'Play it cool Thomas, play it cool.' I think to myself as I approach the table. "Hey Cadence, who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Shining Armor, he's my coltfriend. Shining, this Thomas, we met in history class." Cadence says as I sit down across from her, and then set my bag down next to me so Fleur would have a saved spot. Upon feeling the word 'coltfriend' my mind deflates a bit.

'Welp, so much for Cadence. Still, I might have a shot with Fleur. Bah! Focus, you idiot!' "Nice to meet ya, mate." I say, a bit of my autism slipping through. See, my mind worked weird. It took every shortcut possible, even my responses. And due to the immense size of the internet, it has given me plenty of random things to make shortcuts out of. The most common one being the Sniper from TF2, in the form of using the word 'mate' in a butchered Australian accent.

Shining looks at me, a bit confused and shocked. "Wow, uh, you certainly weren't what I was expecting when Cady was talking about you." I chuckled, shaking my head as I pulled out my bagged lunch. It was a small thing, just a peanut butter sandwich in a brown paper bag. I wish I had two, but that was all the orphanage could spare. As I started eating the sandwich, at least, that's what they told me. I didn't hear any conversation from the other two at the table.

Looking up, they were eyeing me with concern. "Thomas… is that… all you have to eat?" Cadence asked, the look on her face similar to one would make seeing a ragged begger.

"Yeah, so what? I mean, I wish I had two, but that's just wishful thinking." I chuckled in a depressed fashion.

"Deux?!"(Two?!) A shocked cry came from behind me. Turning, I see Fleur standing there looking at me sadly with a stallion next to her. Again, white fur, two tone blue mane, but different hairstyles. "Thomas, a…" Fleur paused, thinking of the word for my species before finally remembering it. "A human of your size should be eating much more than just two meager sandwiches!" Fleur said, eyeing my half eaten sandwich in distaste. "Yet all you have is one? Unacceptable!"

I moved my backpack to between my legs so Fleur could sit down next to me, which she did. She then set her saddlebags on the table, and got out a sack of bits from it. Pulling the pouch open, she shoved ten of the gold coins in my direction. "You come into that line with me, and you get yourself a proper meal. Got it?" A bit shell shocked, I blinked before shaking my head.

"Fleur, that's your money, I couldn't-" Before I could finish, I felt a hoof placed on my shoulder. Turning, I see the stallion that had come with Fleur.

"Trust me chap, it is best if you listen to her. Once she has decided to help somepony, there is no stopping her." The stallion said with an understanding smile.

"Hey, don't get me wrong, Fleur, your fucking awesome for trying to help me out, really, but… Ah, who am I kidding, I don't have a solid reason. But what about you Fleur? What'll you eat?" Fleur waves away concern.

"Thomas, I'll be fine. I have more than enough bits to buy us both lunch." Fleur says, standing from the able and setting her saddlebags where she was sitting. "Now come, before the line gets too long." Fleur said, leading me to the lunch line.

3rd Pov
Cadence

Cadence watched as her new human friend was pulled away by the most popular mare in the school. She giggled at the two as Fancy Pants sat next to Fleur's saddle bags. "Ah, Princess Cadenza, it's a pleasure to meet you." Cadence winced internally at that.

"Er, please, call me Cadence. And, uh, don't tell Thomas about me being a princess. I don't want him treating me in that way." Fancy nodded, before turning to Shining Armor.

"And you must be her coltfriend. I'm Fancy Pants, Fleur's brother. It's nice to meet you." Shining nodded before speaking.

"It's nice to meet you too Fancy Pants, I'm Shining Armor. I think I've seen you around here before. Last year or the year before, probably." Shining tapped his chin with a hoof in thought, while using his magic to levitate an apple up to his mouth and taking a bite.

"Yes, I do believe that is the case. An apologies for such a sudden change in topic, but I am quite curious about that tall fellow my sister has taken a liking to. Dare I say, her friend." Fancy said, then took a bite out of his own food that he had brought with him. Cadence finished chewing her own food before speaking up.

