Derrick is lying on his stomach, sprawled across Nightmare Moon's bed as four nurses worked on the intense bruising his body endured in that godlike hug. The first to actually speak to him is the Mare in The Moon, apologizing profusely about her mentor squeezing him so strongly he suffocates to unconsciousness and has a shoulder popped back in the joint. Sombra shook his head in shame of the Empress scolding herself at the sight of Derrick undergoing various fixings of pain. He felt rather peeved by the mare who revived him lose control and throw subtlety out the window before the first hello is said.

"I almost killed my own son!" Raven thrust her head to the arm of the couch, breaking the wood without trying. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."

Nightmare Moon licks Derrick across his cheek as she watches the nurses cast his injured shoulder.

"I am so sorry for my teacher crushing your spine." she nuzzles his lips, the only part of him that is not cutoff by the nurses. "There should not have been encounter until my sister returns, but it would seem that word of your existence spread across the castle and reached her ears."

"I've been attacked by my exes, former friends, monsters; and now I have more bruises to go with the injuries because of that pony right there." He sighed to himself and gave up trying to be angry, resting on his cheek as the dark alicorn braved a couple of pecks to his forehead. "When is god going to realize I need a break from all the bullshit and pain in my life?"

"Does any other part of you hurt?" Nightmare Moon asked, rubbing her hooves across his body without consent. What she did not realize is the shape of a human's backside is not the same as a pony's and unknowingly invaded a much more sensitive area. This made Derrick blush and grab ahold of her hoof before it slithered to the other cheek.

"You're touching in the wrong places," he warned the alicorn, gently forcing her to cease any more of her rubbing. Nightmare Moon did not know what he meant—that is until she thought about it and concluded where his rump resides. Unfortunately for the injured man, her blush was very lustful and heating up with every dirty thought she can think of. "And the only place I am still hurting is my back. I did have my spine nearly broke in half a few minutes ago."

"And I am so sorry for that." Raven apologized, tears pouring as she approached him with a tender nuzzle to his immobile arm. "I am truly sorry for injuring you; it has just been so long since I have seen you. I can't even remember how I use to hold you."

Derrick does a double-take in remembrance of the dark atmospheric alicorn stating that her baby is finally home. He cringed in fear of the mare as her loving nuzzles pushed upward to his cheek, forcing Nightmare Moon to step away and hold back every vulgar word she has to say for being denied her human's touch. Through it all he felt more confused than he ever in his entire life; and it was barely past dinner time. Nothing was making sense with this goddess having so much affection and emotional turmoil over his well-being. He began to wonder if maybe her sanity ran out the door a long time ago.

Raven starting licking the bruise on his cheek, the same one she inflicted after Nightmare Moon forced her to release him before death could take his soul. It was not easy, what with the Creator of Darkness flailing out of motherly desire to hold her only son for the rest of eternity. Derrick's luck, however, was not enough to save him from the injuries.

"I'm sorry, my darling." the fanged mare whispered, though with a very angelic tone that can sooth the most violent of monsters. Derrick tried to lean away, but the nurses were still working on his bruises and she was too strong. "Mommy is so sorry for hurting you. Mommy loves you. Yes, with all her blackened heart."

"Master. . ." Nightmare Moon paused at her mentor gazing over her shoulder, curiosity and anger mixed as the human quietly pleaded for rescue. She twirled a tuff of her ethereal mane and coughed nervously. ". . . He does not know the truth. I have been keeping him in my bedchamber for the sake of letting him adjust to our world."

Raven narrowed her glare. "I specifically told you to find me when my son awakens from his short-lived coma. I'd thought you would understand that I want to see my only son before his sisters come."

Nightmare Moon takes a deep breath to calm the fear rushing through her nerves. It's true that her teacher requested to be informed of Derrick waking up the second his eyes so much as flutter. However, once she thought about the consequences of weighing his mind with the truth, she found herself keeping Derrick as a secret for best interest of his health. Still, this wasn't going the way she hoped it would; and now the very alicorn who made her a queen is ready to strike out of spite.

She nods, reluctantly. "Forgive me for not telling you right away. I was only looking out for Derrick's well-being; it will not happen again."

"There is no need to be sorry, my pupil." Raven says a little more calmly, giving the dark alicorn the benefit of their conversation. A small silence builds in the room as she brings Nightmare Moon into a soft hug, something Derrick found to be the strangest thing in his entire life. "You are very young and ignorant to these things. Besides, the idea of having my son to yourself seems to have driven you a little further to becoming your own pony."

Nightmare Moon blushed behind her man, covering her face from the stunned human. "Teacher, he doesn't know!"

"Well he does now." Raven whispered, before releasing the embarrassed pony. She received a deep glare for this one, but it did not faze her at all. "Oh don't give me that look. We all know about your attraction to my son; even the guards have seen how different you've been while around him."

