Cracked Vision

by TheHiveQueen

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Human, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other
Length: 12626

Derek can see bright, multicoloured horses. Nobody else can. The creatures can't see him either. What is going on?

Meet Derek.
Hello there Derek.

Derek can see bright, multicoloured horses. Nobody else can. The creatures can't see him either. What is going on?

Currently rated Teen for some darker humour and moderate themes. Hiatus is over! Grammar check (for first 3 chapters) finally done! All feedback appreciated.

Published 2013-05-20 22:50:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-08-05 00:55:53 UTC

First Fractures

Cracked Vision

First Fractures

Derek heard a crash outside and, human instincts kicking in, rushed to the window before peering through to see what the noise was.

A smoking wreckage of a car lay before his eyes, the thick smoke drifting up to his window, obscuring his already impaired vision. The car itself had smashed into one of the lamp posts on the pavement. But through the smoke and through the blackness, he saw something – something unusual.

A small equine figure was next to the deformed car, observing what had happened. Derek wasn't stupid. He was by no means smart but his logic was adequate enough to deduce that the horse was the cause of the mess. Perhaps the driver had seen it and lost control trying to avoid it? The skid marks were certainly there as evidence of this.

However, as Derek gave the matter some more thought, it seemed something didn't quite add up. The horse look unfazed by the event; it hadn't fled yet either. Surely it would have cantered off by now? In fact, as he squinted further through the smoke, it didn't look much like the horses around these parts. It was smaller and less bulky than a regular sized equine which was understandable: perhaps it was a filly. But surely it would have definitely fled in fright?

The black smoke partially cloaked his vision but the creature's fur definitely didn't look white, black or brown: the usual colours. It looked... purple. It averted its gaze and looked up towards his window, aware it was being watched.

A few moments passed. He had to take a closer look before it most certainly ran.

Sprinting down the stairs, he ignored calls from his parents and burst into the now polluted air outside. Staggering through the smoke, the thickness of it almost choking him, he came to the edge of the wreckage. There was no equine; only the driver clambering out.

Where had it gone? Had it really left whilst I made my way down? Maybe it's still here somewhere...

Derek looked wildly around, looking down both ends of the road, but to no success.

“Oi, lend us a hand will ya?”

Derek had been so embedded in his own thoughts about the horse that he had forgotten about the accident.

Moving over, he offered a hand to the man who was trying to escape the car, the door seemingly stuck. His face and clothes were blackened but there were few visible wounds.

Knowing that he was fine, Derek's thoughts focussed once more on the thing he had seen.

“What happened, sir?” he asked, eager to get the driver's take on the creature.

“I ain't sure if I'm quite honest; I think something jammed,” the man said, dusting his clothes down.

“Oh, I thought you had seen something and tried to avoid it,” Derek added hopefully. Perhaps he hadn't seen.

“You questioning my eyesight, boy? I ain't seen nothing. I tell ya, I felt something jam.”

Maybe he was mistaken after all.

“I thought I saw a horse when I came running down to see what had happened. You're telling me this wasn't the reason you crashed?” asked Derek, making crystal clear he understood.

“Horse? What horse? I'm pretty sure I would have seen a darn horse.”

“Okay then, I was mistaken. Thanks for your time,” he muttered, disappointed, before he wandered off back to his house.

“Thanks for your time? What was this; some sort of damn survey? I had almost had a serious accident boy,” the man grumbled. “You gonna help me fix this?”

But Derek wasn't interested. He was already gone.

***

Derek returned to school on Monday, the next day. He hadn't slept well – that horse-thing had been engrained in his mind all night. He had even dreamt that the creature was still there when he had come down. That it had turned around and given him a warm smile before beckoning him to follow as it trotted away. He had started to do just that, but the dream had then ended.

The horse occupied his thoughts all through lessons that day. Just the mystique surrounding it was too much to comprehend. He had been sure he'd seen it. It had behaved in an abnormal way and its coat definitely looked some shade of purple from what he had seen. Perhaps the smoke had altered the appearance of its colour. Or perhaps he had just discovered that he was in fact colour blind.

That wouldn't come as a surprise as he did wear glasses, after all. His eye condition was one the experts could not fully explain. Despite him having the best lens possible to fix his short-sight, everything was still slightly blurred around the edges. He was going to have an eye operation next month but the doctors had no idea what to expect. Maybe he got the colour wrong after all. The whole thing was very clear though...

“Derek! What's the answer?” his teacher called, abruptly ending his thought process.

Derek didn't know the answer. He just looked blankly downwards, twiddling his thumbs and submitting defeat. His teacher had a little moan, warning him that he better not fail the test later, and continued writing on the board.

Derek didn't know if he failed the test ten minutes later; he didn't care either. He had spent most of his time trying to redraw the creature from memory on the back of the question paper.

***

Derek found himself chilling with his mates under the shade of their favourite tree on the edge of the play area. He was popping in and out of the conversation; not really paying attention. This happened most days; not just because of the events the day before held. Still, he wouldn't have been able to hold conversation longer even if he tried.

“So yeah, I got my bike repainted the other day and it now looks about twenty percent cooler!”

“Dude, what? You know I hate maths.”

Jim was spouting rubbish as usual. Derek liked to think that he has some mental issue as he kept throwing random statements in here and there. He was probably his best friend, with his (relatively) kind nature and eager state of mind.

But at the moment he looked a bit deflated, as if his maths comment was meant to be funny or appealing or something. Derek didn't know or again, care.

Just when he was about to zone out again, he caught sight of something in the distance.

There was mistaking it this time – no smoke, just broad daylight.

Wandering through the crowds of boys and girls was that creature again. No, it looked different. It was tinged yellow with a billowing pink tail.

Derek rubbed his eyes frantically but the image did not change.

“Hey guys, check this out!” he exclaimed, pointing towards the equine. On second glance, Derek noticed that actually there were small wings tucked in its fur. There was a name for that he was sure. Some mythical creature. If only I'd been awake that history lesson.

“Check what out, man? The little kids?” Jim said. The others burst out laughing.

“No dude, the friggin' yellow horse-thing over there!”

“Umm, I think your dealer gave you a bad batch, mate. There's nothing there,” Bill responded.

Bill was a well-built fellow who lacked academical prowess, but was quite street-smart. He often joked about things, regardless of the circumstances. Although a yellow horse wasn't necessarily serious business, Derek still hoped that Bill would show more faith, and not muck around.

But Jim looked different now his friend has given a brief description; he seemed to be scanning the area ferociously, searching.

“You having me on? I looked for about ten seconds flat and I can't see a thing,” he finally said.

“Jim, enough with the pointless maths!” Bill shouted, also getting pissed off by his random inserts.

Derek was starting to panic with his heart throbbing against his ribcage. He did not take his eyes off the creature, as it moved slowly in their direction before stopping a few metres away. He managed to get a closer look: its eyes were huge with the irises a light blue; those were definitely wings he had seen from afar.

Its eyes were fixed in his direction, drawing him in. It looked so cute; looked so innocent.

Without thinking, Derek waved in its direction.

“Derek, leave those children alone you monster.”

