Dimensions

I'm having some writers block on Pinkamena, so I've decided to go ahead and start on this. Yes it's human-in-Equestria, but hopefully it's better than most others. Enjoy.

The sun shined brightly down on the small town of Ponyville, where life carried out as usual. Very little could ever disturb the peace of the town, and even if something did, the problem would soon be taken care of by the towns "protectors", a group that residents called The Six. The Six represented the Elements of Harmony, and in extension, the diversity of Ponyville. However, on that day, something was about to occur, an event that not even the Six could stop.

The town center bustled with life that day, as many ponies flooded it in an attempt to get to the many market places and street vendors it contained. Twilight Sparkle stood in the center of the chaos, watching in amusement. All this trouble for some supplies she thought merrily. They could at least be more orderly. As Twilight contemplated the many ways she could use her organization skills to help move things along, a small rumbling began. At first, no one noticed it, but then rumbling began to grow, and soon, entire buildings were shaking. The ground cracked as ponies, realizing what danger they were in, ran from the square to safer ground. Twilight was among these ponies when a large white flash filled the square. Turning towards the center of the square, Twilight saw a spinning white orb levitating off the ground. The unicorn felt a large burst of magic fill her, and it took all of her might not to lose conciseness. Falling to her knees, Twilight felt the magical wave reach out in all directions, before suddenly, it was sucked back into the orb, which was getting brighter and brighter. Twilight covered her eyes, and started to back away, when the orb exploded.

The shockwave lifted Twilight off her feet and sent her crashing into a vendors' cart. A blinding white light filled Ponyville, followed by a delayed BANG! Curling up into a ball, Twilight waited until the noise and light had faded, before gingerly getting to her feet. Looking around, she saw the devastation the blast had caused. Some buildings were missing walls, some were completely collapsed, while others were barely scratched. In the center of the town square, directly under where the orb used to be, a smoke filled crater had appeared. Twilight began to approach the crater, but stopped when she put her hoof down and felt a strange sticky substance. Looking down, the unicorn saw many cracks in the ground that led directly to the crater. Each crack was filled with a black goo which seemed to flow into the smoking hole. Twilight could immediately sense that the goo was magical, but it was a magic she had never felt before. This magic was violent and untamed compared to the Equestrian magic she was used to. Shaking her head in confusion, Twilight made her way to the crater. She stared into the hole, trying to see through the smoke. Suddenly, a strange object popped out. Twilight backed up quickly, and watched as the object moved around. From what Twilight could tell, the object looked very similar to the paw of a monkey, except this certain item was hairless and rather pink.

The "paw" or whatever it was planted itself into the ground, and was quickly joined by another. The two "paws" groped around for a bit, before finally grabbing hold of a lamppost that had somehow survived. There was a grunting noise from within the crater, one which sounded deep and frightened Twilight. Backing up slightly, she bumped into another pony, and realized that a crowd had gathered. The crowd watched as the "paws" strained, and a strange being hauled itself to the street. The being wore the tattered remains of what looked like clothes, and was incredibly large. It used the lamppost as a crutch as it propped itself up, and that's when Twilight got a good view of it. The thing resembled a monkey heavily, but there were some major differences, mainly, the fact that it seemed almost hairless, save for a shaggy ling mane that fell from the top of its head to its shoulders, and its size. From what Twilight could tell, her eyes only went up to the .creature's midsection. The thing coughed a couple of times, before opening it's eyes.

The being looked out onto the crowd of ponies, who in return stared back upon him. The thing seemed confused, and looked at the face of each pony, before it saw Twilight. It's gaze froze upon her, and it's mouth slightly dropped. The creature slowly approached Twilight, who was frozen in fear. The thing stopped right in front of her, and dropped to one knee, so it was face to face with her. It studied her features for a second, before it said "Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight simply nodded, dumbfounded at how it knew her name. This seemed to shock the creature. "Well I'll be damned, I'm in Equestria." The creature said, before its eyes rolled back up into it's head, and it collapsed on the ground. Twilight sat there, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, another bright flash occurred, and Princess Celestia appeared. Looking down upon the creature, the Princess muttered a swear, before turning to her pupil. "Twilight Sparkle, run and tell your friend Fluttershy to prepare a bed. She is going to have a patient in a minute." Twilight shook herself out of her daze, before looking at the princess. "Princess.." The princess cut her off. "There will be time for questions later. Right now, we have to save this creature." Twilight nodded, before turning and galloping towards Fluttershy's cottage. "Oh, Twilight!" The princess called, stopping Twilight in her tracks. "Tell Fluttershy she'll need a rather large bed!" Twilight nodded, and resumed her run.

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Princess Celestia carefully lowered the strange creature onto the bed that Fluttershy had prepared. Despite it being her larges bed, it seemed awfully small for the thing. Fluttershy immediately descended onto her new patient, and began to clean and bandage its wounds. "Come Twilight, let us leave them in peace." The two left the room, and walked into the main room of the cottage. "Princess, what in Equestria is going on?" Twilight asked. "Soon, Twilight, soon. First, we must assemble your friends. They're going to need to hear this as well.

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Five ponies, a dragon, and a princess all sat in Fluttershy's cottage, waiting for the shy pegasus to finish washing up after spending roughly an hour working on her "guest". Soon, all of the Six sat in the room, and then Princess Celestia started. "I'm sure you all have questions. Some I will be able to answer, some I wont. Please, feel free to ask." Twilight immediately started. "Princess, what is that thing?" Twilight didn't expect an honest answer, if there would be one at all, but her mentor surprised her. "The creature is a human. A teenage male human to be exact." Still, Twilight wasn't satisfied. "Where does it come from? I'm not a biologist, but I'm certain there are no humans in Equestria!" Again, the Princess from surprisingly blunt. "There aren't any humans in Equestria. They live in different dimension than we do." This time is was Applejack who spoke. "Uh, princess, what is a hoo-man 'r whatever y'all called it doin' here?" Celestia shook her head. "I honestly do not know, Applejack, but whatever the reason it can't be good. Humans aren't capable of traveling between dimensions, at least through the means that this particular one took." "And what means did this one choose, Princess?" Rarity was the asker this time. "Magic, Rarity. This human came here through magical means, which is by far the biggest concern of this event. Now, I suggest we all go get some rest. We will meet back here around 10, to further discuss what has occurred." There was some grumbling from Rainbow Dash, who was obviously itching to do something about the human. It didn't sit well with the cyan pegasus that the strange creature had blown up a large part of Ponyville. The princess paid little mind to her restlessness, and walked briskly from the cottage. Before she could leave, Twilight caught up with her.

"Princess!" Twilight called. "Yes, Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight approached the sun goddess. "That thing…the human. When it came out of the crater, it looked at me as if it recognized me. It knew my name." Princess Celestia seemed slightly shocked at the revelation. "You're sure about this?" Twilight nodded. "It came up to me and said "Twilight Sparkle?" I nodded, and then it said "I'm in Equestria" or something like that. Then it fainted." The princess sighed. "Thank you for telling me this Twilight." Twilight turned to go back inside, but stopped. "Before the human appeared, when there was that levitating orb thing. I felt a surge of magic, but it wasn't like any magic I've ever felt." The princess looked at Twilight strangely. "You felt it too?" The Princess nodded. "It seems your more in touch with magic than I thought Twilight Sparkle. Yes, I felt it too." Twilight smiled a bit at the compliment. "What was it?" The princess turned around, and faced Ponyville. "It was magic from the human's home. I haven't felt that type of magic in a very long time, and never in such a large amount." The princess looked back at Twilight. "Stay with Fluttershy. If the human wakes before we meet again, send for me." A bright flash temporarily blinded Twilight. When the spots had cleared, she looked, and saw that the princess was gone.

Slowly, his senses came back to him. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was in a small, quaint room. There was very little furniture, save for a small bedside table, a chair, and the bed itself, which he just realized was what he was laying on. Groaning, he sat up, and immediately regretted it as a sharp pain shot up his back. He threw off the covers, and saw that his legs and midsection were heavily bandaged, and stained with what looked like blood. Huh. he thought. Don't remember getting hurt. He grabbed a hold of the bed post, and slowly got to his feet. Pain continued to lance up his body, but he ignored it. As he stood, he noticed that the room wasn't just small, it was unnaturally small. The bed was small, the chair was small, everything was small. So…my rescuers are midgets. he thought. He limped over to the chair, and grabbed his jeans, which were hanging over the back. As he put them on, he again noticed something weird. His jeans seemed to be slightly melted. There were massive holes, and the buttons were all mutated looking. However, they still managed to do their job, so he just decided to go with it. Now where the hell's my shirt. He looked all over the room, but it was no where to be found. Damn. Shaking his head, he turned, and realized that he hadn't noticed the window, which was covered up by the blinds. He walked over, and opened them. What he saw made him gasp. It was dark out, but there was still enough light to illuminate some of the outside. What the fuck? Everything seemed different, almost other-worldly. The trees seemed to perfect, the sunset seemed to beautiful, but that wasn't the weirdest part. What truly amazed him was that the place seemed familiar. He couldn't figure it out, but he felt like he had been here.

Deciding that he needed to get out of the room, he walked over to the door, but found that it was locked. However, all it took was a few good jerks, and he was out. He walked outside the bedroom, and found himself in hallway. Just like the bedroom, it was oddly small. He saw a door way, where most of the light was coming from, and decided to go thank his caretakers. He walked towards the doorway, and turned into it. He stopped, and stared. Right in front of him were six ponies and a small purple dragon, who were all looking at him in fear. They stared in silence for what seemed like an eternity, before he finally broke the silence. "Have any of you seen my shirt?" Fluttershy then promptly fainted. He shrugged. "I'll take that as a no."

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The cottage was feeling rather cramped, as now there were nine total occupants in it, and one was much too large for it. When Celestia had arrived, and Fluttershy had been revived, the interrogation began. "What is your name, human?" Celestia asked. "Derek." he responded. "So Derek, how did you manage to get here?" He shrugged. "Honestly, Princess Celestia, I don't have a clue." Applejack gave Derek a confused look. "How'd you know her name? Ah can't recall her givin' it to ya!" Pinkie Pie almost flew off the couch. "OOH! YOUR GOOD AT GUESSING GAMES, RIGHT? Cause I am too, and if you're good at guessing games, then we can guess stuff about each other, and have one big long super ginormous guessing game, which would start now since I'm guessing that you're good at guessing, which is weird because-" "PINKIE PIE!" Rainbow Dash screamed. Derek smiled. "Sorry Pinkie, I know her name because I'm a brony, which is why I know all of your names too." Rainbow Dash flew up to Derek so her face was right up against his. "Oh yeah, well who am I?" Derek gently pushed the pegasus away from his face, before going on. "Well, you're Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria, who is the only pony that can perform the Sonic Rainboom. Speaking of which, when are you going to audition for the Wonderbolts?" Rainbow Dash looked a bit taken back. "Oh, I don't know, um, I'm not quite sure when auditions are or if their taking anyone new right now."

Twilight shook her head, then asked "You said something, that you were a brony. What's a brony?" Derek opened his mouth to speak, but Celestia cut him off. "A fan." Derek couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes. "So, you know about us. I suppose that means you know where I come from then." The Princess nodded. "You are from the planet you call Earth, which is located in another dimension." Now Derek seemed truly surprised. "Hold on, dimension? You mean I traveled through dimensions?" Celestia nodded again. "How?" "Magic." Derek paused. "Magic? I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I don't think humans can use magic. Or if there even is magic in my dimension." Celestia gave him a hard look. "Oh, there is magic where you come from. In fact, humans used to be able to control and wield it. But that was a long time ago, and they have since lost that ability. Or so I thought." The princess stood up. "I don't believe that Derek purposely came here, so something must have happened in his dimension. Twilight, Derek, come with me. The rest of you, try to get some food ready, we're going to need it." Twilight followed the Celestia with Derek close behind. 'What are we doing, Princess?" She asked. The princess gave a cold smile. "We're going to visit his dimension."

Chapter 2

Princess Celestia led her two followers outside of Fluttershy's cottage and into an empty field. The trio walked in silence, with both Derek and Twilight confused on what exactly the princess was doing. Visit his dimension? Twilight thought. Can she actually do that? What magic would you need to do something like that? Meanwhile, Derek trudged along, also lost in thought. So, I'm in Ponyville, I have no idea how I got here, I'm still in human form so clearly that Dr. Whooves fanfic stuff doesn't exist, or at least isn't working for some weird reason, and right now I'm walking with Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia. Oh, and I have no shirt. He shook his head. Well, least I'm not in the Cupcakes universe….I hope. Both Twilight and Derek were abruptly jolted out of thought when Princess Celestia suddenly stopped walking. "This will do." she said grimly. She turned to face her followers. "Now, I need both of you to listen very carefully, especially you Twilight. What I am about to do is very complex and dangerous magic, and I forbid you from trying it as long as I rule this land. Understand?" Twilight nodded. "Good. I know you're both wondering why I brought you along. Twilight, you first. I am about to open up a portal to Derek's dimension. I need you to be my anchor." Twilight raised her eyebrows. "Your…anchor?" Celestia nodded. "Yes. I will be going through the portal, and I need another magical being to hold me down in this dimension so that I may return in one piece." Twilight gulped. "Princess, I'm not sure if I can do hat. It sounds like it's very complicated magic, and I don't know if I'm good enough to-" Celestia held up a hoof, silencing Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, you are the third most gifted magic user in Equestria, behind me and my sister. I appreciate the modesty, but I completely trust in your abilities." Twilight hesitated, but then agreed. "Alright, I'll do it."

The princess smiled down at her student, then turned to Derek. "As for you, I brought you along for two reasons. One, if we manage to open the portal and find that all is well where you come from, you shall be returned to your home." Derek nodded, though a bit sadly. Damn. I was hoping to do some stuff with Rainbow Dash first. Maybe arm wrestle her…would I win that? Human v.s Pony arm wrestle… "Second" Celestia snapped him out of it. "If we find that something has happened and we cannot return you, we will need you to help get us back to Fluttershy's. I have been doing magic for over a thousand years, and this spell still takes it out of me." At that, Celestia offered a slight grin. Derek gave a mock salute. "Your will is my command, oh great unicorn-pegasus thingy." Twilight glared daggers at him, but Celestia merely smiled, before she turned around, and lowered her head. Twilight came over to Derek, while Celestia closed her eyes in concentration. "I can't believe you said that to her!" Twilight whispered. Derek smiled. "I thought it was funny. Besides, I doubt it bothered her that much, considering what she has done for the lolz." Twilight gave Derek a confused look. "The what?" Derek waved a hand. "Nevermind, let's just let her do her spell thing, okay?" Twilight grunted a response.

The two sat for what seemed like ages, but was only five minutes or so, before Celestia spoke. "Twilight" she whispered, her horn glowing brightly. "Come here and touch your horn to mine." Twilight obeyed, and carefully approached the princess until they were facing each other. Twilight could see that the princess was concentrating greatly to do this spell, which scared her. If she's having a hard time, how will I do any better? Closing her eyes, Twilight cast her doubt aside, and placed her horn against Celestia's. Immediately, Twilight felt the powerful magic wash over her. The magic was strange, and tried to escape in any direction, but Twilight held onto it, afraid of what would happen should she let it go. The battle within continued for a few seconds, before a soft woosh sound filled the air. The magic suddenly stopped resisting, and grabbed a hold of Twilight. She let out a small gasp, before the magic completely washed over her.

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Derek stood, watching in confusion. The moment Twilight Sparkle had touched her horn to Princess Celestia's, there had been a brief flash, before Celestia had simply been swept up in a glowing white orb. Twilight sat on the ground, her eyes wide open, but they were unseeing, shrouded in the veil of magic. Her horn glowed brightly, and sweat rolled down her body. Derek, unsure of what to do, sat down in the soft grass. Wish someone—er, somepony would tell me what the hell is going on. He thought bitterly. Suddenly, a woosh filled his ears, almost as if the air had been sucked out of the space. Derek blinked, and saw that the glowing white orb that had contained Celestia was gone. He looked at Twilight, slightly scared that maybe she had failed, and saw that she was still the same. A few seconds later, his worries doubled. The white orb burst into the area where it had been a few seconds before with a loud blast of noise. The orb then quickly evaporated, dropping a limp Celestia to the ground. The moment the orb disappeared, Twilight let out a large breath of air, and collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Derek ran over to make sure Twilight was okay, before slowly approaching the princess. He kneeled down beside her, and gently nudged her. "Princess?" He asked softly. "Princess, are you okay?" Hearing no reply, Derek placed his head on her chest, and felt for the rise and fall of breathing. At first, it seemed as if there was no air entering the sun goddess's body, but eventually, he felt her chest rise with an inhale, and lower as the air was released.

Thank god. He thought. Standing up, Derek looked down at the princess and her student. Guess this is where I become useful. Sighing, Derek leaned down and grabbed a hold of Celestia's midsection. He braced himself, then, with all the strength he could muster, he lifted her up. Derek nearly fell over completely. Celestia had simply no weight at all, and she had risen like a feather in a breeze. Surprised, Derek put the princess over his shoulder, and walked over to Twilight Sparkle. This may be easier than I thought! He said to himself happily, before putting one arm around Twilight and lifting. That was when he learned a valuable lesson about pony biology. A pegasus is light because they need to fly, so they must be light. Hence, that is why Celestia was so light, she is part pegasus. Unicorns, however, have no need to be light, since they do not fly. Even seemingly small unicorns like Twilight are heavier that expected. Derek barely managed to get the diminutive purple unicorn on his shoulder, and that action alone cause some considerable grunting. "Fucking hell, Twilight, why are you so goddamn heavy!" He said through gritted teeth as he began his journey back towards Fluttershy's cottage.

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Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity all stood in Fluttershy's kitchen, preparing a large amount of carrots and other vegetables. "What you suppose tha' princess will be needin' all this here food for? Applejack asked in her usual southern drawl. "Beats me, I just hope that they're okay. I don't trust that human, Derek or whatever his name is." Rarity put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. 'Relax, darling, Princess Celestia is with them, I'm sure that if he tried anything, she could handle it. Besides, he seemed like a good fellow to me!" Fluttershy smiled. "Yeah, he seemed…nice." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "C'mon guys, you always say that. Don't you think it's a little weird, that, I dunno, he's from a different dimension and knows a lot about us but we no nothing about him!" Applejack snorted. "Ah do find it a bit curious ah s'pose, but if the princess is fine with him, ah ain't gonna complain." Before any further words could be said, a large pounding on the door startled them. Fluttershy cautiously walked to the door, and looked through the peep hole, before letting out a small gasp, and throwing the door wide open. Derek stood in the doorway, panting and covered in sweat, with Princess Celestia draped over one shoulder, Twilight over the other. "What in tarnation!" Applejack exclaimed, before running over to help. Derek walked up to the couch, and dumped the princess off his shoulder, before turning and giving Twilight to Applejack.

Fluttershy ran to her back room, and soon returned with medical supplies. The pegasus quickly figured out that Twilight was out due to exhaustion, and told Rarity to stay by her side should she wake up. Next, Fluttershy flew over to Derek, who was slumped against a wall, his eyes closed. It was obvious that he was dehydrated and slightly disoriented, and his wounds from when he had appeared were festering, so she re-bandaged them, and had Rainbow Dash and Applejack stay with him and give him water, as those two probably the only ones that could handle him should he get violent. Finally, there was Celestia. The princess looked battered, and was covered in minor scrapes and bruises. The princess looked surprisingly pale for a pony with a white coat, and her breathes came out ragged. Other than that, Fluttershy could find nothing wrong with her. Rarity looked over from where Twilight lay, her gaze disturbed by the site of the princess. "Will she be alright darling?" Rarity asked Fluttershy softly. The pegasus nodded. "They all will. We just wait for them to come around. That's all we can do really." Rarity nodded, then went back to softly stroking Twilight's mane as a mother would to a sick child. Fluttershy smiled slightly at the sight, then turned to look at Derek, who was now on his feet.

