Twilight, it would seem, loved to share knowledge. Although she professed that she wanted to get into the sciences, she'd make a good teacher. She was most eager to show me how to use the tablet, the functions of it, and how to charge it as we sat together on the sofa in the living room. She even took the time to approach it from the angle that I had an 'Amish' understanding of tech. "... and this is the setting used to adjust the pitch and timbre of the synthetic voice," she concluded. She navigated back into the text-to-speech program's main screen and then passed the device over to me. "I couldn't do anything about the accent myself, but I set one of the United Kingdom English voices as the base since you seem to use the British spellings, rather than the Americanised ones." She gave me an eager expression. "Do you have any questions?"

I tapped the text field, which brought up the ~~typewriter~~ keyboard and quickly typed out the pangram I was taught to use for typing practice when I enlisted and had to learn how to use a typewriter. It would take some time to get used to typing one-handed—instead of using both my wings—but it at least seemed doable. "Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow." She gave me a weird look, but I just smiled and held up one finger. I considered whether or not I had any questions. Plus, I was considering how the voice needed to be adjusted to sound more like me. "You said that I'd have access to the 'internet' on this device. Are there any reputable data sources you would recommend for study? I can tell without having heard back from Ms. Cadance that the history, geography, and sociology sections on my placement tests are abysmal."

If her smile could grow any more, I'd swear that the top of her head would flop backward. "Oh, absolutely. I've already bookmarked several useful study aides in Firefox for you, in anticipation that you might also wish to use the tablet to study," she agreed, reaching over switch to the internet browser app and showing me the list of favourites. "This one's an open-source encyclopedia with strict contribution rules. This one's..." She proceeded to run through a number of items, and even pointed out a general syllabus she used to get ahead in grades, before finally saying. "Just remember that constant use will drain the battery faster. You may wish to save study sessions for when you have it on the charger though."

I nodded and navigated back to the speech app. "Thank you, Twilight," I typed out. This time, my typing speed increased. "It's great just to be able to 'speak' without having to pantomime or write things down." I let out a somewhat equine snort as memories surfaced, especially those of how many people in this world simply assumed that I had some sort of mental defect or couldn't hear them simply because I couldn't speak. "So what do you do for fun?"

For some reason, she seemed surprised that I was showing interest in her—as if it were somehow unusual. "I do a bit of everything, really," she began. "You can't go wrong with reading, fiction or non-fiction, but I also enjoy tinkering, inventing, and trying to unravel the mysteries of the universe. A friend of mine has been tutoring me in computer programming, and she's the one that got me into... anime."

I noted as she spoke about her interests, she started to lose steam. It was as if she expected at any moment that I'd start deriding her interests. "Sounds interesting. I don't know what this 'a knee may' is, but I don't see anything wrong with enjoying scholarly pursuits. I'm something of a prolific reader myself, and I enjoy learning something new as well. It breaks up the minutiae of day-to-day life." With a shrug, I added, "It's as they say, 'knowledge is power;' for someone like me, it's been the key to staying alive."

She immediately perked up. "Oh?" she asked with a look in her eyes that screamed 'tell me more'. "Like what?"

"Physics, maths, and weather science, for one," I remarked, turning to look out the living room window, where the sky was already beginning to darken. This wasn't something I could give an exact truth on, because there's no way she'd actually think I was anything but delusional if I explained its importance from the pegasus perspective."In a world where we just can't control the weather, it's useful to be able to read a weather system at a glance, how fast it's moving, where it's going, and what it'll bring. You start to intuit certain things just by the feel of the air. Then there's the gauging speed of a vehicle when I wanna cross a street, or judging distances."

She didn't need to know, of course, that I had to teach myself most of that. Dad was an earth pony, so he couldn't exactly teach me or Cantata to fly or anything about weather, and we couldn't afford flight school. That meant we had to learn all that stuff from books. If there was one thing about Manehattan that I missed, it was that they didn't care if you were homeless as long as you respected the rules, took care with the books, and were there to read. Here, I couldn't even get past the front desk on account of having no identification or library card and 'looking like a vagrant'. If I'd gotten into the library that day I found it in the first week, I'd have probably memorised most of the history stuff by now.

Twilight, it seemed, was rendered curious by my explanation. "If you are into atmospheric science, does that mean you're considering a career as a meteorologist?" she queried as she followed my gaze out to the sky. "I know there's a meteorology club at Crystal Prep, but just between you and me, they all have their heads in the clouds."

My brain misfired upon hearing that joke. It wasn't the same as that old tribalist joke I was used to hearing, but it basically had the same punchline: 'How many pegasi does it take to change a light bulb? None; no matter how many you ask, they've all got their heads in the clouds.' Neither her bad joke, nor the tribalist variant I'm used to hearing were particularly funny, but it was so absurd and awful that it was hard not to laugh. It started as a simple snort, and then a chuckle. Before too long, I had set the tablet aside and was in complete side clutching hysterics.