Derek ignored the jibe and lowered his hand. The creature did not respond – it simply turned away and trotted off into the distance, it's head drooped.

He felt inclined to follow it; have a private confrontation with it, but craning his head, he saw it had already vanished.

“What the hell was that thing?” Derek asked.

“Dude, what thing?

“I swear I saw a yellow...pegasus,” said Derek, pinpointing the creature's identity at last. The history lesson had returned to his memory.

“Yep, definitely a bad batch mate. I saw nuthin',” said Bill.

The others nodded in agreement, some smirking. However Jim looked uncertain and Derek quickly noticed this.

“Did you see it, Jim?”

Jim was deep in thought. The signs were there, but why was he refusing to recognise the lines he kept saying? 20% Cooler was a dead cert, yet still he hadn't reacted. Still, the thing Derek said he had seen sounded a bit too familiar. Perhaps it was an attempt to get the message across? Unorthodox but still...

“Yeah I saw it, Derek. It had a pink tail, right?”

Derek relaxed a little: he wasn't just imagining things at least. Maybe not everyone could see it?

“Yeah, that's it.” The other boys were starting to wonder what the hell was actually going on. Yellow horse with pink tail? Definitely sounded hallucinogenic.

Jim's face was starting to form a slight grin. “That's great! We'll talk about this later then over the phone. Don't worry guys, we were just joking around.” Jim gave his friend a little wink.

Both were looking forward to that phone call later that day. For different reasons.

***

Derek had only just walked through his home door, before he felt his phone vibrating.

“Oh Derek I'm so happy I've found a friend who likes it too,” said Jim gleefully.

“Likes what?”

“Umm, the show we were discussing earlier?”

“Dude, what show?” said a puzzled Derek.

“That pony you said you 'saw'. Don't worry, I got the message loud and clear.”

“Yeah, that pegasus-horse. Do you have any idea what it was? It stared right at us, yet the others didn't see.”

“Enough with the act, you can stop it now. And don't you mean Flu-”

“What act? You saying I was making that up?” Derek angrily cut across.

“Well yeah, obviously. Probably just some side-effects from LSD then I guess.”

“I don't take that stuff you idiot! You telling me that you lied and that you didn't see it?”

“Just think back and remember. Either drugs or you're ill. Only you saw it. But that's not important now. At least you like-”

“I'm not ill damn it!” shouted Derek down the line before hanging up.

He was sweating now – this was getting serious. His friend had lied to him; nobody else had seen the creature. The rest of the kids on the playground hadn't noticed either, he also recalled.

“Honey, are you okay?” called a soft voice from down the corridor.

“I'm fine mum!” Derek shouted before dumping his bag furiously by the wall. Frustrated.

“Are you sure? Either way, you're just in time for dinner!”

Derek trudged into the kitchen and sat down, making every effort to look depressed, hoping they'd give sympathy.

“Aw, honey, what's wrong?” Mum asked. She was sitting at the table, the food all laid out before her.

“I see multicoloured horses that no one else can,” he said defiantly, crossing his arms.

“That's nice boy,” said Dad from behind his newspaper, not taking in a word of what his son had just said.

“Multicoloured? Do we need to go see the optician again?” Mum said.

Derek was starting to get angry again: why couldn't anyone believe him?

“No!” he yelled, slamming his fist on the table. The table shook and his hand began to hurt, throbbing slightly.

He sat there fuming and, through his rage,thought back to the horses. They were so clear at the time; it would have been impossible to imagine. They were clearer than reality itself – his eye condition owed him that. It's not like he had ever seen them before, so there was nothing they were based off in his head.

Derek got up from the table, having eaten nothing, and stormed up to his room. He stamped up the stairs and kicked a few walls on the way up before slamming his door shut, causing the wood to splinter.

After panting for a few hard seconds against the door he turned around and jumped backwards with shock. There before him, was a blue pegasus.

This was the first time he'd seen one of the creatures so close. It's fur was a beautiful blue, but its tail and mane were the colours of a rainbow. It was exquisitely crafted, the colours vibrant but detailed with not a single strand out of place. Along its flank was some sort of rainbow and cloud fused together into a lightning bolt. It resembled a tattoo but looked more permanent, and less artificial, than one.

How had it got in?

That was answered by a cool breeze coming from the open window, tingling Derek's skin and rustling the horse's fur. It was looking right at him but... distantly.

It's huge red eyes did not seem to be interested on him. It began to look puzzled: its face forming a frown as it searched the room.

Derek began to approach; he wanted nothing more than to feel the fur. It looked so unreal he had to touch it.

He extended his hand towards the mane, ready to rustle it and feel the smooth textures.

The horse looked his way and he paused, unsure whether to advance. Its eyes stared right at him, no, through him.

The eyes he thought were looking at him only did so briefly before looking in the other direction, still puzzled.

Derek began to feel a lump rising in his throat.

Please, not them too.

His hand continued arcing forward, desperate to make contact with the creature and desperate to prove it was real. He had to prove that he really wasn't insane; that these things were real.

His hand struck air, not fur.

A tear began to form in his eye.

He waved his hand frantically but it moved effortlessly through the “horse” before him.

Please let them be real.

The creature made no sudden movements; made no implication that it had been touched. It seemed it had given up on its search too.

A defeated Derek witnessed as its wings unfurled, and it walked slowly over to the open window. It kicked off into the evening sky.

It was gone.

He simply fell to his knees. His mind was racing. It had seemed so real, so vivid, so alive. Yet no one else saw it, he could not touch it, and it could not see him. Logically, there was only one possible outcome remaining.

He had imagined it.

Drying his face, he crawled over to his bed, rolled in and buried himself in the pillow.

He wanted to sleep; he wanted to rid his mind of the illusions it had formed.

He wanted to forget everything had happened and confine it to the pit of his imagination.

He wanted to move on.

And yet he hoped that he would see them again in his dreams. Like the night before. He hoped that this time he would be able to touch them. Be able to feel them.

He just couldn't let go.

Derek closed his eyes, disregarding how early it was, and fell into a deep slumber.

Author's Note

Okay, I have finally read over this chapter ONCE. Dear Lord, it was sickeningly bad grammar wise. I've tried to fix that the best I can and have fleshed out some sentences, while trimming others so it flows more smoothly. I just hope whoever reads this forgives me haha.

Capture

A/N I think this chapter gets progressively better so apologies for the slightly sluggish start.

Capture

Derek was awoken the next day by a loud knocking on the door, indicating he had most likely overslept.

“I'm awake now, mum!” he yelled, causing the knocks to die down.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to remove as much sleep as possible, before lumbering over to the mirror to brush his teeth.

A boy with curly dark brown hair stood before him, his dark eyes staring back into his own. The image was blurry was usual, even with his glasses on.

Derek sighed: his dreams had been perfectly normal last night. No mysterious creatures and no attractive women, even. Just him at school in fact. Which ironically was where he was supposed to be right now.

Derek quickly zipped up in his favourite jeans and threw on his jumper before hurrying downstairs. There was no time to eat breakfast: it was already 11AM.

He was halfway through the main hall when he realised he hadn't done any of his homework last night either.