He was holding onto a chair for support, his face twisted in a grimace as his wounds oozed blood. He looked at Twilight and the princess, concern spreading across his face. Rainbow Dash floated up next to him. "What happened?" She asked, an icy tone in her voice. Derek sighed. "Celestia tried to open up a portal to my dimension. She needed Twilight to be her anchor or something, I'm not really sure. They touched horns, and then there was this really weird glowing orb thing that just kinda swept Celestia up and disappeared with her. Twilight's eyes were all glowing and she just kinda sat there." Derek winced as his stomach hit the edge of the chair. "A second later, the orb came back, and dumper Celestia out like that. Twilight passed out right after it disappeared. I picked them both up and carried them back." Rarity gave him an odd look. "Both of them at the same time?" Derek nodded. "Celestia wasn't bad, I think it's cause she's part pegasus or something, but damn, you unicorns are heavy!" Applejack gave a small laugh. "Well, just be thankin' your lucky stars it was a unicorn that was out and not an earth pony like me or Pinkie! We're 'bout two tahmes as heavy as a unicorn!" Derek paused. "Speaking of which…where is Pinkie?" As if on cue, Pinkie Pie burst through the front door, carrying boxes and boxes of sweets. Her proud smile quickly disappeared as she saw the scene before her, Twilight and the Princess both passed out, and the human looking like a war veteran. She ran to the table in the kitchen at a speed that put Rainbow Dash to shame, then ran back, and immediately started talking. "WHAT HAPPENED? ARE THEY ALRIGHT? WHO DID THIS?" Once again, it was Rainbow Dash who cut her off. "Pinkie!" She yelled. The pink pony stopped and stared at Rainbow Dash. "Thanks. They're just unconscious, they'll be fine. Celestia apparently tried to go to Derek's dimension, and it went south. That's all we know." Pinkie seemed a bit uneasy, but accepted Rainbow's answer. Derek leaned over and whispered to Rainbow Dash, "She's kind of scary when she's upset isn't she?" Rainbow snorted. "You have no idea…or maybe you do.." she looked at him, amused. He gave a weak smile, before deciding that unless he wanted to black out from the extraordinary pain in his abdominal region, he should sit down again. Plopping down in the chair that had been his crutch, he soon realized that even sitting down, he was slipping, and soon gave up resisting, allowing his tired mind to drift into the comforting darkness.

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Twilight Sparkle cracked her eye open a slight bit, and saw the odd scene that lay before her. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were curled up in the middle of the floor, Rainbow Dash was resting her head on one of Derek's legs, who was sprawled out in a chair, and Rarity was using Twilights stomach as a pillow. Directly across from her, in another couch, lay Princess Celestia. All of the beings in the room, save for Twilight, were asleep. She felt something lying on her leg, and deduced it was Spike. Moving slowly so she wouldn't wake the others, she got up and stepped onto the floor. She turned, and gently lifted Rarity onto the couch that had previously hosted Twilight. She then grabbed Spike, and put him next to Rarity, giving him a little kiss on the forehead as she did so. She smiled as Spike snuggled up to Rarity, and laughed a bit when she thought about what his reaction would be when he woke up. You can thank me later! She thought. Moving silently to the kitchen, Twilight glanced out the window, and saw, to her surprise, that the sun was slowly making it's way up the sky, and replacing the moon. Luna must be handling it. Princess Celestia probably told her she might not be able to do it today. Twilight had always known that Princess Luna, Celestia's little sister, could do the same thing that Celestia had done in Luna's 1000 year absence, specifically raise the sun and the moon, but it still surprised her to see it actually happening. Twilight shrugged, and began to make herself some breakfast, before noticing that she was no longer alone.

Twilight turned and saw Princess Celestia sitting at the kitchen table, staring silently out the window. In all honesty, Twilight was a little creeped out at the site of the princess in such a state. Finishing her morning salad, Twilight sat down across from her mentor, and began to eat. Celestia paid little mind to the purple unicorn, in fact, she barely acknowledged he existence. Finally, Twilight spoke. "What happened?" She whispered. "What did you see?" Celestia finally looked at her student, and Twilight could see tears in her eyes. It was a few moments before the princess finally managed to speak. "I saw…nothing. Derek's dimension…it's gone." Tears streamed down the princess' face as she said those words, and her gaze shifted towards Derek. Twilight mulled the words over in her mind. "Gone? How can a dimension just go away?" Celestia took a deep breath to try and contain herself. "It looks as if it was destroyed. I'm not sure how or why, but something annihilated that dimension completely." Twilight turned her gaze to Derek as well, who was starting to stir. "What does it mean, Princess?" Celestia sighed. "It means we have a human who no longer has a home, and very well may be the most powerful being in Equestria on our hooves." Twilight, once again confused, shot Celestia a look. The princess continued. "No matter how it happened, when Derek's universe was destroyed, all the magic in that universe tried to find a way out. It all centered in on point, and when it was all there, it went to a different dimension. It just so happens that the point the magic chose is sleeping in Fluttershy's living room." Twilight shook her head. "So he has access to all of his dimensions magic?" Celestia nodded, which cause Twilight to sigh. "What are we going to tell him?" Princess Celestia, goddess of the sun, ruler of Equestira, a pony known for her elegance and grace, looked at Twilight, and shrugged. "I don't have a clue. How do you tell somepony that everyone and everything he knew is gone completely?" Twilight continued to gaze at the human, who was now waking up. "I'll handle it." She said, confidence in her voice. "After all, if he is a fan of us, he might take it better. Ill take him outside and tell him. You inform the others." With that, Twilight Sparkle stood up, washed her bowl, and walked out into the living room, where Derek was now on his feet. "Hi, Derek, mind if we go for a walk?" Twilight asked. The sleepy human nodded, and followed Twilight out the door.

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"What the fuck do you mean, gone?" Derek asked. He was sitting on a rock outside of Ponyville, his hands in his hair, tears filling his eyes. Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. "Gone. Destroyed, no longer in existence. All of it." Derek put his face in his hands as tears fell to the ground. "Is she sure of it?" Twilight nodded. Derek shook his head, and started rocking back and forth. "God dammit." He muttered. "Who did it?" Twilight looked down. "We don't know who. We don't even know how." Derek stood up and began to pace. Twilight could see the pain in his face, both physical and emotional, as he walked, muttering to himself. Suddenly, Derek spun, and grabbed the rock that they had been sitting on. Twilight jumped to her feet before anything bad could happen to her, and watched as Derek lifted the rock out of the ground, and hurl it far into the air as if there were no weight to it at all. Twilight knew that Derek was strong, but there was something unnatural about how easily he had performed the deed. When he turned and faced Twilight, for a brief second it looked as if his eyes were completely jet black, but then he blinked, and he was normal, though he was still extremely agitated and emotional. Twilight waited for him to calm down a bit more, before she told him the next piece of big news. "We think we may have figured out how you got into Equestria." Derek stopped, which Twilight took as an incentive to continue. "When your dimension was destroyed, all of the magic that it had within itself tried to escape. It focused in on one point, and then traveled to a different dimension. You were that point. When it traveled through dimensions it must have pulled you with it, and eventually you just appeared here." Twilight took a deep breath. "We think that all of the magic of our dimension is inside of you, which according to the Princess, is a lot of powerful magic." Derek at this point was staring at Twilight intently, trying to comprehend everything that had been said.

"So basically, you're telling me that I have no home, we don't know why I no longer have a home or who took said home away, and I am now one of the more powerful beings around?" Twilight nodded. "Wonderful. Does marijuana grow in Equestria?" Twilight stared at him. "What's marijuana?" Derek grimaced. "Something that would help with these god damn bandages. They itch like hell! You know what? Fuck it, Fluttershy can deal, I'm taking these damn things off." Derek grabbed a hold of his bandages, and with one strong pull, ripped them off. Throwing the dirty wraps down, he inspected his wounds. "Hey! Look, their gone!" He said excitedly. He looked at Twilight, but saw that she was staring at his chest, above where his wounds had been. Following her gaze, he saw what she was staring at. It was a pair of what looked like the tips of eagle wings, except very large, tattooed on his chest. He had never noticed them because of the bandages. He walked up to a small pond, and turned around. The wings started from his shoulder blades, and went up over his shoulders, where it went down to about his groin. The tattoo was very detailed, with each feather very well defined.

"What is that?" Twilight asked in awe. "A tattoo that I do not have any memory of getting." Twilight approached him. "What do you think it's there for then?" Derek shrugged, but an odd grin spread across his face. "Who knows." He said slyly. "Maybe it means I can fly."

Chapter 3

I might try to work on Pinkamena this weekend if I can. Either way, enjoy!

Derek looked down at Twilight Sparkle, a huge smile on his face. He had climbed up a tree, and was preparing to jump. "Are you sure about this, Derek?" Twilight shouted up to him. "No, not at all!" he yelled back. "I got these things for something though, and since I'm apparently a super powerful being, I say why the hell not?" His laugh echoed loudly, and Twilight could detect a slightly insane feature in it. "Umm, okay, just stay there for a minute! I'm going to go get something from Fluttershy's!" Derek nodded in acknowledgement. Twilight turned and sprinted back to the cottage, her mind racing. Good job Twilight, you drove the human with all his dimensions magic at his fingertips insane. Maybe now we can turn Princess Celestia into Nightmare Sol! Oh won't that be a laugh! Twilight's thoughts ended immediately as she slammed into a large wooden door that seemingly just appeared from thin air. Twilight bounced off the door, her vision blurry. "What the fu~" she stopped, her eyes finally focusing on a bright yellow pegasus who was giving her a worried look. "Oh, Fluttershy, hi! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention.."

Twilight shuffled her hooves awkwardly, before deciding that the best thing to do was to just go inside. She walked past Fluttershy, and into the living room, where everypony was looking at her funny. "What? I have a lot on my mind!" Applejack smiled. "Like what, sugarcube?" Twilight shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh not much, I haven't bathed in a day or so, I need to do some research on a few spells, and I drove Derek insane and now he thinks he can fly." Applejack started to laugh, but then stopped. "Um, what was tha' last part you said?" Twilight laughed. "I told Derek about what happened to his dimension, and now he is trying to jump off a tree to prove that … he can..fly." her voice trailed off, finally remembering why she had run to Fluttershy's in the first place. "Oh boy."

Princess Celestia, who had up until that point been thoroughly amused by her student's absent mindedness, stood up, suddenly serious. "Rainbow Dash, go find Derek and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Fluttershy, get some of your medical supplies. The rest of us will walk down there and have a chat with Mr. Derek."

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When Princess Celestia and the others arrived back at where Derek was, they found Rainbow Dash staring at his bare chest. "Uh, Rainbow, what the hay are you doin up there gogglin and such at him?" Applejack asked rather suspiciously. Rainbow, realizing that she was no longer alone, shot up into the air, face red. "Applejack, shut it. I was just checking out his wings! Or, wing chest..cutie marks, or taboos, or whatever he called them!" "Tattoos" Derek corrected. "Yeah, tattoos!" Princess Celestia stepped forward. "Let me see these…tattoos, please." Derek stood up, revealing the large, eagle-like wings he had painted onto his body. Twilight, despite having seen them before, was still enamored by there detail and beauty. She was so busy staring at them that she almost didn't notice that Princess Celestia had flown up to Derek to inspect the wings.

Celestia put her hoof on his chest, her eyes closed in concentration. Derek felt a strange warmth fill his body, and he smiled in satisfaction. A glow surrounded him, illuminating his wings. However, as quick as it had appeared, it vanished, as did the warmth within Derek. Celestia lowered her hoof from his chest, and raised her head so that she was looking at him in the eyes. "So?" Derek asked. The princess bit her lip, an odd sight for somepony like her. "They have magical qualities about them, but I'm uncertain as to what purpose they serve, and how they got on you. Until we figure out the answers to those questions, I suggest you do not test the wings out." Derek sighed sadly. 'Are you sure?" The princess nodded. "Alright, whatever, let me climb down." Celestia smiled, then returned to the ground, where her student awaited. "See Twilight, he wasn't insane, just slightly curious and maybe a bit disturbed." Her student responded with a gasp, which was emulated by the rest of the ponies. Celestia turned, and saw Derek leap from the tree.

He seemed suspended in air for a few moments, and for a second Celestia truly believed that it was working, but then the moment ended, and he came crashing down to the ground, which he met with a large thump! Fluttershy immediately ran over to him, but before she could do anything, he jumped to his feet, slightly dazed. "Damn." he muttered. "Really thought that would work." He spat out some blood, gave his head a good shake, then began walking back towards the cottage. As he passed the group of ponies who were all staring at him, mouths wide open, he paused. "What?" he asked, slightly bemused. "How did you~" Rarity's question was cut off by another resounding thump!

They all turned, confused, and saw a pink earth pony picking herself up off the ground, giggling as if she had just had the time of her life. "Wha…how…Pinkie, why did you just jump off the tree? And how did you even get up there without any of us noticing?" Twilight stared at Pinkie, who just giggled again. "I dunno, it just looked so fun!" Derek shook his head and laughed, before continuing on his walk back to Fluttershy's.

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Derek sat on the couch, tapping his foot to a song that only he could hear, when Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle walked into the cottage. "Hey." he greeted. "Where are the others?" Twilight approached him. "They went out for something to eat. The princess and I need to talk to you about something." Derek sat up straight, something telling him that things were about to get serious. "Sure, what is it?" The princess sat down on the couch opposite of Derek, never taking her eyes off of him. "Do you remember anything from before you came to Equestria? Don't tell me about your family, I mean anything that has to do with the day you left your world and entered ours."

Derek frowned, slightly unprepared. "Why does it matter? My worlds gone now anyway." Twilight sat down beside him, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "It does matter Derek! It matters a lot! If you can give us some details on the events leading up to the moment you arrived here, we may be able to figure out what happened." The human sighed, his face in a grimace. "Alright, I'll try." He put his face in his hands, and leaned back into the couch, allowing his mind to wander. He closed his eyes, and began to speak. "I remember some stuff. It was a Saturday, I think, pretty normal to begin with…"

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Derek walked down the street, Coke in one hand, phone in the other. He was texting one of his brony friends, trying to set up a party. Cars flew by at break neck speed, not one of the drivers paying any attention to the skinny white teen with long brown hair and a Metallica shirt. "God dammit, Sean." he muttered, his fingers jabbing the letter buttons on his slide phone. What type of party doesn't have weed? He rolled his eyes as the reply came back, saying that there would be no weed in any shape or form at the party. "Uughh" Derek groaned, tossing his phone into his pocket. "Sean, when the hell did you get clean?"

He took a quick swig of his Coke, and continued his walk towards the movie theatre. He was planning on seeing Real Steel, and considering how frustrated he felt right now, it would probably do him some good seeing a bunch of big robots bash each others heads in. As he walked, a cloud covered the sun, casting a darkening shadow over the town. Derek absentmindedly looked up, not really thinking about his actions any more; he was more or less running on autopilot. What he saw immediately snapped him out of it.

The thing that blocked the sky wasn't a cloud, or at least it didn't look like any cloud Derek had seen before. It was black and shifting, almost like a gas, but at the same time, it seemed to be a liquid. Derek stopped in his tracks, his mind furiously thinking one thing over and over: Dafuq? Without warning, the blob in the sky shot multiple tendrils from it's center, which bolted through the air and slammed into the ground, sending large chunks of dirt into the air. That is when Derek truly appreciated the size of this thing.

The tendrils it shot out stretched for miles in all directions, and as every second went by, another tendril would fly out. From the looks of it, one tendril had landed in the center of town. Eventually, the tendrils stopped their attack, and chaos broke loose. Everywhere Derek looked, people were running for their lives, trying to get back to their loved ones. Cars smashed into light poles, into pedestrians, into each other, basically, anything that could be smashed, was smashed. As Derek began to turn and run home, the blob seemed to open up in the middle, as if it were opening its mouth in preparation for the first bite.

A sucking sound emitted from the blob, and the wind began to pick up at tremendous speeds. Derek managed to grab onto a lamp post, before his feet were swept out from underneath him. He held onto the pole for dear life, watching as cars were picked up by the wind, and lifted into the air. He jerked suddenly, and realized that his anchor to earth was breaking. Oh son of a bitch was his only thought as the pole snapped from the ground, and he was sucked into the air. As he let loose with a scream of terror, the world bent. A horrible screeching filled him, and his body twisted in ways he never knew it could. He prepared himself for the end, when, all of a sudden, a flash of light seemed to appear within him. He felt a rush of power and strength, followed by a strange feeling of being pulled from within himself. He managed to let out a yelp, before his features bulged outward, and then sucked themselves in with a flash. A moment later, the world spun, then disappeared.

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Derek snapped his eyes open as his senses returned. He hadn't meant to get so in depth with the story, but the moment he started, the memories came flooding back. At that moment, he became fully aware of what he was doing. In his right hand he held Twilight Sparkle by the neck, all four of her legs off the ground. His left hand lay by his side, with multiple black, whip-like tendrils extending from his wrist, sparking viciously every time they made contact with an object. Princess Celestia was busy pulling herself from a wall, which now had an allicorn sized hole in it. Derek immediately dropped Twilight, who fell to the ground and began gasping for breath. He took a few steps back from her, his eyes wide with shock, before he noticed how odd everything looked.

He turned his gaze to the princess, and realized he could see her magical aura, as well as what looked to be weak spots. Her jugular, tendons, and horn all glowed red, and Derek immediately figured out that those were the most critical areas to strike should he attack her. "Wha…what the hell?" he stammered, his eyes glancing quickly around the room, his heart pounding. "Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god!" He turned and fled, running through the back door and out into the field, unwilling to face what had just occurred. Princess Celestia walked quickly over to her student, who was just picking herself up. "Twilight, are you alright?" the princess asked, genuine worry etched in her face.

Twilight nodded, but still panted for breath. "Princess, what was that?"

Celestia just stared, her eyes following Derek as he fled. "I'm not sure Twilight Sparkle. I do think that we should keep a closer eye on our human friend from now on however." Twilight nodded in agreement, and she moved a bit closer to the princess, suddenly very tired. Their embrace was broken when the others entered the house.

"So then I said, oatmeal, are you cra-" Pinkie halted in the telling of her story the moment she caught sight of the cottage. Blood dripped from the ceiling, a massive hole was put into the wall, and both Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle looking like they had just been through a war.

"Oh my." was all Rarity could muster. Fluttershy immediately went to her friends side, while the others just stared in awe at the carnage. "Twilight, are you okay? What happened? Oh dear, you're hurt, let me help you…that is, if you don't mind." Twilight waved her friend's concern away. "Relax Fluttershy, we're both alright. And as for what happened….well…"

Rainbow Dash was surprisingly the first one to pick up on the situation. "It was him, wasn't it? It was Derek, right?" Twilight nodded, which only seemed to fuel the pegasus into action. "That kid is DEAD!" she shouted, turning in mid air and launching at the door. Applejack, fortunately, had experience in dealing with these types of situations, and grabbed on to her friends tail with her mouth.

"Woah doggy!" she shouted through gritted teeth. Twilight grabbed a hold of Rainbow with her magic, and lowered her to the ground, allowing Applejack to let go. The country pony stayed by Rainbow Dash however, in case the pegasus got any more ideas.

"That boy is much too big fer' ya Rainbow, n besides, we don't know the whole story! Ah' know you're the element of loyalty d'all, but ya gotta keep yer' cool, ya hear?" Rainbow muttered something that sounded like an agreement. "Good. Now Twilight, why dontcha fill us in?"

Twilight sat down on her haunches, and gave a little cough to clear her throat. The princess sat down as well, but her horn began to glow, and her eyes shut in concentration. Twilight ignored her, and began to speak.

"We asked Derek to tell us anything he remembered about before he came to Equestria, specifically about the day he left his world. It was right after the flying thing, so we thought he might have been a bit… unstable, but with the Princess here we didn't think it would matter. It started out well enough, he began telling us about the day. I could tell that some of the stuff he told us he was remembering for the first time, cause it was clearly bothering him, but again, I didn't think much of it."

"About ten minutes in, he just stopped. His eyes shut, his breathing became erratic, and then it just stopped. He didn't move, didn't breath, he just sat there. Then we felt something, both the Princess and I. It felt magical, but very brutish, and was very similar to what we felt when Derek arrived in Ponyville."

"I got up to check on him when he shot up and grabbed me by the throat. The Princess tried to help, but there was a weird flash and was blasted into the wall. He kept attacking her with these weird tentacle looking things, and he was winning." Twilight grimaced a bit, the notion that someone had beaten Celestia still bothering her.

"The thing is, I don't think he was in control. I mean, I saw his eyes, and they were different. They looked like black glass orbs, and his veins were all black too. And it wasn't just that, it was the way he acted to. He acted very similar to a frightened animal. I think he accidentally triggered his magic by remembering what ever happened on that day."

Rainbow Dash stared quizzically at Twilight. "How the hay did you figure all that out? I mean, I know your like a boss at magic and you're a super egghead, but even I know that you can't get all of that out of one attack."

Twilight smiled. "It's just a guess Rainbow, I don't have any solid proof. However, a few minutes into the attack, he seemed to snap out of it. He looked around, realized what he had done, and ran off. I don't think he would do that if he had any real intention of hurting us."

"Maybe he fled because he heard us approaching?" Rarity suggested. Twilight skook her head. "He beat me and Princess Celestia in battle. Granted, he took us by surprise, but still, I doubt he'd scare off that easily." Princess Celestia rejoined the group, looking slightly worn.

"I hate to depart at a time such as this, but I'm afraid I must be going. There are some…matters I must attend to." Twilight was a little taken back at the news. "Can't you just have Princess Luna take care of them for you?"

