//------------------------------// // A Different Day // Story: Cracked Vision // by TheHiveQueen //------------------------------// 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.”