A cold and peaceful night for the queen of the dark moon, her hooves worshipped by the very nightmare ponies that watch her pass through the corridors with a delectable scent travelling the halls, attracting her to its source as she wandered where her lord could be at a time like this.

She brushed a wing into the open air to draw in the aroma of burning meat and spices. She moaned with delight as her stomach grumbled from the lack of lunch, but a good queen must skip meals from time to time to keep things in line. Still, even as hungry as she was, Nightmare Moon was in a very good mood from the upcoming teachings they pushed back to get his birthday out of the way. Thank the heavens they were going to do it in the next couple of days. She obviously had something planned, it was there on her face. She knew Derrick might not be ready to fulfill his duties for the kingdom, but somewhere along the line he would do so. He would mature into his own image of darkness and authority. She just had to help him gain confidence in making himself into a fine symbol of power. She couldn't fault her lover for his weakness. She knew, from the many weeks they shared, it was the life of a human and living around those sun lovers that he'd grown soft-hearted.

She stepped around the corner with the aroma stronger than ever, and stopped before her presence was felt. She clasped her crown as it slid off and watched her fellow royals piled against the kitchen doors. She listened promptly to their muttering as the sound of sizzling was heard in the background.

"Has that boy lost his mind?"

"He's going to set a bad image for us."

"He's just making himself a meal."

"That's what slaves are for."

"What, pray tell, is everypony doing here?" Nightmare Moon asked with some curiosity, startling everyone but Discord while a sudden burst of flames came from inside. She could hear ponies awing over the combustion whilst approaching her fellow royals, who were shushing her and bidding that she sees for herself what the commotion was about.

Black Hole Sun looked down at her sister. "You're mate is inside the kitchen, sister. He's been in there for about two hours now."

Nightmare Moon took a peek through the crevice and saw that Derrick was indeed cooking with a bunch of their chefs watching closely. Beside him, the head chef was writing notes on the recipe and listening to every detail given.

Discord looked down at Nightmare Moon with a smile cracking between his cheeks. "I hope you're not as astonished as they are," he received a series of glares from everyone before looking back at Derrick. "It doesn't surprise me that the boy can cook as well. He did tell me that he spent most of his life cooking meals for himself and that human sister of his."

"But that is a slave's job," Sombra said bitterly, receiving the harshest of glares from the mare that is.

"What," he held his hooves up defensively as she snorted at him. "It's the truth. Slaves are meant to do our bidding. They cook for us , not clean. And that right there proves he is not ready to rule beside us."

Nightmare Moon removed herself from the door and stepped up to the unicorn. Clearly he was in one of his bad moods and she was going to fix that right away. Nothing infuriated the alicorn more than to hear how some pony was degrading her dark lord, but for it to be one of the royals that she'd trusted to give him a chance. . .

She was ready to strange the stallion for his arrogant perspective of the man.

"Cooking is not a sign of weakness," she rebuked venomously, clasping his chest her a tight grip to her hoof. If glaring could be used as a lethal weapon, Sombra would two holes bored into the center of his skull right now. "It is a hobby of Derrick's and part of his person. It shows just how caring and open he is."

Nightmare Moon's hoof tightened on his fur. She'd always thought this part of her life would come, willing to face it, subconsciously viewing Sombra as the student rather a role model. She'd been stolen by her human, both her heart and soul, but his love and devotion. And she would not tolerate anyone, no even her family, insulting him for his good traits.

"Maybe if you learned a little from Derrick you might understand what he is coming from," Nightmare Moon said.

"Like what?" Sombra scoffed.

At that moment Nightmare Moon inherited an idea from this stallion's disrespect. The thought inside her head was devious, a little sinister, growing a sickly smile on her muzzle while she held the pony in the air. She released him of her hoof, but just as he was about to fall on his hooves she kept him in a gentle aura and pushed the door open with her hind leg. She brushed his hoof over her face. Sombra shook his had of it. He knew he was in trouble. He was not ready for what she had in mind, but it wasn't his choice to say no.

"Let's find out," the alicorn hissed, giggling as she turned to her human and entered the kitchen.

"It's best if you cook the meat first over an open flame to drain the meat." Derrick told the chefs, taking charge of the meat after they burnt part of it. He needed to be in charge in the first place to stop them from overheating the contents in the pot next to the skillet. "Reason for this is there won't be much grease, and you mix it with the vegetables the juices from all the spices will be absorbed, giving it better flavor. Plus the grease will go straight to ass if you don't do it this way."

