/ A Powerful Presence/ Story: The Prince Of Darkness/ by ShadowStallion/-/
A knock came from the door soon after Derek and Nightmare got back to the room. Derek cracked the door open and noticed three ponies outside with cloth, tape measures, and other sewing equipment. One of them was an emerald green mare with a sapphire blue mane. Her cutie mark, two needles crossing behind a spool of thread. The other two might have been twins judging by how they looked. One was grey coat with a red mane and the other vice-versa.
"Excuse us, Derek. We are here to take your measurements and make your costume." Derek cocked an eyebrow at the group. He wasn't planning on wearing a costume for Nightmare Night.
"I hope you don't mind, sir."
"Actually I don't plan on wearing a costume, sorry about that ladies." He began to close the door until the pony in front stopped him and walked in.
Nightmare luckily did not change back to normal so she was safe. The trio began to set up their equipment.
"That's nonsense, everyone needs a costume for the holiday. You don't want the wicked mare, Nightmare Moon to get you now do you?" The mare said giggling to herself. Derek looked back at Nightmare and grinned.
"I might not mind if she did." Nightmare smiled and bit the air at him.
"You are definitely a strange one. I don't see what Celestia sees in you." The emerald pony said as she began to take measurements.
Derek let them do their work despite finding it pointless. All he wanted was to spend a night in town with his mare. They have yet to have a perfect night without something happening to them. "All done here. Anything specific you want for your costume?" Derek shook his head and stretched.
"I appreciate you taking my measurements, but I think those will only be useful for everyday clothes. I have my own set up for Nightmare Night. Thank you for your time though." The mares nodded and left the room with all their supplies. Derek turned around and saw Nightmare, in her normal form, giving him a quizzical look. She cocked her head to the side, observing him intensely.
"If you're undressing me with your eyes, you can just ask me to you know," Derek says, smirking.
"Derek... Is something going on? I can feel your magic changing. I can't tell how exactly, but it definitely feels different." Derek didn't notice anything different about himself, but if she noticed it, it must be true. The only question is why it was shifting.
Nightmare got off the bed and walked up to him. She put her hoof on his shoulder and gave him a serious, yet concerned look.
"If something is wrong I need you to tell me."
Derek embraced her lovingly before looking into her eyes. Those turquoise pools captivating him. The look in her eyes told him that she loved him and cared for him, in a way that no one ever has before. He brushed her cheek with a thumb and gave her a kiss.
"You don't have to worry about me hun. I'm fine, I promise." Nightmare accepted the answer and walked back to the bed. He didn't like lying to her, but the last thing he wanted was her to worry.
Derek walked over to the dresser and pulled a few clothes out. A black tee shirt and a pair of black pants. From the closet he grabbed his trench coat. He splayed them out on the bed and rushed outside leaving Nightmare laying down completely clueless.
He soon returned with a pair of scissors and white paint; where he got them, she had no clue. Without missing a step, he jumped in the chair in front of a desk with an attached mirror and began to cut his hair. To both of their surprise, he was doing fairly well. In truth, he was cutting his hair in semi-random spots.
Once finished, his hair was short to medium length. He grabbed the paint and rushed over to the shirt and began to carefully paint a design from memory. Because of him trying to be precise, it took about thirty minutes to complete. He held it up victoriously, obviously proud of his work. Nightmare didn't say a word, completely oblivious to what it is.
"Okay you got me, what is it?"
"The Punisher!" He said, figuratively gushing pride as he pointed at the skull design. "Not my first choice, but it's the best I can do on short notice. Do you like it?" Nightmare nodded with a smile and got up.
"It's great, but how will you introduce yourself to the community? You can't just waltz out there and say, 'Hey everypony, my name is Derek, it's a pleasure to meet you all!' We don't know how these ponies are exactly, for all we know they could be very hostile to outsiders." Derek chuckled and waved a hand at her.
"Don't worry, I have everything planned out already. Just trust me, what can go wrong?"
"Princess Celestia, we have him," A guard said as he entered a room underneath the castle. "Would you like us to bring him in?" Celestia nodded in response, looking over the damage and eyewitness reports concerning Ponyville and the human that now lives in Equestia. To put it simply, it did not look good.
The guard from before ushered Derek, who was stained head to toe in red, inside the room. His wrists and ankles were chained together to prevent escape. Derek sat down and pulled out his pack of cigarettes that they let him keep. He lit one and inhaled the smoke before blowing it out lazily. The princess continued to look over the papers in silence. She closed the folder holding the papers and looked at him.
