Derek awoke in Nightmare Moon's embrace and steady breathing. She lay there, still deep in slumber as he watched her sleep. He gently brushed her cheek with his fingers, a sensation he could never get tired of. He smiled and thought about three words: 'A fresh start.' Derek wondered how the ponies will react to his and Nightmare Moon's arrival. Was there a way to make everything okay between Nightmare Moon and the rest of the ponies? He slowly made his way out of the bed, careful not to wake Nightmare Moon.

He put on a pair of grey pants and his boots before making his way outside. The autumn air had a slight nip to it but was bearable. Derek turned his head to the east towards the rising sun.

The sun was rising behind a large mountain, silhouetting them along with what looked like a city on the side. To him, the city raised some questions. He wondered what it would be like to live there instead of the forest. Derek liked forests, but one can take so much of a forest before deciding to say, 'the hell with it'.

Derek pulled out his pack of cigarettes and went to grab one. Before he could grab one, however, he felt something small bump against his hand. Derek looked at his hand, a purple mist was forming at his finger tips. Out of curiosity, he pointed at the cigarette and focused. He figured that if he thought about what he wanted it to do, it would happen. And sure enough, it worked..in excess. The next thing he knew, his cigarette rocketed towards the sky, disappearing out of sight. "Well, that could have gone better."

----------------------------------------------scene change--------------------------------------

Nightmare awoke reaching her hoof out and grasping nothing. She rose out of bed, not caring for her disheveled mane. Slowly opening her eyes she scanned the room for her missing bed-mate. Stretching her limbs, with an occasional wing flap she made her way out of bed. She walked outside and was met by Derek who was staring towards the sky. Making her way towards him she said, "Good morning."

"Good morning," Derek replied.

Nightmare Moon was now standing next to him and began to stare towards the sky as well. They both stood there for some time, silence.

An occasional wing flap, some breathing, more silence.

Several minutes go by...more silence.

"What are we waiting for?" Nightmare asked, breaking the silence.

"My cigarette. I launched it in the air on accident. Just learned I can do magic."

Silence returns...with a vengeance.

Derek breaks the silence.

"Hey Mooney?"

"Hmm?"

"What is that castle place on the mountain?"

"Canterlot," Nightmare said with a disgusted tone. "The home of the snobbish ponies and the rulers of Equestria."

"By rulers you mean Celestia and Luna?" Nightmare nodded without saying a word. "Perfect." Nightmare was taken aback by his choice of words. She wanted to question him but couldn't find the words when she noticed him already dressed. He wore a tan undershirt and a blue-grey button up shirt over it. Derek turned his attention away from the sky and began walking east.

"Where do you think you're going?" Derek turned towards her and smiled.

"Well I figured that I would pay them a visit. You know, be a friendly neighbor and junk," Derek said with matter of fact tone.

"Nope. No no no! There is no way in Tartarus that you are going anywhere near that place. You would have to be completely insane to even think about it."

"I thought you liked crazy?"

"There is a difference between crazy and messed up in the head." She simply stated.

"Then I'm one messed up mother fucker," Derek said, still wearing his cocky smile. Nightmare shook her head in defeat and began to walk away. "Tell you what, if it makes you feel better, you can come with me."

"And now you belong in an asylum. You do realize that everyone on the face of this planet knows and hates me right?"

"Exactly my point. They hate you particularly. But if you're not you..." Nightmare raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I'm listening, what are you getting at?"

"Just follow my instructions and you'll be perfect."

"...I feel completely ridiculous," Nightmare said as she swished her new fluffy tail in annoyance.

"Come on, Mooney, you are adorable!" Derek exclaimed. She followed his orders exactly and became a certain animal, a fox.

She kept her normal black color but her tail faded into the blue color of her armor. Her eyes were no longer slivers but still remained teal.

"How will this help? If I go anywhere near Luna she will sense me right away."

"That's why you stick with me. When I was kidnapped, she felt your energy inside me. As long as we're together, she will dismiss it to the magic being from me. It's a fool proof plan, admit it." Nightmare sighed in defeat once again.

"I suppose you're right." She jumped up on his shoulders and coiled herself around the back of his neck.

"Look on the bright side babe, now you really are a foxy lady." She lightly growled and nipped his ear. He loved how he could mess with her. He gently patted her head and started walking.

As the edge of the forest came into view, Derek could feel Nightmares claws dig into his skin, he could feel her heart race faster with every step closer. Derek couldn't understand why she was so terrified. The best he could do was hold her close.

