Chronicles of an Unknown World - The Awakening

by Blue Blaze {COMET}

Chapter 5: Donations Due, Part 9

{*First-Person View, Main Character*}

This evening has gotten better and better by the minute.

Sure, there have been some things that could have been improved on, but I’m not one to dwindle on the small stuff. The point is everyone is in a chirpier mood, my stomach is full of pasta and I think that the storm has even slowed down a bit, but don’t quote me on that. I guess that the positive mood has made everything in general move at a more leisurely pace. I find it quite enjoyable just being able to smile and say “Yeah. I had a good dinner.”

What’s even better was that I was actually some use to the two mares! Without hesitation, I gladly accepted the task to wash the dishes after everyone was finished. I found myself scrubbing in circles plate after plate with a comedically squeaky yellow sponge, polishing off utensils, scooping out cups and rinsing out a big ol’ metal pot. I felt satisfied to help out in some way this time. Placing various clean items on the drying rack, my progress was swift and without incident. Even with my prune-y hands stinging from the way-too-powerful dish soap, there was virtually nothing that could bring my mood down.

The room was relatively quiet except for the clanging of tableware here and there. Rarity was washing up the table and other surfaces while Twilight went off somewhere to set up her room. I’m guessing that I’ll be sleeping here for the night, but I just don’t know where yet. I’m pretty certain that Rarity has a guest room SOMEWHERE in this huge building, but the question is does she have two? If me and Twilight end up having the same room, I’m perfectly content sleeping on the floor, preferably AWAY from the furry creature. Oh, and Sweetie Belle went upstairs after her older sister reminded her to go finish her homework, which reminded me of MY homework that I still had to finish, which reminded me once again of my current situation.

If it isn’t obvious already, being, no, EXISTING on a completely different planet is just… mind-blowing. Just the sheer fact that I am not only living, but also living perfectly well on an unknown planet to my own is unbelievably astounding. Still, it constantly reminds me of my main task to find a way back home, but that’s kind of running in the background. I try to stop thinking about Earth and my family but it still somewhat looms over in the distance, not leaving me alone. I can try to talk to Twilight or maybe that magical immortal princess she talks to highly of, but right now I have to deal with the issue at hand, and that’s getting all of Twilight’s friends together.

I reached for another dish to surprisingly find that there were no more. Double checking for anything that I missed, I begin to drain out the sink and stop the tap. I wipe my hands with the nearby towel and turn to try and find my white hostess. She was finishing up cleaning the table, perfectly in focus at her job.

“Uh, Rarity, I’m finished cleaning the dishes.” I announced.

“Oh, marvelous. Thank you so much for helping out.” she acknowledged. Her attention turned towards my direction, affirming that my chore was actually done. A slight smile could be seen on her face before she went back to wiping off the dinner surface.

“No problem. Is there anything else you need help with?” I offered, throwing the towel to the drying rack.

“No there is not, thank you. But instead, how about you get familiar with the room I have set up for you? It’s upstairs to the right of Twilight’s room. I do try my best to offer the best sleeping setting I can offer, but I bet that you know what you need to get a better sleep, right? So if there’s anything in your room you want to move or change, feel free to do so.”

“Gee, thanks Rarity.” I said genuinely. Spotting a staircase, I began to casually walk towards it.

“Oh and one more thing…” Rarity’s voice stopped me short from the stairway. “Please take the stairs in my creation quarters, not the one here. The other one leads to the other rooms, while this one leads to my own room.”

“Oh, right…” I murmured, remembering the other set of stairs that I’ve seen previously. Taking my leave, I headed out the kitchen, went to the room full of sewing stuff (which I was guessing was her ‘creation quarters’) and took the stairs there. Step by step, I ascended through the purple stairs to arrive at the second floor. What I found at the top was a long curving hall that reached a few meters, give or take. I’d quickly forgotten exactly how large Rarity’s house was when we were eating! There were three doors on each side with a fabric closet at the end of the corridor. I actually had no idea where Twilight was sleeping, but I had a hunch to progress to the end and hope for the best.

Starting with the right side, I started creaking the doors open a smidge and taking a peek inside. The first door was a closet full of brick-a-brack, so I skipped it to the next. Second on the right was an empty bedroom, possibly mine, but I didn’t want to take a room not designated for me, so I quietly closed the door. As I silently moved to the last door, my attention caught the door behind me. I heard a voice cry out in frustration. No doubt it was Sweetie Belle, but I was curious as to what would make her say:

“Dumb Fractions!”

