Author's Notes:

A new chapter means a good day for me, because I got something written. And it's a good day for readers that enjoy this story, because new material has been uploaded.

Anyway, so this is going to bring a little drama into the story, but it's going to bring about how the seasons of M.L.P. will start in their own dark, twisted version. I just needed the right idea and enough time to start this.

And as for the creature that will be in this story, just look up Apollorexus from Neo-Monsters. That's the best guess to what Derrick's New/Old Pet will be.

Anyway, leave some feedback if you would, please.

Also, let's go for the big 600 in likes!

Nightmare Moon found herself smiling. Her eyes met nothing but the empty gardens as she wandered the castle looking for her mate, who was surprisingly quick on his feet.

"Oh Derrick," she drawled, "Where have you run off too?"

She heard nothing and received not a clue to his whereabouts, and it excited her. The mare in the moon felt a small urge of arousal. She was so certain her lover was playing hard to get with her, she had considered the conversation back in the castle the torment that made him hide from her. She was far above such petty games that have no interest to her, but she was not beneath going around her home to find the man she loved and claim a prize from him. Perhaps a kiss and some snuggling, or maybe something more intimate. She was not above making herself so irresistible that Derrick would throw his morals aside and claim.

She kept walking, using the overwhelming pressure of magic she had sensed to find the man, shrinking through the bushes so that she could pass through and see where Derrick might be. If she wanted to though, she could just leap of the balcony and take flight, but that would be no to her. Everything in the dark alicorn wanted to catch her prey and claim him.

She moved slow and careful to avoid tearing feathers or her mane being caught on some branches, the entire journey a messy business with leaves and dirt getting in her coat. She pressed into the only opening of bushes and emerged victorious, although now it meant getting a bath when after she found Derrick.

Or perhaps he liked a mare that's dirty, or resting against him while bathing. . .

"The possibilities are endless," she told herself with a giggle, before shaking a few leaves out of her mane and looking to find her adventure had come to and end.

Standing at the farthest edge of the balcony with his eyes on the southern mountains, Derrick was in plain sight as she grinned evilly and ruffled her wings. She moved very slow and cautious. The longer it took for her to get him, the less aware he was of her presence, and she could surprise her half-breed with a bite to the neck for that succulent taste of blood and marking him again.

It may have been overkill, but Nightmare Moon had her heart set on making sure that every pony knew he was her mate, and most of all—her property.

She kept creeping up to the oblivious man, allowing herself to be methodical and careful, meticulous of avoiding fast movement, rather drifting through the wind in an effort to keep from drawing the man's attention. The wind began to slow down, reducing her camouflage of noise, and then stopped with her being inches from pouncing.

She licked her licked and giggled at the last second. The was a small stillness that boded ill as she leaped reared up and plunged her fangs into Derrick's neck. He gasped and realized that he'd been caught, but paid no attention to the sting in his neck as she sucked on his skin. Nightmare Moon felt his hand rub across her cheek, but she continued to bleed her lover, burning her second mark into his skin, narrowing with certainty that their bond had grown so strong that she could counter his immunity.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. The magic she used to mark him had erupted into her mouth through her nostrils, tiny strings of deep blue oozing from Derrick's body repelling her. This time, she knew it was going to take a great deal of time before the bond would be completed, she just had to be patient.

With aggravation, she released her lord and licked her lips of the blood dripping off her maw and wiped her nose of the blue ooze by rubbing against the grass.

"Not strong enough," she told herself. "But it won't be long before we are one."

Nightmare Moon was disappointed. But, nonetheless, she had her answer to how strongly connected they were. She blocked Derrick's opening of leaving the balcony edge, fanning her wings around his form and pushing slightly, refusing to give him an exit point.

"Found you, beloved," she cooed, rising underneath his arm for a tender kiss. "You should not hide from your mate, especially when she finds you so succulent."

Derrick did not respond, rather nodded and continued watching the spark of light he could barely see on the southern mountain. He had much on his mind and picked through the pickiest of thoughts to rid himself of the confusion his ears were picking up from a distance. He had no idea if it was normal hearing or if the magic in his body was amplifying his sense of hearing, but he knew that whatever he was hearing had to be coming from that mountain.

"Do you hear that?" He turned to his queen as she arched an eyebrow, then back to the mountain with his left ear absorbing the deepest of the scream ringing in his head.

