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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