"He's very nice, as you saw, and very smart. He was talking about things that little Twily, Shining's younger sister, would talk about. I think he said something about jean-ethics and multiple-verses theory." The two stallions looked at her like she was speaking gibberish. "Yeah, that was my face when he said that. He also has this black box he carries in his clothes, and another smaller, more round black box he carries in his bag that holds these tiny little devices he puts in his ears."

Shining turned, looking at Thomas's odd looking saddlebags with suspicion. "You don't think he might be carrying something dangerous in there, do you?" Cadence quickly cast a glare at Shining.

"Shining! I can't believe you! He's by far nicer than any nobles or their kids, er, no offense Fancy."

"Oh, I assure you, none taken." Fancy said, trying not to be scolded like Shining Armor was currently.

"Just because he looks different doesn't mean he's dangerous." Cadence finished with a frown, her eyes daring Shining to say something.

"Oh, no, he has every right to be suspicious of me." Thomas said as he and Fleur walked up to the table, Fleur also glaring at Shining before she looked up at Thomas in shock. "It's only natural after all. Humans are predators back on Earth, and I like to think that stays the same even here." Thomas sets his food tray down, and picks up the fork.

"So does that mean you have killed before?" Shining asks, eyes sharpening into daggers as he glared at Thomas who looked unphased.

"Technically, yes. But I'm sure you've killed an insect or two in your lifetime as well, whether on purpose or on accident." Shining wanted to argue the point, but knew Thomas did have a point.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Shining growled, stomping a hoof on the table, causing it to shake slightly. Thomas raised an eyebrow as he looked at Shining Armor.

"If you meant taking the life of another human or a pony, then no. I have not nor will I ever… I hope. The future isn't set in stone after all." Before Shining Armor could say anything else, Fleur spoke up.

"So why are humans considered predators?" She asked. Thomas smiled as he turned to her.

"Excellent question, and the answer is evolution. See, modern humans which have only been around for about three hundred thousand years. But humans in general are only about 4 to 7 million years old in terms of how long we've been on our planet. And during those several millions of years of evolution, we slowly found our place on the food chain. Which was entirely off the food chain.

"Sure, some things could hunt and kill us, but if you got enough of us together back then and with nothing but some rocks and some wood, the hunter would become the hunted. We were pack animals to a degree, which is what made us so dangerous. One guy with a spear is not that much of a challenge. Ten of us? You should start getting worried. 50 of us? Kiss your ass goodbye, it's going into the forever box."

"Why would you put donkeys in this 'forever box'?" Fleur asked, which caused Thomas to open his mouth to respond, before shutting it closed.

"Right, forgot about that. Look, basically, humans are predators cause we evolved that way, end of story." They all nodded at this. All but Shining that is.

"So you're saying you are a threat?" Tom made a so-so gesture.

"Yes, and no. Am I a threat right now? No. Can I become a threat, well, I think that can be said for anyone. Everyone has the capacity for violence, but without intent or reason, the threat they pose becomes null." Tom looks up at Shining Armor, a smirk on his face. "That being said, I believe it is you who is acting as a threat to me. So the question is, are you going to be a threat to me?" Tom looked at Shining Armor with a stare that slowly made the young stallion wilt.

Tom smirked, before going back to enjoying his food. Cadence was, in a word, amazed. Tom had just taken the situation Shining was trying to set up, and turned it on its head. She had only seen such amazing verbal gymnastics from her aunt. "Good, now that that is settled, I haven't heard much about you guys. Y'all keep asking me about my life, but I don't know squat about yours."

Looking at one another, Cadence spoke up. "Well, what would you like to know, Thomas?" Thomas takes a second to think, before looking at Shining Armor.

"Shining, what are your future plans?" Everyone was a bit taken aback that out of the 4 of them, he had asked Shining Armor that question, much less that sort of question at all. After a few moments for the shock to wear off, Shining spoke.

"Well, one day I plan on joining the royal guard." Thomas raised an eyebrow as he sat back.

"Royal Guard, huh? Sounds important as hell to me. What does that entail exactly?" Shining puffed out his chest a bit at that.

"It means we dedicate our lives to protecting the crown." Thomas nodded, before speaking.