"Hear what?" she smiled, moving around so she rest against his chest. "The only thing I hear is the sound of your heart, and it. . ." she stopped mid-sentence when her ears picked it up as well, and became curious with the man as he watched the spark of light grow brighter on the mountain.

"It sounds like something is in pain," Derrick stated, listening to said cry erupt into a howl, something he could not explain but was feeling that this voice was very familiar.

"I'm hearing it now," Nightmare Moon said confusedly, eyeing the light now. "What is that? It can't be the annual festival of crillers; that's four months away."

"Nightmare Moon," he said softly, drawn to the voice. "I think I've heard this before."

There was a hitch in his voice that caused her concern, but she had to trust him a little. "Are you sure?" she questioned. "Because you've been away for thousands of years."

Derrick bit down hard on his lip on the need to know why he was familiar with this voice. He could feel something surfacing and he dared not drift from what was coming, but his memories were rigid, torn, so thin, and he could not remember being a baby. Nobody could.

So why was his mind so desperate to remember?

Nightmare Moon, at this point, pushed aside the banishment picked at her own thoughts. She tried to find the answer for him, until the heat of Derrick's body grow hot at her touch. Black flames and white-hot energy surging from beneath his shoes as she held on. Somehow she could feel his immeasurable energy surging, building to engulf them both as she grew concerned. But she, of all ponies, knew that this magic was not trying to hurt them, but rather do the unthinkable.

As for Derrick though. . .

"What the fuck is this!?" he screeched, patting himself down to put out the fiery aura, but it would faze through him.

Nightmare Moon directed her thoughts to the light in the distance and began holding onto her mate tightly. She made certain every inch of her was inside his growing aura. It took time, time she didn't know if they had at the moment with everyone, especially Discord, sensing the man's power, but there was not a moment left to think or to try and calm her lord. In that final moment, where she blinked to the voices behind them, Derrick's magic swallowed the two of them into a swirling ball of black and red that immediately soared high above the clouds, towards the southern mountain.

Sound was the first thing that came to Nightmare Moon. A low echo of water dripping. She felt the sound jar her thoughts, and it awoke her into a fright. Her mind and body moved in sync with a single feeling that seemed to echo through her flesh and bone, reverberating her body, until she was on her hooves and spinning in place.

"Derrick!?" She stopped after seeing him on a boulder, his pants scorched but his shirt turned to ash by the remaining magic surging from his body.

Nightmare Moon didn't move at first. It was too much of an effort to take a single step for reassurance and figure out what that powerful, insistent magic was—or why it would take them both. She beyond terrified of seeing her human lie on the ground with no visible movement. If he opened his eyes she would have to move, and that would help her greatly. If he stayed still though, she might not have the heart to bear the pain.

She stood there for who knows how long, her mind stuck to a place of pure terror, until the sudden gasping from Derrick caused her to jump back.

"FUCK!" Derrick screeched. "I'M TOO YOUNG FOR THIS BULLSHIT!"

Nightmare Moon, still shaken up, did not wait to rush the man. She teleported across the stony room and embraced him immediately without considering that he might be injured. But hearing not scream or yell when she hugged him gave indication that he was not hurt at all.

"Nightmare Moon. . ." he listened to the alicorn quietly composing herself in his shoulder, before putting a hand on her mane to comfort her. He waited, holding his thoughts to the strange cavern they were now in.

He found the warm, body of his mare inviting, the wind of this cavern touching the surface of a puddle, causing ripples to dance. The surrounding environment was solid and cold though, the only light beaming from tiny holes in the walls. They were in a cave. That much was evident immediately. There was a chill surrounding him, although he didn't feel cold. Large stalactites hung high from the ceiling. The were a great formation, giant, long rows of teeth. Stalagmites rose from the floor with large bases. Colors wound the rock from the shining bases to the pointed tips. The floor was smooth with lifetimes of water flowing everywhere.

A cry from the same voice they heard snapped both him and the alicorn onto their feet, the sound almost heartbreaking.

"You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" Nightmare Moon asked out of the blue, checking under his entire form before he stepped forward, following the cries of pain.

"It's even closer than before," he said aloud, turning to the mare, who was just as confused as him. "Mind telling me what the hell just happened and where we are."

Nightmare Moon shook her. "I cannot say that I do. What we just experienced was nothing similar to teleporting, but that is just a theory. As for where we are, I am unfamiliar with this area."