I cautiously turn around, gazing at the door to the opposite side of the hall. It was a tad bit ajar, allowing some noise to escape the edges of the doorframe. I steadily crept up to her suggested bedroom and took a look inside. At the corner of the room sat cute petite Sweetie Belle, her face attached to the desk. I could see a pencil to her left and a blue folder on the floor. I smiled warmheartedly, remembering the times where I had to sit at a desk at home and do simple homework like this. Of course I still do, except it more involves computers and typing rather than paper, pencil and simple elementary questions. She was definitely still in elementary school, right? She sounded way too young to be in junior high. I still couldn’t make any assumptions about the pony race, but my gut couldn’t lie to me that badly.

She groaned in disgruntlement, banging her hooves on the wooden desk pitifully. I couldn’t just stand back and spectate, so I decided to try and resolve the situation.

“What’s wrong?” I simply inquired, opening the door and stepping in.

“Oh, it’s you.” Sweetie answered, sitting up probably expecting her sister to come in. “It’s nothing, really.”

This moment I started to regret my choice. Her problem was definitely something that her older sister could handle better, not a teenaged alien from another, unfamiliar planet. I could hear the doubt and shyness from her voice, suggesting that she didn’t really want me to be there. I really should have thought about it more, but I guess her adorableness drew me in. Still, once I’m in deep water, there’s no turning back. The best I could do was wear my game face and hope for the best.

“Well it doesn’t sound like nothing.” I pointed out while approaching the young pony. “It sounds like you could use some help.”

She frowned, her gesture actively communicating to me her thought process of uncertainty. Her facial feature let up a bit after a few moments.

“It’s my stupid homework!” the tiny horse exclaimed, pointing to the loose-leaf in front of her. “It doesn’t make any sense!”

“Well let’s just take a look here, shall we?” I offered. Reading the writing on her paper, I kneeled to her level and put my hand on her shoulder reassuringly. It appeared to have standard fraction equations on it, nothing I couldn’t handle, but certainly out of a certain filly’s league. Shocking enough, I could actually read the numbers on the assignment! It was all in standard English writing, so at least I could identify the problems. There were five questions, yet she hadn’t completed even one yet. Was she troubled this entire time? It had to be at least twenty minutes since she was sent upstairs! Poor thing…

“Ok, these are fractions, right?” I said, pointing to one of the equations. “This is simple enough. Were you learning this in school?”

“Yeah, but it just doesn’t make any sense! Why do they have to be in fractions? Why can’t they just be in whole numbers? It’s easier for numbers to be whole, not in parts, so why did they even make fractions in the first place?”

I chuckled lightly at her plight. It was somewhat humorous to find the child worrying about the fractions themselves, not the actual questions! I guess that’s one step to becoming a philosopher.

“You know, some things in math just don’t make sense. In fact, a lot of things in math don’t make sense, just like a lot of things in life. You’re gonna have to learn to accept it, or else it’ll drive you completely bonkers!” I mused while pointing at the side of my head and twirl my wrist around to try and get my point across. “But enough about the fractions, what about the questions? What did they teach you about fractions in class?”

“They taught us how to add them together, like this…”

She took the pencil in her mouth (…ok then…) and started to draw numbers on the other side of the equals sign. Her answer appeared to be just the numerator and denominator of both fractions added together. I heavily breathed through my nose, trying to hide a frown. Was this what she learned in school? She couldn’t have been paying attention to the lesson to get this result!

“Ok, you got the right idea. This is an addition question, so you do need to add the two fractions together, but just not in this fashion.” I directed, pointing at her answer. She pouted at hearing my disapproval. Holding out my hand in front of her, I asked “May I please have the pencil?” She dropped the pencil onto my palm. Strange yet surprising, the small wooden writing device was not covered in pony saliva. I gripped the writing device, leaned over the working space and drew one of the equations in a separate space.

“Ok, first, you have to make both denominators either a multiple of each or the same…”

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So why haven't I updated for a month?

Life. That's all. And if you were paying attention to my blog then you would know that I have been swamped with different kinds of events pertained from life. Now, this update doesn't mean that I will be updating more often, however, I really pushed to get this out, so I hope you enjoy this one!

In other news, I did something different than originally planned and I'm hoping that it won't bite me in the butt later.

That is all!

Comments

[LeJokstereerre]

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