The chefs were all in agreement of this, but none of them expressed such gratitude to this piece of wisdom, as in their moment of understanding the human's method they came across the royals entering and bowed to them immediately, never speaking a word or looking up to see what was next in the man's cooking.

Nightmare Moon approached him with a very aggravated Sombra cursing in every language he knew. Thankfully she'd put a silencing spell on the unicorn before he could make a fool of himself. She held him with her magic and approached to surprise her dark lord with a passionate kiss, such as could be done to her leisure and desire for the taste of his lips. There was no doubt that he was surprised by the alicorn leering over and jerking his mouth gaze to hers before the feeling of tongue passed his lips.

After realizing what was happening, he placed a firm hand in her mane in support of said kiss and moaned with her, enticing the jealousy of some chefs. He found this ministration not only soothing, and extremely intimate, but sexy as well. He had actually found joy in wrestling with for dominance of the kiss.

"Having fun in here my love?" Nightmare Moon greeted, licking his saliva from her lips.

"Just doing a little cooking," Derrick said. He pushed back a few strands of hair that had fallen over her eye. Her body trembled at his touch as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

"What are you all doing here anyway," He asked before noticing the angry unicorn pouting in her aura. "And why is Sombra like that? Did he catch something that's contagious?"

"We are not that lucky my sweet," Nightmare Moon chuckled. She levitated the unicorn to Derrick and dropped him on his rear. "No, Sombra thinks that you're setting a bad image with your cooking. So I brought him here for you to teach."

Derrick knew the moment Nightmare Moon stepped away from him and Sombra. He'd learned when the alicorn had a mischievous side to her and needed to trust her for it. Before, he never would have trusted someone with a bad reputation, not if she was still such a stranger to him, but this pony had held out against the hard work of earning his trust and he wouldn't turn her away. He had learned enough and had accepted the fate everyone knew with stoic resolve.

He was much like the beloved mare. He didn't have a pure heart or a mind to understand everything. He simply accepted the flawed pieces of himself and smiled if tempted, but he would ruin Sombra fiercely for the amusement of turning the immortal into something the mares would find tempting. He was already deep in thought and kneeling to the mad unicorn and he could see the idea on Sombra, with a little bonnet for extra emphasis.

Derrick had politely rubbed Sombra's head, giving him an evil smirk from the depth of his heart, although the glow in his monstrous eyes seated the meaning of 'teaching a hard lesson'.

"So you think I'm making a bad name by cooking," he insinuated, a deep chuckle in the bottom of his throat while the unicorn gulped nervously. "Well. . . let's see what you think after the tables are turned on you."

Sombra looked over his shoulder to his wife for help. "Chrysalis. . . my beloved queen. . ."

Chrysalis exchanged a long glance to the closest wall and whistled a fine tune, ignoring the whimper of her husband as Derrick rummaged through an overhead cabinet. Sombra's heart began to pound with fear. His wife was considered the salvation of his mistake, but he'd forgotten that she was the eccentric among the castle. More than anything, she loved to try new things and ran with any idea—wholly and certainly willing to see a new side of him.

"Aha, I found it." Derrick chirped, turning to the not-so ready changeling king, his idea firmly grasped in his hands as it made it his victim blush crimson.

Sombra had spent centuries ruling in darkness, advocating for himself and providing fear for his subjects and live without a single pony to question his authority. He had done so in the beginning of his revival to provide safety for his family, but now in the clutches of the half-blood, he'd purchased a life lesson that would haunt him forever.

"You'll look so cute in this, Sombra," Derrick said with faux innocence, his eyes going grim as he slowly towered over the pony.

Meanwhile. . .

After Luna's Leave. . .

Luna reached the faint light of Spike's bedroom and saw the drake curled in his new bed. He was silent in spite of the alicorn making a surprise landing through his window, radiant her body was with the moonlight glistening off her sweat, knowing he biggest lead to her love was through a withering energy that Spike held firmly.

Luna looked somberly at the poor dragon, at the claws digging into the cloth. She would need that item to take away the loneliness, and even out the pitting guilt over her heart, but that would require taking what remained of the boy's faith. She could only hope that he would understand.