"But you heard that scream, right, just before we shot into the sky?" He insisted softly.

"I didn't hear it at first," she replied, as if it were the most normal thing to do. "But whatever it is, your magic seemed to react to it, as if it were called upon."

"Okay, so I'm not crazy," he sighed and then looked away to search the cavern. "Well we have no idea where we are—other than that we're in a cave—or what happened, but at least we know the voice that is screaming is real."

"But why hear it all of a sudden?" Nightmare Moon asked, pondering with the man as they walked the cave.

"I don't know, but it sounds like it's in pain."

Nightmare Moon frowned. This made no sense. She had vast knowledge of Nebula and it's areas, but this was unsettling to her. She had books on this and the legends, and none of them detailed a creature who's screams can be heard across the country. She was on edge now, and few of her thoughts led to the same thing.

"Escape is our priority," she echoed. "And I will lead. You can't defend yourself against—"

"I found a hallway," Derrick interrupted, and she looked to her right to find he was holding a burning torch with an actual hallway in front of him. "Seems like this is the only way out."

Nightmare Moon stayed still, tilting her head at the man as he waited for her to follow. She arched an eyebrow and asked with curiosity:

"Derrick, it's near pitch black in this cavern. How did you light that torch?"

Derrick swallowed hard when he answered, afraid of himself. "You won't believe this, but I found it in this doorway and when I picked it up, it suddenly ignited."

Nightmare Moon was quick to approach after that. She grabbed his hand and check the black veins to find they were pulsating and glowing a deep red.

She gave him a hard stare that could make a dragon cower. "Your magic is responding, but why, I'm not sure." She traced a vein, then looked inside the dark hallway as it gave another echo of that same scream. "I suspect the source of our problems will be through here."

"Not to rain on your parade, but something tells me we shouldn't go in there." For the time he realized he was absolutely sure and Nightmare Moon had to agree, but they had no idea where they were.

"It's okay my love," she cooed, nuzzling his cheek. "No big, bad monsters will get to you. You're queen is here to protect you."

Derrick glared at her for that one. "Are you implying that I am a pussy?"

"If that is a term for you being a coward, then yes. You are the most pathetic pussy in the entire cosmos." She replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

At once he was motivated, and filled with a burning fire to challenge her words. He struggled to take the first step inside, but upon doing so came a magnificent flash of red that lit up the hallway, shocking him and the alicorn. Both his and Nightmare Moon's legs were rubber at this point, refusing to work properly. For these two lovers, this getting stranger and more terrifying by the minute.

"Okay," Nightmare Moon nodded, ruffling her wings. "Now I'm starting to feel a little uneasy."

"Why?" Derrick said nervously. "It's not like the hallway lit up because my magic commanded it."

Actually, it did. And that same magic brightened their path much more as another scream was heard. He looked over at the mare and nodded his approval to enter, or maybe it was that she had permission to go first.

To his dismay, she stood behind him with her wing wrapped tightly in his hand.

"I'm right behind you," she whispered, nudging him forward.

"Of course you are. . ."

The pace was made and the red light was consuming with every step they took. Derrick kept a keen eye on his surroundings, looking up and down for any indication of what may be a trap. He wasn't sure what one would look like, but all the video games he played that had them was his best guess. He was searching high and low for thin string, stone pads, and even buttons on the wall.

He dropped his palm on the wall to his right, over a symbol that pulsed at his touch. His blood ran cold on the glowing stone. The colors changed instantly, flashing with a deep blue through the dark red. He did not stop though, he kept moving forward with the dark moon queen holding his hand as tightly as she could.

Whatever they fell into, Derrick wasn't going to aggravate the situation. Either they found the source of the screaming or they found a way out of this mess. He could only imagine how worried Raven was right now.

His mind stretched to meet the thought of the screams being a creature that summoned him and Nightmare Moon, but that could not be possible. He lacked the mental and emotional control to manipulate the energy surging inside him, but these markings, judging from how faded they were, dated back to ancient times, probably before the elements of harmony; at least that's what he presumed.

"I don't understand." That was a serious understatement. He was more confused than ever with the symbols reacting to his touch.

"These symbols have no relation to any language from earth, and they have to be very old. But why are they glowing like that?"

Suddenly, Nightmare Moon had a memory surface, and she began reading the symbols throughout their journey into the darkness. It was only thanks to the memories from Luna that she could understand them.