"I'm sure you already know why you're here?" Derek nodded, clearly ashamed of what happened. "And I'm sure you know what I want you to do?" Another nod. "Go ahead and tell your side of the story, from when you left to the aftermath. Afterwards, we will decide what course of action will be taken. Begin whenever you are ready." Derek took a moment to collect himself, and get his story together. He took a drag off his cigarette and began his side of the story.
"Excited to get out there?" Derek asked Nightmare, who was cowering in the corner of the chariot in her fox form. She quickly shook her head repeatedly. Derek laughed at her and shook his head.
"You don't have to be worried Mooney, soon we won't have to hide. We will rule Equestria together, just like you wanted." She nodded hesitantly. Her terrified expression now a look of uncertainty. He gently stroked the back of her head and sighed.
"What's wrong, Nightmare?" She looked up at him.
"I've just been thinking about our goal. Lately I have been questioning what we have been working towards slowly. I'm starting to think that It's not Equestria that I need to have meaning or to feel loved. My mind has slowly began to work more towards aiming for redemption than anything else," She said before looking away and staring out the back of the chariot. "It's probably just nerves."
The silence between them became uncomfortable. Derek scooped her up into his arms and smiled as he stood up.
"Whatever you decide, I'll stand behind you on it one hundred percent. Now come on, we're here." With a devious smile, he stepped off the chariot while they were still about a hundred feet in the air.
Nightmare panicked as they rushed toward the ground at an alarming rate. She scrambled around in his arms as they neared the earth while Derek simply laughed uncontrollably like a maniac.
Once they were about ten feet away from their impending death, Derek became surrounded with purple fog that managed to slow their decent remarkably. They landed softly and he allowed the fog to dissipate soon after and studied the onlookers who had expressions of fear and curiosity. Derek set Nightmare down and put his arms in the air.
"So who wants to get skull fucked first?!" The crowd erupted in screams of terror as they all fled from the scene leaving him standing there smiling. "God I love it here."
"Well... after spending an hour or so trying to get everypony to calm down, we only get weird looks now and then," Nightmare said. Derek only chuckled before taking a drink of his cider. It took a while, but they were finally able to go to the stalls for food and drinks without being threatened to have the guards called on them. Nightmare glared at him as she pulled the drink away from him with her paw.
"This is serious, do you want anymore suspicion? We already get enough of that from Celestia and Luna. I want you to promise me you won't attract anymore attention." He looked at her with a straight face as he slowly pulled his drink back and took a drink.
"I cannot promise that. I do happen to be the only bipedal, furless creature around these parts after all." Nightmare sighed and jumped off the table.
"I'm going for a walk. I just need to think for a little bit. Go and mingle, I'll find you later." She walked passed him and walked into an alley. He wasn't exactly sure if she was mad or not. All he knew was that she needed to clear her mind, and he was going to let her do so.
He finished his drink and stood up before walking towards the crowd. He wasn't exactly one for meeting new people, let alone animals that knew how to talk, possess magic, and/or the ability to fly. Definitely a huge mind fuck in his opinion.
About an hour passed since Derek was able to finally talk to the residents and actually get some of them to like him, probably because he found an alcohol that was probably as strong as everclear. Needless to say, he was fucked up. He was the kind of drunk who, no matter who you were, you would end up loving him. The ponies he met were interesting and fun to his surprise, especially one pink party pony who definitely knew how to let loose at a party.
What made the night even more fun, was the fact that they had some sort of mini "club" that was really just a house that belonged to a deejay that lived in the town. To put it simply, the pink pony and the deejay can throw one hell of a party.
Throughout the night, Derek made some 'decent' decisions. Some of them, not clearly thought out.
"Alright you crazy bastards. For my next trick I am going to need a volunteer from the crowd. Do I have any takers?" Derek announced in a drunk stupor while tossing his knife in the air and catching it repeatedly. Due to the fact that he gained their trust and managed to get most of them to like him, multiple ponies raised their hooves and yelled for them to be chosen. Fighting to stay standing up straight, he scanned the crowd for a random pony.
"You there. What's your name lovely?" He asked as he pointed at a white pony with a curled purple mane. She introduced herself as "Rarity". He walked her over to the side of a house and placed and apple in her hoof. She gave him a confused look and went to say something but was cut off when he put a finger to her mouth.