Celestia shook her head. "I'm afraid not. My sister has matters of her own to deal with. I truly am sorry, everypony." She gave the group a sad smile, before leaning in and giving Twilight a quick nuzzle. "Stay safe" she whispered, before standing to her full height, flashing one more smile, and walking out the door. A bright flash from outside signaled her departure.

"Huh. Wonder what was so important that she had to go." Spike thought aloud. Pinkie almost flew into the air. "Oooh, let's make a game out of it, I love guessing games, I win all the time, though it's still fun if another pony wins, but still, can we PLEAAASE play?" Spike groaned, wishing he had never spoken in the first place.

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Night descended on Equestria, the purple starry hue replacing the blue sky, and the moon giving the sun a much needed rest. Almost everypony lay in their beds, their minds far off in dreams. Derek, however, wasn't a pony. What the hell am I? He thought, his legs dangling off the cliff edge. He had run the rest of the day, afraid of what he might do to anypony who crossed his path. Eventually, he had found a nice secluded cliff facing a river, and had decided to rest there for the night.

He sat there, lost in his own thoughts, when the sound of a stick snapping startled him. He turned, and saw a dark blue pony with a long, flowing transparent mane that seemed to twinkle with the stars. His eyes glanced at her wings, than noted with a bit of surprise her horn.

"Oops. I was meaning to sneak upon you." She said, a slightly mischievous grin on her face. "Why art thou so sad and alone on one of my fine nights?" Derek cocked his head slightly, unsure whether her speech was purposeful or not. She grimaced. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to this new manner of speaking. It's quite odd, and rather grammatically incorrect. At least, based off of how I was taught to speak it is."

She walked over, and sat by Derek, her eyes never leaving the human. "Soooo.." he started. "You're Princess Luna." She nodded. "Please, just Luna will suffice. I'm attempting to be less…royal, is how my sister would put it." He scoffed at that. "A royal acting Luna, that is not what I expected."

She frowned, slightly bemused. . "What did you expect? Some socially awkward shy pony who was quiet and cute?" Derek nodded, which only seemed to amuse her more. "I was trapped on the moon for a thousand years, not grounded for a week. Of course I'm going to have some trouble adjusting to modern society."

Derek smirked, his mood considerably lighter. "Well, if this is your true personality, then that would explain the massive cries of pain from fanfic writers when they saw the newest episode, which, by the way, I haven't seen." Luna shook her head. "You humans have always intrigued me. You fight so much, and yet embrace the oddest things. You have no idea how much my sister and I studied your species after we learned of it's existence. Humans were the most interesting subjects we had come across in a long time."

Derek sighed, and decided to ask a question which might be perceived as a little rude. "Luna, you know a little something about being evil and all that. I know you felt what Twilight and Celestia felt when I entered this world, and I'm sure you know about the incident today. I know you hardly know me, but…do you think I'm evil?" Luna immediately burst into laughter.

"Evil? Child, you are far from evil. Delusional, maybe, and understandably so, but in no way are you evil. I've felt evil magic, I've known evil beings, and in fact, once was among their ranks. You are not evil. I don't need to know you to know that. And believe me, Twilight Sparkle and my sister know it as well. If you were evil, my sister wouldn't have decided to begin training you to harness and use your magic, now would she?"

Derek stared at Luna. "For real? I nearly took her head off, and now she's going to teach me how to use magic?" Luna giggled, and nodded. "Though, she wont be teaching you. Twilight Sparkle and I will be you instructors. My sister's schedule is a bit to full to make time for a student."

Derek bit his lip, slightly bothered. "Alright, but what if I lose control again? I don't want to hurt anypony." Luna put a hoof on his shoulder to comfort him. "We'll be better prepared if that happens again. Besides, the last time my sister used a spell of battle on anypony, it was me. I spent a thousand years trapped with a violent and insane being, thinking of every spell I could use to harm ponies. I'm a bit better rehearsed in the art of battle. However, let's make sure it doesn't come to that."

Derek smiled again, satisfied. A cold wind blew through, chilling the shirtless human. "Say Luna, do you think Rarity could design me a shirt? I lost mine when I came here. It have to be a design shirt though, the one I lost was my favorite." Luna frowned. "What type of shirt was it?"

Derek gave an evil grin. "A Metallica shirt!"

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Celestia stared into her sisters night, searching with her magic for it. She had felt it's presence appear only mere minutes after Derek had fled, and she immediately knew what it was, and why it was here. The being was powerful, and dark, but it had never dealt with magic before, and Celestia knew that, and planned to exploit that advantage. She found her target, and unleashed the spell that had been stored within her upon. The powerful magic, weaved by the two goddess princess's, slammed against the beast, unraveling it. Before the magic could complete it's task, the creature disappeared.

Celestia swore under her breath, even though she knew that the chances of killing the creature in one swift blow were minimum at best. Still, at least she had managed to wound it, and wound it badly. It won't be able to kill us all in one swift blow anymore. Thank Luna for magic. She was surprised that the beast hadn't acted sooner, though she had a faint guess as to why. It wanted to finish what it started. It wanted him. She found it odd that a beast that ended worlds in mere seconds would want to tie up loose ends, but if it had bought her world more time, she was fine with it.

A gust of wind announced her sisters return. Celestia nuzzled Luna, who was smiling. "Did it work?" Celestia nodded. "It did what we expected. The creature is wounded, and drained of power. Thankfully, it only realized what was happening much to late, though it still managed to save itself."

Luna nodded. "Will it be able to regain power?" Celestia nodded. "Yes, but it's going to have to get an army to do so. It feeds off of the death's of worlds, and right now, the only way it can win this one is through a war, which we are prepared for…surprisingly. It will probably raise armies from another world, since it has no real power here. Magic has again seen to that."

Luna sat in the bed, her eyes soft. "And what about Derek. He doesn't know that the thing that destroyed his world is here. I bet that that thing caused his episode today, but he has no idea."

The sun princess stared back into the sky. "He is the best weapon we have right now. Humans are a species of war, and he is the most powerful human to have existed. He will want revenge, and he will have it. However, he shouldn't know until he has to. It will interfere with his training."

She turned back to Luna, a bright fire, almost like the sun itself, burning in her eyes. "Prepare yourself Luna. Soon, Equestria will go to war once more."

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Chapter 4

This may be the final update for a while . Depends on how things in my life go. Oh well, the story goes on!

"Are you ready?" Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna sat on a rock facing Derek, who was sitting in the grass. Today was the first magic lesson for the human, and he was very excited, but also nervous. "Sure." Derek answered, and the lesson began.

"Alright, first thing is to get familiar with your magic. I did some research, and the books say the best way to do that is through meditation!" Derek scratched his back, his fingertips brushing the new garment that covered him up. It was a soft, grey tank top made by Rarity and given to him as a gift, along with a multitude of other clothes, such as pants and underwear. As to whom the gift benefited most, Derek didn't know, though he guessed that he must have been giving off a putrid smell.

"Get to know my magic? Do I have to talk to it…?" Luna gave Derek a look. "Sarcasm won't help, Derek." He smiled, and looked apologetically at Twilight, who acted as if nothing had happened. "Yes, you have to get to know it. Feel inside of yourself, try and get a sense of the magic. Try and wrap your mind around it. Once you are used to it, you will be able to manipulate it."

Derek sighed. "Okay.." he said wearily, lying down it the grass. He took a few deep breathes in an attempt to relax himself, before beginning a "self probe" of sorts. At first, the only thing he felt was an incredible sense of stupidity. Look inside myself, heh, kinda sounds like a line from Cupcakes. He cringed inwardly. No! There shall be know thoughts of that evil fanfic while in Equestria! Now stop talking to yourself like an insane person and do whatever it was that you were supposed to be doing! He shook his head clear of these thoughts, and drove his mind back within.

For a while, he felt nothing, or at least, close to nothing. He would get a sense that he was close to the magic, but every time he'd make an attempt to grab it with his mind, it move away. Finally, after what seemed like ages, he accidentally grabbed a hold of it. What the fu- his thought was cut off by the power he felt rush through him. Energy filled his veins, his lungs, his heart. Every part of him seemed to absorb this energy, and Derek let out a small gasp.

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Twilight looked down at the stopwatch she had brought with her. "25 minutes. You owe me 15 bits, Princess!" Luna groaned, before dropping some cash into Twilights outstretched hooves. "Darn it, Derek, why do you have to be so fast!" Twilight laughed, putting the bits into her saddle bag, before moving a piece on the board. "Oh and Princess?" Luna looked at Twilight. "Check mate!" Luna looked down at the board, then back up at Twilight, a look of frustration on her face. "Tell me Twilight, do you like the moon?"

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So this is what it feels like to be a god. Derek smiled in his mind, which at the moment was wrapped up in every bit of magic from his universe. He could feel the pure power of the magic, the vastness of it. He could also sense that it was, in some way or another, a sentient being that was simply allowing him to use it. Guess this is what Twilight meant about understanding it. He immediately remembered that he wasn't alone in the physical world. How long have I been out? Oh I hope it's at least still daytime. With much reluctance, Derek severed the connection between the magic and himself, allowing his mind to return to the outside world.

He blinked a few times, and saw that the sun was directly above him in the sky. Must be about noon he thought, before pushing himself up off his back. Twilight and Luna were both looking at him thoughtfully, though Luna seemed a bit more frazzled than the purple unicorn. "What? How long have I been out?" he asked. Twilight smiled. "Around an hour." Luna got up and began to walk towards Derek, her eyes slightly bloodshot. "And not a moment too soon." The princess said, before leaning in and whispering to Derek "If I ever have to play another game with that pony I swear I'll have my sister banish her!"

Derek chuckled, then got himself up and walked over to Twilight, who was giving him a look. "I can feel the power coming off of you." she said. "Did you do what I said?" Derek nodded, a grin coming to his face. "It was amazing! At first, I didn't feel anything, or much of anything anyway, but once I got a hold on it it was like BAM! and then I could feel this power and energy coming from inside me!" Twilight smiled, before noticing Derek's hand. Her eyes went a little wide, and her mouth opened slightly in shock. Confused, Derek looked down at his hand.

The appendage seemed to glow, almost as if there were a neon light on the inside of it. Derek raised his hand, palm upward, to his chest level for a better look. As if on command, the light raised itself from Derek's hand, and formed a sphere that rested on his palm. Luna walked over and gave the small ball of light a hard look, curiosity in her eyes. As quick as it had appeared however, it vanished, leaving a small wisp of steam.

"That was odd." Luna commented dryly, noticing with amusement the shocked expressions on the other two's face. Twilight looked from Luna to Derek and then back again, before shaking her head. "This isn't right! You're not supposed to be able to do any kind of magical action until lesson 3!" Derek plopped down on the grown, breathing a little heavier than usual. "Twilight, believe me when I say I have no idea how I did that."

Luna snorted. "Calm down, guys, it was just a simple light spell. Derek probably triggered the magic unintentionally, though that would suggest that he and the magic are already very familiar, which is odd for someone who has never used magic consciously until now." Derek suddenly felt slightly ill. "I need some food." He said simply, before getting up and walking the direction of Fluttershy's cottage.

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The lessons continued in this fashion for a few weeks. Every day, Derek would head down to the field, where Twilight and Luna would teach him all about magic. At first, it was difficult for him, but, being a fast learner with nothing else to do, he quickly improved. After 5 days, he was able to levitate small objects, and after a full 10, he was manipulating water and fire. Derek also began to partake in physical training, at the request of Twilight. The training, led by Rainbow Dash and Applejack, slowly began to transform him from his scrawny frame. As his prowess began to grow, so did his curiosity. Logic told him that there was a reason behind the training, but of course, her didn't listen to it. Besides, there was still more he wanted to learn, especially if it had to do with…

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"My wings." Derek said, looking Twilight straight in the eye. "I wanna learn how to use them" Twilight stared at Derek incredulously. "You do realize they're not real wings, right?" Derek rolled his eyes. "Right before I jumped out of the tree, Celestia said that they have magical properties. I've learned a lot in the past two months, and I know that these things can work!"

Twilight sighed, relenting. It was true, Derek had come very far, and he was getting better at magic every day. Besides she reasoned, if he falls out of the sky, he should be able to handle it. He was fine when he jumped out of the tree, and that was when he was a stick figure! At that she glanced at Derek. Indeed, he had grown a lot since his arrival. The natural food and exercise and made him sprout a foot in height, and had given him a much bigger chest and arms. He could run around 4 miles without breaking down crying, and he could now do about 160 push-ups before stopping. Of course, when a person has to crazy ponies threatening to do things that would put some of the grimdark fanfics to shame to them, they tend to work a bit harder.

"Fine. But you have to realize that this is very complex magic. It may take a while to get it right, and that's assuming that those are actual wings, and not some cool looking cutie-mark." Derek narrowed his eyes. "It's a tattoo, not a cutie-mark." Twilight returned the look. "As long as I'm teaching, it's a cutie-mark. And don't go whine to Luna, she'll agree with me." Derek rolled his eyes. "Whatever, when are we going to do this ?"

The purple unicorn shrugged. "How bout tomorrow, usual time?"
Derek gave her a thumbs up, before turning and walking away, shouting over his shoulder: "Cool! I'm gonna go run with RD or AJ! See ya!"

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Derek stood in the open field, his shirt lying on the ground. Luna and Twilight watched him as he lifted rocks with his magic, a sort of "warm up" to help him prepare for the task ahead. Within minutes he had completed the exercise, and turned to his tutors. "I'm ready" he said, excitement seeping into his voice.

Luna smiled. "Okay, let's get on with it." They had decided that Luna should take lead on this, as the magic was very complex, even for Twilight. The princess walked up to Derek, stopping about a yard away. "Access your magic." Derek nodded, and allowed the magic to rise inside of him. Ever since that first day, it had gotten easier and easier to use his magic, and was now to the point where he hardly had to think about it.

The magic surrounded Derek, and gave off a visible glow of light for a brief moment. Luna, accustomed to what that meant, continued. "Now, try and "feel" your wings with the magic." Derek again nodded. He guided the magic towards his back, preparing for a long and arduous task, but, before he could do anything, the magic acted on it's own, attaching itself to the tattoos as if they were magnets.

Derek stood there, surprised, before shrugging and looking at Luna. "Done." He said, a smirk on his face. Luna was a little taken back at how quickly he had managed to do that, but shook it off and went on. "Alright, now this is the hardest part. You must try and lift the tattoos from your body, but at the same time keep them attached. Then, you must make them a living part of your body, and actual limb."

The human made a face, realizing how difficult of a task it was. He poured his full concentration into the magic, trying to find any conceivable way to perform the task. He felt the magic suddenly twitch, followed by an odd popping sound that sent strange feelings up his back. Derek shrugged off the feeling, and shuffled his wings as he concentrated.

He stopped, thinking back to just a moment ago. I shuffled my wings. He thought, before opening his eyes and looking back. There, rising from his spine, were two glorious wings. They looked like those of an eagle, but much larger, and seemingly tougher. While defiantly covered in feathers, Derek noted that they looked like metal feathers.

He looked back around, and saw Luna and Twilight staring at him, mouths open. "I know, I know, I look like a badass, but ladies please, hold it in!" The two ponies ignored his sarcastic remark, both of them awestruck at his wings. Luna finally broke the silence. "How did you-" Derek didn't let her finish. "I don't have a clue. Honestly, I think my magic did the work for me. I just had to let it." Twilight looked at him, bewildered. "But magic can't do stuff like that on its own!" Derek smiled. "Mine can. Now, if you ladies will excuse me, there is a certain rainbow pegasus I want to brag to. Good day!"

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Rainbow Dash sat in the grass, wearily counting the clouds that she should get rid of. She knew that procrastinating would only make the job harder, but she didn't really care. After all, she had always done things this way, so why change them? Besides, she reasoned, I've got better things to worry about. Like Derek. She immediately sighed at the thought of him. She had met many ponies over the years, and truth be told, she had always been looking for the right one. The pony that could match her competitiveness, her confidence, and could handle her pranks and crazy moments. Needless to say that it was a difficult task, and so far only one had been able to keep up.

However, as much as she loved Applejack, she didn't see her that way. Sure, AJ was good looking, and maybe she had once had a crush on her, but that had past, and now they were just friends. Then she met Derek. Figures the only other being that matches with what I look for isn't even in my species. Rainbow thought viciously, before sighing. Rainbow had never been a romantic pony, simply because she viewed relationships as a waste of time and a distraction. Then again, everypony has their moments….

"Rainbow!" a cry from above shattered her daydream. Shaking her head angrily, she glanced up in the sky to see what dumb pony had decided to bother her. What she saw wasn't a pony, but looked as if a griffon was carrying Derek. After a few seconds, he descended, landing right in front of Rainbow, giving her a first hand look at his wings. Rainbow, in the same manner as Luna and Twilight, felt her jaw drop.

"Got em' today! What do you think?" Rainbow had to admit, the wings looked awesome. They appeared to be covered in some sort of metal feather, and were big enough that Derek could probably use them as a robe and cover up most of his body. However, she was a confident pony, and it would seem odd if she were blown away.

"They're cool. But I'm still the fastest flyer in Equestria!" she said, regaining her composure. Derek laughed. "Really? Then I challenge you to a race, that cloud to that cloud to that cloud to the ground oneTWOTHREE GO!"

Derek launched into the air, letting out a whoop of joy as he went. Rainbow quickly followed, and the race was on!

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Derek sat in the grass panting, Rainbow Dash beside him. Bitch wasn't lying he thought tiredly, she is fast! Rainbow was also visibly tired, having underestimated Derek's raw ability. However, once she had realized what she was up against, it's fair to say she kicked flank.

"Hey *gasp* Rainbow! You gotta *gasp* teach me how to *gasp* fly like that!" Rainbow looked at him, surprised. "You want me to be your coach?" Derek nodded, now regaining his breath. "Yeah, I do. I've already trained with you some, and besides, if I'm gonna fly why not learn from the best! I've already got Twilight and Luna teaching me magic, AJ helping me get in shape, Fluttershy showing me how to care for injured, and Pinkie Pie…well….honestly I have no clue what she's been doing since I got here."

Rainbow laughed, before nodding. "Alright, why not?"

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Princess Celestia sat in her chamber, when the sudden drop in temperature alerted her to her sister's presence. "Hello, Luna." She spoke softly, a smile creeping up her face. "Hello, Big sister" Luna returned in kind, also smiling.

"How is everything going with Derek?" Celestia asked. "Quite well. He learned how to use his wings today, he was quite pleased with himself. Managed to go and get some lessons from Rainbow Dash to boot."

Celestia laughed, joy filling her. Things were progressing far faster than anticipated, especially Derek. Her joy was cut short however, when a strange feeling filled the room. It felt familiar, but different at the same time. Celestia immediately recognized it for what it was, as did Luna. Before a second had passed, the feeling left, leaving the two princess' standing there.

"So, the dimension eater has finally reappeared. I wondered how long that would take." Celestia muttered. "Luck's on our side though, it's wounded!" Luna spoke, fear in her voice. "It's not alone." Celestia paused, and looked at Luna incredulously. "No, it cant have gathered troops, it can't have the power to-" Luna cut her off. "It comes from a different dimension, Tia, it runs on different stuff than we do! Besides, didn't you feel them? There was only a small amount, but they're defiantly here!"

Celestia approached her sister. "Luna, what is here?" Luna gave her sister a hard look. "Gargoyles, sister. The creature is building an army of gargoyles, and in three months time, its army will attack, though I suspect that there will be some minor skirmishes before the full scale war. They may try and go after the Element bearers, or maybe go after Derek, if the thing wants to finish what it started." Celestia nodded, accepting the information. "Well, I guess we have no choice. The enemy's army is growing, then so shall ours. Sister, go and raise the troops. Use that charm of yours to get as many ponies to volunteer as possible. I must go inform the Elements, and one certain human, that..oh what was that phrase that humans liked to use? Oh yes, that shit just got real.

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Chapter 5

Just like Celestia said, shit does get real in this chapter! Thanks for all the concern, the brony community really is the best! Enjoy!

Derek sat on the ground, panting. Sweat rolled down his body, dripping onto the grass. He and Rainbow Dash had just gotten through their first flying lesson, and she was a very tough teacher. He hadn't expected her to be okay with his idea, or for her to decide to start the first lesson right after she accepted it, but overall he was happy.

Rainbow Dash walked up, rolling her eyes at the gasping human. "Honestly, it wasn't that hard!" she laughed. Derek shot her a look, noting with some annoyance that she seemed totally unbothered by their workout. "Easy for you to say, you fly every day! I just got these!" He gave his wings a twitch, sending a slight gust of wind at Rainbow Dash.

She smirked, before frowning as she thought of something. "Hey Derek, you know how your wings were like printed on your body, before you raised them off of it?" He nodded. "Can you put them back on your body?" He blinked a couple of times, thinking the question over. "Um…I don't know. Let me check!"

He grabbed his wings with his magic, feeling every texture and feather on them. With barely any effort, he gave them a slight push, and they were back to being tattoos. "Woah.." Rainbow Dash breathed, slightly impressed. It was Derek's turn to laugh. "It's not that impressive, my magic does most of the work when it comes to the wings."