"Spike," she greeted, but his eyes did not divert from the painted fabric.

"Twilight's not here," Spike told her in a hollow voice, clutching on the shirt as tightly as he could without tearing it. He rolled away completely, facing the wall to hide his pain.

"I'm not here for that insufferable filly my sister made a princess," Luna explained sternly. Her bold words grasped some of the drake's attention, as he was a little curious why the princess would talk about her first friend like that. "I'm here for that shirt of Derrick's. I need something of his essence to find him."

Spike tried not to be surprised, but he wanted to be answered that moment. He had thought the human a big brother and felt a piece of him was torn away. "You can find him?" He tried not to sound desperate.

Luna nodded solemnly. "I believe that I can, but I need that shirt for a chance to discover his whereabouts."

Her words were uplifting in his mind, filling him with an odd tingling sensation, with a small rush of his heartbeat. "Can you bring him back?"

Luna exchanged a long glance with him. Her mind began to weave around her blatant actions with her sister, but she was not considering forgiveness or returning to the corruption. Besides, she could not harbor the dark secret Celestia kept from everyone. She could not leave the man she loved in the dark. He had he right to know that another human was there and in an affair with Celestia.

Luna approached the boy with a gentle wing. She was actually trembling with her fear, hardly able to contain it.

"Spike," she paused, cringing at how disgusting the situation became. ". . . I witnessed my sister with another human tonight. They were fornicating in her bed when I entered her room."

Spike gasped up to the mare, his full attention on her. "But. . .but she and Derrick—"

"It was nothing more than lust," Luna interrupted. She could not take the heartache in Spike's eyes, his tears a dark reminder that he was going to suffer as well. "Derrick was merely relief to the loneliness in Celestia's heart. That's the best way I can put it."

Spike leaned against her barrel, his eyes drained of life. He didn't know what to say, other than ask the princess why Celestia would cheat on Derrick and hurt him. But even Luna was unsure and just as confused as him, maybe a little more. There were no words to express her disgust or agony of such a betrayal.

"I guess he and I have the same problem," Spike stood up laughing painfully as Luna quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Rarity dumped me," Spike admitted, shocking the princess. "She left me for some rich noble a week before the gala."

"Spike," she whispered apologetically, but no amount of comfort could help the drake.

Spike began to tremble. His claws shook furiously. Once again he was stuck between two roads in his life, but he had it figured out.

"Are you going to bring him back?" Spike asked.

Luna shook her head and said, "There's nothing here to tie Derrick with Equestria. If anything, I'm going to find him and stay where he resides—hopefully earning his love and trust again. But I can't do it unless I have his shirt."

Spike looked up to the princess and then made his confession in a little rush. "Well I don't want to give up on this shirt. Derrick gave it to me as a gift and I promised to take care of it."

"But Spike. . . I need. . ."

"Which is why I'm going with you."

Luna flinched at the drake. She never expected those words to come out of his mouth. It was understandable though, when the things he'd told only her were enough to make any mother feel aggression to those who are the cause such anguish. She had retreated into her mind in order to save her emotions, but still, she had wanted to know more about Spike's decision.

"She's mistreating you again, isn't she?" Luna questioned in a gentle voice, bringing him close to her chest.

"It's gotten much worse since Derrick ran away," Spike admitted, clenching his teeth to fight the tears. "All of his things disappeared after she confiscated them, and she blamed me for it. She even hit me when I told her that did nothing with his stuff."

Luna nuzzled the top of his head, exactly where a faint bruise was hiding under the scales. "She's become a different with those wings. I can understand why you would want to leave."

"Things were better when I was at Derrick's house," he admitted, sniffling in her fur. "He didn't get angry or yell at me for messing with his stuff. He would sit down and tell me what his things do."

"Life certainly has changed with Derrick in our lives, hasn't it?" Luna asked her friend. "We've been shown new things and have learned from him."

Spike nodded against her. "I miss him."

"I miss him too," she cooed, pecking his head. "Which is why we are not going to let him go. But are you sure that you want to come with me?"

"And stay here with the craziest pony in Equestria," Spike laughed. "No thanks."

"But she is family to you."

"She stopped being my family when she left me behind to go have all kinds of fun with her friends." Spike told her in a hateful tone. "At least Derrick spent time with me and didn't care what Twilight would say, and he took me to some fun places when I was supposed to be watching the castle."