"So like the Secret Service, got it." They all gave him a confused look at that.

"What's the Secret Service?" Fancy Pants asked the obvious, to the ponies, question.

"They are the ones that protect the president of the United States. They do more stuff than that, but it's what they are most well known for. No branch of the military is above them, at least, as far as I know." Shining nodded at this.

"Yeah, they sound like the Royal Guard. But what's a press-E-dent?" Shining asked, head tilted.

"No, its president. It's the word used for a democratically elected leader in a democracy. And don't ask me what democracy means cause I don't have a damn clue." Thomas explained, causing Cadence to nod.

"So they are like mayors, but instead of a city, it's a whole country." Thomas nodded while pointing at her with his fork.

"Exactly. If I had a gold star, I'd give it to you." This caused the others to chuckle while Cadence rolled her eyes.

"Oh ha-ha, very funny." Cadence said, no real malice in her voice.

"So what about you Thomas? What are your plans after school?" Fleur asked him. Before Thomas could respond, the bell rang, signifying the end of lunch.

Tom stood up, grabbing his food tray as well as Fleur's to put them away. "That is something you'll have to find out tomorrow at lunch. Until then, I'll see y'all later." Tom was about to walk away before turning back to grab his backpack. "Almost forgot this, that would have been bad." The others began getting their things as well, readying to leave for their next class.

1st Pov

My next class was Equish, which I guess was their version of English. I hated English even back on my world. I could never understand what the hell the reading material was trying to convey most of the time. Upon entering the classroom, I immediately took a desk near the back. I was so not looking forward to this class. The teacher, another mare who looked like some high up aristocrat made me groan internally. She was a forest green coated unicorn mare with a striped purple and black mane and tail.

I couldn't see her cutie mark because of the clothes she was wearing. It didn't look like a dress per say, but it definitely looked expensive. I just pulled out my phone and an earbud, continuing my game in Stick War: Legacy from earlier today. When the bell rang, I put those away and paid attention to the class. "Afternoon everypony," The teacher said, emphasizing the word pony while looking at me, "today we have a new student, as I'm sure most of you can tell. Mr. Jackson, stand and tell us about yourself." She said in a commanding tone.

'Great, another noble who hates anything that isn't a unicorn.' I thought in an annoyed slash depressed tone. I knew that this class would be even harder than normal English, simply because the teacher would give me bad grades because she wanted to. I stood from my seat, the eyes of all the ponies looking at me making me shift my feet uncomfortably. "Uh, as most of you can probably guess, my name is Thomas Jackson. I'm… technically an alien due to me being on your planet and… uh, yeah."

With that, I quickly take my seat, not wanting to be noticed anymore. After that, class proceeded. The classwork was a bit easier than I expected, but not by much. Also, I had to remember to use pony words instead of general ones. You know, things like everyone vs everypony. After class let out, I practically raced out of the classroom. I had nearly suffocated from the negativity coming from the teacher alone. I let out a sigh of relief once I was sure the teacher couldn't hear me with her bat-like hearing. I checked my schedule once more to see I had biology as my next class.

"Room one oh eight, alrighty then." Making my way down to near the end of the hall just before it turned a corner, I saw a familiar pink pony there. "Cadence, what's up? You got Biology too?" The pink… whatever she is, nods as she looks up at me with a smile.

"Yep, though I'm a bit nervous. I don't entirely know what a biology course will entail." I smile and pat the mare on her neck.

"Hey, you'll be alright. I've already taken a biology course back in my world, and from what I remember it was relatively easy. There are some challenging bits here and there, but I'm sure you'll do fine." Cadence blushes a bit at the praise before giving me a puzzled look.

"If you've already taken the course, then why are you taking this one?" I shrug at her.

"Different world I guess. Shit might be different here then where I'm from." Cadence takes a moment to think, then nods at this.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Just then, a third voice cuts into our conversation.

"Ah, Mr. Jackson, it's a pleasure to meet you again. I take it you and Ms. Amore here are also going to be taking this class?" Said the white stallion from lunch.

"Oh hey, sup dude. Sorry, but I don't think I caught your name?" I asked, a bit sheepish for not having asked for his name.

