//------------------------------// // The Fall // Story: The Doctor Whooves Chronicles Episode 4: Under the Sea // by Doctor Perseus //------------------------------// Chapter 4: The Fall Gaia, 1215 C.E. King Lycus leaned forward a bit. Derpy tried her best to avoid looking him in the eye. He had a powerful stare that suggested that he had seen many things and done a few things that he probably regretted. Upon looking into his deep, blue eyes, Derpy could strangely feel a strange sense of familiarity. She had seen a pair of eyes like that before. Eyes that were old, sad, wise, and distant. As she thought of the King's eyes, she awkwardly turned towards the Doctor. His usual giddy and witty smirk was planted on his face but his eyes still looked the same. No matter what mood he was in, the Doctor's eyes always looked the same to Derpy: old and wary with the weight of many horrific events of the past hidden deep within them. "To tell you the truth, I had hoped dearly that this situation would have never come to pass," stated the King with a sigh. "Something tells me that the situation here in Atlantis is getting to a breaking point," the Doctor replied. "Yes. Are you aware of the situation?" "To some degree, yes. A fair amount of Atlanteans aren't too keen on conversing with the overworld." "Yes. It is sad to see that such hatred still exists today." "But it's also understandable. Many creatures fear to cooperate with what is outside of their terms of normal." "The reason for the hatred of Atlantis branching out doesn't necessarily have anything to do with fear, Doctor. You see, Atlantis has had encounters with the overworld before." The Doctor's ears perked up and Derpy couldn't also help but be interested. "I'm guessing that the first encounter didn't go well," Derpy guessed. "That would be correct," the King continued. "This was many centuries ago. There had been a deadly storm sweeping over the ocean. The storm was so strong that the Atlanteans could even feel its force down here. There had been a ship of ponies that had got caught in the storm. Needless to say, the ship sunk. Those who survived the initial sinking would have died if it weren't for the kindness of the the king of the time, Orion. King Orion brought the ponies to Atlantis to heal them of their wounds. During their stay here, they grew to know of Atlantis's history and culture and, thus, the Atlanteans grew to know more about the overworld and of its cultures. Our ancestors were open and saw this as the dawn of a new era for Atlantis. A time for us to finally branch out and make contact with the overworld. However, the ponies betrayed the Atlanteans." Derpy could feel a weight of strange, distant guilt suddenly overcome her. "The ponies, as it turned out, were really a band of thieves and traitors who had been traveling across the ocean to escape from the law. They had learned of our secrets and weaknesses and decided to take advantage of our advanced technologies. They wished to take our belongings and weapons, return to the surface, and wreck havoc on those who wished to impose justice on them. However, before they could leave, they were caught by King Orion. King Orion tried to stop them and this ended up costing him his life. The ponies murdered him, his family, and his soldiers to get out of the castle. They wrecked havoc throughout the city as they tried to escape. These ponies were surprisingly good at using our weapons. I can only figure they had practiced with them during their stay here. With our weapons, they went on a rampage through the city. Some of the buildings were damaged, water flooded some areas and destroyed them, and they even managed to temporarily kill the city's power supply. They nearly escaped but they were finally caught and killed by a simple maid who had fought against them to protect her children. This maid went on to be elected as the first Queen of Atlantis, Queen Aldona." "And that's where the hatred began." "Yes. For a long time, every Atlantean held a deep-rooted hatred for the overworlders, especially ponies. It took our species a long time to finally grow the courage to make small trips to the surface to watch the overworlders. Many of us, including myself, were still wary when the first expedition to our city occurred." "The one conducted by Shining Armor IV," said the Doctor. "Yes. Today, many of us have accepted the fact that not all overworlders are evil traitors and are happily willing to begin conversing with them. We are hoping to accomplish what our ancestors had hoped for when the first ponies arrived. But, sadly, many Atlanteans still hold their hatred for the overworlders; and, because I support the branching out of Atlantis, they've decided to begin terrorizing the innocent of the city to convince me to keep Atlantis to itself." The King sat back on the throne and sighed. "This group has been a pain in my side since