Given that I wasn't making a sound beyond the occasional wheeze, the sight was probably a lot more confusing—potentially even terrifying—for Twilight. I was faintly aware of the girl calling out, "Mom! Dad!" and overall sounding like she was starting to panic, so maybe I should have typed out laughter before I got carried away. Oops.

Through tears of laughter, I noticed both adults rushing into the room. They took one look at me, and they kind of froze up too, like they weren't too sure what to do or think either. It wasn't until I started wiping the tears from my eyes and reached for the tablet that anyone finally thought to ask if I was okay. It was Mrs. Velvet that actually did so as she placed a hand on my shoulder. "Eventide, are you alright?"

I just nodded and woke the tablet, tapping out a quick response. "Yeah... I just haven't laughed like that in a long time." This was followed up by giving Twilight a dirty look. "Sun and stars, girl. That joke was so bad that it looped back into hilarity."

A smirk creased Night Light's face as he locked his amber eyes on mine. "Be that as it may, perhaps we should work on making sure everyone knows you're actually laughing," he remarked before gesturing at the tablet. "A quick 'ha ha' on the tablet or an exaggerated gesture might work well."

Rubbing the back of my head sheepishly, I glanced at each of them in turn. "I apologise for scaring you," I said with the aid of the new device. It was a strange thing, seeing how worried it made them. How long has it been since anypony actually cared about my well-being like that? Sure, Violette, Boss, and everyone at the camp seemed to care, but before that everything I knew had been impersonal for years. The idea that I'd inadvertently caused them grief made something deep inside me twinge.

And then, as if to ruin the mood, my stomach chose that time to make itself known. "Oops. So, uh, how long until dinner?"

That evening was... different. Not long after dinner, Twilight invited me into her room. It was decorated with various posters, and several figurines of various types—some looked like giant robots, some were people with exaggerated faces and/or body-shapes—on a shelf by her desktop computer. According to Twilight, they all pertained to various anime, or animated television series from Japan, that she liked.

Curiously, she even had a framed picture of her, her brother, and another girl in costumes that I imagined had to be from anime. Shining and Twilight were both dressed in suits, and had either dyed their hair, or were wearing wigs. The third girl who seemed to be wearing some sort of bikini top, a scarf, short shorts, thigh-highs, and boots, with her purple hair pulled up in a ponytail and some sort of prop weapon slung across her back.

Upon noting where I was looking, she smiled. "That's from a convention last year," she explained, picking up the frame and gazing down at it. "Shiny and I were cosplaying—that's a portmanteau of 'costume play'—as Shinya Kogami and Akane Tsunemori from an anime called Psycho-Pass. That's my only friend at Crystal Prep, Starlight Glimmer, cosplaying as Yoko Littner from Gurren Lagann. She's, uh, very enthusiastic and body positive."

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. The way she sounded, it almost seemed like that was supposed to be a bad thing. Is there such a thing as having too much enthusiasm? Or is she enthusiastic about her hobbies in ways that cause problems for others? "Did you bring me up here to show me some anime?" I asked quickly as she pulled a second chair over to the desk her computer sat upon. The excited grin was all I needed to know for the answer.

For the next hour, we watched a series titled Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. It was a mixture of what she called cyberpunk, science fiction, and spy thriller. Although I wasn't the least sure where ghosts came into play, it was at the very least a fascinating peek into how people thought the future might look, more than a decade ago. It also introduced me to several concepts I'd have never encountered back in Equestria, such as cybernetics, artificial life forms, and the use of firearms. What's more, there was apparently some sort of overarching conspiracy peppered throughout the series.

Although a lot of it went over my head, I expressed an interest in watching more at a later date. I took some time that night to go through a portion of that syllabus she pointed out. After that, I started reinforcing last pre-rest prep as a routine. It makes me uneasy when I don't have some sort of routine to fall back on. Ever since joining the Royal Equestrian Navy, routines had been a big facet in my life. Even when I was homeless, having just awoken in this world, I had a bit of a routine in my exercise and scavenging habits. So, the first step in making sure I have a stable life is establishing a routine.

After another night of dreamless sleep, I awoke at the same pre-dawn hour as was normal for me. This time however, rather than simply going for coffee, I threw on one of my cutie mark tees, the track jacket and shorts, socks, and put the pen and notepad in the jacket pocket. Just to be sure they knew I was coming back, I left my goggles on the bedside table. Finally, I took my new running shoes down to the back door. Gotta get my morning constitutional in.