Derek sighed for the second time that day.

***

“Why are you so late, Derek?

Derek stood by the door to his maths class, looking blankly into his teacher's face. He had never really shown any respect for her or the subject. This time wasn't going to be any different.

He was just glad he'd missed Science completely that morning.

“Overslept,” he said before moving briskly towards his desk, ignoring the eyes of nearly everyone in the room.

There was a sort of muteness about him throughout the lesson. The thoughts of the creatures had mostly left his mind and he just did not know what else to think about. Maths clearly wasn't a preferred choice. There was just nothing to concentrate on and he found himself gazing off into the distance at various times, mind blank.

His daydream was interrupted by the sound of paper being thrown down, with some force, onto his desk.

“Another F, Derek. I do hope you have something up your sleeve for the final exam. For both of our sakes.”

Derek skimmed briefly over the test. Maths just didn't mean anything to him. He flipped the test fully over and saw the drawing he had made yesterday; it seemed his teacher had too as there was a big cross through it. It felt like the same thing had happened to Derek's mind: ever since last night all memories of them felt surreal and blurred. Just like his own impaired vision in fact.

With the knowledge that they were a figment of his own imagination, they just simply weren't worth thinking about anymore.

***

It was already lunch break, considering he had missed morning break entirely.

Derek wandered across the field to his usual spot where his friends were huddled under the shade of the tree. It had started to rain and none of them had any intention to get wet. The weather in Britain sure did love to change a lot.

Derek sat by the edge of the tree for a few minutes, gazing at the falling rain, focussing on the tiniest drops as they landed before him. Jim was leading the background conversation as usual with the others chiming in. Derek did not feel like talking at all today – he thought a good night's sleep would make things better but in fact, he only felt worse. He found himself thinking about those creatures again, despite his best efforts to prevent it.

I wanted it to be real more than anything. I wanted there to be some new edge to my bland life. Everyday it's just school, this tree and home. I came so close, but now I'm further than I've ever been.

He still didn't know how it had all started: there was no stimulus that had caused these creatures to enter his head. He had been hallucinating for two days as well, even after a night's rest. Perhaps someone had put those thoughts there via subliminal messaging? Derek pondered the matter further.

If I can do it once, I can do it again.

He had come to a conclusion. Even if they weren't real, he could make them as real as possible. These projections had shown intelligent signs and movement so they could at least be worth something. He just didn't know what to think. How on Earth had he conjured them up in the first place?

Irregardless, he would try to again.

“Derek, where you going?” Jim asked. He had been hoping to talk to him again when the time was right.

“Home,” said Derek before getting up and running towards the road, his bag flapping on his shoulder.

As the splashes his steps made became distant Jim turned back to the gang:

“We've still got a lesson left today though.” Jim was starting to worry for his friend. He had known him for three years now and never had he acted this strangely on one, let alone two, of those days.

Something wasn't right.

***

His parents weren't home so he used his keys to unlock the house prior to running to the fridge, and grabbing some fruit to eat. He turned the oven on and put a pre-baked pizza inside before charging upstairs to his room again. He closed the door behind him and looked around.

Now let's see what I have to work with.

He intended on somehow summoning the creatures again. The only problem was that he had no idea how he did so in the first place. Nothing significant had happened the last few days which caused him to believe that was the reason why he had begun seeing them. He hadn't seen any of them today either which didn't really help.

Well I have to do something.

He didn't know how to summon creatures outside of video games so Derek tried a bit of improvisation. He strained his mind, focussing on the image of the blue pegasus with the rainbow tail. He thought long and hard about it for some time; he even scrunched his eyes up in determination for added effect.

Nothing.

He had hardly expected it to work but even still, there was a slight twang of disappointment in his heart.

But he wasn't going to give up just yet.

Derek began recreating the scene from last night just in case there was something specific he had done. He went downstairs and placed his bag where it was. He straightened the duvet like the night before and threw a couple clothes on the ground. When he had done as much as his memory would allow he finally opened the window again and was greeted by the howling of the wind.

Well at least it's atmospheric now.

Derek exited his room, waited for a few seconds and entered. He slammed the door behind him, just like before, and turned around.

Nothing.

He shut his eyes again and squirmed in discomfort, forcing his brain to think about that pegasus as hard as it could. After a minute of nothing but the blue creature in his mind, Derek slowly opened his eyes once more.

Nothing.

This wasn't fair.

How could he have summoned them so effortlessly the last time but this time it is nigh-on impossible?

Derek sighed for the third time that day, defeated. He had no idea how to try again.

Rain was starting to pour through the window so Derek went over and proceeded to pull the window shut.

He paused.

No. It can't be.

A small, purple arm was resting on the window sill. Derek watched on as the hoof struggled to grip the slippery surface. He offered his hand, desperately trying to pull the thing in.

It was no use: again his hand could not make contact with the creature. Derek was only a spectator as he watched the thing's arms scrabbling to gain grip on the window sill.

The rain was winning – there was simply no way the thing could hold on for much longer.

Derek thought fast. He had to find a way to help. He might not be able to help directly, but other objects most certainly could.

He rushed over to the wardrobe and began rummaging through the pile of clothes thrown in the corner untidily. Fortunately, it didn't take long to find what he was looking for.

He ran back over to the window and quickly tied the tie he found round a coat hanger. He tied this to two other ties he had brought with him, forming a long chain. He had never worn a tie before; he was hoping that they would forgive him for that, and save the day here.

He dangled them out the window, praying that the creature would take hold. It seemed that his plan had worked as he felt the load suddenly become a lot heavier. He yanked sharply upwards and a purple blur flew into the room, skidding across the floor before stopping by the bed.

Derek had toppled backwards too, surprised by the weight of the creature. He found himself panting on the floor with his mind buzzing.

That was definitely no illusion.

As soon as he thought this he rushed over to the window and slammed it shut, adding the padlock just in case.

Derek turned around to see the creature staring at him, alerted by the noise of the window shutting. It looked very similar to the one he had witnessed the other day. Instead this time, up close, he could see a horn. It was a unicorn. Its fur was a bit lighter than he remembered, perhaps lavender now he could see more clearly. Its mane was also multicoloured, a darker shade with a bright pink streak in it. It clearly looked like a female too.

Derek gave the unicorn a wave, hoping that this one would respond.

No success.

He got up and walked slowly towards the door, watching the unicorn carefully. Her eyes did not shift from the window as he sat down firmly by the door, preventing the creature's escape.

This was the moment of truth.

“Hi there,” Derek said, raising his voice so he would definitely be heard. He had only just remembered that incredulously, he hadn't tried speaking to the things before.

There was no response. Instead, the unicorn shook its fur violently, trying to rid itself from the rain. Derek even felt a few drops hit him from this range.

His heart was full of hope as he felt the droplets slide down his cheek.

This is definitely not my imagination...Unless I'm dreaming that is.

Derek didn't recall falling asleep so surely it was real, right?

Just to make sure he rubbed eyes: the unicorn was still there.

He gave himself a little pinch. Still there.

He kicked the wardrobe next to him sending spasms of pain up his leg. Still there.

