their heads to see that Celestia and Twilight had broken free! Together, Derpy and Zecora hurried out the door, just in time to hear both princesses’ final words. “Twilight!” Celestia called. “Yes, princess Celestia!?” Twilight called back. “Is there any way that you and your friends can use the Elements of Harmony!?” “WHAT!? Are you nuts? I’m trapped in a cloud of darkness here! And so are my friends!” Celestia mentally face-hoofed, forgetting about the rest of the Mane 6 being captured. Before they could continue their conversation, they were swept away by King Sombre’s wrath. “No!” Derpy cried. She turned to ask Zecora for assistance, but… the cowardly zebra had already up and packed her things and fled into the Everfree. Derpy scowled and raced towards where Celestia was. “I told you to run!” she struggled, trying once again to break free. Derpy shook her head. “I’ll find a way to save you!!” she called up to the helpless princess. Celestia sighed and nodded. And with that, Derpy made a run for the Everfree once again, attempting to hide from King Sombre for a short time. With a bone-crushing roar, he shot off towards Canterlot, where nopony knew what in Equestria had occurred. “Ah! Ah! Ah!” Derpy had been running for hours, and was now on the ground. She was a messy, sweaty heap of derpiness. She looked around for some water to drink, spotting a small pond not too far ahead. She trotted over and lapped up some refreshing H2O, replenishing her thirst. “Ah! Now that was tasty!” She plopped down on the ground and began to think very hard. Who am I kidding? I can’t save Equestria, let alone Ponyville! Heck, I can’t even walk right, what with my stupid eyes and everything. All though… Mom. She thought of the one dear pony who accepted her for who she was, raising her ever since she was a filly. She was just an abnormal child with no family, or even a proper education. She always did wonder why she was “chosen” though… why she was the one Merpony to become a Pegasus. Peppy Mint… the one who took care of her… Perhaps she was still there, up in Cloudsdale? There was only one way to find out… King Sombre landed in Canterlot not more than an hour ago, and already ponies, Mares and Stallions alike, were being held hostage and/or in cages in a dungeon. Celestia and Luna were hung upside down in an abandoned room of the castle, gagged and muffling for help. He slithered over and removed the gags. Celestia and Luna stirred, trying desperately to break free. “You two must be hungry,” he said. “Servants! Fetch these two ponies a snack!” The “servants”, who turned out to be Lyra and Bonbon, were standing close behind him. They jumped at his sudden, booming voice. Racing out of the room, they slid and slammed into the door as they stumbled along. “Oof!” was all that they uttered on the way out. King Sombre stifled a snicker and turned back to the helpless princesses. “So then, how has your day been?” he asked casually. Celestia thought to herself, He takes over our world, ties us up, and then just asks us how our day has been? Really!? Luna gave him a “Seriously?” look. King Sombre shrugged and turned away. Sounds of struggling hooves erupted the silence moments later. Lyra and Bonbon had returned with some loaves of bread, lightly smothered in butter. Guiltily, Celestia and Luna’s mouths drooled, their DNA dripping on the floor. King Sombre snapped his claws, and down they fell. Freed from their binds, they hurried over to the bread. Lyra and Bonbon nervously bowed their heads and left the room in silence. “Don’t think that you two can escape,” King Sombre said grimly. “Your magic has been disabled.” With that being said, he left the room. Celestia stopped her messy chewing and looked at Luna. They both knew it: only one pony could help them now… the one pony who didn’t get captured (hopefully, anyway)… and that certain pony was… Derpy Hooves. Cloudsdale was totally deserted, but she still hoped that she was still there. Derpy took a long, deep breath and slowly knocked on the door to her childhood. There was a sing-songy hello, and Derpy called out, “It’s me, mommy!” Clattering dishes and the tripping of hooves on furniture could be heard all through the house. A few seconds later, the door opened, and emerging was a sweet pony no later than in her early 30’s. There was no mistaking who it was, with