"I. . . I. . ."

"Pardon the interruption of this crazy clusterfuck," Derrick said to the mares, eyes shimmered with a desire for an understanding of the situation. "But someone needs to give me the lowdown as to who the hell she is and why she is treating me as though I am her child."

Raven and Nightmare Moon separate to seat themselves on the couch. They were not expecting him to be so calm through the confusion and act a little mature, but no complaints were said. Ever since the untimely loss of her husband and child, Raven has been worrying about the truth warping around the boy's mind in the worst possible way. It's beyond joyful to see him come back to Nebula in one piece and she hopes the trauma already experienced will not destroy the bridge that desperately awaits to be made. She looks down to the floor and shuffles her hooves. She prays to the heavens her son will be willing enough to give her one chance.

But there is so much between them she is not so sure their family can be whole again. Another world, a world of humans, has influenced Derrick since the day he was freed from the Void. Not to mention the humans that took him in probably kept it secret that he is a bastard child with no biological parents. That's not the worst part. He is a human and she is an alicorn, and nothing but their hair color matches.

Raven feels her entire body freeze up at the thought Derrick rejecting her. She did not want to have a gap between them, not a single inch. But how could she convince him when Faust drove them apart completely?

There must be something of strong evidence, something she could use. Wait. . . There is the picture of his father. That could. . . Her wings start to flutter as she tries her hardest not to scream and demand for Sombra to retrieve the old photo in her room. But that is all she can use to convince him. She needs it now. With it, there is no way Derrick can ignore the resemblance he has to the man in the photo.

Derrick notices the Empress channeling her magic to her horn. Nightmare Moon and Sombra notice as well, but ignore it and stare at him in anticipation of the conflict coming. Raven smiles widely after the old photo appears in front of her, wrapped in her red aura. She stares at said photo and giggles with hope, rubbing a hoof over the glass casing.

"Because you are my son." she looks up to the man, tears sparkling in the corners. "I carried you in my womb for eleven months and gave birth to you on the first new year of Nebula."

Derrick cocks an eyebrow and leans away, unsure if he should listen to another word she has to say or make a run for the door. "Are you off your meds or something, because there is a vast difference in our anatomy."

"Derrick, she speaks the truth." Sombra says out of the blue, gazing longingly towards his empress. "Your anatomy may be different, but your bloodline is alicorn. You are the son of Raven."

"This is alot to take in, but nopony is lying to you." Nightmare Moon assures, but Derrick is not responding to her or Sombra at this point. He's at a loss for words while the nurses finish up. "Derrick?"

Still not responding; and he has a very empty look in his eyes. Nightmare Moon has seen this before. She did not know if he was going to become violent or distance himself from everyone. She needs to do something before that emptiness completely overwhelms him and destroys Raven's one chance. Placing a hoof on his good hand, she draws Derrick's attention while Sombra and Raven watch. Nightmare Moon holds his hand and uses her magic to scoot the couch a few inches closer, closing what little gap is left.

"Derrick," she leans in so her eyes met his, nose to nose. They face one another and exchange an understanding of the weight he is enduring. "Try and wrap your mind around what we are saying. I know you're suffering from everything that's already happened to you, but it will be much easier if you try to understand."

Derrick cannot believe what he is hearing from this pony. Surely this was some terrible joke they though would help him loosen up. Was she serious? There must be some explanation to the alicorn beside her acting so emotional and desperate, but finding it meant denying every word that is coming out of their mouths. A fearful thought came to his mind. A small one, but it was the best thing to a proper answer.

"No, whoever you think I am, you're wrong." he says quickly, staring at the Empress as her hopes began to wither in her eyes. He tries to pull his hand free of Nightmare Moon, but her hoof was firmly grasping. "I have no biological parents. My sister and I grew up in an orphanage before we were adopted by our stepfather."

Raven's eyes widen slightly as she hears Derrick repeat the only family being his sister. She leans in some as she feels his fear scratch against the surface of his true person. She notices that when Nightmare Moon leans in to calm him down, with a loving lick to his chin, a deep swirl of pitch-black overtake his eyes and the pupils are replaced with large dots of red. Suddenly, the gears in her head start spinning. An idea hatches in the back of her psyche. A regrettable one, but it just might work.

"Look I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong guy. I am grateful that you're letting me stay here, your . . .highness, but I am not your son. I'm a human and you're a—"

Derrick's head strikes to the left at lightning speed, echoes of pain soaring throughout the bedchambers as Nightmare Moon and Sombra begin to gasp in shock. The nurses notice their patient yelping deeply, the look of denial replaced with humiliation as blood stains the floor.

Raven retreats to her spot on the couch and awaits for the results to explode, her smile growing while Nightmare Moon turns to her.