Yep, definitely not a dream.

Where as the unicorn could not hear him it could hear the wardrobe and got up to investigate the noise.

Derek was starting to realise how these ghostly creatures worked. What they could hear and see and what they couldn't.

The unicorn came right up next to him and stared intently at the wardrobe. She even leaned in and rested her ear against the wood for a few moments.

He was tempted to kick out again at the wardrobe but thought best not to antagonise the creature. It stopped examining the furniture, and began to look around the room. Derek got up and followed it, careful to keep a close enough distance to the door in case of emergency.

This feels like I'm giving it a tour.

Derek wished he could give his insight on each object the unicorn examined but even when he attempted to do so, there was no response yet again.

She looked at many things: they all seemed new and alien to her. Perhaps they were – she might just well be from another planet. Derek was sure unicorns and pegasi were fictional on Earth at least. At the moment, he didn't care: the unicorn was too captivating. He often found himself just staring at its beautiful mane and horn, twice attempting to touch them and twice failing.

After a few minutes, the creature sat down and stared at the wall, presumably deep in thought.

Derek took up position again by the door and it seemed it was the right decision as she soon trotted over to try and open it.

He felt mean holding it tightly shut but he was desperate to keep her here; to make contact with this new species. Her hooves offered little purchase as she tried to slide them in the crack of the door. She then took a few steps back and lowered her head, gritting her teeth.

It was only then did Derek see that her horn was glowing slightly. He had been busy staring at her face from close up. The detail in her eyes and facial expressions was staggering. This was definitely no illusion he again told himself that afternoon.

The unicorn seemed to be struggling as a bead of sweat began to trickle down her face as the horn, now enveloped in a light red aura, began to flicker and die out. She was panting now, her face stricken with exhaustion.

A few moments passed before she got up and tried the same with the window but again to no success: it would not open. She then walked back over to the bed and sat down, leaning her head against it. Her magic had failed her.

Derek was struggling to see clearly from this range but could make out that she was in some distress. Tears began to form beneath her eyelids as buried her heard in her hooves and sobbed against the bed.

It was only then that Derek snapped out of his fantasy.

This was wrong. There was no way he could just imprison her here for as long as he liked.

But I can't...I can't let her go now. I just want to make contact with her!

Derek felt his own eyes building up emotion and soon tears of his own were trickling down his nose. He wanted nothing more than to feel her, to comfort her, to perhaps talk to her.

Perhaps she's crying because her horn won't work?

No Derek. You know the real reason why.

Derek decided enough was enough and stood up, ready to release his captive unicorn.

*beep beep*

An idea formed in his head as he heard a noise from downstairs.

Why hadn't I thought of this before?

Author's Note

Okay, this chapter's been grammar checked too (although to less of an extent). Either the tiredness is kicking in, or this wasn't as bad grammatically as the last chapter.

Letters

Brief A/N: Just thought I'd say I've been away from this for a while, busy with other things. Therefore this chapter may feel a bit different to the previous two. Also, I will need to do some proper grammar editing soon. Tell me if you see anything major. Also, I now have a good idea of where this is heading so the story should be more streamlined from now on.

Letters

Derek quickly opened his door and shut it behind him gently. He even locked it just in case the unicorn decided to make a move for freedom.

All he could hear were her distressed cries as he dashed down the stairs, eager to make them go away.

Derek whipped open the oven and grabbed the pizza he had prepared earlier. The warm smell filled his nostrils and he took a deep, satisfying breath.

Slightly burnt, but it would do just fine. He took out a plate and laid it on the table before searching the drawers for pen and paper.

With these things, he made his way back upstairs – desperate to get started.

Derek flung open the door and shut it quickly behind him, in advance to looking around the room. He dreaded to think what would have happened if she was by the door, and he had just sent her flying. Luckily, she was still by the bed, absorbed in her own crying. Perhaps not so lucky then.

Derek made his way over before revealing the pizza and laying it out in front of her. The smell of fresh bread wafted towards her and she perked up.

She looked around, confused, searching for whoever had given her this meal. But of course, she couldn't find him, despite Derek sitting right opposite her.

The unicorn lowered her head and sniffed the warm food, making sure it was safe to consume. Apparently it was, as she took a nibble followed quickly by a huge bite as the pizza was briskly gulped down.

The creature dried her eyes a little, knowing that at least she wouldn't die via starvation.

While she sat there, enjoying her meal, Derek moved out of sight, behind the bed, and started scrawling a quick message on the paper he'd brought:

Hello. My name is Derek. What is your name?

English was the only language Derek knew so he hoped that by some twist of fate the creature would too. He leant over above her, and let the small piece of paper flutter down before her purple eyes.

The unicorn caught the strip of paper in her magic and gently levitated it over, careful not to use too much of her limited energy.

It looked intently at the words before searching all around itself for something to write with.

A new wave of hope washed over Derek as he got up and sat in front of her, offering the pen to her hooves.

She must think I have magic too – the pen is floating in front of her eyes, Derek thought before watching the creature study the pen briefly, unsure of how it functioned.

Finally deducing that it was similar to a quill, she scrawled something quickly with her magic whilst still holding the pen.

Derek twiddled his thumbs whilst he waited impatiently for the creature to finish writing something. He refrained from looking over her shoulder while she wrote – he had come this far; he could wait a bit longer.

Still, he was about to make contact with another intelligent species, so of course he was desperate to see.

The unicorn dropped the pen on the floor before folding the paper and balancing it on her hoof. She extended the folded slip of paper gently to the air, unsure if it would take her message.

Derek reached forward with his hand and touched the hoof once more; predictably, she didn't recoil at all. But that didn't stop him from grasping the paper and wriggling his fingers, letting them move flawlessly through the hoof as he softly removed the paper.

Her eyes grew wide as they watched the floating paper move backwards briefly then chewed up by the air into nothingness.

Derek looked down at the paper. The handwriting was messy and scattered which was understandable, considering the method in which it was written. But it was legible, and that's all he could have asked for.

Holding the message in his shaking hands, he read:

Hello there, Derek. My name is Twilight Sparkle, the most faithful student of Princess Celestia, and I have many questions to ask.

Twilight? Like the film? Derek hoped not for obvious reasons.

Princess Celestia? Of where? What was this magical creature doing here anyway?

Derek had quite a few questions of his own but this was his guest; he was just happy she was here.

He scribbled a brief response on the other side and handed the paper back over.

Ask me anything, Twilight Sparkle.

This felt like one of those online chat rooms Derek had been on before. Only this time, the wait for a response was agonising, and he was talking to a unicorn. And of course there were other differences.

Twilight began writing again on the blank paper and a lot faster this time. Derek marvelled at how quickly she had adapted to writing with these new and unfamiliar utensils.

Soon the sheet was returned and he had a new message (and a substantially longer one) to read:

Forgive me for wanting to skip the formalities but this is a matter of great attention. Details will therefore also be excluded where necessary and perhaps included at a later date.

My friends and I arrived in this strange world yet we are unable to witness its native species. Until now we have been unable to establish communication with them. My first question is this:

Why can't we see you?