Both of them shared a laugh, before looking up into the sky. Luna's night had fallen on them, and the stars shone like diamonds in the sky. Rainbow glanced over at Derek, and saw what appeared to be worry on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked. Derek shook his head, and flashed Rainbow Dash a smile. "It's nothing, don't worry about." Rainbow narrowed her eyes, not satisfied. "C'mon, you can tell me! I won't judge!"

Derek sighed, before looking back up into the stars. "It's stupid, really, but… I've been thinking. That thing that destroyed my home…. What if it comes here? I mean, I don't want to insult ponies, but I doubt you guys could handle something like that, even with Celestia and Luna." Rainbow hesitated. Truth be told, she had been wondering the same thing herself, and, from what she could determine, so did Luna and Celestia. After all, it had been their idea to start training Derek, and the routines they selected seemed a bit military.

The rainbow pegasus, however, gave Derek a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, dude. As long as Luna and Celestia are around, nopony, big dimension eating thing or otherwise, is going to hurt us. Besides, there are tons of other dimensions for it to devour. Probably." Derek nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right." Rainbow smiled once more. "I always am." The human and the pegasus watched the stars in silence, unaware that they were being watched themselves, by a few pairs of cold, yellow eyes.

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"WHAT?" Twilight Sparkle shouted, slightly shocking Princess Celestia, as well as the others. "You mean to tell me that the thing that eats entire dimensions in one bite is here!" The princess nodded, causing Rarity to gasp. "It's been injured by my sister and I however. It won't be eating dimensions whole for quite sometime." Fluttershy smiled. "So, it isn't dangerous anymore." Celestia shook her head. "Oh no, it's still very dangerous. In fact, it still can destroy Equestria. It's just going to need some help doing so."

Applejack gave the princess a hard look. "And jus' what kinda' help is this thing gonna go get?" The princess turned towards the orange farm pony. "Creature from a hellish dimension. Gargoyles, to be exact." Twilight gave a frustrated moan. "Why hasn't it eaten the gargoyle dimension? I thought that's what it did!" Rarity spoke up as well. "Yes, it does seem rather odd that it would destroy some dimensions, and yet use others as allies."

Celestia raised her hoof, silencing the group. "The reason that the creature hasn't destroyed the gargoyles is because it can't. This thing feeds on two things. The matter that makes up a dimension, and pain and suffering. Gargoyles enjoy pain, so when this thing begins to destroy their world, they simply do not care. Eventually, the creature gives up and moves on." Pinkie Pie, who had been silent the entire time, finally perked up.

"What type of pony enjoys pain? Pain isn't fun!" Celestia smiled at the pink pony, amused. "Well, gargoyles aren't ponies. They're demons. Twisted, evil demons that enjoy destruction and death." Celestia stood up, giving her wings a good ruffle. "Now, if all of you will excuse me, I must go find Derek. He needs to know all of this, since he will be most vital in the effort to stop this creature."

Twilight jumped up. "I'll go with you princess! Last time I checked, he was with Rainbow Dash, and who knows what kind of trouble they're getting into!" The princess chuckled, and opened the door. "Alright, lead the way Twilight Sparkle. Fare well, my little ponies!" The group waited until the door had closed before any more words were spoken.

"Anypony else get the chills when she says "mah little pony"?" Applejack said curiously. Every pony in the room answered yes, except for Pinkie Pie, who just laughed. "Oh silly fillies, that's only because she mentioned the title, which is sort of like reveres fourth wall breaking, and whenever that happens it weirds us out because it's like forbidden knowledge! Or was, I should say, since the show doesn't exist anymore…" That's when Pinkie noticed that all eyes were staring at her, and that every mouth was wide open.

"What?" she asked, truly curious as to why she was being stared at. "Pinkie.." Rarity said. "What goes on in your mind?" The pink party pony shrugged, before turning and bouncing out of the room, leaving everpony wondering just what had happened.

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A twig snapped behind Rainbow Dash and Derek, startling them. Turning around, Derek saw nothing but the beginning of the Everfree Forest. "Relax" Rainbow said, giving him an odd look. "Twigs snap all the time in there. Nothing to get crazy about." Derek shrugged before returning his gaze to the stars.

Luna does a damn good job. He thought, his mind wandering. Wonder why nopony paid attention to this. Wait, did I just think nopony? Oh god, I'm starting to speak like them! Which actually, really isn't a bad thing. I mean, I used pony language when I was on the internet and talking to other bronies, but to actually speak and think like a pony, that may be a bit too-

He saw it out of the corner of his eye. A slight glint of light reflected off of the blade as it sliced through the air. He rolled, and the blade smashed into the ground, sending dirt flying. Jumping to his feet, Derek saw the attackers. They looked a bit like humans, except a bit bulkier and slightly taller than him. They had large bat-like wings, razor sharp claws and teeth, and eyes that glowed an eerie yellow. Their skin looked like black leather, and on top of their heads sat two pointed horns.

There were 6 of them, and each one of the creature were holding a sword of some kind. "Dash, do you have any clue what the fuck these things are?" Derek shouted, fear obvious in his voice. Rainbow Dash, who was on her feet and in a battle stance, replied tersely. "Not a clue." The two groups stood facing one another for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the creatures attacked.

They launched into the air at Derek and Rainbow Dash, each one letting loose a vicious battle roar. Dash flew into the air, avoiding any contact, but Derek wasn't so lucky. He dodged the blades, but one of the creatures lashed out with a thick arm, slamming him in the chest. He flew back ten feet, landing hard on the ground. Dazed, he saw three of the creatures come after him, the others trying to catch Rainbow.

He quickly got up, and immediately started moving. The past few months of intense physical and mental training saved his life. He dodged and weaved away from the blades, however, that was all he could do. He had no offense against these massive brutes. Dash, in the meantime, was dodging as well, using her superior speed and agility to evade the attacks, and in fact, she was managing to get a few good blows in.

As Derek was planting his foot into the ground after a particularly difficult move, he felt the ground underneath him give. He hit the ground, and had just enough time to see the blade approach his face. What happened next was difficult to determine for him. One moment, he had been on the ground, seeing death itself coming for him, the next, he was on his feet, holding the sword by the blade, watching as the creature on the other end struggled to regain control of its weapon.

He felt a primal power surge through him, one that he recognized as his magic, and he flashed an evil grin. He pulled on the blade, jerking the creature towards him. With strength that could rip metal like paper, he grabbed the things head with one had, and with seemingly no effort, pulled it off. The body slumped to the ground, headless. Derek looked at his prize for a second before dropping the head and turning. All eyes were on him. The three chasing Rainbow had given up the moment he had killed one of their own. Derek looked, and saw Rainbow Dash staring as well, shock on her face.

"Rainbow" Derek said calmly. "Go find Twilight and the princess. They are on their way here. Tell them what happened." The pegasus hesitated, clearly uncertain. Derek was having none of it. "GO!" he shouted, surprising Rainbow. With her normal speed and quickness she shot off into the night, quickly disappearing from view.

Derek returned his gaze to the ghouls before him. He felt a strange bloodlust fill him, and he crouched down into a battle stance, throwing the sword to the ground. "So" he said with a laugh, the blood of his first victim dripping from his face. "Whose first?"

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Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia walked through Ponyville in silence. Twilight had been thinking the entire time about how a creature that destroyed entire dimensions was in Equestria, and how any day could be her last. Eventually, it became to much for her to bear. "Princess?" she said quietly. "Do you think we can beat this thing?" Celestia smiled reassuringly at her student. "Of course I do, Twilight. My only concern is not if we can beat it, but when. Equestria hasn't had a war since Nightmare Moon, and I would like to keep it that way."

Twilight nodded, and the two resumed their silence. For a while, the only sound heard was their hooves hitting the pavement, before Celestia spoke up. "Well, I do believe that's Rainbow Dash coming at us!" Twilight looked up, and sure enough, there was Rainbow Dash speeding towards them. She came to a screeching halt right in front of the two, allowing Twilight to see that her friend was hurt.

"My goodness, Rainbow, what happened?" Rainbow took a few deep breathes before replying. "Not important! Some things attacked me and Derek in the fields by Fluttershy's! They're really big, and they had swords! I didn't want to leave, but Derek made me!" Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash, before looking at the princess, who was already moving.

"Follow me, the both of you. Derek may need our help." Celestia took off in a full gallop towards Fluttershy's cottage, leaving Twilight and Rainbow behind. Right as Twilight was about to follow, Rainbow spoke again. "He ripped one of their heads off." Twilight turned and looked back at her friend. "What?" "Derek. He ripped one of their heads off with his bare hands."

Twilight stared at Rainbow for a second, before shaking her head. "We'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to help Derek!" Twilight took off, and, after another moments hesitation, Rainbow followed.

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Derek spun, catching the creature in the jaw with a right hook. Normally such a blow would leave some bruising at best, but Derek's hand had black spike coming out of the knuckles. The creature roared in pain, blood spurting all over the human. Derek sensed movement behind him, and spun, seeing another one of them coming at him with a sword.

Derek crouched, and flared his wings out, slamming them into the launching creature midsection. The steel feathers sliced the thing in half, spewing intestines and blood over the soft grass. Derek grinned madly, before turning and grabbing the wrist of one of the other creatures that had tried to sneak up on him. He twisted, breaking the wrist completely, and delivered a sharp kick that broke many ribs. Blood sprayed on the ground from the creatures mouth, which only fueled Derek's attack. With one solid punch, the things neck caved in, and Derek watched as it suffocated on blood and bone.

Turning, Derek saw the other three struggling to their feet. One had large holes from his spike fist in it's jaw, one had an obviously broken leg, the other was missing an arm and an eye. All three charged at him. Picking up two swords from the ground, Derek waited a moment before throwing them.

The blades impacted with two of the creatures, each one in the head. The last one continued it's charge, unaware of the demise of its comrades. Derek waited until the creature swung at him, before sidestepping and bringing his knee to the things chest. A satisfying crack answered him, and he saw the thing tumble to the ground. It slowly got back to its feet, and tried to attack again. "Never learn, do you?" Derek snarled, as he swung at the creature. His fist impacted the creatures stomach, breaking skin and intestine as it traveled through the front and exited the things back.

Derek heard it gurgle, which disgusted him slightly. He pulled his fist out, grabbed the things throat, and pulled. A gush of blood and a cease of noise assured him that he had done the job right. The last creature dropped to the ground, dead, leaving Derek standing in the field, covered in blood. He let loose with a wild scream, and turned, only to see Princess Celestia staring at him a few feet away. Behind her, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle watched. Derek's night vision, a product of his predator-like state, allowed him to see the terror in their eyes.

He snarled at Celestia, as she was the closest, baring his teeth and spreading his wings. Celestia, stunned by what she had just witnessed, was now fully shocked. Derek's eyes were totally black, and his teeth were longer and sharper. Covered in blood, he was quite a fright to look at, especially for the three ponies who had just seem him kill three gargoyles in 10 seconds flat.

"Derek" Celestia warned, planting her hooves firmly into the ground. "I don't know what's going on in your mind right now, but we're not here to hurt you." Derek snarled again, as black, whip like tendrils shot from his wrists, thrashing about as if looking for something to attack. Celestia could feel the magic coming off of him, and she could tell he was only gaining in power. The ground underneath his feet cracked and glowed, and lighting danced around his feet. Celestia looked grimly at Derek, realizing what had to be done. She summoned a powerful spell, causing her horn to glow a bright yellow. Derek instinctively summoned one of his own, is mind focusing on one thing: Kill or be killed. Just as the two were about to engage, a rational thought finally broke through to Derek: Hey, that's Princess Celestia! Immediately, Derek realized what was going on. He allowed his magic to fade, and slowly, he returned to normal. The moment the last drop of black left his eyes, he fell to the ground, his body exhausted from the battle.

Celestia sighed with relief, allowing the magic to fade from her as well. Twilight and Rainbow came up behind the princess, who was walking towards Derek. She approached the collapsed human, and bowed her horn to him. One bright flash later, and he was gone. "I've teleported him to Fluttershy's so he can sleep. I suggest you two follow his example and rest as well. I'll deal with here." Her gaze swept out to the carnage. Blood stained the ground, which was covered in bone, flesh, intestines, and other remains of the gargoyles.

Rainbow and Twilight nodded, each one of them barely acknowledging what had just happened. The two went their separate ways, and returned to their houses, both still in a state of shock at the horrors they had just witnessed.

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Rainbow Dash lay in her cloud bed, her mind racing. Over and over, she replayed what she had seen in her head. First, there was Derek ripping the head off of the "gargoyle" as Twilight had called it, and then there was him killing those last three, and almost battling Celestia. Rainbow shuddered. She couldn't imagine what would have happened had Derek attacked the princess. She didn't think Celestia would kill him, even thought the same couldn't be said for Derek.

He seemed like an animal she thought, wrapping herself tightly in the cloud. And that's supposed to be his magic! What type of world need magic like that?

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Princess Luna sat on the stool, watching her sister wash the gargoyle blood out of her hair. "So, let me get this right. Derek slaughtered six gargoyles?" Celestia nodded. "And he almost went after me." Luna laughed. "That would have been interesting!" Celestia slammed her hoof against the sink, startling the princess of the night.

"Dammit, Luna, listen! Derek was using his magic! Had he attacked, I don't know if I could defeat him! His magic is designed for battle, mine isn't! And it's not like he was in control of himself! He looked like a frightened animal! He had no idea I was a friend, until it was almost too late!"

Luna held up a hoof. "Relax, sister, I tease. I'm just glad everypony is okay, and that Derek is on our side." Celestia sighed, and allowed her eyes to drift back to the bloodstains on her coat. "As am I" she whispered.

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Chapter 6

I hate my computer. Overheats in 20 minutes, and is slow as hell. Please, spread the word about this story, and please write a review! It helps a lot! Now, on with the story!

For the second time since his arrival, Derek awoke confused, covered in sweat, and once again, shirtless. His eyes darted around the room, desperately trying to figure out what was going on, and where he was. His senses slowly returned, allowing him to realize that there was something new to this. He was tied to the bed with chains.

He pulled on the chains, but quickly gathered that they would not give. Giving up to retain his energy, he set to his mind to remembering what had happened that led to his current predicament. It didn't take long.

Memories of blood and violence flashed through his brain. He closed his eyes as the memories took hold, and he allowed them to surge unbothered through is mind. His muscles surged as the bloodlust once again began to take hold, and he could feel the power coursing through his veins.

No a voice in his head said, and instantly, almost as if someone had hit a switch, the power ceased. Panting, Derek blinked the sweat away from his eyes, and waited for his breath to return fully. When it did, he noticed that he was no longer alone in the room.

Twilight Sparkle stood in the doorway, watching him curiously. She stood there, her head slightly tilted as if she didn't know what to make of Derek, even though he'd been her student for practically two months.

"Um, Twilight, do you mind telling me why I'm tied up? And where the hell is my shirt?" Derek spoke the words forcefully, the taste of that power still fresh on his tongue.

"To make sure you don't go crazy and kill everypony."

Derek stared at Twilight, the surprise clear on his face.

"Kill everypony? Twilight, why would I do that?"

Twilight continued her weird stare, her eyes boring deep into Derek's.

"Sorry, Derek, but after last night, I don't know what to think of you."

"Don't know what to think of me? I was protecting Rainbow Dash…I think."

"You slaughtered those things, Derek. You didn't just protect Rainbow, you ripped them into pieces! I'm sorry, but we have to be cautious. Don't worry though, the princess said she would explain everything to you when she got here."

Derek snorted. "Tell me Twilight, where exactly is here, cause we're obviously not in Fluttershy's cottage!"

Twilight nodded. "No, we're not. We're in my library."

Derek laughed sarcastically. Maybe it was the tiredness, maybe it was the fact that he was tied to a bedpost, but he just felt extremely mean today.

"You want to be cautious, so you take the vicious killer to the center of town. Sorry Twilight, but I just don't see where this whole cautious thing comes in. After all, I could rip these things in half if I wanted to!"

This time it was Twilight's turn to laugh.

"You're forgetting Derek. I'm a powerful unicorn who has been studying magic all her life. You don't even know what your magic can do! Hay, I'm not even sure what your magic can do!"

Derek and Twilight sat in silence for what seemed like forever. The only sound that broke the barrier was the awkward hoof shuffling of Twilight. Thankfully, a large crash from outside ended the awkward moment.

"Oh, that must be the princess!" Twilight said, before rushing out of the room.

Well that was fun Derek thought to himself.

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Derek, Twilight, and Princess Celestia sat in the main room of Twilight's library. The room was silent as they waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Derek sat there, rubbing his sore wrists and glaring at Twilight, who returned the look.

There was a knock at the door, and a few seconds later the other five ponies were gathered in the room. There was some mild chatter between the ponies, as they greeted each other and sat down, though Derek noticed that all of them seemed to be keeping their distance from him.

Princess Celestia cleared her throat, and the noise subsided. She gazed at each one of the ponies, before beginning to speak.

"I have gathered you all here to address the events which occurred last night. I know Twilight and Rainbow Dash have filled you all in, but there is more to this than meets the eye."

Celestia looked directly at Derek, who fidgeted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"The first thing that needs to be cleared up is those creatures that attacked Derek and Rainbow Dash. They are called gargoyles, and they're quite a violent species."

Fluttershy raised her hoof uncertainly. The princess smiled, and pointed at her, which seemed to make the yellow pegasus even more uncomfortable.

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy took a deep breath.

"Princess, I was just wondering, but, um, I know just about ever creature and critter in Equestria, and I've never heard or seen of gargoyles… but, you know, I could be wrong…"

Fluttershy trailed off, her brief confidence evaporated. Princess Celestia smiled once again at the shy pony, as she felt the need to suddenly give her a hug. Dismissing the feeling, she spoke.

"You're right Fluttershy. Gargoyles aren't from Equestria. In fact, they're not even from this dimension."

"Wait, hold on a second." Derek was the speaker this time. "If they're not from this dimension, how did they get here?" He paused, a disturbing thought entering his mind.

"Did I bring them here?" He said this quietly, his eyes locked on the princess.

Celestia shook her head. "No, Derek, you didn't, at least not directly." She sighed and closed her eyes, knowing that the gravity of what she was about to tell the human could deeply affect him.

"They were brought here by the creature that destroyed your dimension."

The air was sucked out of the room in a collective gasp. Derek blinked a few times, his mind racing as it tried to understand what she had just said.

"Wh-what?" he stuttered.

Celestia shook her head. "It arrived here a short time after you. It followed the trail left by your magic into this dimension. I felt it the moment it came here, and managed to hurt it. This creature, it's not used to fighting magic, and while I couldn't destroy it, I took away its ability to destroy worlds in one blow."

The princess stood tall, her eyes passionate and fiery.

"That doesn't mean that it's defeated. It can still open up portals to other dimensions, and that is what it is doing. It's building an army, one of gargoyles. If my assumptions are correct, it will try and destroy all of Equestria so that it can absorb the magic and return to full strength."

Celestia smiled grimly at the group gathered before her.

"Tomorrow, I will announce the situation to all of Equestria. I have already told the news to the griffons, as well as the dragons, and they have been preparing themselves for war. Tomorrow, we shall join in the preparations."

Rarity stood up, worry in her voice.

"Princess, I trust your judgment completely, but do you really believe that we can fight these beasts? I'm no history master, but there hasn't been a war for a very long time if I'm not mistaken!"

"You are not, Rarity. The last major war was a thousand years ago, between Nightmare Moon and I. However, I truly do believe that we can rise above this threat and defeat it. Besides, when we do engage this creature in battle, it won't just be Ponykind fighting it, it will be every being in this world going up against it. The last time such an allegiance was formed was during the Discordian War, and I do believe those turned out quite well."

The princess continued her speech, confidence shining in her voice.

"That brings me to the other important issue I must address, which is you all. Each on of you, save for Spike and Derek, represent an Element of Harmony, which means that in this war, you must lead our forces."

Applejack let loose a surprised yell.

"Wait just a second ther, princess. Ah respect ya n' all, but why in Granny Smith do we have to lead?"

The princess looked at Applejack curiously.

"That is one of the duties of the bearers of the elements. I know it's not exactly fair, but you must do it. Besides, the world recognizes you all as the defeaters of Nightmare Moon. Seeing their heroes on the front lines would be a huge moral booster. I would know."

Spike, who had been strangely silent for the entire time, finally spoke.

"So what will Derek and I do?"

"Derek will also be leading our forces, as he has proven that he is a capable fighter, even if he does need some training. As for you, it all depends on your size. After all, you are still a baby dragon."

Princess Celestia looked over all of them, her presence demanding attention. Each one of them were surprised by Celestia's demeanor, for she was acting entirely different thatn what they were used to.

"Are there any questions?"

Silence answered her.