"Ah, right, I don't believe you did. I'm Fancy Pants, Fleur's brother." My eyes widened before squinting. I opened my mouth to ask a question, but he is already saying something. "And yes, I know me and my sister don't have the same accent. While Fleur was mainly raised by our Prench parents, I had been sent off to Trottingham to live with relatives there. I will not say more about it as it is a touchy subject."

I nodded at this, a frown on my face. "Sorry you had to go through that my dude, I myself couldn't imagine having to live so far away from a sibling… Mainly because I'm an only child, but that's besides the point." Fancy nods at this.

"Thank you Thomas. Now then, I think we should go take our seats, yes?" Cadence and I nod, and follow Fancy into the classroom. Unlike other classrooms which had posters of stuff related to their class, the walls of this classroom were lined with pictures of diagrams of ponies, skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular, etc. Though, I didn't see anything relating to the nervous system, which I found odd. Or maybe they just didn't know about it yet. There were also posters of flowers with close ups that showed veins and the stem wall, but not cells.

'Guess they haven't gone that small yet.' I thought as I took my seat, Cadence sitting to my right with Fancy in front of me.

"Hey, Fancy, Thomas says he already took a biology class." Cadence says, making Fancy look back at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep. Though I gotta say, I'm not seeing what I thought I'd be seeing. I mean, where's the diagram for the central nervous system? Cells? Bacteria? Nucleus?" They just gave me bizarre looks. 'Guess they haven't gone down the ever shrinking rabbit hole like humanity has when it comes to certain things.' "Okay, question, how do your muscles know what your brain wants it to do?" They looked at each, and shrugged.

"That's the job of the central nervous system. The brain sends electrical signals down your spine, and from the spine to the other parts of the body."

"Wait, really? So everytime I lift a hoof…" Cadence says, lifting one of her forelegs from the desk. I moved closer to her and poke her head where her brain should be.

"Your brain instantaneously sends an electronic signal to the region of the system that controls the muscles in your foreleg," I move my finger down her spine. Cadence shivered at the feeling of my fingernail softly scratching her as I moved it. I then continued down the side of her body to her lifted foreleg, "which contracts the muscles, making the motion of lifting your hoof."

"If that is true, and I am not saying you are lying, then there is a system of which our scientists haven't figured out yet in our bodies." Fancy said, eyes wide.

"Oh trust me, the nervous system will seem small in comparison to the atom." They both gave me another confused look. "Er, let me explain. The atom is as small as you can get basically. Think of it like this. Everything is made up of matter, that matter is made up of molecules, and those molecules are made up of atoms. Or something like that. I can't remember what it is exactly, but yeah." Seeing their still confused faces, I continue.

"A good example is comparing a hoof sized rock to a grain of sand. That's the comparison of an atom to a molecule. And a comparison of a molecule to a grain of sand… picture a small mountain, this is the grain of sand, to a decently sized boulder. You have an idea of how small an atom is now?" They both nod, eyes wide.

"But… that's so small! How can humans see something so tiny?" Cadence asked, incredulous.

"Science, and decades of research." I said, finishing the conversation as the bell rang. With the rest of the students in the class, the teacher, a bone white stallion with a two toned light purple mane, looked up from his desk with a smile.

"Good afternoon everypony. Or, should I say, everybody, as it seems we have a new student. Mr. Jackson, if you would, please introduce yourself." Having done this three times today already, I nod.

"Hey everyone, as some of you already know, my name is Thomas Jackson, though most call me Tom." A few half assed 'hellos' is all I got.

"Great. Now then, onto the lesson." The classwork was about what you'd expect, though from what I knew in comparison to the lesson, they used magic to explain a lot of the things that happened inside the body, rather than science. This would explain why the thought of a nervous system or the atom would seem ridiculous to them.

The thought made me chuckle a bit. Not only would I be bringing mechanical upgrades to this world, but scientific ones as well. The class finished rather quickly, and from what I saw Fancy and Cadence looked burned out by the lesson as we walked out of the classroom and towards the school's entrance. "Ugh, biology is going to suck so much." Cadence said, her head shaking wearily. Fancy agreed, looking a bit exhausted himself.