A hard question to start off with. Not wanting to disappoint, Derek included as much as he knew in his next response with his best grammar:

I'm afraid we are as much in the dark as you are. I appear to be the only one I know of who can see your kind. I have seen two others and I can confirm they could not see me either. Now I must ask, where do you come from? Why are you here?

The paper was already full from the overly-sized handwriting. Derek reached over to get another but the unicorn beat him to it and quickly scrawled another note. However, she then scrunched it up, tossed it back over her head, and wrote a lot more on a new sheet:

I come from the land of Equestria. Your kind is not present there but we recently discovered that it, along with others, exists elsewhere. The details of how are not important at this stage. We used a spell to get us here, yet I fear it went wrong. As well as not being able to see you, the reverse spell isn't functioning at all. So we need your help to get us home and perhaps make us visible to your kind so we can understand more and share knowledge. Do you think you can help us?

Derek didn't know much about being an ambassador for Earth but he figured he'd give it his best shot.

Honestly, I am not sure. I will however do the best I can to help you. You intrigue me equally so, and I am eager to know more. Only two things I think I should say:

1) I don't think it is a good idea for you to be seen by other humans. It might not go down as well as you hope.
2) Where are the others you speak of?

Twilight grabbed the paper back eagerly with her magic, desperate to know if Derek could help her. Although disappointed that he did not have a direct solution to the problem, she didn't falter, and answered Derek's question instead.

I do not know. I fear that I might have become invisible to them, also. It is certainly a possibility considering I haven't seen them since my arrival.

Derek didn't know how to handle this new bit of information. If Twilight couldn't see her own kind, then what the hell had that spell done? He could see them though, he was sure of that.

Why was this happening to him again?

I think I have seen two of them before. One flew in here but didn't notice me. The other was present at my school but again, did not take notice of anyone, despite my attempts. That reminds me. Were you the horse I saw the other day by the car crash? Did you notice me standing there?

Derek was keen to know if Twilight really didn't know he was there that day. He could of sworn she looked right up at him through the window.

Car crash? What is that? If you're talking about that vehicle with smoke near this place then yes. I distinctly remember the feeling that somepony, or somebody rather, was watching me. It was only when I looked to see who it was, that nothing was there.

That brought something to Derek's mind that he simply had to know the answer to:

What's it like, not being able to see anyone?

Twilight took her time with the next response, trying to word her answer effectively.

Derek, it is creepy. I see doors open on their own. I see vehicles moving around with no one controlling them. I call the names of my friends and shout in the faces of these things. Yet nothing responds. I feel a strange sensation every now and again – one which I have now deduced is that something has moved though me. It is not a pleasant feeling. I feel bare on this planet and so very unwanted by it.

When Derek took the paper back he found damp spots in places. He knew that they weren't drops of rain.

I am sorry for what has happened, Twilight Sparkle. I will do whatever I can, with however little power I have, to help you. We will find your friends and I will make you whole again.

Derek wasn't sure how he would do that, but he would most certainly try. He paused before adding one, final question for the day:

How many of your friends do we need to find?

He handed the paper back over yet again.

I can't be sure. If things went according to plan, although I can't really say they did in hindsight, there should be five. For now, that is...

For now? Derek wasn't exactly sure what that meant but he was sure it could wait.

You know what, I'm tired. This is a bit too much to take it in at once, Derek wrote. If he hadn't already had two days of this then he probably would say he was dreaming, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Regardless, he didn't really want to delve too deep into another species and its apparent world right now. He needed to catch up on sleep.

School? Forget about that crap. It's not like Derek had a perfect attendance record as it stood.

You're welcome to stay here, Twilight. Although my bed is off-limits. I can give you a blanket though, Derek finished before handing it back over for the last time.

Thank you. You are most kind. I realise now that I might have been heaping too much pressure on you. I have to remember that you are not a pony after all and your intellectual capacity might not be up to much.

Derek hoped, after reading those last words, that it wasn't a jibe from Twilight, and that she really didn't know how intelligent humans were.

After laying out a blanket, Derek took the sheets of paper and stacked them on his bedside table. It was still early afternoon, but he felt exhausted. It seemed that Twilight Sparkle did too as when he next looked over, she was already curled up on the blanket he had put out.

He couldn't blame her really – New world, no one to talk too, few days without a proper home and out in the rain without cover.

It seemed that had took its toll too, as the unicorn was shivering slightly. Derek got out of bed again and fetched another blanket from the cupboard. He had no idea why he had so many of the things. At least they now had a use.

He threw it over his guest to keep her warm before returning to his afternoon nap. He was actually pretty excited now, and maybe would have preferred to have talked for a bit longer.

What was it like in “Equestria”? Technology? Culture? History?

There's magic? What was the spell? When did they arrive? Did they arrive separated, or just unable to see one another?

And of most important of all: just what were they going to do about all this?

Rest now, Derek, Derek told himself. There was no point in thinking ahead at this time. The only real worry he had right now was that his parents didn't walk in on his nap. Derek was dreading the consequences if they decided to pick up the blankets, thinking it was just mess.

He was about to close his eyes and attempt sleeping but something brushed his outstretched foot. Derek sat up and looked over again at Twilight; however, she was still asleep. He reached forward and felt the area around his foot, searching for whatever touched him.

He quickly found it – the scrunched up bit of paper Twilight had discarded.

Derek, being the curious guy he was, couldn't resist a peek. Just one last thing, and then he'd be off to sleep.

He unravelled the ball of paper and read the seven words written there on the crinkled paper – the questions that Twilight decided it was best not to ask:

Am I dead? Am I... a ghost?

Author's Note

Really sorry about the long wait between the chapters. Hope people are still here, reading this. Also, I wish I could just write a chapter I'm happy with: I'm never satisfied with at least half of each one. Hopefully, things will be better from now on. Thanks to anyone who's returned to read this.

Haha, while reading over this I noticed that I referred to Twilight as herself before she'd written it on the paper. Derp.

A Different Day

A Different Day

Derek awoke fresh and ready for the day ahead. His mind was renewed and his brain relaxed.

He then opened his eyes.

A lavender unicorn loomed over him, poking through his face with hoof, uncertain whether he was awake or even there.

Derek was annoyed: surely the bulge gave it away? Or maybe she was just being playful.

He stumbled out of bed, startling Twilight. The first thing he did before undergoing his daily routine was to write another quick note for the unicorn.

Yes, I am still here. And no, that's not what I want to wake up to each day. Now excuse me while I go get ready for school.

Derek had made up his mind that missing too much of school would only result in trouble. He went over to the sink and started brushing his teeth as he so often did; in the reflection however, he could see Twilight fiddling with his school work.

Sighing, he walked back over to the bed and noticed that Twilight had taken the time to add a message:

Good morning Derek!
You are going to school? Ooh, can I come along? I probably know it all anyway but it looks like you need the help after glancing over these papers.

Derek wished there was a quicker way of communicating but this was all he had at the moment. He wrote another message, before taking the paper and dropping it repeatedly in front of the unicorn's eyes. Derek wanted to make sure that she read it. He was also sure that being in contact with the paper would make invisible to her eyes as well.