"Good. Tomorrow, you all will begin training, physically, mentally, and in some cases, magically. I will send a carriage around noon, and you shall depart for Canterlot, where your training will take place. Also, go ahead and inform our family and friends of what I have told you. They deserve to be warned. Now, I must go and prepare for tomorrow."

The princess turned to leave, but paused, and looked back.

"Oh, and Applejack?"

The earth pony looked at the princess.

"Try and convince your brother to enlist. He could be very useful."

Applejack snorted. "Princess, it be impossible to convince him not to."

Celestia nodded, than resumed her walk outside. Derek stood, and quickly followed her, a question burning in his mind. He caught her just as she was preparing to take off for Canterlot.

"Princess!" he shouted.

Hearing him, she turned around.

"Hello Derek." she said calmly. "What is it?"

"You know more about my magic than you let on. Heck, you know more about it than I do!"

Celestia nodded. "And I assume you want me to tell you about it."

"Yes"

The princess sighed. "I do really have to go, but I can give you a quick rundown of it. Basically, your magic is much different that the magic in Equestria. Our magic is made of harmony and care, and while it can be used in battle, that is not its main purpose. That is, however, the purpose of your magic."

"Go on"

"Your magic is made for hunting, for fighting. It's the magic of survival, the type of magic required in a world such as yours. While it can do some of the thing's Equestrian magic can, such as levitate objects and create things, its primary use is as a weapon in battle."

Derek began to pace, curiosity burning in his mind.

"But, why did I lose control?"

"Because you have so much of that magic in you. Your magic will lash out at anything it perceives as a threat. That is why you need to train. So you can get it under control, and wield it. Now, I really do have to depart. Farewell, Derek."

With a flap of her wings, Celestia launched into the air, and disappeared.

\\\\

Tears flowed the next day as the group said goodbye to their family and friends. Twilight made Spike stay and watch the library, though every fiber in her being wanted him to come along. She openly cried as she gave him one last hug, and though Spike didn't want to admit it, he shed a tear or two.

Pinkie Pie, normally extremely peppy and happy, wiped tears off her face as she said goodbye to the Cakes. They were as close to parents as she could get, and she didn't know when she was going to see them again.

Rarity, being the drama queen that she was, balled as she kissed Sweetie Bell on the head, her tears dripping into her younger sister's face.

Applejack gave Granny Smith a gentle hug, went over to Big Macintosh, who had wholeheartedly agreed to the princess' request, and gave him a big bear hug. Then she went and picked up Apple Bloom off the ground, locking her sister in a tight embrace.

Rainbow Dash, who didn't have any family in Ponyville, said goodbye to only Scootaloo. The two pegasai raced around Ponyville one last time, before Rainbow Dash, fighting back tears, had to say goodbye.

Fluttershy softly cried as she bade farewell to her animal friends, all the while instructing Angel Bunny on what to do and when to do it.

Derek, being the only human in Equestria and the only ponies he knew all that well were coming with him, sat in the outskirts of Ponyville by the carriage that had arrived almost five minutes ago. Gradually, the others joined him, still sniffing and wiping away sorrowful tears that had been leaked during their goodbyes.

The group boarded the carriage, and immediately took off for Canterlot.

\\\\

Derek and the rest of the group ran through the winding halls of the royal castle, desperately looking for a way to the courtyard. They had landed in Canterlot, and had been given barely enough time to find their rooms before being ordered to proceed to the courtyard to begin their training.

"Over here!" Twilight shouted, beckoning down a stairway.

They followed the purple unicorn, and a few seconds later, they were in the courtyard. A grey, stern looking pegasus with two swords crossed on a shield as a cutie mark stood n the center of the courtyard facing them. His eyes looked at each one of them coldly, assessing his new students.

"Attention!" He barked. "Line up!"

Everybody stared at the strange pony. Pinkie Pie, being herself, bounced over to him, a huge smile on her face.

"HI!" she shouted. "I'm Pinkie Pie!"

The pegasus stared at Pinkie, who kept smiling. He leaned forward until he was a few inches away from Pinkie's face, then he yelled in a somewhat southern accent:

"I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FUCK WHO YOU ARE, NOW GET IN LINE NOW!"

Pinkie squeaked and backed off. Realizing that this pony meant business, the group formed a line quickly. It would have been perfectly straight had Fluttershy not been hiding behind Rainbow Dash.

The mean pegasus noticed this, and immediately descended upon her.

"JUST WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Fluttershy shrunk even further behind Rainbow Dash, who stepped up to face the grey pegasus.

"Hey, back off dude, you're scaring her!"

He rounded on Rainbow, rage in his eyes.

"I DON'T GIVE A MANTICORE'S FURRY NUTSACK IF IM SCARING HER! GET HER ASS UP AND GET HER IN LINE!"

Rainbow sighed, and nudged Fluttershy until the cowering pony stood in line with the rest of the group. Satisfied, the grey pegasus returned to the center of the courtyard, where he addressed the group.

"Welcome to Canterlot. I will be your drill instructor. I am not your friend, I am not your acquaintance, I'm not even your fucking enemy. I am your worst nightmare. I will make these next few months a personal hell for each and every one of you, even if that means I have to beat you with a stick. I do not give a damn if you are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, a creature from a different dimension, or a fucking Ursa Major, I will accomplish this goal."

Rainbow Dash, still annoyed at the pony for yelling at Fluttershy, spoke up.

"What do we call you?"

"My name is Sergeant Sprinkles. You will call me "sir" or "sergeant." Got that?"

Derek almost lost it. Sergeant Sprinkles? WTF, That's the name of the guy who wrote….oh shit. Despite the odd coincidence, Derek still snickered a bit, which the sergeant also noticed.

"Is there something wrong, human?"

Derek shook his head no.

"Good. Cause if there was, I'd take my back to hooves and buck your balls until they popped like pimples."

Derek audibly gulped.

"Now then, we shall begin with physical training. All of you who have wings, raise them high."

Rainbow Dash shot her wings into the air, and Fluttershy slowly followed. Derek took off his tank top, lifted his wings into reality once more, and raised them.

The sergeant paused at Derek's wings, before continuing.

"Alright, now all of you that can do magic, levitate some rocks."

Twilight spoke up.

"Excuse me sir, but why are we doing this? I mean, besides Derek it's obvious who can fly and who can do magic and who cant!"

The sergeant eyes locked into Twilight's, who instantly regretted her decision.

"We're doing this because I said so!" he growled. "Now levitate a fucking rock!"

Twilight whimpered, then turned her head and quickly levitated a rock off the ground. Rarity and Derek followed in suit.

Once again, the sergeant paused when he saw Derek do magic.

"Alright then. There will be flying lessons tomorrow for the flyers, magic lessons the next day, and the next day, there will be tech training. On Monday, there will be a classroom lesson! On this day every week, you all will be here for group training and exercises. If you are late, there will be dire consequences. Do you understand?"

A quiet murmur answered him.

"I swear by Princess Celestia if I do not get a "Yes Sir" loud enough to wake residence in Cloudsdale I will skull-fuck every one of you sorry excuses for a pony! NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND!"

This time, a resounding "YES SIR!" answered his question.

"Good! Now, we're going to start physical exercise! You will follow my orders as we take a sprint around the city! Go!"

\\\\

Each pony and human learned very quickly how fast they could get in shape and learn when there was a screaming, crazed pegasus blasting curse words and insults into their ears at every waking second.

The sergeant was present during every lesson, be it flying, magic, strength, speed, or classroom. He was always there, and he was always yelling.

Derek got the most of the sergeant, as he had to go through all the lessons. Every now and then, he would find himself thinking in that crazy, screaming voice.

After months of the intense and rigorous schedule, the group began to notice changes in themselves and the others, besides the obvious physical changes.

Derek, besides suddenly gaining large amounts of muscle and height, found himself becoming more in control of his magic, and began to think in strategy. When he would walk into a room, he would begin to plot an escape rout, just in case.

Twilight Sparkle's magical ability grew tenfold, as she received instruction from the greatest unicorns around the globe, as well as lessons with the princess, who was also giving lessons to Rarity and Derek.

Fluttershy, while still a loving and caring pony, became more demanding and confident. Maybe it was her newfound flying ability, maybe it was her new strength, but she felt good.

Rainbow Dash had one of the more noticeable changes. Gone were her lazy habits and cockiness, replaced by strict dedication and well earned self-confidence, all products of her increased skill. Had she elected to try out for the Wonderbolts, they would have made her captain within a few days.

Pinkie Pie's bright demeanor never faded, though she did go a little insane, but she did prove to be one of the sneakiest and resourceful ponies in one of the battle simulators, so much that the sergeant said that she was a natural assassin.

Applejack changed the least. Her hardworking no-nonsense attitude allowed her to deal with the sergeant the best, so much that he dubbed her a military-ready pony on the third day.

Rarity's magical skill increased greatly as well. She also became much more tolerant to dirt and other un-lady like things, though her forte was in technical design and planning.

The training went on for well over half a year. Time, which at first seemed to move so slowly, began to fly as they adjusted to their new lives. Training became a part of them, and soon they were used to the long sprints, the rain, the screaming, and just about everything else.

After one particularly intense session, Derek was walking past Applejack's room when he saw her sitting on her bed reading a letter. Concern filled him, since letters meant news and in these times news could be very bad.

He quietly approached Applejack, and sat down on the bed beside her. He watched as tears hit the paper, smudging the words.

"What is it, AJ?"

The earth pony sniffed, and looked up at Derek with tear filled eyes.

"Granny Smith passed away."

Derek let loose a breath of air.

"Oh god, AJ, I'm so sorry."

He reached over and pulled her into a big hug, holding her as she sobbed. After a while, the crying slowed, and Applejack spoke again.

"Tha thing is, is that she was watchin' Apple Bloom while Ah was here and Big Macintosh was in boot camp. Who the hay is gonna watch her now?"

Derek gave Applejack a sad smile.

"Listen, Ponyville is a very close community. Apple Bloom can stay with some of the other folks there for a few days, while we figure this out. I'm sure Celestia will help, after all, she did kind of force us here."

Applejack nodded, and gave Derek one more hug.

"Thanks, Derek."

"No problem, AJ. Now, If you'll excuse me, I have to go sleep."

\\\\

Derek slept badly that night. His mind occasionally drifted to thoughts of his home, to his family and friends. He could see them, but when he'd get too close they'd disappear, fading into thin air. He cried out for them, but no one would answer.

Then he heard someone calling his name. Derek….Derek….the voice got louder, and soon Derek realized that it wasn't a dream

"Derek! Derek wake up!"

Derek shot out of his bed, almost slamming into Rainbow Dash who hovered above him. He rubbed his eyes, and shook his head to try and clear it.

"Rainbow, what the hell do you want?"

Rainbow Dash grabbed him and pulled him out of bed, much to his protest.

"Stop whining and get dressed!"

"Rainbow, what's going on?"

Rainbow Dash looked down at him, panic in her eyes.

"Gargoyles are attacking Ponyville!"

Derek snapped awake. He jumped up, threw some clothes on, and ran with Rainbow Dash to the front of the castle, where the others were waiting for him. As soon as he stopped running, he noticed that the other were covered in armor and had swords. He was about to protest, but then remembered that he had his magic.

Sergeant Sprinkles walked quickly out of the castle, and addressed the group.

"Listen Up! A group of 400 or so gargoyles are attacking Ponyville! We have dispatched the army, but we need you all to go in there and hold them off until the army arrives."

He looked at each of the beings gathered there.

"This is what you have been training for. This is the beginning of the war, and right now we can make a statement. Kill them all."

The group boarded the carriage, and within seconds they were on their way.

Derek sat watching the clouds go bye. He sighed, thinking about the upcoming battle and the war that was certainly starting.

This isn't the beginning of a war. Derek thought grimly. This is the beginning of hell.

\\\\\

Chapter 7

Hell yeah! Im aiming for around 10 or more chapters for this story. Don't worry, there will be at least two sequels, only reason I'm ending it is for story purposes. Still, that's a few chapters away. Enjoy!

Derek watched the clouds wiz by the carriage as it made it's way through the sky towards Ponyville. The land seemed strangely peaceful, with the night sky shining bright with stars, and the moon giving off a warm glow.

Nothing was said on board the carriage. There were no battle strategies being planned, for the situation at Ponyville was still relatively unknown. The group had no idea if the town was under siege, had managed to repel the attackers, or if anypony was still alive.

That changed quickly.

At first, it was just an odd glow on the horizon. As they got closer, the group realized what it truly was.

Ponyville was burning.

Fires burned across at least half the town, sending smoke and flame shooting into the air. Houses smoldered into ash and dust, and small explosions rocked the town as the flames gashed the town.

As the carriage flew over the town, the screams became audible. There were the obvious, panic stricken screams of mothers and fathers, children and just general any other pony as they ran for cover and safety. Then there were the other screams, screams of battle and violence.

These screams came from the gargoyles, as they rampaged through Ponyville. Their hellish wails filled the air, sending a shiver down everypony's spine. Shuddering, Derek and the rest of the group scanned Ponyville for any signs of an organized defense.

They found one, a large barrier of chairs, tables, and any other item being defended by large line of ponies. The barrier spread from Twilight's library to Sugarcube Corner, and was being bombarded by attacks from the gargoyles.

Derek turned, and looked in his companions.

"Right, what's the plan?"

Twilight scanned the battlefield once more, before starting.

"Okay, Fluttershy and Rainbow, you two get down there and see if you can help with any rescues from the fires. Watch out for gargoyles, though, they can fly. Applejack, Pinkie, you two will help at the barricade. Fluttershy, Rainbow, help them when you're done."

Twilight inhaled deeply.

"Derek, try and get the gargoyles into a tight space or crowd. That will allow Rarity and I to bombard them with magic!"

Twilight looked at each of the members in the carriage, her eyes grim. She turned and shouted to the pegasai pulling the carriage.

"Bring us over the barricade!"

She turned back to the group.

"Alright, when we get over the barricade, we move. AJ, Pinkie, you're coming down with us, we'll teleport you. The rest of you, use your wings. Oh and everyone? If you have to kill, so be it, but try to keep the gore to a minimum. The ponies below are traumatized already."

The group nodded, then sat and looked over the edge as the carriage rounded. The moment the vehicle was over the barricade, they moved. Derek, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash plunged over the side, allowing gravity to do most of the work until they flared their wings and soared over the town.

Back in the carriage, two white flashes signified the departure of the rest of the group. A few short seconds later, the ponies reappeared right beside Twilight's old library.

The pegesai pulling the carriage looked at each other and nodded. They swooped low, and spotted a group of gargoyles ransacking a house. With swift movements, the detached the carriage from themselves and watched it drop onto the house.

The carriage smashed into the house with a bang, followed by a small explosion as the explosive mixture detonated. Within a few seconds the house was ablaze, followed by the wails of the burning gargoyles inside.

The two pegesai nodded to each other once again, and flew back up into the night sky, their mission completed. Far below, in the besieged town, the battle raged on.

\\\

Rainbow Dash flew over her burning home, her eyes watering from the smoke. She scanned the flames, looking for any signs of life, as long as it was pony. Screams of pain filled her ears from every direction, confusing her and wreaking havoc on her sense of direction.

Movement caught her eye, and she turned her head to the left. Her eyes locked onto a young stallion being chased by a group of gargoyles. She focused in on him, and zoomed down as fast as she could.

She knew that she couldn't fly him out, after all, he was an earth pony, so she decided on the only other viable option: distraction.

She landed lightly on the ground, right in front of the stallion. She gave him a quick look over, and saw the severe burns on his front legs and chest, along with the fear in his eyes. She looked at him, dead in the eyes, and said in confident, reassuring voice:

"Don't worry, it's going to be okay. Keep running, go to Sugar Cube corner, there's a defense set up there!"

The stallion nodded, and muttered a word of thanks before taking off again. Rainbow Dash watched him run around the corner, before turning her eyes back to the gargoyles, which had stopped in their tracks.

With a quick count, Rainbow realized that she was going up against 4 gargoyles, a number that, only a few months ago, would have made her panic. Four gargoyles was still nothing to laugh at, but she couldn't help but feel a bit confident. Rainbow lowered her head, narrowed her eyes and smiled, the adrenaline beginning to kick in.

"Your move, freaks."

The gargoyles responded, each one letting loose a violent and terrifying scream, before launching at Rainbow Dash. She waited a full second before taking off herself, delivering a sharp kick to one of the beast's jaw.

The gargoyle fell to the ground for a moment, before regaining its senses and rejoining its companions. Rainbow Dash flew straight up into the air, turning back to see her pursuers. With a dark laugh, Rainbow executed a barrel roll, changing her direction to horizontal flying, and the chase was on.

\\\

Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie ran through the crowd of ponies, looking for the Mayor. They found her near the center of the barricade, barking orders to the ponies as they bravely defended the wall from gargoyles. The Mayor looked over and saw the four ponies running toward her, and a look of relief briefly flashed over her face.

"Good, good!" she said when they were in ear range. "I was starting to worry that you wouldn't show up, I'll have to make sure I don't lose faith again."

Twilight assumed the lead of the group.

"No need to worry, Mayor. What's the situation?"

"We've lost half the town, partially to fire, partially to gargoyles, and we're losing more as we speak. The west half, near SugarCube corner, is under heavy attack, and we're preparing for its fall."

Twilight looked out across the battlefield.

"How many casualties?"

"We're not sure, though they are defiantly heavy and climbing. Honestly, Twilight, I don't know if we can hold out."

Applejack stepped forward.

"Scuse me, Mayor, but do you happen' to know about-"

"Your sister, as well as her friends, are safe Applejack. We managed to evacuate most of the children from the town, and I recall seeing them among the evacuees, along with Spike. We had to drug them all to make them leave, their all so strong willed. They shall be in Appaloosa by the morning."

Applejack and Rarity nodded, welcoming the news. Twilight turned to Applejack and Pinkie, giving them both a quick nod, and the two earth ponies ran off in the direction of SugarCube Corner.

Twilight turned back to the mayor.

"Mayor, you've done a wonderful job, but I have trained for this sort of thing. If I could, I would like to assume command."

The mayor nodded, and Twilight began to bark orders, for a brief moment almost sounding like Sergeant Sprinkles.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do! Fortify the west front as much as you can! When it becomes to intense, begin a slow methodical retreat towards my library. The gargoyles will probably try and hit the east front soon, so same strategy for that. We don't have to win, just hold out until the army gets here. Rarity, get ready, Derek should get started soon."

The two unicorns stood side by side, watching as the consuming flames burned their home.

\\\\

Fluttershy heard the screams for help close by, and she instantly went into action. She had just finished rescuing a wounded pegasus from the flames when the screams caught her ear.

She flew into the air, and swooped in the direction of the screams. As she got closer, she located the source. It was a young filly, probably only 3 years old, screaming at the top of her lungs inside a burning house.

Fluttershy thought for a second, before deciding on a plan. With a deep breath, she blasted through the window and into the family room. After a second or two to get her surroundings, she saw the screaming filly huddled up in the corner, her mom by her side.

The mom's eyes locked with Fluttershy, who said in a voice that only a few months ago would have been an impossibility:

"Come with me if you want to live!"

The two ponies began to approach Fluttershy, but before they got there, their eyes went wide as they saw something behind the yellow pegasus, and returned to cowering. Turning, Fluttershy saw 3 gargoyles standing in the window frame, their mouths salivating at the site of the ponies.

Fluttershy backed up, her wings flaring as she faced down the gargoyles. While a whole lot tougher than she had been before, she was still no fighter, and was here to help, not to hurt. Still, she prepared to engage to gargoyles, who were now starting to approach the ponies.

Just as they were about to attack, the wall to Fluttershy's left exploded as something crashed through it. The thing slammed into the gargoyles, knocking them all off their feet.

The object rolled a few times, before crashing into the other wall and stopping. After a moments pause, the thing got up again, and Fluttershy saw that the "thing" was actually Derek, who was looking around the room in a very confused manner.

"What the—oh, hi Fluttershy!"

Derek grinned, before spitting some blood out of his mouth. He looked down at the three gargoyles, who were starting to get up, before returning his gaze to Fluttershy.

"Go, before these guys get back up. I've got a few more chasing me, so hurry!"

Fluttershy complied, leading the other two ponies out from the wreckage of their home and into the streets. She shot a quick glance back in the direction of Derek, who was now standing alone in the room as six gargoyles advanced on him. Fluttershy couldn't believe it, but it almost sounded as if Derek were laughing.

Fluttershy tore her eyes away before the violence started, and continued leading her followers to salvation.

\\\\

Applejack and Pinkie Pie kicked, pushed, threw, and launched at the advancing gargoyles. They had managed to hold the west front for only a few more minutes before being overwhelmed by the physically superior gargoyles. The ponies retreated, albeit in a very organized manner.

The enemy poured over the broken barricade, charging head on for the wall of ponies facing them. The ponies grabbed anything that could be used as a weapon, and steeled themselves for the oncoming gargoyles.