"By the blood of the ancient, so shall the keys to a dark peace be gained." That was a statement she needed an answer too, but none of it made sense to her, and Derrick was certainly not the guy to ask.

"You understand these symbols?" He asked, stopping to look back at the curious alicorn.

"It just came to me, as a memory from when Luna and I were one," Nightmare Moon replied, tracing another row of symbols.

"What else does it say?"

"It says. . . By the blood of the pitch king our greatest beast will be freed, and thy enemies will know true terror."

"Blood of the pitch king?" Derrick interpreted. "Could it be referring to another alicorn?"

"I am thinking it relates to your father," she answered. "He was the king of Nebula before Faust killed him. And these symbols are reacting to the blood flowing in your veins."

A humming began to rise and Derrick found himself reaching further into the darkness, needing answers. The humming grew loud, and the cries of pain boomed, and he now recognized what this hallway would lead too. Colors began to swirl and band around his arm. Those ancient symbols recognized him, recognized his bloodline, not just the blood of his parents, but his own, born of unity between man and alicorn.

Derrick had no knowledge of his lineage being anything but alicorn blood. His mother's power flowed through him, but why was it reacting to the relation of his father?

Answers were needed, and Derrick was certain they lied beyond these halls. His fingers curled around a corner, and in that next step came the red light, illuminating a room beyond repair and comprehension. It struck a chord in both the man and the alicorn as they stepped inside.

Derrick was a man of observation who checked every detail of his surroundings. It was one of his characteristics that had allowed him to become such an experienced engineer. Now, everything seemed fuzzy and heart-wrenching. Every detail in the mysterious chamber from these ancient symbols matched their pulses to the beat of his heart. Fear and bewilderment flowed and ebbed in his veins.

"It's a. . . room," he said, but the hitch in his voice told Nightmare Moon he was distraught.

Beyond the hall they escaped was a disheveled baby room with a violent history. Scorch marks strung the room, remains of what had to be toys had fallen mostly to dust and fire, and a crib that was touched by age and battle, sat in a corner with a crumpled picture in front of it.

Derrick was quick to approach the crib and grab said picture, but Nightmare Moon was not. She could feel the similarity of Raven's power seeping into these walls, as well as a powerful light that had long since faded in the darkness.

"It this me?" Derrick breathed lightly, drawing the attention of his mare as he unfolded the rest of the picture. He gasped after finding the mare in the picture was Raven, and the man standing next to him was holding a sleeping infant—a human infant.

Nightmare Moon leaned over to see it, and didn't think there was much question about their whereabouts. She wasn't prepared to accept where Derrick's magic had taken them, but she was more prepared than him. Derrick could barely contain himself. There was a note of guilt in his voice that his heritage was truly a dark revelation.

"That's. . . my father. . ."

He knew Nightmare Moon had come up behind him as he searched for more clues in the picture. He made no sound when he found straightened the picture, and saw in the left a white mare with a crimson mane standing next to Raven, with two undeniably familiar fillies on her back, peeking around the said mare.

But something was different from the picture. The white mare had a look of disgust while Raven and the black-haired man smiled, and she was eyeing the infant.

Nightmare Moon clasped Derrick's forearm in the comfort of his distress. "This must been your home, before Faust banished you."

"Yeah. . . maybe. . ." he admitted. He folded the picture and put in his pocket. He looked around the chamber. He needed more answers. To understand. Where could he find them?

As if it was bad enough, the voice they heard was now grumbling, startling the two, and a pair of amber eyes glowed in the darkness. "This just went from bad to a shit storm," he said.

"Get behind me!" Nightmare Moon ordered with her horn already blazing, but she was too late. The creature in the darkness surfaced with a leap and tackled the both of them. Of course, the two lovers were startled by the beast's paws firmly planting them to the ground as it hummed. Surprisingly a song of nature before it eyed her and then Derrick.

Seconds went by with pain in every inch of their body, but Derrick wondered why he had not been torn to shreds already or devoured when he was not struggling to get away. Unlike Nightmare Moon, who had forgotten that she could use her magic, he stayed very still as the humming beast of yellow and white sniffed him. He held onto the fact that this feathery creature had a black book chained around it's neck, and that it was probably two or three times Nightmare Moon's size.

He ignored his mate snarling and trying to bite the beast, and watched the creature's actions as it ceased inhaling his scent. Suddenly, the wings of this beast flapped and he was licked viciously. His neck was nuzzled, and it cried a high pitch of glee before releasing them.