"I don't know what you two are talking about. Honestly, I find it interesting that y'all think magic is what keeps y'all going. I mean, sure, you guys are very magical in nature, but not everything is. What about the other species of this world that don't have as much magic? What about them? Surely their whole body can't run off of magic when there isn't any magic to be had?" Cadence just sent me a scowl.

"Don't make me think right now you jerk." Even though she said it in an annoyed tone, I could tell she didn't mean it. I hold my hands up placatingly as I chuckle.

"Alright, alright, enough with the science talk… for today that is." I send Cadence a cheeky smile, which she groans at, turning away. For a moment, I couldn't help but think I saw her cheeks get a bit more pink, but that was probably due to the lights. Soon we came up on the doors to the outside world, where I paused. I honestly really didn't want to go back to the orphanage, at least, not yet that is. Sure, I'd still have to face the mountain load of chores that awaits me, but…

Looking down, I look at Cadence and Fancy who have just noticed I wasn't next to them anymore, and we're looking back at me. "Tom, are you alright?" Cadence asked, a worried look on her face. I shake my head before responding.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, just… thinking about some stuff. Hey, listen, I, uh, I gotta get going, I'll catch up with you guys tomorrow. Alright? Tell Fleur I said 'see you later'." I then turned and began making my way back to the orphanage.

Pov: 3rd
Cadence

Cadence and Fancy watched as Thomas walked away, a melancholy mood over him. Cadence frowned, wondering why he was suddenly feeling this way. She wanted to go after him, but knew Shining would worry if she wasn't here to greet him when he eventually got out of the building.

As the students continued to leave the school in droves, she and Fancy chatted. "So, what do you think of the lad?" Fancy asked her.

"He's really kind, but also… strange. His world and thus his upbringing is so radically different from ours. I mean, you heard of the things he spoke of, right?" Fancy nodded.

"Yes, I do see what you mean. But if he speaks the truth, then his people have used science in place of magic to get to where they are, as I do not see magic being able to give one the ability to look at something so small." Cadence nodded at this, a contemplative look on her face.

"He's given me a look to think about, that's for sure." It was around this time that Fleur and Shining Armor came out to greet the two conversing ponies. Cadence hugged Shining before giving him a nuzzle, while Fleur hugged her brother.

"Hey Cady, how were your classes?" The young stallion asked.

"Oh, they were alright, but biology is so complicated. Thankfully Thomas is taking the class as well, and he's already helped me a lot." Cadence beamed. Shining simmered internally at the thought of the human, but nodded.

"That's nice. Hey, why don't we hang out by the park for a bit?" Cadence wanted to agree, but wilted.

"Sorry Shiny, Aunt Celestia wanted to know about my day, as well as teach me more about my eventual princess duties." Shining sighed, but nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you later then. Just remember you promised to help me watch Twily tomorrow after school, alright?" Cadence nodded as she gave Shining a peck on the cheek.

"Of course Shiny, see you tomorrow." With that, Cadence turned before flying back to the castle in the distance. While that had been happening, Fleur and Fancy spoke to one another.

"Hey Fancy, how were classes?" Fleur asked her brother.

"Oh, they were alright. Though biology is sure to be a tough but odd class, especially since Thomas is taking it with me and princess Cadenza." Fleur nodded at this.

"Any class with him is going to be odd, that's for sure. He's so… different, in so many ways. Oh, speaking of him, where is he?" Fleur asked, looking around but saw no sign of the human.

"Oh, he said he had somewhere to be in a hurry, but he did tell me that he would see you later, probably tomorrow." Fleur frowned a bit, wanting to see the human one last time that day.

"Oh, I see. Well, there is always tomorrow. Come on Fancy, let's head home. I'm sure we both have some homework to do tonight." Fancy nodded, following Fleur down the street to their parent's mansion.

Author's Note

And here it is, the rewrite of chapter 2. I hope you all enjoy it more than last time. I do admit, some of my personal feelings had leaked into the story, drifting it from what it should have been. I apologize for that, and I hope this rewrite settles much better than it had previously.