I'm not to keen on the idea, but I'd rather you weren't here all alone. So you can come on one condition: Please look the other way when I change my clothes. I know you can't see me but I can see you and it's extremely off-putting.

Derek had noticed that the unicorn wasn't wearing anything but frankly, there was nothing really to hide. Anyway, if she was used to wearing clothes then he was sure she would have asked by now for some spares.

Then again, he doubted that there was anything that would fit a unicorn in here.

***

“Derek, we're worried about your school attendance record. And how you've been going to sleep early; without saying goodnight too!”

Oh go away.

“Mum, I'm fine. Just let me go already or I'll be late again.”

Derek abandoned his breakfast and left the room before his parents could answer. Twilight was already standing by the door, waiting for it to open: the sign that he was now leaving.

They had discussed the plan of action for the day already, as it would be difficult to do so once they got going. Although, they didn't have time to be too detailed about everything.

Derek decided to take the bus today out of laziness. Twilight was fascinated by the vehicle, and was spent most of her time looking at various parts and staring at the driver's wheel move on its own. She eventually decided to take a seat but, as she couldn't see Derek, she ended up sitting on a completely different aisle.

As she couldn't see any other human too, she never realised that one ended up sitting on her throughout the journey. Derek couldn't hold back a chuckle as Twilight kept shifting around in her seat, feeling awkward due to the fact she was actually being sat on. His chortles prompted discerning looks from others.

At the fourth stop, as mentioned by Derek, they both left the bus and arrived at the front of the school. Twilight waited for everyone to move away, as instructed, and soon a strip of paper appeared on the ground beside her:

Enter the building. Turn right down the corridor and second door on your left. I'll sit at the book of the room in the seat whic-

The note suddenly moved upwards in the air and vanished before Twilight could finish reading it.

“Derek, you know littering is against the rules. Don't let me catch you doing this again.”

Derek glared at the woman who had picked up the note and then thrown in it in the bin.

It was too late to go and retrieve it – Twilight had already begun moving and Derek assumed she'd read it all.

***

What is she doing?

Derek looked over across the room at Twilight, who was deep in concentration reading Bob's work. That had never been part of the plan.

He reached for a spare piece of paper, wrote four words, and hurled it at Bob's head when the teacher wasn't looking.

The trajectory was perfect, and Bob was hit square on the side. The ball bounced off and landed softly on his work on the desk.

He looked up and saw Derek with that annoying grin on his face across the room. Bob frowned and opened up the paper, finding a message:

Have you seen Twilight?

Once he placed it on the desk, the invisible pony read the message over his shoulder and was instantly confused. She then realised that she had the wrong person. But where had this message come from?

However, to Bob, Twilight meant something completely different. And, being the more rebellious of the two, decided that he'd rather just use the classwork sheet instead to convey his message.

Twilight watched as a new ball appeared out of nowhere and was launched less gracefully across the room. It was probably for the best anyway – all the work done so far was wrong.

Twilight trotted over to where the paper landed and hoped that it had found its target.

Luck was on her side, as the paper was soon placed on the edge of the desk, pencil on top, inviting another to write.

Twilight read what was on it:

I'd rather die than see Twilight.

She was almost about to have a nervous breakdown when she flipped it over and saw more writing over the maths sums:

Yeah, sorry about that. This is Derek here, and I am completely stuck with this work. Help?

Twilight looked over the table of problems again. Derek's was of similar quality to the other sheet. However, they were wrong in different ways, and Derek started copying the other, thinking that it held the correct answers.

Twilight shook her head and Derek noticed this. With a disgruntled look he threw down his pencil, encouraging Twilight to correct him.

She elegantly lifted the other pencil onto the page and began to write vigorously. Derek moved his hand in front of the pen to give the illusion he was the one writing – in case anyone else noticed the flying pencil.

In a few minutes, the whole sheet was complete and Derek sat back with a smug grin on his face. Thanking Twilight, he rose from his seat proudly, paper in hand, and swaggered over to the teacher's desk at the front.

“Here you go, miss. Am I free to leave early for morning break?”

Bob looked incredulously at Derek from the back of the class. Jim was also in shock from the front row.

His teacher took the paper, uneasily, expecting a joke of some sort. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of such beautiful work and she sniffed a little, dabbing her eyes.

“Yes, Derek, yes you can. I'm glad my words have had an effect on you,” the teacher said emotionally. “Just one question: who is Twilight Sparkle?”

Derek snatched the sheet back and saw that her name was written under his own, in fancy writing and all. He looked back at his desk and saw the culprit sitting there, a big, playful grin on her face.

She must have been grinning all this time to make sure I see. That sounds both awkward and painful.

“Oh, just trying something new. It suits me, don't you think?” Derek said, thinking up the rubbish explanation on the spot.

Derek didn't wait for a response and ran back to collect his things from his desk. He showed a quick response to the still-grinning mare and left the room.

You can stop grinning now. Leave this place when you're ready and meet under the big tree.

***

When we get home, I'm using a computer instead. These messages are too tedious to continue on paper. Can't believe I didn't think of this last night.

What's a computer?

Derek lay back against the tree and laughed. The bell rang and the students came flooding out; the usual people came wandering over to him.

“Derek, man, how the hell did you do that?” Bob asked, giving his friend a little punch of approval in the shoulder with his beefy arm.

“I actually studied last night,” Derek replied.

“Haha, good one. Internet right? Wish I'd thought of that at the time...” Bob trailed off as his other friend arrived by his side.

Twilight lay on the grass a metre or so in front of Derek. She was busy staring at the swings, moving back and forth by themselves.

“Derek, we need to talk. Privately.”

Derek looked up at Jim. His face bore a serious look.

“Umm, okay?” Derek said. He followed Jim a few metres away from the base of the tree, and into the sunlight. They weren't too far away from Twilight.

“What was the name that you wrote on your paper today?” Jim asked casually. His light, blonde hair glistened in the sun.

“Err, Twilight Sparkle? Have you gone deaf?”

“Right, Derek. I want answers now. You keep referencing the show yet you constantly deny that you're a fan. Are you making fun of me?” Jim said in a drastically different tone.

Derek looked at his friend, confusion in his eyes. “What? I'm not mocking you.”

“Then why do you keep bringing it up? You trying to piss me off?”

“I'm still not getting your drift here, Jim. Please explain?”Derek said, full of honesty.

“Twilight Sparkle is a character from My Little Pony and you're telling me you don't know that?! Rubbish!”

Derek stared at Jim, stunned by the sudden outburst. What was he on about?

“Jim, I swear I do not know what you're talking about. Someone told me that name and I thought it sounded cool,” said Derek, trying to defuse the situation with a lie.

“Oh no, no, no, don't you think for one second I'll believe that! What about Fluttershy? Remember the other day when you started describing her?”

Jim just wasn't making sense. “Hold on one second.” Derek got up and moved over to Twilight, much to his protests. He fished a tissue out of his pocket and added one word before giving it to her.

Fluttershy.

The response was very rapid:

How did you know? Is she here?

Derek felt bad not responding but, nevertheless, he returned to Jim and looked him straight in the eye. “Jim, trust me on this. Tell me who Twilight is, and I'll tell you something good.”

