I open my eyes to see that I’m in my bed at my mother’s house. I swear I just had the strangest dream. Except, it didn’t quite feel as though it was a dream, it felt far too real.

I stare at the foot of my bed while I ponder my unusual dreams. Is it possible that they were more than just dreams? Should I take action on the requests of my strange purple lookalike?

After about five minutes of idling in bed, lost in thought, I decide to get up and start my day. However as I go to get out of bed a familiar voice greets me, “Good morning.”

Her sudden greeting startles me, causing me to jump forwards, rolling myself off of the bed tangled in the bed sheets.

I can hear her attempting to stifle her laughter as I get myself out of the pile of troublesome bed sheets and onto my hooves. “Very funny,” I grumble under my breath.

She makes a sound akin to somepony clearing their throat before speaking, “I’m sorry for startling you, I was only trying to communicate with you.”

I pout, not knowing whether she can see it or not, “But did you really have to startle me like that? Look at the mess you caused me to make.”

I set the sheets back to where they should be, making the bed and restoring it to perfect condition. I fold the quilt in half and then in half again, setting it down gently on the end of the bed.

“Sorry,” she sighs, before speaking in a lighter tone, “That is probably the quickest I’ve ever seen someone make a bed though.”

“Well, I certainly should be able to do it quickly. I have quite a lot of practise, cleaning up after my mother and all.”

She is quiet for a moment before she speaks up again, “Is your mother a messy person?”

I chuckle lightly before replying, “That’s only really the tip of the iceberg, she can be a very frustrating pony sometimes.” I sigh, “I still love her though, I just wish she’d take better care of herself sometimes. I can’t stay around and clean up after her forever.”

“Huh… Do you have any other family?” She asks as I make my way towards the bathroom.

“Well, there’s my aunt and grandmother on my mother’s side. I don’t know any of my family on my father’s side, he left as soon as he found out my mother was pregnant.”
“Now, if you don’t mind I’d rather not continue on that line of discussion,” I say, as I levitate my towel up from the towel ring and drape it over the edge of the shower.

“Oh, okay. So, what’s the agenda for today?” She asks as I open the shower door and start fiddling with the knobs.

I continue fiddling with the knobs until I get the temperature just right, before replying, “Oh, I guess I’ll finish up here, have breakfast, pack my things and leave a note for mother before I head out for the day.”

A few minutes pass, she appears to be satisfied with my answer. Right before I am about to shut of the flow of water I continue, “After that I ought to head out and meet up with that colt and invite him along for our trip.”

She remains silent as I step out of the steamy shower into the much cooler bathroom. I sigh as I gently close the glass shower door, “Are you still there?”

“Hey Emerald,” She says suddenly, breaking the silence, “Do you think you could do something else for me?”

“I’d love to, but, well, it depends entirely on what you are asking of me,” I reply curtly as I wrap my mane and tail up in towels.

I begin to dry myself with a third towel when she replies, “There’s another place I want to go to after we, hopefully, get me free.”

“And?” Fully dried off now I hang up my towels and make my way out of the room, shutting the door behind me.

She pauses again, “I’d like you to stay with me and accompany me there.”

“Why? What could you possibly still need me for then?” I ask.

“Well, you know how I was asking all of those questions earlier? Questions about things you find rather obvious.”

I begin to pack my bags, “Yes, I found that more than a little odd.”

“Well, I sorta…” She begins, “Alright. I’m going to be honest with you. This world, and pretty much everything in it, is completely alien to me. I’m going to need someone I can trust to help make sure I don’t make a fool of myself.”

“Well, that is certainly an interesting proposition. Are you sure you want me to accompany you? We only just met after all.”

“Take as long as you need to think about it,” She replies.

xXxXxXx

I finish my morning routine in silence, neither of us speaking to the other. I exit my bedroom, closing the door behind me and turn down the hallway to the kitchen.

I arrive in the kitchen, a fairly spacious tiled area. Opening the fridge, I take out a carton of milk and place it on the bench. I do the same with the cupboard, removing a mug and setting it down next to the milk.

I fill the kettle with water and set it to boil for my morning tea before making my breakfast. Using my magic I open the tin full of teabags, levitate one out, and sit it down in my cup. With the bread placed in the toaster I wait patiently for it to finish, or for the kettle to boil. Whichever comes first.

It seems the latter was the correct option, as the kettle whistles as it comes to a boil. I levitate the kettle over to the cup. The kettle dips forward, filling the cup with hot water which quickly darkens to a blackish-brown. I pour a sliver of milk into the cup, turning the liquid an opaque milky-brown.

After putting the milk away I tear a page off of a nearby notepad and write a message, to let my mother know why I’m not there when she gets home.

Mother,
I’m heading out of town for a while, don’t know when I’ll be back. I’ll send a you a letter to let you know when I find out.
-Emerald Shine.

Fairly brief? Yes. Gets the message cross? Ugh, hopefully. Over the years my patience with my mother has grown ever so thin. The last time she had come back from one of her trips, she had come through the door, complaining about an awful headache. She proceeded to collapse onto the couch, out cold.

I went out for the day and when I came back she was still in relatively the same position, the only difference was that she was now snoring with a half-empty bottle in hoof.

I am jolted away from my reminiscing by the sound of the toaster. Right, making breakfast.

Author's Note

Sorry for the break, I should be able to get chapters out on a decent schedule this time.