Shining Armor IV first set hoof in this grand city. At first, it was just an afterthought. Now, it's become a huge threat that could possibly tear this city apart." "And that's where we come in." "I would assume so. I used to think that I could keep this group under control. But, they've grown more powerful, more aggressive, and more...ruthless. They're willing to kill innocent civilians, the Prince, and even me in order to keep Atlantis isolated. I'm sure, if given the access, they'd blow up this city." "Why would anypony do that? I thought they wanted to quote-unquote save Atlantis!" Derpy exclaimed. "They believe that being blown up would be a better fate for Atlantis than getting involved with the overworld," the King replied. "But, with you being here, I guess this proves that the situation is now out of my control. It looks like I'll be needing your help in dealing with this." "Doctor, can I talk with you?" Derpy whispered to the Doctor. The Doctor nodded to Derpy. "One moment!" the Doctor replied to the King. Derpy quickly led the Doctor off to the side. "What is it, Derpy?" "How are we supposed to help him? What can we do to stop these terrorists? I mean, we've dealt with evil alicorns, moon monsters, and a creature from an alternate world with a vendetta against me...but this feels so...out of hoof." "Well, what do you want us to do? Tell the King and Dolarez that we'd like to help but can't and then just run off?" "No. I don't want to just up and walk away from this." "Good! Because there's one thing you should get straight about situations like this: we don't walk away." "Right. We don't walk away...but how-" "Do you have faith in me, Derpy?" "Huh?" "Do you believe in me? Do you believe that I can indeed find a way to solve this?" "Of course. I think you can do anything, Doctor." "Well, I can't do anything. I mean I can do quite a lot of things but...wait a moment, I'm rambling. Anyway, you do believe that I can help the Atlanteans deal with their little terrorist crisis?" Derpy was silent for a moment. She was completely stumped on coming up with any possible ideas in how to effectively take down an entire terrorist group. However, as she thought, she once again found herself staring deep into those ancient, tired eyes. She had to believe that there was a solution located somewhere behind those eyes. She had to believe that the Doctor had a plan. "Yes," Derpy replied. "That's good. Because as long as my companion believes in me, I know I can do it," the Doctor stated with a smile. "Oh, and there's one more thing I need to tell you." "What is it?" "I believe in you too, Derpy Hooves." "Me? What's there to believe in? I'm not smart or anything like you." "You don't have to be. You can be helpful just on your own, Derpy Hooves. I've seen you do amazing stuff: mentally take down a moon queen and work together alongside an old childhood enemy to take on a monster from an alternate dimension." Derpy could feel her face turn red. She probably figured that her eyes were inverting as well when the Doctor gave a quick chuckle. "So, how's about this? You believe in me, I believe in you, and we manage to stop this crazy crisis. How does that sound?" "It sounds like a plan." "That it is, Derpy Hooves! Phase one: complete!" Derpy couldn't help but giggle a bit as she followed the Doctor back towards the throne where King Lycus was waiting anxiously for a response. "Fear not, your grace. My companion and I will be happy to help you sort with the problem." "Excellent," said King Lycus as he stood up. "I hope to finally bring this conflict to an end." Derpy found herself grow nervous again as the King turned to look at her. "Would you be so kind as to let my soldiers know that they are welcome back in?" He then turned back to the Doctor. "Come, Doctor. Follow me. We shall continue to discuss our plans further in private." Derpy watched as as the Doctor began following the King off towards a doorway behind the throne. "Just come in here when you're done with the soldiers," the Doctor said as he trotted after the King. Derpy was quick to make it out of the throne room for she didn't like being in such a huge room by herself. She walked over to a door that was situated a little ways away from the elevator. She passed through to find herself in a mostly empty hallway. She could hear the sound of talking but it sounded to be quite a distance away. She began making her way down the hallway when a large figure stepped in front of her. Derpy couldn't help but gulp as she realized that the figure standing before her was none other than the soldier she had seen give her and the Doctor a hateful glare earlier. "Uh...hi," she managed to say. "My name's Derpy. I was just looking for you." "Were you?" asked the soldier with a hint of distaste. "Uh...yeah. The King told me to tell the soldiers that they're welcome back in the throne room." "Thank you. I'll