The gargoyles slammed into the ponies with a scream. The ponies held, fighting back the gargoyles with anything and everything they could muster. Applejack bucked a gargoyle in the chest, sending it reeling backwards, its ribs clearly broken.

Pinkie Pie delivered two quick kicks to the injured gargoyles head, and it went down, unmoving. They had little time to celebrate the victory, as another 4 gargoyles were now charging directly at them.

Pinkie and Applejack launched at the foe, delivering multiple kicks and bucks in a manner of seconds. The gargoyles, unable to match the speed of the ponies, swung wildly, never connecting.

Applejack spun and delivered a kick to one of the gargoyles knees, breaking it instantly. The gargoyle fell, screaming, as it slashed at Applejack. With another buck, she finished the gargoyle off, before turning to the next one, who charged at her with a roar.

Applejack looked around quickly for a weapon, settling on a broken broomstick. Picking up the broomstick, she waited until the gargoyle was about a full leg's length away before jabbing the weapon at the creature's eyes.

The broken broomstick stabbed straight through one of the gargoyles eyes, sending blood spurting out. Applejack quickly withdrew the stick, bucked the creature in the knees, and kicked its head.

The gargoyle fell to the ground limply, where it stayed. Turning, Applejack saw Pinkie dispose of the last gargoyle, before running over to her.

The two ponies surveyed the battle as it raged around them. The ponies continued their retreat back towards Twilight's library, managing to keep the gargoyles from having a clear path towards the rest of the town.

"Ah hope to Celestia the army will be here soon." Applejack said, her eyes filling with tears at the carnage.

She never saw the gargoyle, never saw it raise its arm as it prepared to attack. One moment, she was standing with Pinkie Pie, and the next, she was slamming into one of the vendor carts that was still on the street.

Groaning, Applejack looked up and saw the gargoyle standing over her, preparing to make the final blow. It never got that chance.

All of a sudden, Pinkie Pie jumped on the creatures back, letting loose a wicked scream of rage. The gargoyle attempted to shake Pinkie off, but it couldn't do it. Applejack, seeing an advantage, grabbed a large splinter of wood from the wreckage of the cart, and threw it at the gargoyle.

Her accuracy was spot on. The wood jammed itself into the gargoyle's throat, burying itself about halfway in. The creature stopped struggling and fell, as blood began to pour out from the wound.

Within seconds, the gargoyle was dead. Pinkie let go of the creature and allowed it to drop completely, before going to Applejack's side.

Applejack tried to stand up, but felt a horrible pain in her left side. She looked over, and saw a chunk of wood sticking out of it.

"Consarnit." Applejack muttered, as the pain began to overwhelm her.

"Hold on, AJ, I'm taking you back to Twilight, she'll be able to heal you."

Pinkie Pie lifted Applejack up onto her back, and took off towards the center of the barricade, as the remaining ponies continued their retreat.

\\\\

Derek laughed as the six gargoyles approached him. He could feel their bloodlust, and could see every weak point on their bodies. The training in Canterlot had done wonders for him. He could now control his magic, and use it when and how he pleased for the most part.

Derek slid his hands behind his back, and allowed the black, writhing tendrils to come from his wrist. The tendrils, as he had come to realize, were amazing weapons created by his magic as hunting tools, each one capable of stabbing, slicing, slamming, and basically any thing else he could want.

The gargoyles charged, and Derek continued to laugh.

He lifted his hands, and faced his palms towards the attackers. Each tendril shot forward, stabbing every gargoyle in the chest. He buried them deep, then, with a simple flick of his wrists, ripped the gargoyles in half.

Allowing the tendrils to return, he looked and saw a large herd of gargoyles heading in his direction.

Guess I better start to round them up. He thought grimly, before unfurling his wings and shooting into the air. The gargoyles followed, giving chase to the human. He flew over the entire town, gathering gargoyles behind him like a magnet.

As he was flying along, he looked over and noticed Rainbow Dash flying directly beside him. He could tell that she was hurt, though she managed to keep speed with him.

"What are you doing? Are you okay?" Derek shouted over the wind.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "I had a couple following me so I decided to drop 'em off with you!"

"Okay, get on back to Twilight!"

Rainbow Dash nodded, and gave him a bump on the shoulder before taking off back in the direction of Twilight.

It's up to me now!

He circled the town a few more times, before changing direction and heading towards the barricade.

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Twilight Sparkle finished the healing spell, and breathed a sigh of relief. She helped Applejack onto her feet, and gave her a quick hug.

"Thanks, Twi!" Applejack sighed, before looking back down at where the wound had been.

Twilight nodded, before turning back towards the rest of the group. Pinkie Pie had come back carrying the injured Applejack, along with news that the west barricade had fallen and the ponies on that side were making a slow but steady retreat.

Fluttershy had managed to bring back 15 total ponies before the battle became to intense for her to venture out, so now she sat and watched the violence ensue. Twilight looked up into the sky, searching for any sign of Rainbow Dash or Derek.

To her surprise, she saw Rainbow Dash flying over the barricade and head for her. Twilight smiled at the sight of her friend, but grew concerned when she saw Rainbow limping over.

"Rainbow, what happ-"

Rainbow cut her off. "Later. I can deal with it for now, and besides, you're going to need your magic. Derek is rounding them up and should be coming."

Twilight nodded, then addressed the group.

"Okay everypony, get ready. Rarity, come with me."

The two unicorns galloped off, and located Mayor Mare, who was talking to a stallion who looked like he had been through hell. His mane was burnt and blood covered, and he had a few noticeable wounds.

The mayor wrapped up her conversation with the stallion, noticed Rarity and Twilight, and approached them.

"It seems as though Derek managed to round up the gargoyles on the west front as well. As of right now, every surviving pony is here."

Twilight nodded, then looked out over the barricade, where it seemed eerily quiet. The wall, which had but minutes ago been swarming with gargoyles, now lay silent, as did the rest of the town, save for the crackling of the fires.

Motion in the sky caught the eye of Twilight, who immediately bumped Rarity and pointed. The two unicorns watched as the figure, now fly straight towards them, came into focus. It was Derek, and right behind him were around 350 gargoyles.

The moment Derek passed over the barricade, he dove to the ground. Rarity and Twilight unloaded upon the gargoyles, shooting every magical spark inside them at the creatures. At first, it was just them, but soon every unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony were launching anything they had at the gargoyles.

The bodies of the creatures fell from the sky, and littered the ground. The magical onslaught wiped out over half of the gargoyles, leaving only around 90. More would have been destroyed had Twilight and Rarity been able to hold the magic for longer, but the spells they cast drained to much out of them.

The remaining 90 snarled, and prepared to attack the survivors once more. At that moment, several hundred arrows flew in from behind, and descended upon the gargoyles. The arrows impacted against the gargoyles, sending every one of them to the ground in pain.

Twilight looked behind her, and breathed a sigh of relief. The army had finally arrived. The army, of around 1,000 ponies, launched another volley of arrows at the gargoyles, and just like that, the Battle of Ponyville had ended.

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Derek sat and watched as the surviving ponies embraced their loved ones, their friends, and generally any pony within reach. From what he had heard, the army had been attacked by a group of 500 gargoyles while traveling to Ponyville, which delayed them.

As of right now, the army pegasus were flying over the town, dousing it in water, while the unicorns and earth ponies disposed of the gargoyles, collecting them and taking them to an unknown location, where they would be burned.

Derek looked up, and saw Rainbow Dash walk over to him, her wound now gone and replaced with soreness. The pegasus sat on her haunches by the human, and watched the activity around.

"How many dead?" Derek asked.

"40 ponies" she said softly. "I suppose it could have been a lot worse."

Derek nodded slowly. He watched as Applejack embraced Big Macintosh, who had come along. From what he could tell, Big Mac was a private right now, though he knew that wouldn't last for long. Big Mac was too good of a pony to be anything but a hero.

Rainbow Dash spoke again.

"Before, you said you were a fan of us. I'm not sure how you knew of us in your world, and I really don't care, but please, tell me this. Did you ever see this happen? Battles in Equestria, I mean."

Derek shook his head, before pausing. "Well, if you count fan fiction, yes, but otherwise, no."

Rainbow nodded, before laying her head down upon Derek's shoulder. The two battle weary companions watched the activity around them in peace, both knowing that this peace wouldn't last long, for today, the war had begun.

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Princess Celestia sat on the balcony, looking out into the early morning sky. Soon, she would have to raise the sun, but for now, she was content with her sister's night.

"Celestia!"

The sound of her name, spoken by none other than Luna, brought her back to reality. She turned and faced her sister, who stood the doorway, looking weary.

"Yes, Luna, what is it?"

"It's about Ponyville. I'm glad to say that the attack has been repelled, along with the gargoyles. So far, we estimate around 900 gargoyle deaths."

Princess Celestia stared. "900? But wasn't the attack on Ponyville only a force of 400?"

Luna nodded. "Yes, but the army got attacked while on the way to Ponyville by a force of 500."

Celestia sighed, and turned her gaze back to the sky. It was awhile before she spoke again.

"How many ponies died?"

"75. Forty were Ponyvillians, the rest were members of the army."

Celestia bit her lip, tears in her eyes. 75 dead ponies. The first of many.

Luna spoke again.

"I also have news of a gargoyle army building near the southern border of Equestria, near the Hooflantic Ocean."

"Any report on the size of it?"

"No, though I would assume it's going to be pretty big. It really depends on how many portals it opened."

Princess Celestia stood up and faced her sister. Worry shone in her eyes, and she wiped the tears off her cheeks.

"Luna, I normally don't ask for advice, and I know I'm the big sister, but tell me. Do you have any idea how to beat this thing?"

Luna paused, trying to think of the right words to say.

"Right now, Celly, we just need to fight. To survive. The dragons say they have an army building, as do the griffons. Let us beat this army that rises against us first."

Celestia smiled. "You have a hunch, don't you?"

Luna smiled back, and hugged her sister. "I always do. I'll tell you later. Right now, the people need to see their rulers standing tall and strong. We have to show them that we will not back down. They knew a war is coming. Now, it's time to start that war."

Princess Celestia nodded, and planted a kiss on Luna's forehead. Together, the two sisters walked back inside, ready to start the first war in over 1,000 years: together.

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Chapter 8

My computer is finally fixed, and working conditions on it are much better. I know it's been a while, so please, enjoy this chapter and review!

The dirt road crunched beneath the hooves of the army as they walked into Appaloosa. Each pony warmly greeted the sight of the town, for the battle weary group had been walking for a few days. Amidst the large crowd of ponies, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie walked side by side, while Derek and Rainbow Dash flew overhead.

Princess Celestia had ordered Ponyville cleared until deemed safe, so until then, the residence of the town would make home in Appaloosa. As the ponies walked into the streets of the town, the crowd began to disperse as many ponies started to locate their loved ones that had evacuated.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack and Big Macintosh both shouted as they ran towards the small, yellow filly.

Tears streamed down all three of their faces as they embraced in the street.

"They made me leave, sis, but Ah didn't wanna leave, cause Ah knew you would be there an' make everythin better!" Apple Bloom said, her face buried in Applejacks shoulder. The older mare simply smiled with joy.

Rarity roamed the crowd, looking for Sweetie Bell. As she walked, she felt something slam up against her leg, and hold on tight. Rarity looked down, and saw her younger sister clinging to Rarity's legs with a grip not even Big Macintosh could break.

Rarity let out a sigh of relief, and wrapped her other leg around Sweetie Bell, before sitting down and having a proper embrace.

"Are you okay, Sweetie Bell?" Rarity asked.

"Yes" Sweetie Bell sniffed, her eyes beginning to water up. Rarity closed her eyes, and held her sister tightly to her body, unwilling to ever let go again.

Rainbow Dash soared above the town with Derek, her eyes scanning the crowd for no one in particular. As she glanced at the faces of the ponies, her eyes halted on one in particular. It was a brown pegasus filly with a purple-ish mane attempting to fly up to her, however, the filly kept falling back to earth.

Rainbow Dash smiled, and descended to Scootaloo, who was waving madly at the incoming pegasus. The two met and embraced, and while the two weren't related, they certainly felt like it. After a long pause, the two separated, and Scootaloo immediately began to talk.

"So, did you fight off the gargama-thingies? I bet you did, you probably scared them off!"

Rainbow Dash just laughed as the enthusiastic filly carried on. Derek watched the scene unfold from the sky, grinning the entire time. He eventually pulled his attention away from the two pegesai, before settling on Twilight, who was pulling Spike into a huge hug.

"Jeez, Twilight, what's the big deal?" The purple dragon responded as he suddenly found himself wrapped in tangle of purple fur, though he returned the embrace with a tight one of his own.

Twilight ignored the protests, and continued hugging him, until he finally clambered up on top of her back.

"I missed you, number one assistant." Twilight said softly, as she began to trot through the town.

Spike answered with another quick hug, forcing an even larger grin on Twilight's face.

Derek felt a slight twang in his heart. He cared for the ponies, and while he truly did value them as friends, he felt lonely. He flew down to the ground, and sat down on the porch of The Salt Lick, Appaloosa's version of a bar.

Every time he saw a pony find a loved one, he was instantly reminded. No one left but me. All these ponies, they've got family they can run to, and hug, and be around. Hell, I don't even remember the last thing I said to my mom! Oh god, I miss them..

His thought's ceased when he noticed Fluttershy sitting next to him, looking at him with concern.

"Are you okay, Derek?" she said softly.

Derek nodded silently, but he could tell that Fluttershy wasn't buying it. Her eyes stared into his, probing him for a real answer, but he turned away, his eyes settling on Applejack as she and the rest of her family walked through town, smiles on all their faces.

Fluttershy followed his gaze, and let out a small sigh when she saw what was holding his attention.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, her eyes returning to him.

"About what?" He turned to Fluttershy, and the butter-colored pegasus could see the tears in his eyes.

"You know what."

Derek bowed his head as tears started to flow. His watery eyes stared at the ground as the two sat in a silence broken only by the sounds of the ponies around.

"I'm the last of my kind, Fluttershy. Sure, there maybe some other humans, or at least things similar to humans out in the stars, but I'm the last true Earth-human. When I die….we're all gone. I mean it's great that I ended up in Equestria, and everypony has been amazing…but you don't know how much I would give to see them all again. Not just my family…any body."

Fluttershy nuzzled Derek gently, her eyes full of tears as well.

"I'm not going to try and say I understand your pain. I may not have family, but I've always had friends."

Derek looked at her. "You don't have family?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "Most pegasus parents give their children flying lessons before they ever enter flight school. I never had the opportunity to get a lesson. The only reason I got into flight school was because Rainbow Dash wouldn't go to flight school without me."

"You knew Rainbow before flight school?"

Fluttershy nodded. "We grew up in the same orphanage. Rainbow got accepted after she showed how much of a natural flyer she was, but she wouldn't leave without me."

Derek stared at Fluttershy, before his gaze sought out Rainbow Dash.

"So that's why your families were never on the show…" he muttered to himself, before returning his eyes to Fluttershy.

"Do either of you know what happened to your families?"

She nodded. "Rainbow's mom and dad died in a hospital fire. They flew in to try and help get some ponies out. They went in nine times, and each time they brought out a pony or two. The tenth time in though, the building collapsed."

Derek took in a shuttering breath. After a brief moments pause, he asked again.

"What about you?"

Fluttershy shook her head no.

"I was dumped on the orphanage porch as a baby. I never found out who my parents were."

Derek bit his lip, trying to think of what to say.

"I'm….I'm sorry." He finally said.

Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, it's fine. I've never had any reason to miss them. Besides, if they hadn't dumped me on the orphanage, I wouldn't have met Rainbow Dash, or any of the others, and I wouldn't have discovered my love of animals!"

Derek seemed a bit taken back by the response, but then he smiled.

"Typical Fluttershy, making the best out of the worst. Speaking of which, where are your animals?"

Fluttershy smiled again.

"I let them out of their cages when we got to Ponyville. Angel Bunny is in charge of them, so I assume their all hiding in the woods somewhere. I'll find them soon, I can just feel it."

Derek laughed, his tears long dried.

"Fluttershy, you never cease to amaze me."

"Oh, that's nice."

Derek pulled her into a big hug, and smiled at her again when they broke the embrace.

"Thank you." He said softly, before getting up and walking away into town. Fluttershy followed him with her eyes, smiling softly, before looking again at Rainbow Dash, who was having a race with Scootaloo.

She's going to kill me when she finds out I told him. Fluttershy thought happily, before turning and heading off into town.

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The sound of trumpets blasting from above startled the town of Appaloosa, and every set of eyes turned towards the sky. There, they beheld a carriage making its descent towards the country town. Even from afar, everypony could see who the two passengers were.

The carriage landed softly on the main street, and rolled to a stop. Immediately, everypony bowed as the two royal sisters stepped off the carriage, and thanked the pegasai that had pulled them.

The sisters then turned, and began to walk through the crowd. Both sisters smiled comfortingly at everypony they saw, before turning the corner.

As the sisters rounded the corner, a voice rang through the town, stopping both of them in their tracks.

"Princess!"

Princess Celestia turned, recognizing the voice, and saw Twilight Sparkle running up to her. A smile crept upon Celestia's face at the sight of her student.

The moment Twilight was within reach, Celestia bent over, and nuzzled her.

"My faithful student, I am glad to see you unhurt! How are your friends?"

"They're all fine, for the most part, though I think Applejack's holding some of it in."

Celestia nodded. "I heard about Granny Smith. Let Applejack know she has our condolences."

Twilight nodded, then took a step back as Princess Luna approached them.

"Twilight Sparkle, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have some important matters to discuss. Could you go gather your friends and bring them to the town hall?"

Twilight nodded. "Right away, Princess!"

Twilight gave Celestia another affectionate nuzzle, before turning and running back into town to search for her friends.

Celestia chuckled, before continuing on their walk to town hall.

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Meanwhile, only a few miles outside of Appaloosa, on a long and winding dirt path that was bathed by the desert sun in light and heat, a unicorn ran for her life.

She could hear them behind her, screaming and groaning and flapping their wings as they charged after her. Tears streamed down her face as she ran, part from fear, part from pain.

Her legs burned, for she had been running for hours. Her magic was exhausted, and at this moment, useless, and she had a long and terrible gash on her forehead that dripped blood into her eyes, blinding her until the tears washed it away.

She perked up a bit when she saw the outline of Appaloosa ahead. With a grunt, the blue unicorn continued her sprint, her eyes deadlocked on the town ahead.

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"Now that you're all here, we can start." Princess Celestia said as she sat down at the table. The two princesses' sat at the head, while the rest of the group filled out the sides.

Around the table were military masterminds from across Equestria, each one specializing in different forms of strategy and combat. Naturally, they were slightly surprised to see six mares and a human sitting at their table, but not one of them spoke up about it.

"As you all know, we are facing a serious threat." Celestia continued. "The creature, which we have named The Darkness due to lack of actual knowledge on it, is a dimension eater. It feeds on everything that makes up a universe, and apparently, it doesn't like it when part of its meal gets away."

At this, she turned and looked at Derek.

"I assume you all have read my report on Derek here, so no explanation should be needed. The creature followed him to our universe, and specifically, our world. However, it didn't expect there to be powerful magic, allowing me to wound the creature."

"Excuse me, your majesty." Celestia turned, and faced the interrupter.

"Yes, General Stardust?"

"How exactly did you wound the creature? Could you not have killed it?"

The princess shook her head.

"I used my magic separate its body into three parts, and then blasted those parts into separate dimensions. Killing it completely, however, was impossible. As of right now, we are still trying to figure out how to destroy it."

"Is there any way for The Darkness to restore itself?"

Celestia bit her lip. "We don't know. The magic that I used is something I came up with myself, and that was the first time I've used it."

General Stardust nodded, accepting the information. Princess Celestia paused for a moment, before going on.

"The Darkness fled, and eventually came to rest along the southern border of Equestria. There, it opened multiple portals to hell dimensions, and as of right now is raising an army of gargoyles. My sister believes that it plans to use this army to wipeout the entire planet. Not just all life, everything. That amount of total destruction would possibly allow it to regenerate, especially if it can get a hold of our magic."

Derek spoke up. "Is there any way to close the portals?"

Celestia sighed again. "We're working on that. These portals are not magical, so we are unsure what's creating them, or what's allowing the Darkness to control the gargoyles."

She paused for a moment. "That's why we're sending a team down to the portals. It will be a no contact recon mission. Based on the information we get from the team, we will draw up battle strategies, on both offensive and defensive."

The princess turned and faced an old pegasus with a red coat.

"Phoenix Star, you shall lead the team. The rest of your teammates have already been selected, and you shall leave immediately."

Phoenix Star nodded, and began to walk to the door. Before he got there however, the door burst open, and Big Macintosh ran in.

"Sorry to bother y'all, but there are sum gargoyles comin' in, and from the looks of it, they're chasin' sum poor unicorn."