"Ladies and gentle- whatever the fuck you call yourselves!" He began his introduction. "What I am about to perform, I would suggest you do not try at home. I am a semi trained, not so professional. But do not worry, I am only slightly tipsy." He turned back to Rarity and tossed his knife in the air, letting it spin a couple times before catching it by the handle. He spun the knife around and held it by the end of the blade before cocking his arm back preparing to throw it.
In one swift motion, he extended his arm, took the shot, and released the knife. In the blink of an eye, the blade connected with the fruit she was holding and making a loud 'thudding' sound as it impacted with the wall behind it. The sounds of clopping and cheering echoed around him as he walked up to his lovely assistant.
"Can this young lady get a round of applause?" The crowd complied and cheered for her as well. "Now for my next trick... This one is a bit different. All I've shown you is knife tricks and smoke and mirrors. I want you all to observe me, and take note that I do not have a horn," He said before removing his shirt. "And most definitely no tricks up my sleeves. What you are all about to see is magic. I know it's nothing new to any of you but keep in mind that humans cannot perform the kind." He closed his eyes and extended his arms horizontally. Slowly, he raised his hands above his head, conjuring more magic with every movement. His breath became shallow as he became lost in a trance. Within moments, clouds swirled above the town that roared like a beast out of the depths of hell. The sky became etched with lightning as if the heavens themselves were splitting open.
Sounds of cracking and shattering echoed throughout the town, only not from the above. Stares from the townsfolk slowly drifted from the sky, to the earth beneath Derek. Even the unicorns felt this strange shift in magic.
This feeling did not escape the conjurer as soon he gazed at the shattered ground beneath him. Making the grave mistake of lowering his arms to his sides, he cast his magic into the ground. Between his legs, formed a fissure that glowed like a raging fire and soon dimmed to almost black, leaving a dim blue glow.
The ponies surrounding him backed away hesitantly, unsure of what was happening. The fissure slowly opened, revealing a deep cavern.
The cavern felt empty. Not the kind of empty like nothing dwells within it, but as if there is no hope and only despair, pain and anguish. A home to the lost souls. For as long as Derek could remember, he had never been so frightened, never felt so alone, yet felt completely at home.
"What in the name of Equestria have you done?" Derek turn around and faced Luna. Despite not fearing her, and only mocking her at every encounter. He was terrified.
"I... I don't know..." He managed to stutter. "I only meant to summon a storm. I didn't mean to open the ground up."
"You did not just open the ground," Luna stated as she approached the crevice. "You opened a gate to Tarturus."
Derek gazed inside the portal, feeling drawn to it. He knelt down to try a take a closer, beginning to reach inside. As his hand got closer, a strange essence began to envelope his hand and soak in his skin. Before any more could enter him, the portal suddenly closed snapping the stream of magic.
"I suggest you return to the castle, Derek. We will speak of this tomorrow with my sister. I trust you can find your own way there."
As she flew away, Nightmare came up to him and perched herself on his shoulder. "Would like for me to teleport us home?" She asked.
"No... I think I would prefer to take a train. I've had enough magic for one night. You go on ahead, I'll meet you back at the castle."
After purchasing his ticket, he found an empty train car and took a seat. As he stared out the window, he felt a slight tingle in his left hand. He looked at his hand and noticed black spots on his fingers and on the back of his hand. He studied them close before they appeared to become liquid like and bubbled up as if being boiled. After a few seconds, the bubbling stopped only to shoot black lines up his arm, making a grid like pattern up to his neck and then his left temple. Derek couldn't help but scream in pain as he felt pressure press against his left eye. Unable to withstand the excruciating pain, he fainted.
He awoke, still on the train. He could see the castle coming into view over a mountain.
Looking down, he could see the grid had retracted to being only on his hand and forearm. Quickly realizing that something like this would raise plenty of questions especially after what happened in Ponyville, he began to panic. He stood up and backed up against the wall, below a flickering light. He had to find a way to avoid being seen, but how could he avoid an entire city?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt sick. He was to the point of almost vomiting and fell to his knees. The only thing he could think about was the bathroom in his room. The light flickered once more, leaving him in the dark just as he threw up.
He was expecting to hear the splash on the floor, only to hear it hitting water. He opened his eyes and found himself face to face with a toilet. He found himself inside his bathroom.
Coming to terms of what happened, he concluded that he transported himself back to the castle.
After regaining his composure, he got to his feet and went to the sink to wash his face. After a few splashes, he wiped his face off with a nearby towel and looked in the mirror. To his surprise, he was not looking at a familiar face. It was his, the only issue was that his left eye had turned black with white specks, looking like the night sky.
"What the hell is happening to me?"