be sure to tell the others." Derpy grew uneasy as a dark smile suddenly appeared on the soldier's face. "But, first, may I ask you something?" Derpy wasn't keen on sticking around to be asked any further questions by the overbearing soldier. "Uh...sorry, I can't stay. I have to get back to the King and discuss plans for dealing with the terrorists," Derpy replied. The soldier, without warning, suddenly grabbed Derpy and pushed her against the wall. He placed one of his large hands over her mouth to keep her from giving off any noise. "We're not terrorists!" snapped the soldier. Derpy's heart rate increased. She struggled against the soldier's grasp but couldn't break free. The soldier smiled again as he presented a sharp knife to Derpy. "I really hate ponies. I would love to take care of you right here, but I think you would be a good source of leverage in dealing with this Doctor of yours." Good going, Derpy. Your first task and you've already been captured, Derpy thought as the soldier brought the knife up to her neck. "But I guess my brothers don't really need you in one piece, though." The soldier gave a cold chuckle as he began to pierce the knife into one of Derpy's legs. Suddenly, there was a flash of light as the soldier was knocked away. Derpy fell to the floor and kicked the knife far away from her and the soldier. "It's not polite to threaten a mare like that!" snapped a familiar voice. Derpy looked up to see Prince Shining Armor VI aiming his horn at the soldier. "Prince!" Derpy exclaimed. "Quickly! Go get somepony! I'll handle him!" Derpy got up and began to run. "Damn ponies!" screamed the soldier. He jumped up and barreled past the Prince. Derpy looked back to see the soldier rushing at her at alarming speed. She quickly flapped her wings and took into the air but the soldier managed to grab one of her hind legs and pull her to the floor. She tried to kick the soldier away but he was on top of her. "Get off her!" yelled the Prince as he sent a blast of energy at the soldier. The soldier rolled out of the way and the magic blast proceeded to create a hole in the wall that opened up to a long drop down to the forest below. Derpy once again tried to make a break for it but the soldier managed to grab onto her. "Let go of me!" Derpy shrieked. The soldier stood up and grasped Derpy tightly in his arms. The Prince tried to send another magic blast but the soldier grabbed onto him as well. Derpy and the Prince struggled to break free from the soldier's grasp. Derpy could hear the sounds of soldiers approaching. She figured that they had heard the sound of the fight. "Quit squirming and you won't get hurt!" the soldier snapped as he began to walk away with them held tightly in his arms. "Let us go!" snapped the Prince. Suddenly, the Prince's horn glowed brightly and a powerful jet of air burst out of his horn. The jet of air sent Derpy, the Prince, and the soldier flying backwards out through the hole in the wall. "Oh NO, NO, NO!" Everything began spinning as Derpy, her savior, and her captor plummeted hundreds of feet towards the forest ground below. Derpy struggled against the soldier's grasp and flapped her wings frantically. The soldier, in a fit of fear, let go of Derpy and the Prince. He proceeded to click something on his wrist and then disappeared in a flash of light. Derpy tried her best to rebalance herself. The Prince was flapping his legs around and attempting to cast some sort of spell. Derpy rushed over to him and wrapped her forelegs around his body. She flapped her wings as hard as she could. The treeline was coming up fast. Derpy gave one last effort to soften her and the Prince's fall. Both she and the Prince grunted as they collided with the treeline. Leaves and limbs poked and jabbed at their bodies as they fell through the canopy. They eventually collided with the ground with two, loud thuds. "That...was not fun," Derpy heard the Prince say before he passed out. Derpy tried to get up but found that her body was incredibly weakened by the fall. As she tried to get her bearings, a series of dark figures appeared around her. She couldn't identify who they were, but she knew that they weren't good. "Good work, Avarus," stated one of the figures. "Not bad for a new member." Derpy heard one of the figures give a cold laugh in response. "Yeah. Here you go. The Prince of Equestria and a warrior of the blue box. This should definitely get us places," said the second figure. Derpy instantly recognized the voice as that of the soldier who had attacked her. "I would have gotten them to you differently but they're here nonetheless." "What shall we do with them?" asked a third figure. "Take them to HQ," replied the first figure. "The boss will be pleased with this piece of leverage." Derpy groaned as one of the figures picked her up. Nice work, Derpy, Derpy thought angrily as the figures carried her and the Prince away.