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."