They reached the edge of the forest and stared down at Ponyville. His mind began to wander, wondering what kind of foods they had. Maybe they had giant steaks so tender they just fall off the bone. Delicious chicken that makes your mouth water with each bite... He continued thinking about food without noticing the quite angry fox that was clutched to his chest.

"DEREK!" He was snapped out of his trance and looked at Nightmare, who had a wet spots all over her head. "Thanks for drooling on me, but can we just get this over with before I change my mind?" Derek nodded and raced down the hill towards the town.

It was midday so all the ponies were out doing business or just hanging out. Derek slowed to a walk as not to startle the ponies. Despite him walking up to the town, no one noticed him. They all went about their day without a care in the world.

"Stop right there." A voice called out before Derek could get any closer to town. Derek turned around and smiled at the guard before him. It was the same guard who was getting rough with him when he was kidnapped. The guard was walking up to him with a glare harder than stone.

"Why hello sir, how are you this lovely evening?" The guards glare didn't soften, it seemed to harden. "You seem pissed... do you need a hug?" Derek held his arms out to the side as if going in for a hug. The guard took out a piece of paper and a pen before writing a note. Once he signed the letter, he tore it in half and it burst into flames. After a long silence, a gold chariot landed close by with two other guards pulling it.

"You are coming to Canterlot to answer to her majesty, princess Celestia. Come quietly or we will use force." Derek shrugged and climbed aboard. He stretched and sat down, facing out the back. Nightmare was not sure what he was up to exactly, she just hoped it was worth it.

Derek hugged her and kissed her head before whispering in her ear. "Just as planned love."

The long hallway lined with stained glass windows was captivating to the eye. Derek and Nightmare were in complete awe. From the marble floors to the high ceiling covered in art, all was incredible. Both of them were so distracted that they barely realized that they entered the throne room. They were snapped out of their trance by Celestia clearing her throat.

"Celly! Lunatic! It's so great to see you." Celestia simply brought her hoof up to her forehead while Luna growled at him, baring her teeth. Amused at her behavior, Derek winked at Luna which made her glare harder.

"Derek... what did you do?" Celestia asked, still with her face placed against her hoof.

"Nothing really, just decided to take a stroll into town. Mingle with the ponies you know. That is until that waffle over here stopped me." Derek said, gesturing to said guard who stopped him. "I didn't want to be cooped up in such an unforgiving forest filled with monstrosities." He said, being over dramatic as he stepped closer to Celestia.

"Please your royal highness, I'll even beg your royal hind ass if I must. Don't send me back to the forest." Celestia rose from her throne and approached one of the many windows in the room. She stood there silent and still for some time.

"Do you promise to obey what I say." She finally spoke up.

"Oh yes massa, I'll be a good boy."

"Do you promise not to question my authority?" Derek replied with a simple yes, knowing that he was getting somewhere. She turned towards him and slowly walked up to him.

"Very well then, you may stay here in the castle. But you have one month to find a job so you can find your own place to live. Stonewall here will show you to your room." Derek mentally cheered as he succeeded. Celestia trusts him enough to allow him to stay in the castle. Just as planned.

"Isn't this amazing babe," Derek said as he jumped on the bed. "We are actually in Canterlot. Now we can move forward with whatever you have planned. Isn't this what you wanted?" Nightmare blinked a few times before it finally clicked. She completely forgot about Canterlot since she was so busy being focused on Derek. Even after all they went through, he still wanted her goal to be accomplished.

Soon after they made it to their room, Nightmare regained her normal form and casted a sound barrier. Not so much as to secretly converse their plan, but to be intimate. She looked out the window at the rest of the city. The sun was beginning to set. She could see the last of the ponies begin to head home or to whatever they had planned.

"Yeah, it is what I want." She told him in a calm voice. She gently lied down and closed her eyes. It was nice having a bed that wasn't torn to shreds. The soft cotton against her was comforting. The only thing that was more comforting was having Derek wrap his arm around her, just as he was doing so now.

He gently brushed his fingers against her fur and kissed her neck. She huddled up to him and smiled. "I'm not going to lie, it's a little unsettling being her. Being so close to the enemies."

"Don't worry babe, It will only get better from now on."

Author's Note

Yes, I know it's a shorter chapter but at least its a chapter update. For those of you who don't read comments, I will be putting the story on hiatus for a bit. But I'm not going to just leave you all hanging, I want to do something fun, possibly a Q/A or if any of you want to: a Game night! If any of you are interested, let me know in the comments or a PM.

until next time and stay classy my friends!