"No wonder she was always angry with him," Luna said as though she had an epiphany, making the drake chuckle.

"No, she was pissed off," Spike corrected. "I'll forget the day he snuck me out to go have some fun at one of Vinyl's parties. Twilight looked like she was going to explode."

Luna couldn't blame Derrick for his lack of disrespect to the purple alicorn. He'd been a nice influence and taught Spike that life doesn't revolve around Twilight, and gave him a little courage to express himself in the hopes he would become his own dragon. He had grown stronger emotionally, a little more fierce with his life, every bit a free child as those around him.

Luna had to push that out of her mind though and catch up on her idea before her sister could find her. Even the daytime princess would not let her avoid the situation for long.

As the two of them rose, Luna a little shaky, she sent Spike a concerned look. Is it really my place to take Spike with me? There could be consequences, but I don't want to leave him with that brat.

She went to protect on sheer whim of respecting that Twilight is his mother, but he held up a claw, making her silent in the room. He took his place on her back without saying a word.

"So the question is, how do we find Derrick?" Spike said, holding out the shirt for her to take. "Equestria is a big world and Derrick ran off in the everfree forest."

"Thankfully an old part of me was kind enough to give a clue," Luna added, smiling as she made her way to window without any argument. "The old castle would do good to start off. There I can use a spell to track him without any problems."

Spike nestled his head inside of Luna's mane for comfort. He knew it wasn't going to be easy leaving everything behind—it was his home and it will be forever—but he had nothing tying him to it, and he certainly did not want to wake up in the morning to an angry Twilight finding out Luna was gone.

He tightened his claws around her quickly and shifted his body, just a little to avoid the wind. He leaned in and watched as the world under him grew smaller with every second of her rising above the clouds.

"Hope he's not hurt," he said to himself.

. . .

"This is beyond humiliating," Sombra. . . well sombered, listening to the snickering of every single pony watching him learn how to cook in his new maid outfit.

"You look good in pink Sombra," Derrick chuckled. Both he and Nightmare Moon thanked the universe for there being a cupboard that had emergency outfits. They smiled at the unicorn learning how to properly boil an egg, sitting together, suddenly feeling like the world was perfect.

"You should have him do a little dusting while he's at it," Chrysalis added with bedroom eyes. "It would do me some good to see my husband stretch in those panties that were stashed in the back."

"I am the changeling king and the symbolism of fear," Sombra protested angrily, although everyone could see that he was whimpering as he dropped another egg in the boiling pot of water. "I'm not some stupid maid who takes orders. I GIVE THEM!"

"Not right now pal," Derrick laughed. "Right now—for insulting me about my hobby—you are a maid. And make sure your bonnet doesn't fall off."

Sombra sank back in his embarrassment, as it was impossible to keep a straight with the sense of humor going around the kitchen. He scowled and started to say something, but Chrysalis came up behind him and gave him a quick nip to his flank before he could engage his mouth.

"Don't worry too much my love," she crooned in his ear, nipping it tenderly while the laughing died. "I'll make sure to give you extra special treatment when we go to bed."

Sombra shook his head and sighed, "That's not making me feel any better." He looked back to the grinning human sharing a kiss with Nightmare Moon and growled. "I liked you more when you were just a weak and emotional wreck."

"You'll thank me later," Derrick said, frustrating his mare with the lack of his lips. "Trust me, nothing gets a lady turned on like a guy who can be a little feminine."

"THIS IS NOT FEMININE. THIS IS DEGRADING!"

"Well don't insult my hobby and I won't make your day a living hell."

Sombra could only snort and pay attention to the pot, knowing he wasn't going to get out of this anytime soon. You're lucky your mother is creator of darkness. If she wasn't and you were still here, I'd turn you inside-out and feed you to the sprawlers."

Derrick and Nightmare Moon looked at one another and gave a slow nod in perfect, as if they had one mind. They could understand that making Sombra do this shouldn't take too long. Humility was a way o life thought. Although it was abhorrent, sometimes it was necessary when teaching someone a lesson.

"When those eggs are hard-boiled you can take off the maid outfit," Derrick told him kindly.

Sombra's eyes became the size of basketballs, his mind hardened on the pot. "BOIL YOU STUPID EGGS. . . BOIL!"