her long minty green sea of mane and her evermore golden yellow eyes, her coat a shimmering pale blue: Peppy Mint. “Derpy!” she exclaimed. Hugging her adoptee, she invited her in. Derpy gratefully took in the familiar smell of peppermints and lilies from her “mother”. Raising her since she was a filly, Peppy Mint just adored seeing Derpy. They hadn’t seen each other since Derpy left when she was 13 to go out and explore the world. “So, Derpy! How’ve you been?” The wall-eyed pony drooped her head sadly. Peppy looked at her with concern. “Did something happen? Did it not work between you and Dr. Whooves?” Derpy immediately flushed a bright crimson, embarrassed at that comment. How did she know that!? Why, I never even… Gah! Pinkie Pie! That blabber mouth!!! Derpy smiled sheepishly and said, “Oh nothing! He’s busy! But anyway, something did happen…” She went on to explain what events had transpired within hours before down in Ponyville. After Derpy was finished, Peppy gasped at the details of her story. “Oh dear! I wonder if there’s anything that we can do!?” Derpy sat and thought to herself. Then it hit her: Celestia had told her to run. Somepony needed to save everypony else, but there was nopony. So… “Mom, I think that I should be the one to help!” Peppy looked shocked, and then said, “Are you sure!? I mean, the princess did say for you to run…” She trailed off, worried for her “daughter”. Derpy then exclaimed, “You can help me! Mommy, we can do together! Will you help me? Please???” She then gave Peppy the sad puppy eyes. “Oh alright… I’ll help you save Equestria. Just promise me that you won’t stay up too late, and also make sure to brush your teeth, and make sure to bath, and make sure—“ Derpy put up a hoof. Peppy looked at her in question, cocking her head. Derpy smiled and said, “Just promise me that you’ll pack plenty of muffins and ya got a deal!” The two hugged each other and high-hoofed. Derpy thought to herself, Once we save Equestria, I can move on to my next goal: winning over Dr. Whooves’ heart! Hang in there, my love! I’m coming! The two were packed within hours. With everything set in stone, they took one last look at the overview of Cloudsdale. Hopefully, they would be back safe and sound. Together, they took off, flying sky-high. The breeze playfully whipped their manes. Laughing happily, they zoomed gracefully through the sky. Derpy then saw Zecora, who had somehow snagged the hot-air balloon Pinkie Pie was usually known to be seen with in the sky. “I have come to assist you, dear girls, for I fear that I might be getting what you call “the hurls”!” Derpy laughed and nodded. The threesome raced towards the highest peak of the blue wonders, determined to save their kind. King Sombre watched menacingly as the helpless ponies trudged sadly through his new domain. He then noticed something: there was one pony who wasn’t around, one that he had seen earlier. Then he grimaced: it was that strange, messed up pony. What was her name? Dorky? Donkey? Dermy? Oh, it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like she was going to be able to stop him anyway, for she couldn’t even see straight. He laughed heartily at the sight of her running into a brick wall multiple times, confused at why she can’t seem to walk by it. He walked off, unaware that Twilight was secretly watching him. She also figured out how to use her magic. After all, her special talent was using magic. She turned to her counterpart: Trixie. “Did he do anything? Or did he spill anything information that could help us?” The Great and Powerful Trixie (just kidding) asked. Twilight shook her head. Trixie’s ears drooped down, her face showing how pitiful she felt. “Don’t worry, I’m sure that there was somepony who didn’t get caught by—oh my Celestia…” Twilight trailed off, Trixie following her thoughts. They both knew that Derpy hadn’t been caught. “Well, guess we better just cross our hooves and hope that Derpy can help… or that King Sombre is sympathetic at times,” Trixie said sadly. Twilight nodded slowly. Quietly as possible, they snuck back into the make-shift portal that Twilight had summoned. They went through and soon found themselves back in their cell with the rest of the Mane 6. Twilight just hoped that her and her friends would still be able to call themselves that a few years or more from now.