That should help realize you are my son!

Sombra can't even find the right words for his superior as the room falls into darkness. Nightmare Moon's darkness.

"Empress Raven, are you out your bucking mind!?" she barks, releasing her human's hand, mind completely focused on the fact of a mother assaulting her own son. Raven smiles proudly and points at the human gritting his teeth, but she ignores him. "Why in Tartarus would you—"

"Stupid bitch!" Derrick scowls at the proud alicorn furiously, eyes pouring an all-too familiar hatred as he clenched every muscle in his body. The man doesn't even know what is happening to himself as he stands up. He's in his own state of rage right now as Raven relishes at the results of her slap. Surprisingly a large aura of black and red lightning burst from his pores and force the legs of the bed to collapse. "DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN HIT ME AND GET AWAY WITH IT!? I'LL RIP YOUR FUCKING HORN OFF AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR CUNT!"

"Holy crap!" Sombra rolls backward and lands on the floor. He lands on his head and loses consciousness as the Dark Empress giggles evilly at the enraged human.

Raven nods to Nightmare Moon. "I knew you had your father's temper, but that is beside the point." She points to the mirror at her left this time, and then turns the photo so he can see it.

Derrick did not want to listen to the mare, but he is struck with conscience before the rage can be unleashed. He wanted to punch Raven's down her throat, and many other things you should not do to a female. The aura around him, however, was a clear sign that something was different about him and he could ignore it so easily like the rest of his situation. He looks at his hand as it hisses with the blackness, and then looks at himself in the mirror to see her words were really true. His heart starts to race at the intensity his eyes give off before returning to normal.

The sight of them turning, unfortunately, did not rest as easy as the flash of blackness and brought up more questions than he can possibly retain at the top of his head.

He looks back to Raven and finds the numbness of his shock disappearing at her touch. It surprised him that she stood up and braved wrapping her wings around his fragile form while Nightmare Moon kept her distance. Raven felt how frightened he is and ran a hoof over the back of his head, mulling the terror with unwanted nuzzling.

"Still believe that you are not my son, because the magic around you tells me that you are!" She whispers gently. Derrick's breath becomes shaky while the soft beating of her heart thumps through her chest and into his ear. This drives the goddess to put him and herself together on the bed, securing her hooves around his back. "It's okay. It's alright, my darling. Just breath and let everything sink in. Mommy is here. Mommy's got you."

Derrick feels his body sink deeper into the soft fur like a colt needing his mother's love. He tries to snap out of his daze as every word in the last ten minutes registers in his head. He really is not as human as he believe to be! A few tears fall as the picture is forced to him.

One second seeing the man in the photo, a glimpse of the resemblance; that was all it took to shatter the denial in Derrick's racing heart. He cannot believe that the Raven and the man in said photo is really his parents, but the proof is right here! He feels himself stop in the midst of thinking at the sound of her voice. The world goes cold but strangely warm as all the eyes on him rest easy at his arms around her. He did not know when the hug was returned.

"It is alright, my darling." Raven brushes his forehead with a kiss. "No more secrets. No more lies. No more fear. You are home and safe in my wings."

Sombra finally comes to his senses and smacks his lips as the mild headache dies with magic. He feels pathetic for having the human throw him over the couch with a simple burst of aura, but he had no warning. He looks up to see the Nightmare Moon and Raven at Derrick's sides as he continues to stare at the picture.

"Did I miss anything good?" he asks dumbly, shooing the nurses with a wave of his hoof.

"Just about the biggest mind fuck in history." Derrick replied, though with some sarcasm. Back then, if none of this happened so suddenly, he would be running for his life at the sight or sound of Sombra. Now, with all the instant changes to his life and person, there was no need or want to run away. Plus he does not have the energy to brave a great escape.

"Damn. And here I was hoping to see a little more drama." Sombra threw a bit of a pout at the human before receiving glares from both alicorns. Though the awkwardness of Derrick's true person coming to light is exactly what he thrives on right now, the Unicorn King could see he was not going to be in good grace much longer.

"Why did Celestia and Luna not tell me about this?" Derrick chose to hand the picture back to Raven instead of throwing it on the floor, his voice more demanding than empty. Both mares shook theirs heads.

"Neither of them know that you are her son." Nightmare Moon said as she rubbed his leg and back with her wings. She found herself unable to cease comforting the man of his stress, or whatever negative feeling he has in his system at the moment. The most she could make out is the look in his eyes saying he is having difficulty accepting the truth.

"Then again, nopony knows that the very alicorn who created darkness had a human son." Raven pointed out once their eyes locked on together after the man pondered the truth a little bit longer. Derrick relieved himself of some of the stress by sighing deeply. "The closest thing to those two knowing you are my son is by seeing you now and remembering their mother banishing you into the Void. But let's be realistic about this. Those two can't even remember to get both sides of a story before taking sides."