Much to my surprise, Night Light was already awake and having a coffee at the table in the kitchen. Dozing on the floor at his feet was Spike, likely already back to dreaming about whatever it was dogs dreamed of. "Going out for a run?" he asked, looking at something on his phone and sipping his coffee. When I nodded, he merely smiled and gestured to a fabric lead—a clip at one end and a small plastic bag dispenser near the hand-loop at the other—hanging from a hook by the back door. "Would you mind taking Spike with you? I don't think anyone in the community will give you any trouble, but if they see you with Spike, they shouldn't call security. Besides, he could use the exercise."

With a grin, I slid my shoes on and then grabbed the lead from the hook. Even though the dog had been dozing, he was beside me in an instant, tail wagging away. Either someone's a smart boy, or they have you really well trained, I thought as I clipped the lead to the eager dog's collar and slipped out the back. Or both.

As I enjoyed the brisk October morning, I casually made my way to the outermost road of the neighbourhood at a sedate pace. The lay of the land was necessary before I could get any real jogging done, so I walked that perimeter road for the first circuit. Spike of course needed to do his business, but he was polite enough to wait for me to clean up after him. Finally, I let him dictate the pace until he was tuckered, and then I picked him up and ran some more.

I'd of course taken note of which house belonged to Velvet and Light. By the time the sun came up, I had no problem finding my way back. Even better, nobody batted an eye at me being there. I think one of the guards at the entrance to the gated community gave me a friendly wave. Like I already belong here.

From there, falling into a pattern was a cinch. Each morning, I awoke and did my run. Every day I would find some way to contribute, either in tidying or whatever I could do while Light and Velvet were home. When they weren't, I'd get to studying. Using what I recalled from the placement test—which was frankly a lot more than you might think—I researched in order to catch up.

When Twilight got back from school, I'd greet her and we'd have a short discussion until dinner time. After dinner, I'd help wash the dishes. One of the big rules from my old life was to keep on the good side of whoever's in charge of the galley; it was something I applied to my new life, and in this case it was Mrs. Velvet. After dinner, assuming Twilight had no homework to finish, she'd show me different anime shows. Cowboy Bebop, Death Note, Mobile Suit Gundam; each night was something different, seemingly with the intent to test my interests.

While Twilight's interests in the animation seemed more broad, I found myself enjoying the ones more grounded—relatively—in reality. Especially after I discovered a little website called the Internet Movie Firearm Database. Dunno. Maybe it was just because I never got to mare the Resplendent's cannons during my service, or the fact that such devices effectively a means to give any creature a means to defend one's self at a distance, but I just think they're neat. Totally not because I remember all the times I'd been simply grabbed by a unicorn in training and unable to free myself.

On Monday afternoon, I was taken by Mrs. Velvet to be examined by the family's physician. Somehow, I imagined based on the striped hair and the manner of speech, Dr. Zecora likely had a zebra as a counterpart in Equestria. The rhyming was... certainly something, but she was nothing if not professional. That was good, because it doesn't matter what species you are; getting a full physical by a stranger is... awkward.

Long and short of it? Aside from not possessing vocal cords—a very thorough fondling of my neck verified it—being pretty underweight, and not being able to determine my age, I was in good health. Or at least as good as health as somepony who died and reincarnated as a homeless child can be. When Dr. Zecora was discussing things with Velvet for some foster-care paperwork, she noted that she couldn't nail down my age without specific kinds of tests, and based on my homelessness and malnutrition, she couldn't deny the possibility that my body could be as old as sixteen, which would place me a year younger than Twilight.

That in turn led to a discussion between the two, and a short call to Cadance, regarding my emotional/mental maturity. In the end, they decided to record my estimated date of birth estimated at 13 November 1999. Another piece of my 'identity' had been written, and I was seemingly another step closer to being able to enter the school system. Now all they had to do was find out if I didn't already exist in any systems.

Oh, believe me, I know that they were trying to find out if I was a missing person or a runaway. I overheard Velvet and Light on Saturday night mentioning Shining Armour looking into me. Apparently they were hoping to get the opportunity to fingerprint me at some point to run me through a database. It sure would be neat to find out there is another me kicking around somewhere in this country. Especially if we found that fact out by them doing all this trying to get into contact with that me's parents, only for them to be like, "What do you mean you found my daughter? I'm looking right at her."

Regardless, my time of sitting in a house simply studying would soon be short-lived. I was expecting that we'd probably hear from Ms. Cadance on how I'd be placed fairly soon. Not long after that, I would probably be attending school. Strange as it sounds, I actually found myself getting excited by the idea of attending. It would be another routine that I could fall back upon and maintain my sanity in this strange new world. That, and I needed to meet more people 'my own age'.

Hmm, maybe before the decision is made, I should do some research into this Crystal Prep, and the next school I'd be likely to end up attending. If nothing else, it'd be good to know what I'm walking into. Especially because it'll be a first for me.

Author's Note

First short time-skip between this chapter and the next to follow.