Jim thought he'd play along: it couldn't do much harm. “Twilight Sparkle is a character from the TV show, My Little Pony. I watch the show, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I thought you did to, after what happened earlier. I also did the other day when you described another one of the characters in detail. Now tell me something good.” Jim folded his arms, challenging Derek to tell him something worthwhile.

Derek opened his mouth:

“I have never heard of that show until now. But you know what I said the other day, about being able to see her? I wasn't lying. True, I lost her and a rainbow-coloured pegasus, but I found another. Her name being Twilight Sparkle. The purple unicorn, yes?” Derek paused to which Jim nodded at the brief description. “I know you think what I am saying is crazy. But I can prove it.”

“You're not pulling my leg, are you?” Jim was definitely not convinced about the whole “I can see ponies but you can't idea” that Derek briefly mentioned before.

“What if I told you that she's right here? Derek pointed at the ground where Twilight lay, now dozing in the heat.

“I probably wouldn't believe you: I can't see her.”

“I know you can't Jim, but I can. I don't know why, but I can. I've even made contact with her and she's here right now because of me. She helped me with that maths work too.”

Jim was starting to believe his friend: there was no way Derek could have ever been that clever. Twilight on the other hand? Of course, she was the cleverest pony around.

On a more serious note: He was speaking with the utmost confidence and authenticity. The idea was of course ludicrous, but Derek seemed so sure...

It wouldn't hurt to believe in magic for a bit, would it? Friendship too – Derek was his best friend after all.

“Fine. If what you say is true, then show me.” There wasn't much to lose in Jim's eyes. Whatever was the truth, Derek hadn't reacted badly to his revelation. He also remembered that he should in fact trust one of his best friends, even if the idea sounded stupid. Then again, if he was lying, he'd really berate him hard.

Derek grinned. “You up for skipping rest of school? I know I've been doing it a lot recently but that maths work will probably get me out of trouble for a good week or so.”

It was an easy decision for Jim to make. Geography was hardly an appealing option.

Anything for ponies.

“Let's go.”

Author's Note

Shortish chapter but at least it came quick! Nothing much really happened but life is very difficult when you're trying to take care of an invisible unicorn.

Show

Show

“I'm just glad your parents are usually out in the daytime.” Jim shut the door behind him and his friend.

However, Derek called for him to open it again.

“Wait, why?” Jim asked.

“Because you locked Twilight outside of course!” Derek exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He opened the door and found a confused unicorn sitting outside, staring at the house.

Derek had allowed Jim to run ahead, while he informed Twilight that they were to return to his home. He had been unaware that there was a third entrant.

Also, Derek hadn't yet told Twilight as to why they were returning so early. He wasn't sure how she might handle what he hoped to discover, and he didn't want to cause any distress out in the open world – it would be better to do so in the comfort and confinement of a house.

Twilight trotted in and Derek closed the door behind her, watching as she scaled the stairs to return to his room as instructed.

“She's gone up now,” Derek said, turning back to Jim.

“Okay, then,” he replied, a hint of scepticism still lingering in his voice. “Shall we follow 'her'?”

“Of course.”

The two boys made their way up to Derek's room and sat down on the bed.

“She's right there,” he said, pointing to a stack of textbooks. One of them was laid open on the floor.

“That doesn't prove anything. You could have just left it open,” Jim pointed out. “I need solid proof.”

“Well I have just the thing,” Derek said, reaching into the drawers for his laptop. “I usually use letters to communicate but that's too much effort. Just give me a second, I'll go tell her how to use this. You're welcome to watch.” Derek winked at his friend and moved over confidently to the stack of books.

Twilight was currently trying to get her head around quantum physics. To like many scientists at the time, it just made no sense whatsoever. Then again, maybe it wasn't meant to. Perhaps it wouldn't be a clever thing to bring back this planet's technology to Equestria as that could really disrupt the progression of science. But it was just so interesting!

A bit of paper drifted down onto the page she was staring at. Twilight didn't know exactly why they had returned to Derek's home but she knew there was most likely a good reason. She eagerly levitated it towards her and read:

A lot going on so bear with me. My friend is here and I bet you didn't even know it. Sorry about that. But, he claims to have knowledge of your world and your friends so I really think he can help us. But firstly, we must convince him that you exist, as he can't see you. Come sit on the pillow on the bed, and await further instructions on the electronic device there.

Jim watched as the book shut itself on its own and was moved back onto the stack by nothing but air. He rubbed his eyes frantically before looking back at his friend. He then noticed that the pillow at the end of the bed was creased and indented despite there being nothing atop of it.

“Still not convinced?” Derek asked, noticing Jim's confused expression. “Then watch this.”

He brought up Notepad on his laptop and beckoned to Jim to come watch was he tilted it towards the pillow. “Be sure not to sit on that pillow though.”

Derek began to type out a message on the screen:

Hi Twilight. This is called a laptop and it is quicker to write messages on than letters. All you have to do is push down on each key with your magic, to type what you want. The rectangular bar is the spacebar for when you want to start a new word. Also, the key below “caps lock” is to use a capital letter when held down. Use the “backspace” key to delete all this and then say something to my friend, Jim. Be nice.

“Move back slightly,” Derek cautioned as he concluded the message. “I don't think she can see the laptop either if we're too close.”

“I was wondering why you wouldn't just speak to her. You're saying she can't see us too, right?”

“Oh, yeah, didn't I mention that?”

“No, and this still doesn't prove anything. That book thing was just some illusion I bet.” Jim still wasn't fully convinced. The complexity of the situation was too much to accept without solid proof.

“Oh Jim, just watch the screen.”

Jim looked at the message displayed and squinted, searching for any change in the text.

The full-stop flickered out. Then the “e”.

The whole paragraph began to deplete, the pace quickening as Twilight realised it was possible to hold the key down.

In a few moments, every word was gone, and the screen as a bland white. Then a letter appeared. Then another. In the same fashion, the rate at which they appeared quickened, until two whole words had been formed.

Jim watched silently in awe, and read the message as it was written:

Hello, Jim.

Soon, a few more had appeared. And then even a question:

My name is Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Princess Celestia, and friend of Derek. Is there something you wanted to ask?

Jim looked between the screen and Derek numerous times before opening his mouth. “How?”

“It's really her. Go on and ask her anything. Prove that it's not just some AI on the computer.”

Jim moved closer and gingerly placed his fingers on the keys.

“Wait, don't ask her anything. Remember why we're here? The TV show thing? She doesn't know that yet so don't let your questions be too intrusive or it may freak her out at this stage. Just be casual and ignore the stuff you think you already know. Ask why she's here or something.”

Derek knew that she'd likely freak out anyway if what Jim had said was true.

Jim nodded and instead of deleting the message, decided to write beneath it.

“Yeah that's probably a better idea.”

Hi, Twilight Sparkle. I am Jim, friend of Derek. I can't see you, but I believe what my friend has told me. But where exactly do you come from? What do you look like?

There was a small wait and Jim began to worry. “She's not replying.”