"Yeah, that's no kidding. I'm a prime example of it." Derrick laughed naturally for the first time in days and found himself loosening up to the dark monarchs as any damage in the room was repaired by Raven.

"At least you are alive and far away from them." the Dark Empress added, after which she tucked the picture into her wing and adjust herself so she was lying on her stomach and holding his hand, albeit with some giddiness. . . such was the common action for a mother to reassure herself that her son is really next to her and not an illusion.

"So. . . What kind of goddess are you?" Derrick asks out of curiosity. He'd seen Celestia and Luna's lineage dating back to the era of Discord's ruling, but none of showed her in it. He cocked an eyebrow at her. "I've seen Celestia and Luna's family tree, but you're not in it all. I don't remember seeing your name in the list of alicorns."

"I'm not going to be in any family tree that is part of their bloodline, because I am the Night Mother of Equus. The second alpha to the balance of light and darkness." She replied with great pride, holding her head high in the air. Derrick looked at her with a dumbfound expression as the others laughed quietly, knowing the rest of the truth will stun him.

"The Night Mother?" he questioned, and there he received a playful rub to his head by the alicorn as Sombra cleared his throat for ample opportunity to 'spill the beans.'

"Derrick. . ." he pauses to regain control of his urge to laugh at the man's obliviousness. ". . . She is the other half that created Equus. Raven is called the Night Mother because she is Creator of Darkness."

If there was ever a moment where the brain shut itself down completely, that certainly did the trick.

". . . Excuse me?" Derrick asked for clarification, to ensure that he definitely heard correctly. It was not like he was unknown to Equus having a creator or that everything starts from something. He was very educated on the subject the first moment Twilight got him in a closed room for one day of cramming Equestria's history into his head; and that is why he hardly picks up a book relating to any history.

"You heard me, boy. Raven is the goddess that helped create everything that is dark and ominous. Her special talent is not a talent at all, but the very symbol of darkness and dark magic." Sombra looked over to Raven for her approval of continuing his statement. She nodded, and he resumed with ease. "What most ponies call an Alpha and an Omega is entirely false in our world. Raven is the counterpart of Celestia and Luna's mother, Queen Faust. Their understanding of light and darkness makes them both alphas. The only difference is which side they chose in the beginning of Equus' birth."

Moving back to get a good look at the fanged mare next to him, Derrick wondered just how powerful she really is, after realizing how big of a mistake he made by threatening her, and mentally prayed for salvation.

He pointed at Raven, eyes wide while looking back and forth at her and Sombra. "You mean to tell that she is—"

"The Creator of Darkness," Sombra interrupted, causing the man to flinch before Raven took this chance to seal the deal with one last bit of information she's been holding back.

She leans into her son and taps his knee. "Which makes you the third foal of my bloodline and royal to the castle."

"A prince or a lord, whichever you prefer." Nightmare Moon chirps, before nuzzling his cheek lovingly. This is only fries his brain much more as the surprises keep happening.

"Royalty!?" Derrick screams, and then remembers the last part of Raven's statement. "Wait a minute. What do you mean by third foal!?"

"Oh dear," Raven blushes deeply at remembering the other children. "I forgot to mention that you have siblings. You were a year old when Faust banished you, but I was barely pregnant at the time of losing you and your father."

"Are you kidding me?" the man asks in a high pitched tone.

Suddenly the doors open and slams the only nurse still in room into a wall, giving her a mild concussion. Both ponies dash into the room and come to a skidding halt as the couch is levitated by Raven to return where it should be in the room. In front of the fireplace. A unicorn with many similarities to Raven, yet much younger looking than the Pegasus with red shading in the wings, startles Derrick by standing on her hind legs on leveraging on his knees.

"The guards was right, sis!" the unicorn had a feminine voice. A very feminine voice. "Look, big brother has finally come back home!"

The red mane Pegasus standing next to her little sister nodded, while holding back every single urge to pounce the man. "Easy there, squirt. Remember, the guard said he is still in pretty bad shape from having his flank kicked by those sun lovers."

"Excuse me!?" Derrick barked angrily. "I did not get my ass kicked. I got sucker punched with the Elements of Harmony and forced to run away from Canterlot."

"Did you fight back?" the female Pegasus asks with an evil grin.

". . . No."

"Then you got your flank kicked."

"Fuck you!"

"Isn't this great?" Raven chimed, clapping her hooves together as the others laughed at their pouting human. "Midnight Estelle and Crow are meeting their big brother for the first time. We're a family again."

Author's Notes:

Just in case anyone wants to know.

This is the most accurate image I could find about the two siblings Derrick now has to deal with.