Princess Celestia stood up. "Meeting over, Big Macintosh, please lead the way."

The earth pony nodded, and ran quickly through the door as the others followed. The group ran through Appaloosa, before coming to a halt at the north entrance to the town. The group scanned the desert for any sign of the pony in peril.

"There." Derek said, pointing to a shadow on the horizon. The rest of the group looked to where he was pointing, quickly realizing that he was right.

The pony was kicking up a lot of dust as she ran, for the gargoyles were gaining on her. The gargoyles flew overhead, screeching and screaming as they zeroed in on their prey.

"They're going to get her!" Derek said quickly. He ripped off his shirt, and his wings unfurled. With a battle yell, he leapt into the air and flew straight at the gargoyles. The other pegasus joined him in the sky, while the rest of the group ran below.

Derek locked his eyes on the group of approaching gargoyles, estimating that there were about 15 of them. As they got closer, he could begin to make out the pony that the gargoyles were chasing, and saw that she had a blue coat.

That looks familiar… he thought, but dismissed it from his mind as he charged.

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The unicorn saw the outlines of the ponies as they came towards her. They're going to help me! She thought joyfully. That joy quickly turned to terror, because the brief distraction proved enough. The only reason that she had been able to run for so long at such a fast pace was because she focused all her concentration on running. The moment she lost that concentration, her legs collapsed.

She hit the ground hard, and rolled for several paces before coming to a stop on her back. She screamed as she saw a gargoyle dive straight for her, its teeth glistening with saliva, its eyes burning with hate.

Right as the gargoyle was about to be upon her, a dark blur slammed into it. The blur and the gargoyle rolled for a few yards, before separating and rolling apart. The two immediately stood and faced each other.

The unicorn stared at her savior, for she had never seen anything like him, though she had defiantly heard of him. He must be that human everpony was talking about.. she thought weakly, as her eyes rolled back up to the sky.

Above her, she could see a battle taking place. Gargoyles and pegasus clashed in midair, as screams filled her ears. She noticed a rainbow colored blur above her, one that seemed strangely familiar.

No..it cant be… her thoughts were cut off by one of the gargoyles above suddenly getting hit by a spell. The spell sent the gargoyle flying, smoke coming off it as its body burned. The injured unicorn felt the aura left by the spell, and realized that it too felt familiar.

All of a sudden, a gargoyle landed right by her head. The creature was injured, but still alive, and its eyes turned and looked directly at her. It released a scream of fury, and raised a clawed hand to strike her.

It never got the chance. A pair of orange legs slammed into the gargoyles chest, blasting the thing to the ground. The unicorn looked over, and saw an orange earth pony wearing a straw hat run after the downed gargoyle, her eyes full of determination.

The unicorn felt a pair of mouths grab hold of her and begin to pull her back. Her head lolled to the right, allowing her to see a white unicorn with an elegant purple mane casting spells alongside a purple unicorn.

The dragging stopped, and the unicorns view was filled up with two more familiar ponies. One was a butter colored pegasus, and the other was a bright pink earth pony. Both were talking to her, but she couldn't hear them. In fact, she couldn't hear anything.

Oh god, it is them! Oh god oh god oh god…. Her panic stricken thoughts faded as unconsciousness took hold of her.

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Derek pulled his tendrils back into his wrists and looked up as he stood over the carcass of the gargoyle. He smiled as Twilight and Rarity finished off the last one with a rather complicated looking fire spell, which vaporized the gargoyle.

He walked over and joined the others, who were all huddled around the unicorn that had almost been the gargoyles lunch.

The unicorn was blue, with a magic wand for a cutie mark. She was covered in dirt, and appeared to be wearing the remains of a purple cloak.

"Ah say, Twi, there's somethin about this girl that seems mighty familiar." Applejack said as she stared at the mare.

Twilight's gaze was locked on the unicorn as well, and she simply nodded.

"Of course there's something familiar, because we know her. This is Trixie!"

Derek gasped. "You mean the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

Applejack snorted. "Don't tell me that your gonna do it too."

Derek's sheepish grin served as an apology. The group went back to staring at the unconscious Trixie, each one of them thinking the same thing.

"Sooo….what are we gonna do with her?" Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered above their heads.

"Simple." Twilight said. "We're going to help her."

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The Great and Powerful Review Button demands worship! Review or suffer the terrible consequences! (It involves melons)

Chapter 9

Sorry for the wait, finals took up a lot of time! Ah well, here's the new chapter!

Blurry figures filled her vision, confusing her already unsettled mind. Her eyes slowly moved from one edge of the hazy scene to the other, trying to figure out what was happening. Gradually, as her senses returned, The Great and Powerful Trixie began to remember.

"Hey look, she's waking up!" Rainbow Dash said as she fluttered over Trixie.

Trixie's eyes darted up to look at the rainbow pegasus, whose face was now mere inches away from her own.

"Rainbow, give her some space!" Twilight said, quickly walking over to Trixie's bed.

Rainbow Dash complied, and dropped to the ground beside Twilight. A few seconds later, the rest of the group joined them.

"Uhh…what happened? Am I dead?" Trixie asked blearily, her mind still sluggish.

"You were attacked by gargoyles, and no, you're not dead, but you got very close." Twilight answered. "You were dehydrated, and probably wouldn't have lasted another hour without our help."

Trixie shook her head as her wits began to return as well.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie did not nee-"

"Consarn it, Trixie, if you start that "great and powerful" stuff again, Ah'll hogtie you and feed ya to the gargoyles m'self!"

Applejack's interruption silenced Trixie completely. She looked around at the group, before seeing that no one was protesting what Applejack said. With a snotty grunt, Trixie fell even deeper into her pillows, while glaring at Applejack.

"Good. Now, Trixie, you're going to have to tell us some things. First off, where did you bump into the gargoyles?"

Twilights question went unanswered. With a sigh, the purple unicorn walked over and pulled back the curtain, revealing Princess Celestia. Trixie gasped at the sight of the princess, who quickly approached Trixie.

"My little pony, it is good to see that you are alright. However, if you don't answer the questions given to you, we may have to go through with Miss Applejack's threat."

Trixie gaped at the princess, who in return smiled warmly.

"Bu—but you cant do that! It's illegal!"

"Trixie, I make the laws, and I have the ability to be above them. Also remember, we are at war, and I will not put up with some selfish little pony who may have important information on the enemy. Now, answer the question."

The princess never broke her smile at Trixie, who, if it was even possible, sank further into the pillows. She sheepishly looked over at Twilight, who sat waiting.

"The Gre…I…was walking near Trottingham. I was looking for food….then they just showed up. I'd heard about them on the news, but I'd never seen one until then. They chased me for hours, but I held them back with my magic. I just kept running, I didn't really even now where I was headed. I guess it's lucky that I ended up here."

Princess Celestia frowned, and her brow furrowed.

"Trottingham? That means they're advancing…and if any followed you out west, other than the ones that we disposed of…"

Princess Celestia turned sharply and began to walk out the door. She stopped in the frame of the door, and looked back at Twilight.

"Keep asking questions. I shall return shortly."

Twilight nodded as the princess left. Her gaze once again fell on Trixie, who was looking rather distraught.

"Why did she leave? What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing, you just may have led a gargoyle army to here, nothing big." Rainbow Dash said nonchalantly.

Trixie made a strange noise and became one with the pillows while Twilight shot Rainbow Dash a look.

"What? She asked!"

Twilight rolled her eyes, and returned to Trixie.

"Did you see anymore gargoyles besides the ones that were chasing you?"

Trixie shook her head no, before suddenly bursting into tears. Twilight just sighed, and looked over at the rest of the group.

"You all can go, I just need Spike to write down what she says."

After a quick murmur, the others slowly shuffled out of the room, leaving just Twilight and Spike to deal with the sobbing unicorn.

"This is gonna take a while." Spike sighed as he sat down in a comfy chair. Twilight couldn't agree more.

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Derek sat on the porch of the doctor's office, his eyes scanning the desert town. Appaloosa was much busier than normal due to the population increase, and was bustling with life as ponies went from store front to store front.

With a sigh, he returned to what he had been trying to do ever since they had brought Trixie to the doctor's. His mind focused on the image in his head, and he let the magic flow through him. Sparks flew from his hand as his magic tried to create the object.

His spell broke the moment the door to the doctor's burst open. Derek clenched his fists angrily and snorted, before looking over. He watched as everypony, minus Twilight and Spike, exited the building.

Rarity looked over at Derek, and after saying a few words to every one else, headed over in his direction.

"How is she?" He asked once she sat down beside him.

"Alive and awake. Started out acting like her normal self, but it only took a threat from Applejack and the princess to break through that beastly demeanor."

Derek laughed, and shook out his dirty hair. It was much longer than it had been when he had arrived, and now went down his back. He remembered how that drill instructor had told him to cut it, but he had no intention of doing so, mostly because it felt good flying with long hair.

"Did she tell you anything?"

"Not much. Gargoyle may be heading for here as we speak, and we know that they are starting to advance, but besides that, nothing. Twilight's going to keep questioning her. May Celestia help Trixie survive that."

Derek keeled over laughing, and his eyes began to water.

"Jeez, Rarity!" he sputtered through guffaws.

"What?" she said incredulously, a sly smile on her face. "Just because I'm a lady doesn't mean I wont get dirty, physically or verbally!"

Derek laughed again.

"Oh, you have no idea how bad that sounded, but whatever!"

Rarity grinned, before suddenly looking at Derek's hands.

"My word, Derek, what ever happened to your hands? You look like you've been cooking them!"

Derek shot a glance down to his hands, and saw that they were charred black. He grinned, and shrugged at Rarity.

"I've been trying to use my magic for something new: creation. I know unicorns can do it, so I'm assuming I can too, but its really hard. Besides, I don't think creating is my magic's forte."

"Hmm. Well, Twilight is much better suited to answer this question, but I do know a bit about creation magic. You can't create anything living, and nothing too complex, most of the time the ting you create can only have 3 or 4 parts to it. But then again, no unicorn has ever had an entire dimensions worth of magic in them, the rules may be different with you."

Derek nodded, but still seemed uncertain.

"Yeah, but how do I get it to work? I have the picture in my mind, but it's not working!"

Rarity frowned.

"Well, darling, you have to not just imagine what it looks like! You have to actually believe you're holding it! Feel it, taste it, hear it, whatever else you need to do! To create something, that thing needs to exist fully in your mind first."

Derek nodded. He closed his eyes, and summoned the image again, only this time, he followed what Rarity said. He smelled its smell, felt its touch, and channeled his magic into his mind. The image within him became wrapped in a glow, and he felt his hands begin to spark.

A few seconds later, the sparking stopped. Derek closed his hands, and felt the object of his desire. With a smile, he opened his eyes, and lifted the white cylinder to his mouth. With a snap of his fingers, the end caught on fire, and a smoke began to emit from it.

Rarity wrinkled her nose at the smell.

"What in Celestia's name is that foul thing?" she asked, as if she were offended at it.

"Its called a cigarette. They're very bad for you, though they sometimes help when you're nervous or edgy."

"Yes, but, what would inspire you to even think about doing that! I'm not sure about how well it was accepted in your world, but this is Equestria!"

Derek removed the cigarette, and looked at the smoking item.

"I got the idea from a fanfic I was reading. I never was much of a smoker on Earth, but hell, since Earth is gone, why not?"

Rarity shook her head.

"What fanfic? I thought these fanfics were about ponies! We don't have those ghastly things as far as I know!"

"It was a human in Equestria fic. One of the better ones."

Derek suddenly shuddered, which cause Rarity to look at him in concern.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

Derek nodded. "I don't know what that was. Sort of like I learned something forbidden, broke the fourth wall or something."

Derek paused at that, before shrugging.

"Anyway, thanks for the advice Rarity!"

Rarity watched as he walked away, puffing on his cigarette. Shaking her head, she tossed her mane back into place.

"I swear, sometimes he seems as crazy as Pinkie."

"Nah, he's not crazy, he just needs practice."

Rarity flew a few feet into the air at the voice. She whirled around, and saw Pinkie Pie standing there, seemingly waving randomly into the air.

"Pinkie…what are you doing?"

"Trying to repair the fourth wall! Only professionals should break it, and he's an amateur at it, though I think I can teach him."

Rarity stared at the rambling pink pony, before turning around and muttering "I stand corrected."

\\\\

Twilight Sparkle and Spike slowly left the doctor's office, both mentally exhausted. They slowly trudged through the town, before stopping when Princess Celestia approached them.

"Ahh, Twilight, I see you've finished with Trixie. What did she tell you?"

Twilight sighed. "Not much princess. She doesn't remember a whole lot since she was dehydrated, and what she does remember is pretty useless. The only useful things she knew were what she told you."

Spike, seeing that this would take a while, hopped off of Twilight's back and continued walking towards the hotel.

Celestia nodded. "I see. How is she now?"

"She's asleep. Princess, you weren't really going to follow through with Applejack's threat if she didn't tell you, right?"

Celestia paused, before chuckling a bit. "Of course not Twilight, though it would be best if we kept that information from her. I'm willing to punish ponies, but I'm not a barbarian."

Twilight laughed a bit as well, before looking around as she realized how late it was. She yawned, and prepared to go to the hotel where she was staying. Before she left however, she remembered something.

"Hey, Princess? When you left the room today, you seemed worried. I think I know why, so do you know any news?"

Celestia nodded slowly, and bit her lip.

"I'm afraid not, Twilight. I sent out the recon team a few hours ago, and they should be back by morning. Until then, I know as much as you do."

Twilight sighed, before looking back up at the princess.

"Well, goodnight Princess."

"Goodnight, Twilight Sparkle."

The two ponies quickly nuzzled, then walked their separate ways. Celestia looked back, and saw Twilight enter the hotel. She smiled, then turned and continued to walk through the town. A flash of lightening brightened up the night sky, and soon, rain began to fall, forcing the princess into her place of stay.

Celestia walked into her room, and shook out her wet coat, sending droplets all over the floor. She flipped on the light, and walked over to her bed, before noticing something odd; the rain was brown.

Frowning, she knelt down, and examined a small puddle of rain. After a few seconds of thought, she slowly licked the puddle.

Chocolate rain. She thought grimly. Discord's breaking free again.

"Indeed I am!" a gleeful voice said from above.

Celestia looked up, and saw a hazy image of Discord floating above her. The God of Chaos was grinning like a maniac, though Celestia could see the hate and anger within his eyes.

"Discord, now is really not the time for your silly games."

"Oh, relax Celestia, I'm not out yet. Besides, shouldn't you be asking how I'm escaping in the first place?"

The princess sighed. "How are you escaping?"

Discord laughed again, and did a little flip in mid-air.

"When that thing came into this world, it briefly dislodged the magical alignment of the spell that imprisoned me! I suspect I'll be free within a few days or so!"

"And when you are free? What do you plan on doing? In case you haven't noticed, there is a massive, dimension eating beast attacking not just ponies, but everything!"

"That's why I'm here. As much as I enjoy seeing everything you stand for crumble, I have come to offer an alliance."

The princess was taken back.

"What? An alliance? In case you have forgotten, Discord, I'm part of the reason you're imprisoned in stone."

"Believe me, I know. I hate saying this as much as you hate hearing it, but if that thing wins, we all die, and I'm not quite ready for that. There is still so much chaos to be had!"

Celestia sighed. "So, you're saying we should allow you to break free unharmed, and in return, you'll help us?"

The form of Discord nodded.

"And what about when this war is over? You've already proven that you cannot lead Equestria! We'll be forced to lock you away again!"

Discord's smile vanished from his face, and for a second, Celestia saw through the goofy looking appearance, and witnessed his true, horrifying form. A second later, the vision vanished, and Discord was smiling again.

"We'll deal with that when the time comes, Celestia. So, do you accept?"

It was a full minute before her reply came.

"I accept, on the condition that you follow MY orders. Is that clear?"

The grinning Discord nodded. "Pleasure doing business with you, m'lady!"

As he prepared to leave, Celestia suddenly spoke again.

"Discord!"

The draconequus turned, and looked at the white alicorn.

"You weren't always like this. We were friends once…what happened to you?"

Discords smile vanished again, and for once, he was calm, showing neither anger nor joy, but sadness.

"I saw things, Celestia. Things you can't even imagine. I saw what the universe really is. When you've seen what I have, you try and stay sane."

As soon as it had come, Discord's sane moment left, and the God of Chaos flashed one more maniacal smile before vanishing into a white puff, leaving only Celestia in the quiet room. Celestia sat down on the bed, and looked out the window and into the town, where the rain had died down.

There, in that room, the Sun Goddess cried. She cried for Discord, her former friend gone astray, she cried for the ponies already lost, she cried for Derek, the last of his kind, and she cried for the death that had yet to come.

But most of all, she cried for Equestria, and the hell that it was about to go through.

\\\\

High above the clouds of Equestria, Phoenix Star flew with the rest of his squadron. His eyes scanned the dark and lonely looking plains as they went further east. Eventually, they would hit the midway point, and head southward until they hit the portals. It was a simple, easy recon mission.

With a sigh, Phoenix shot a look back at his squad to make sure they were still in formation. To his delight, he saw that the squad was high and tight on each other, forming a narrow and short V shape.

Excellent. Phoenix thought, before turning his head back towards the land ahead.

Something caught his eye. A dark shape, rather large, suddenly appeared in the corner of his eye. Turning his head to the south, Phoenix watched the shape as it appeared to move closer and closer to the squad.

"Attention! Possible contact at 2 o'clock!" he shouted, keeping his eyes on the object.

The group came to a halt, and waited there while the object continued to approach them.

"Pastel, hand me the binoculars." Phoenix said sharply, and a second later, he had a pair of binoculars in his hooves. He raised them to his eyes, and focused on the incoming thing.

"Sweet Celestia have mercy." He breathed, before tossing the binoculars back to Pastel.

"Company, listen up! We have a huge swarm of gargoyles incoming at 2 o'clock! Battle formation! We'll try and hold them off as long as we can! Pastel!"

The pale pony flew up next to Phoenix.

"Yessir?"

"Warn the princess. Tell her gargoyles are coming. These ones were headed in the direction of Appaloosa, so assume there are more on the way."

Pastel nodded, before pausing. "Sir, your extremely outnumbered."

"I know. Now get a move on, Private!"

Pastel nodded, before turning and zooming off in the direction of Appaloosa.

Phoenix waited a few seconds before addressing the remaining 15.

"We have got to give Pastel time to warn the princess. We do not retreat, we do not surrender! Yes, we are all probably going to die, but our deaths shall be glorious! FOR CELESTIA!"

The squad quickly picked up on the chant, and continued to chant as loud as they could while the gargoyles approached. With a final scream, Phoenix charged, and the squadron followed, head on into the swarm of gargoyles.

\\\\

Pastel flew against the wind, his wings flapping viciously. He could hear the battle unfolding behind him, or rather, the screams of the gargoyles, despite the fact that he had been flying for several minutes now. With a grunt, he continued on, his mind focused on one thing and one thing only: warn Celestia.

\\\\

Phoenix Star's head whirled around, his mind racing. All around him, gargoyles flew, filling his vision with sharp teeth and wicked wings. He had no idea how long he had been fighting, or if he was the last one left. His mind was operating at one level: fight.

Sharp talons ripped into his side, sending blood into the air. With a pained yell, Phoenix turned and delivered a sharp kick to the attacker, sending it to the ground far below. He then pulled out the knife he always carried, and began to swing at anything that moved.

He felt the knife's blade plunge and slice against flesh, and he was always answered with a howl of pain. This continued for several minutes, until Phoenix was hit from underneath by a large claw.

He grunted, and the knife slipped from his grasp. He was launched upwards into the air, before another gargoyle latched itself onto him. With a scream, it bit into his flesh, and began to secrete a strange green liquid into him.

He kicked the gargoyle off, and prepared to attack again, but suddenly, he felt woozy. His mind faltered, as did his wings, and fear clenched his heart.

Poison. He thought grimly. Damn things have poison!

His wings failed, and Phoenix Star plunged to the ground, which met him with the hardness it was known for.

Phoenix lay there, his wings broken and torn, his body ripped and bleeding, his veins slowly filling up with poison, and he smiled. He looked back up, where the gargoyles were preparing to descend upon their broken prey. He could see none of his squadron in the skies above.

A sickly coughing caught his ears, and he looked over, to see one of his men, Twinkling Light, laying on the ground beside him.

"Twink? Is that you?" he whispered, his voice hoarse and weak.

"Yes sir." The reply came.

Phoenix nodded, and returned his gaze to the gargoyles, who were now diving after them.

"Weird way to die, huh Twink?"

"Yeah"

"Still got your crystal on you?"

"Yeah"

Phoenix grinned, before bursting out laughing. "Good. Lets bury these shitheads."

As the gargoyles descended upon the fallen squadron, the crystals each member wore around their neck started to light up. The crystals began to build up energy, and started to hum.