Derek leaned over and quickly added to the message: Press the enter key (below backspace) twice to start a new paragraph. Perhaps should have told you that earlier.

A message was typed out almost immediately:

Hello, friend of Derek! It's a pity you can't see me and it's a pity I can't see you! Oh and, judging by what you asked, Derek hasn't told you much now, has he?

Well, I'm a lavender-coloured unicorn mare who lives in a library. And that library is situated in Ponyville, and that in the land of Equestria. I can tell you more, but there is too much to tell! I arrived in this world via a magic spell and now I can't see anypony. Or anybody, I guess.

Okay, getting off-topic here. Tell me a bit about yourself.

Jim looked stunned and it took a few claps to get him to snap out of the daze. “So... she can't hear us either?”

“Nope. We're almost on equal-footing now. She only told me she cast a spell to get here but it must have gone wrong, and worse still, she can't get back. She needs our help, mine especially as I can see her species, to get home.”

“Well let me tell her more about myself then,” Jim said, wanting to return to Twilight, and still blown away by the situation.

“Jim, we really should do this now. The TV show, I mean. Once that is cleared out of the way we can do all that nice stuff and then start discussing the plan of action. I know you want to just talk right now but can't you see how bad this is for her? She can't see any of us. Imagine what that feels like. She may not show it, but it's obvious she's unsettled.”

“You're right. As much as I want to talk to one of my favourite TV show characters, I think telling them that they're from a TV show is more important so we can perhaps get to the bottom of this.”

Jim was keen to help the ponies he loved. What his friend had described didn't sound like a particularly pleasant life.

“Exactly. Besides, I'm guessing you know a fair bit about them now. Your knowledge will probably be useful.” And with that, Derek moved over to the screen to type something:

Sorry to interrupt. Derek here. There's another reason why I brought you back here early. Jim has something to show us that will almost certainly be alarming to you. I'm asking you to please, bear with me, and try not to freak out at whatever you see. The thing is, humans have seen your kind before, but not in the way you expect. They've seen you in screens like these. Just watch whatever shows up on here the best you can. I may write something on paper while it's happening.

“There, I tried to put it the best I could. Now go show her somehow and be sure to move away from the keys when you're done to make sure she can see.”

“What should I put on? I can do a basic article, or even an actual episode.”

“You know what? Do the episode. I'll quickly write for her what's going on.”

“Will you watch too? I'm sure you'll like it,” Jim suggested casually.

“Yes, yes I will, Jim.” Derek sighed. He was really hoping that this revelation wouldn't ruin everything. But he really needed Twilight to know this as it could perhaps prove crucial to solving her problem.

Jim will now show you something on the screen. It will undoubtedly surprise you and perhaps shock you. I'm not sure if you have electronic images in your world, but this is displayed weekly on certain machines for entertainment. Do not be afraid. Just take it easy and we'll answer all questions when you've had enough. I feel this is necessary for you returning to Equestria.

Twilight quickly read the letter. She was starting to worry now. Yes, they did have projectors in Equestria–a technology considered revolutionary–but this form of electronics was far more advanced and magical. And now she was about to be shown something that might shock her? Something that would prompt even more questions than she already had?

She would do her best to remain calm.

The magic screen suddenly came back into view and Twilight focussed her eyes on it. Numerous colourful shapes were moving around and faint sounds could be heard.

As Twilight moved closer, she managed to make out a voice. She recognised it too. Princess Celestia was in this magic, electrical box? She moved even closer, and discovered that Celestia was actually recounting the tale of the Mare in the Moon. Nothing major.

But then the voice changed. Was that, her voice? No, it couldn't be...

It was. And, to make things worse, she was reading a book. Exactly the book she read on the day when Nightmare Moon returned.

Twilight watched on as that memorable day unfurled before her eyes. She faintly remembered some actions; she even remembered some words said by both her and Spike. It was all very creepy and like a bad case of deja vu.

Maybe there was someone recording her at the time? No, that wasn't possible – these angles would have been impossible to accomplish. And whilst remaining hidden, too.

So how? Also, could the ponies see her?

Twilight waved a hoof at the screen, hoping that Applejack would notice her instead of the other Twilight.

No response.

Is this simply a screen, or a portal?

Twilight moved her hoof closer and touched the image, this time trying to get another pony to notice, and silently hoping that her hoof would fall through. But Rainbow Dash just kept laughing at her, and instead, an actual scratch mark was left on the screen.

She hadn't seen her friends in so long. She just wanted to talk to them.

“Spike, can you hear me?” she said frantically, prodding his face.

Spike didn't respond.

Neither did Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie a few minutes later.

“No, I don't like this. This is private. How is it even possible?” Twilight wailed as the Twilight on-screen started moaning about the ongoing party, whilst lying in her bed.

She put her hoof to her head and tried to block out the noise of Nightmare Moon talking. She definitely didn't want to relive this. “Just stop!!” she cried, not wanting to return to some of the darkest moments of her life, now made even darker.

Then, all of a sudden, everything cut to black, and some words appeared on-screen. Twilight however, didn't notice: she had shut her eyes tight and her hooves were firmly over her ears. With her magic, she shut the lid of the laptop sharply down, bringing an end to the display.

“What was that?”

“That was Twilight. I don't think she reacted well,” Derek said grimly.

“How do you know that?” Jim asked as if the laptop incident wasn't proof enough.

“Well there was deep-breathing, clawing desperately at the screen, trying to communicate with the screen, shutting of the eyes, covering of the ears, and finally, slamming the screen shut. Oh, and it looks like she's fainted,” Derek stated, barely containing the misery in his voice. He had hoped for a slightly more positive reaction but knew that such a thing was unlikely.

“Really? I mean, was the show really that bad? Did you enjoy it at least?”

“It was okay, and no, that's not what I meant! How would you feel if you realised someone was 'recording' your whole life? I would be seriously creeped out. Oh, and the fact that she's already alone on this planet, and now these characters won't acknowledge either.”

“When you say 'whole life', do you mean everything?” Jim looked nervous. “Like what I get up to on the computer? And the pony stuff I don't want my parents to know about. And when the two things are mixed together...” He shuddered.

“Yes, it sounds bad, doesn't it? I have no idea how such a thing is even possible; you can tell me about how this show is made later. Look, go get some water or something. I'll keep her company until she wakes up.”

“Sure. I do hope that this was worth it.”

“I'm sure it will be in the end as it's simply too big a connection to ignore. But Jim, water. Now.”

“Got it.”

Derek watched as Jim dashed out of the room, finally realising how badly it must have affected the unicorn. He turned and watched Twilight lie for a moment on the pillow, twitching. He offered a hand for a soothing stroke of the fur, but found only air.

He didn't usually care so much about others, but he felt differently about this creature. And the ordeal she was undergoing was truly dreadful. She was just very good at hiding it until now.

It only made matters worse that nobody could comfort her in times of need.

Words on paper were simply not enough.

Author's Note

A bit rushed I think. Written and proofread at like 1AM on different days so I might edit it more some other time. Oh and soon something interesting will happen! With only Twilight, there's not enough pony to go around... I'll fix that soon enough don't worry!