Nightmare Moon was quick to create a spell that would turn the creature to dust, but she realized that when Derrick got to his feet, this animal was actually circling him with it's six wings dragging across his body.

Derrick heard the joy in the creature and could not help chuckling as it shook like a dog, wanting to play a game. He laughed in the end and pet the beast's head, his touch soothing to the monster.

"It's friendly," he said to Nightmare Moon, who was now in shock.

"This is impossible," she said aloud, her eyes as wide as dinner plates while the beast eyed her curiously. She touched the furry beast and listened to it hum softly before nuzzling her.

She told the man with much bewilderment in her voice:

"This creature is an Omni-Drake."

"Omni-Drake?" Derrick questioned with an arched eyebrow.

She nodded and explained it to him:

"Omni-Drakes are a lesser being of dragons, bred with the blood of most carnivorous creatures you see. They're supposed to be extinct, because Faust went on a hunt for them after one of her ponies were eaten."

"And how do you know this?"

"Raven spoke of it. She was very drunk that day and speaking about her past throughout the night."

"Okay," Derrick drawled, still petting the colorful pet. "But that doesn't explain why it's here and how it survived. There's nothing around here to eat."

"Perhaps it has been feeding on the dark magic in this room," she suggested. "The walls are laced with it, and I did read that Omni-Drakes fully grown, can survive by leeching magic."

Derrick pondered it slowly, ignoring the drake's pleas for attention as it nudged him. He wasn't donned any good idea as to how everything about this room relates to the beast, but the atmosphere stirred him to think differently while waiting for Nightmare Moon to beat him at the punch.

Sadly, she was not having any luck either.

"Well we're still trapped down here, and we have no way out." His tone was grim, and he circled the room. "All the other room are sealed off by rock."

The two immortals were enveloped in silence for a good minute, until the Omni-Drake grabbed Derrick with a soft bite. He screamed and cursed at the feathery beast before it's neck arched, and he was put on it's back.

"Hey, give him back!" Nightmare Moon scorned, but the Omni-Drake was already leaping into a large, pitch-black opening in the ceiling.

Now she was infuriated, but with good luck on their side—and a well-knowledge beast to guide them—Derrick was taken to another room with Nightmare Moon flying right behind him and screaming at the monster to not carry him, because it's her job.

Derrick however, sent her an enigmatic smile and took to riding the Omni-Drake's back. He had to admire it's smooth, agile body. It leaped again, a graceful cat leap, shifting as he did onto a small column that had seen better days. Everything about his new friend was fascinating. Everything. He found the weird humming of it's voice adorable, the way it moved, the sense of childish play. He wasn't so enamored with fearing the beast.

"I don't like her!" Nightmare Moon barked, glaring daggers and the happy drake.

"Her?" He arched his eyebrow once more.

"I checked."

"Oh," he quipped. "Well I do. It's not every day you get to ride something mystical."

"I'm mystical," she pouted, flicking her tail frustratingly.

"Yes, but you're my marefriend. This is different."

"I'm not your marefriend," she corrected with a venomous tone. "I'm your mate."

"Hey, I just remembered. She has a black book chained to her neck."

"We will examine that when we get out of here." Nightmare Moon told him sternly, although it probably would not have hurt to read it and see if there any clues. Then again, she was more concerned about the room being large enough for the Omni-Drake, and potentially collapsing on top of them.

She had to recede for the benefit of staying calm, but alas, she felt angry for keeping herself at bay when she was so obviously possessing enough power to blow a hole through these walls, but something inside her said not to do anything rash just yet.

She fly higher to take Derrick from the Omni-Drake, but was met with a threatening growl and a flick of the tail before another leap was made to reach the doors that were across a hole in the floor. It was too big for any pony to leap over, but Derrick's new friend had no trouble whatsoever making the jump and ramming through the rotten doors.

Now they were surprised, by the light shining through more holes in the walls and showing the two the room they entered was a throne room, and the torn tapestry hanging above the throne was—

"Mom!" Derrick screamed, and then looked up to the mare flowing ahead of him. "Nightmare Moon, this is a—"

"Castle, I know." She interrupted whilst piecing the tapestry together with her magic. She gasped, stunned to her very core, and retreated from said tapestry before telling him:

"This was their home. . . This is the first castle."

Little did they know that what lurked in the darkness was not just the Omni-Drake.