A group of gargoyles landed next to Phoenix, and he felt their fangs penetrate his torso, though he felt no pain. He heard the hum of the crystal, and felt the energy building inside.

"I shall see you soon, my love." He whispered to the air, and his vision began to cloud.

\\\\\

Pastel flew hard, which allowed his body to ignore the cold. The amount of physical strain kept him warm, and for that he was grateful.

Perhaps a little too warm…around my neck…OH SHIT!

Pastel grabbed the necklace he wore, and ripped it off. A quick glance showed that the crystal was glowing. Pastel quickly detached the crystal from the chain, and smashed it within his hooves.

The failsafe worked, and the crystal stopped glowing. He put it back with the chain, and put the necklace back on, before realizing what that meant.

With tears in his eyes, Pastel turned, and looked back to where the battle was, and he waited for it. He was not disappointed.

A huge explosion burst into the night sky, sending light and fire in every direction. A few seconds past, before the sound of the bomb hit Pastel, and he was knocked back several yards. He righted himself, and looked towards the explosion, which was now just a large crystal shaped cloud.

Crystal bomb. A last stand sort of thing. Pastel remembered what Phoenix had told him when he joined the team. They could be set individually, or they could all be set to go off at once. Judging by the explosion and his own crystal, Pastel concluded that the latter was what had happened.

With a sigh, Pastel turned, and continued his flight towards Appaloosa.

\\\\

The morning sun blazed its way through the streets of Appaloosa, waking every pony in its place. Princess Celestia watched as the town came to life, and she smiled. She watched as Twilight and her friends walked through the streets of the town, distracted from the horrors of what was to come by each other. How Celestia wished she had that luxury.

A figure to the east caught her eye. After a long look, Celestia determined it was a pegasus from the squad she had sent out.

Pastel, I think.

Celestia watched as the pony shakily made his descent into the town, before crashing right in front of Twilight Sparkle. With a flap of her wings, Celestia descended to Pastel's side, and kneeled down next to him.

"What happened? Where is the rest of your squad?"

Pastel took a few deep breathes, before managing to speak.

"Dead. They're all dead. Gargoyles are on the way. My squad managed to take…most of them out *gasp* with the crystal bomb *gasp* but there will be more. Princess, *gasp* they have an army. What we saw was just a tiny portion, and it was bigger than any group we've encountered."

Princess Celestia slowly stood up, her mind racing.

"Princess, what are we going to do?"

Celestia looked over at Twilight, and her heart sank.

"We're going to run, Twilight. We cannot fight here, we have no weapons and no army. We'll go north, regroup, and face this army. Prepare yourself, Twilight. Today, the real war starts."

\\\\

That review button! It calls to you like a cigarette does to Derek! Give in!

Chapter 10

Hard to believe its been 10 chapters already. Merry Christmas everypony, and don't worry, I'll release the sequel before January!

The hot and dry sun blazed down upon the desert, searing the rocks a strange red color. Very few things could survive this heat, and the ones that did spent most of the day under rocks and in the ground. The stillness of the desert was broken only by the large herd of ponies trudging their way through it.

Derek wiped the sweat off his brow, and looked around. As far as he could see, vast and open desert plains filled his eyes. He grimaced at the sight, and took a swig of water from his canteen before lowering his eyes from the burning light of the sun to focus on the ground.

Beside him, Rainbow Dash walked along, her wings loosely folded on her back. She had long since given up on flying, as the air was too dry and hot, and flying required too much energy. For the first time in her life, Rainbow Dash was happy to be on the ground.

"You would think the princess could do something about the sun." Rainbow muttered.

Derek chuckled slightly, as he had been wondering the same thing himself. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had both departed to raise the rest of the Equestrian Army, leaving the Mane 6, plus Derek, in charge. From what Derek had heard before Celestia left, the dragon and griffon armies were both amassing near Canterlot, and would join the pony army once it was raised.

The monotonous march through the desert continued, and before anyone had realized it, the sun was graciously beginning to set, leaving the cold desert night in its wake.

Derek sat down upon the dirt ground, and allowed his body to fall against the earth. All around him, ponies were doing the same, their bodies sore and exhausted from the days journey. It would require at least one more days worth of walking before the herd left the desert behind and entered the plains, where they would meet Princess Celestia again.

"Howdy." Applejack said as she sat down beside Derek.

He greeted the cowpony with a simple nod, and continued to stare into the night sky. His eyes darted amongst the many stars, and began to form shapes and images with them, though he could tell that the constellations that had been on Earth were no where to be found in Luna's night.

"Dinner will be soon." Applejack said quietly.

"What are we having?"

"Apples."

"Should have expected as much." Derek laughed, sitting up so he was eye to eye with Applejack.

Applejack gave him a weird look. "An' just what the hay is that suppos'd tah mean?" she asked indignantly.

Derek raised his hands in mock defense, a smile on his face. "Nothing, nothing at all, oh farmer of apples."

Applejack playfully punched his shoulder, before diving out of the way as Rainbow Dash crash landed right where she had been sitting. The pegasus lay on the ground for a few moments, before hopping to her feet with a crazed smile on her face.

"Ahh, that felt good!" Rainbow said with a satisfied sigh, her eyes slightly unfocused.

"Hi Rainbow. What's up?" Derek asked, his head cocked at Rainbow in confusion.

"Hmm? Oh, right. Twilight's calling a meeting over by that tree over there. Be there in five." Without another word, Rainbow Dash took off into the night sky to round up the rest of the group.

Derek shrugged, before standing up and stretching his arms out.

"Hey Applejack, you head on over, I'm going to get in a quick fly first."

The earth pony nodded, before trotting in the direction of the tree as Derek launched himself into the air.

Five minutes later, Derek landed at the tree, now feeling much more relaxed from his flight. Twilight Sparkle leaned up against the tree, and waited until Derek was situated before starting.

"Alright, so I've just learned some very important news from the Princess." Twilight paused for a second. "She's right behind you."

As if on cue, everyone turned around, and indeed, there stood Princess Celestia, who smiled at the group.

"Twilight, I never thought you were one for being dramatic!"

Twilight giggled slightly, before taking a seat next to Pinkie Pie as Celestia walked out in front of the group.

"Now, the reason I'm here is to one, see how all of you are doing, and two, to inform you of some news that we have learned in the past couple of hours. As I can tell you all are doing rather well considering the circumstances, on to the second item."

"I sent out a scouting group right as I arrived in Canterlot today, and they returned a few moments before I departed for here. Based on their reports, the army that was marching towards Appaloosa was around 4,000 strong. They also confirmed the existence of three large dimensional portals on the southern border of Equestria. These portals are what allow the gargoyles to enter this world."

Rainbow Dash raised her hoof into the air, and waited until the princess to call on her before speaking.

"So why are those gargoyles doing what the Darkness wants in the first place? I doubt their geniuses, but they don't seem like the type to take orders."

Pinkie Pie giggled, before speaking up. "Silly Dashie, it's because gargoyles operate like an insect hive, and they're all connected to the hive mind, which the Darkness has used what little power it has left to hack into it and make all those grumpy gargamagoyles do what it wants!"

Every single jaw, including Princess Celestia's, dropped impossibly low. Twilight looked at the princess, who saw the question in her eyes.

"That's…actually right." Celestia stammered, which only fueled Pinkie's grin.

"Pinkie…how did you…never mind, continue Princess." Twilight said, though she shot Pinkie Pie a few more confused looks.

Princess Celestia looked at Pinkie for a few more moments, before shaking her head and going on.

"Anyway…the army of gargoyles has already overtaken Appaloosa, and turned into a mini-portal. From what we can tell, the three large ones are powered by the Darkness, though we're still trying to figure out what powers the Appaloosa one."

Applejack took the brief pause to interrupt the princess.

"S'cuse me princess, but do y'all have any idea how to beat the Darkness yet?"

"Not yet. The only thing we know for certain is that the only way it can restore itself is for it to use this world's magic. No offense Derek, but your magic is to destructive to heal the Darkness, though I doubt it be a good thing if it managed to get your magic as well."

Derek nodded, before asking another question.

"Princess, how would that thing get this worlds magic?"

Twilight Sparkle answered his question.

"The Elements of Harmony. They can be used to channel every last bit of magic in this world. The Darkness could use them to restore itself."

Derek shook his head. "Wait a second, I thought the Elements could only be used by the bearers."

"It would be using them to channel magic. You don't need to be a bearer to do that. Why do you think the elements are hidden?"

Derek nodded, the realization coming over him. Princess Celestia waited to see if any more questions were asked, before rising.

"It has been good seeing you all. Unfortunately, I must head back. My sister is still a little unsure of how to handle military ponies."

The group bowed to the Princess, who returned in kind before disappearing in a white hot flash of magic.

\\\\

The next day passed as slowly and drearily as the day before. The herd of ponies slowly marched through the desert, though it was much less cold as they were farther north.

Eventually, the ponies found themselves walking on grass, though it was dry and dead. Still, it was an improvement, and as they continued on, the grass slowly began to get greener and fuller, until at long last, the herd left the desert behind and entered the plains.

Derek smiled as his eyes rested upon the beautiful rolling hills covered in emerald green grass. He took a swig of water, before removing his shirt and summoning his wings. He locked eyes with Rainbow Dash, who saw the competitive glow in his eyes.

"You're on." She said, before the two of them shot into the air and started racing between hills.

Below the two racers, Pinkie bounced along the ground, busy regaling Rarity with a story that seemed to make no sense.

"So then, I took the parrot, which was squawking like crazy at the time, and threw it at the police box, which was making some weird noise, and then some bowtie wearing pony comes out and yells Don't throw stuff at my TARDIS, it's rude! before going back into the box an- HEY! Are you even listening?"

Rarity shook herself out of her daze, and nodded her head.

"Of course dear, blue box, bowtie pony, go on!"

Pinkie Pie grinned enthusiastically, and continued her story, while Rarity just shook her head and went back to her daze.

Twilight, meanwhile, was busy discussing battle strategies with Applejack, while Fluttershy was chatting with Trixie, who was slowly coming out of her shell. Overall, the herd was much livelier now that it had escaped the desert heat, and was now walking on soft grass.

That all changed the moment they made it to the top of a hill, and looked into the valley below. There, in the bowl shaped valley that stretched for a few miles, was the Equestrian Army.

Dragons, ponies, and griffons alike all roamed the valley, each one of them dressed in battle armor. There appeared to be a sense of urgency with them, as everyone rushed from place to place.

As the herd peered down at the army, two flashes, one white and one blue, appeared at the front of the herd. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked over the herd, both of them smiling a warm and pleasant smile.

"Hello, everypony!" Princess Luna boomed in her Royal Canterlot Voice. "A few miles behind this camp, there is a settlement for all civilians! Please, go there! However, we do ask that if you are able-bodied and willing, you stay here and help with the war effort! Thank you!"

The moment Luna stopped talking, movement overtook the herd. Most of the group began to walk towards the settlement, though a few ponies here and there stayed behind. Princess Celestia waited until the civilians were gone before addressing those that stayed.

"Thank you all for volunteering. I ask that you now follow my sister, who will tell you were to go."

Celestia then turned to face Twilight Sparkle and her group.

"As for you all, follow me."

Princess Celestia turned and began to walk into the valley. Twilight and the rest of the group began to follow. Derek looked over his shoulder, and saw Trixie standing still, obviously unsure of what to do. He grinned, and beckoned her to join them. Trixie smiled, and ran to catch up with the rest of the group.

\\\\

Princess Celestia led the group into a large white tent that bore the royal symbol on the front. Inside, there was a large round wooden table in the center, where many noble looking ponies were gathered.

"Gentlecolts, please take your seats." Princess Celestia said smoothly, before sitting down at the head of the table.

Derek squatted down between Rainbow Dash and Trixie, and began to inspect the many ponies in the room. Most were older ponies, though every now and then a young one would catch his eye.

"I'll be brief, as we don't have any time to waste." Princess Celestia started. "You all are informed on the events at Appaloosa, and the army that was marching towards the town, so no need to waste time there. I have just learned that the army that attacked Appaloosa is headed in this direction, probably by following the refugees of the town. The army shall be here within a few hours."

Derek audibly gulped, as did the rest of the room. Princess Celestia took a long, hard look at everyone gathered in the tent before continuing.

"Like I said, there is no time to waste, so, let's talk battle strategies." The princess looked over at Derek and his group, and gestured at the old noble looking ponies.

"These here are the top military minds in Equestria." She then looked over at the noble looking ponies, and gestured at Derek. "These are the Elements of Harmony, plus a magically gifted human and a talented unicorn. You will confer with each other on how to best fight this army. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go deal with a rather constipated dragon."

The princess departed without another word, leaving the two sides alone in the tent. Immediately after she left, the military general ponies burst into action, laying out blueprints and plans onto the table, all while yelling instructions at each other.

Derek sighed and looked around, only to see that he was the only one still sitting, as the rest of the group had dispersed around the tent and were now conferring with the military minds.

"Son of a bitch." He muttered, before standing up and locating a rather crusty old unicorn general. "You there! Hi I'm Derek, tell me how you plan on killing these bastards."

\\\\\

Thirty minutes and a whole lot of yelling later, Princess Celestia returned to the tent to find it surprisingly calm. Everyone was gathered around the table, their eyes locked onto a sheet of paper that contained battle schemes and formations.

"…and that should drive them back." Twilight Sparkle finished. "Ahh, Princess!" She took a quick bow. "We were just finishing!"

Princess Celestia smiled at her protégé, and nodded. "Good! Would you care to give me a run through?"

"Certainly princess." Twilight Sparkle answered. She began to shuffle through some of the papers on the table, before finally settling on one that had a whole lot of figures drawn on.

"Alright, so here's the basic battle formation. The X's are earth ponies, the O's are pegasus ponies, and the U's are unicorns. The G's represent griffons while the D's are dragons. As you can see, the earth ponies are the main body of the ground attack. The pegasai and griffons will be air support, and the unicorns will be artillery, so to speak. We only have four battle ready dragons, so we'll have to use them conservatively."

"So the battle plan. We have pegasus scouts out already, so when they see the gargoyle army, they'll warn us. Our army will assemble a mile south of here, where we will await the gargoyles. Once they see us, they'll probably charge, and that's where we start."

"Us unicorns will bombard them with spells while they charge, depleting their numbers. Eventually, I will shoot a flare into the air, signaling the griffons and pegasai to take off, and for the earth ponies to charge. Now, I've been working on a spell that may take away the gargoyles ability to fly, which will allow for the air support to operate more smoothly. It may work, it may not, but the biggest issue here is to try and keep the gargoyles grounded."

Princess Celestia raised her hoof. "What exactly does 'air support' mean?"

Twilight nodded. "Good question. If I can successfully ground the gargoyles, then the pegasai and griffon's will do a multitude of things. First and foremost, they will attack gargoyles from above, either by themselves or with controlled crystal bombs. They will also do rescue and air lift if needed, and bring supplies in to the ground troops."

Princess Celestia nodded, then asked another question. "What happens if your spell fail?"

"Then the unicorns act as snipers and pick off the gargoyles that fly. The griffons and pegasai will fight them in the air, while the earth ponies are left to fight the remaining ground gargoyles, though I'm very sure my spell will work."

Princess Celestia nodded, and remained silent. Twilight looked around the room, and went on.

"Soon after the battle begins, we will let the first dragon into the fray. The dragons shall rotated, as we don't want it to get too crowded, and also, the dragons are an invaluable resource that must be protected. As for Derek, you'll be part of the earth pony group, as your fighting skills are among the best."

Derek gave a thumbs up to Twilight, who in turn looked at the princess with a hopeful smile.

Princess Celestia smiled back, and stood up to her full height. "Very good! It is a solid and well thought out plan! I knew I could count on all of you!"

"You forgot about me."

A sudden chill filled the room, causing everyone inside to stand up and look around. There was a loud crack, followed by a magical burst that was felt by everyone. A white flash appeared above the table, sending everyone to the ground.

Once the smoke had cleared, every set of eyes looked up to where the flash had been. In its place floated the God of Chaos: Discord. He grinned maniacally around the room, his eyes full of fire.

"Discord!" Twilight Sparkle shouted, jumping to her hooves. "How did you break free?"

Discord narrowed his eyes at Twilight, before glaring at Celestia. "You didn't tell them, did you?" Celestia's silent reply was all he needed to start laughing. "Oh, how beautiful! She didn't tell you! I'm back for less than a minute and I'm already causing chaos!"

Discord's rant ended the moment Princess Luna charged into the room, fear in her eyes.

"Tia! I felt him!" She stopped once her eyes focused on Discord. "Discord!" she hissed, her eyes narrowing into snake-like slants. This only fueled his joy.

"You didn't even tell her! Oh Celestia, you devil!"

Luna looked over at her sister, who was busy looking very firmly at the ground.

"Tia…what didn't you tell us?"

Celestia took a long sigh, before looking directly at Luna.

"I made a deal with Discord. I let him escape, and he will help us fight the Darkness."

The room went deathly quiet. All eyes were now upon Princess Celestia, who took another deep breath, and seemingly regained her composure.

"Yes, Discord is insane, and an enemy to the throne. But he also knows the danger the Darkness poses to all life, including his own, and he knows he can assist in the fight. So we are putting aside our differences for now to face this greater foe."

Princess Luna looked long and hard at her sister, before going up and whispering into her ear. "We'll talk about this later."

Celestia bowed her head, grateful of her sister's decision to discuss this in private, looked up at Discord, who was busy drinking a cup of acid while riding a bike.

"Discord, if you remember the terms of our deal, then you know that you have to follow my orders. Well, here is my first order: follow Twilight Sparkles orders. She'll find a place for you in the battle."

Discord grimaced, but nodded his head in acceptance.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse us, my sister and I must discuss some matters of importance."

The two royal sisters left the tent once again, leaving a quiet group of ponies plus a human to stare at Discord, who just laughed.

"Oh, this should be fun!" he exclaimed as he sipped the last of his acid.

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The sun was in the middle of the sky, and all around the camp, that feeling of pre-battle nerves was in full swing. Groups of ponies and griffons dressed in armor sat around, sharing tales and playing cards, each one trying to take their mind on the upcoming blood bath.

Princess Celestia overlooked the entire camp, her mind still ringing from the argument with her sister.

"You can't just make decisions without consulting me! You're not the sole leader anymore, I'm also a princess!" her sister had said, and Celestia had to admit, she was right.

Yes it was wrong of me, but dammit I stand by my decision. Luna will just have to deal. Besides, if Discord proves useful, I'll never hear about it again.

Elsewhere in the camp, Derek sat with the Mane 6 plus Trixie smoking a cigarette. No one talked, for there was no need, as there was nothing to say. It had been decided that Trixie would provide support for Twilight due to her lack of training, giving the light-blue unicorn a sense of relief.

Derek however, was feeling much more nervous. He had fought and killed before, but he had never been in a battle of this scale before. His mind continued to think of all the things that could go wrong, while his gut started to produce butterflies.

That all changed the moment the pegasus started waving the flag. Derek abruptly stood up and pointed at the waving pegasus, as did the rest of the camp.

"That's the signal." Derek breathed. "It's time."

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Derek stood next to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, his eyes gazing out onto the open plain that would soon be bathed in the blood of many species. The gargoyle army had come into view a few minutes before had, and just as Twilight had predicted, they started to charge.

"That's a shit load of gargoyles…" Derek stammered, his knees slightly shaky.

Applejack nodded in agreement, before turning and looking over to where the unicorns where standing. Many different colored spells flew through the air and landed in the ranks of the swarming gargoyles, exploding and sending the enemy flying through the air.

Many gargoyles attempted to take off, only to find that their wings were limp and lifeless against their backs, leaving them grounded. Derek smiled at that sight, as grounded gargoyles meant that they were easier to kill.

A minute passed as they watched the destruction from afar, before Twilights flare launched into the air.

Derek took a deep breath, and turned to face Rainbow Dash, who was preparing to take off.

"Be careful up there." He said, holding his fist up in the air.

She returned the brohoof with a smile. "You too." Without another word, Rainbow Dash shot off into the air and joined the rest of her air team.

Derek watched her fly off, the returned his attention to the charging gargoyles. He noticed Pinkie Pie walk up next to him, as they waited for the next signal. He put his hands on Applejack's and Pinkie Pie's shoulders, and the three of them looked at each other in appreciation.

"CHAAARGE!" The lead general pony screamed, and the entire army surged forward.

Derek ran through the grass with Applejack and Pinkie Pie, allowing the magic to course through his veins. His eyes locked onto an oncoming gargoyle, and a vicious, angry howl filled his lungs the last human's lungs, which he quickly released. With a violent scream, the two sides met in a swirl of blood, and just like that, The Dimension War began.

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To be Continued in The Dimension War

Thanks for reading! Ill have the sequel out soon! Until then, REVIEEW!