I can summarise my first month in the hospital with just a single word: educational. Twilight, who seemed really pleased at the prospect of teaching me all she knew, had spent several days telling me everything about Equestria. And now she was making sure that I had been paying attention by giving me a test.
"Question seventy-eight," she said. "What is a cutie mark?"
"A cutie mark is the marking on a pony's flank which indicates their special talent," I replied. "How to go about getting one is something that the pony in question must figure out on their own."
"Correct!" Twilight beamed. "Now, question seventy-nine..." It was at this moment her stomach interrupted proceedings, by rumbling very loudly. "Do you want to take a break?"
"Yeah, sure," I shrugged. "I could do with a sandwich right about now. And, er, thanks again for not freaking out over the whole 'omnivore' thing." I chuckled sheepishly.
"I have to admit that I was a bit nervous when I found out," she said warily. "But you said that humans can live without meat and... well, I trust you on that." She trotted over to my bedside drawers, removed a menu with her magic, and glanced through it. "How does a tomato and lettuce sandwich sound?"
"A BLT without the 'B', huh? Sounds good to me, Twilight." I grinned. "But, this time, could you make sure that it's only got tomatoes and lettuce on it? The last time I had a sandwich, I was picking daisy petals out of my teeth for a week."
"I'm still sorry about that, you know," Twilight giggled. "I don't know how I managed to mix them up. Daisy sandwiches are my favourite, after all, so I should have checked first."
"Don't apologise," I said dismissively. "It was actually quite nice, given the circumstances." We both smiled at each other. "You go and order those sandwiches, Twilight, I'll be right here waiting."
Twilight nodded and left the room. I lay back on the bed with a contented sigh, and listened to the sounds of the outdoors. I could hear ponies chattering, birds singing, foals laughing — and some really loud voices outside my room.
"Room 203, here it is," a stallion's voice said. "This is where Twilight has apparently been spending all her time, foalsitting this 'human' I keep hearing so much about."
Realising that the owner of the voice was talking about me, I quickly feigned sleep. I slowly cracked one eye open enough to see, albeit barely, and watched as four new ponies entered the room. There were three unicorns – two stallions and a mare – as well as an alicorn whom I didn't recognise.
"So this is the human, huh?" one of the stallions said. He was white, with a blue mane and tail that both had a lighter blue highlight running through them. "Can't say I understand why Twilight is so interested in staying near it all the time."
"Shining Armour," the alicorn – pink with a mane and tail comprised of yellow and two-toned purple, tied up with a bow – groaned. "This is a species not seen in Equestria for over a thousand years. Everything ponies once knew about humans is lost, and this one seems to come from a world far in advance of our own. So of course Twilight is going to want to spend some time with him."
"Cadence is right, Shiny," the unicorn mare – light grey with a purple and white mane and tail in the same style as Twilight's – said. "You know what our little Twilight Sparkle is like — always wanting to learn everything. Wouldn't you agree, Night Light?"
"Of course, Velvet," the unicorn stallion – blue with a darker blue mane and tail – nodded. "Where is Twilight, anyway?"
"I was getting some lunch for Geo and I," Twilight said from behind the group. "That's his name, by the way, Shiny: 'Geo,' not 'human.' I would therefore thank you to stop treating him like a mindless animal." She glared at him fiercely.
"She's right, you know." I suddenly sat upright, scaring the proverbial pants off all of them, except for Twilight. "Truth be told, I am somewhat sentient... and I also have feelings, thank you very much." I pointed at Shining Armour. "Mind you, you're the only one who has referred to me as simply 'the human' — so hats off to the other three for being kind enough not to."
"I'm sorry, Geo," Shining Armour replied. "I should have known better. Anyway, I'm Twilight's brother." He indicated the unicorn mare. "This is our mother, Twilight Velvet—"
"Oh, just call me 'Velvet,' dearie, everypony else does." Velvet waved a forehoof at me. "It can get rather confusing, you know, what with Twilight and I both sharing the same first name."
"This is our father, Night Light," Shining Armour continued. "And this is my wife, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, although everypony simply calls her 'Cadence' for short."
"Nice to meet you all," I said, bowing my head in the direction of Cadence. "Particularly you, Your Highness. I was not aware of the fact there are three Princesses in Equestria."
Cadence giggled. "You don't need to get all formal with me, Geo," she replied. "Any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine."
"So how have you been settling in, Geo?" Night Light asked. "Are you finding Equestria to your liking?"
"I am, yes," I said. "This is a far cry from the world I came from. The air is clean, everypony is really friendly, there's no war... honestly, it's like I died and went to heaven."
"I'm guessing the world you came from isn't all that great?" Velvet queried. "Could you tell us about it?"
"Just a minute," Twilight said hurriedly. "Let me get my notebook. I honestly wasn't going to ask about your world and its people until I had finished telling you about Equestria... but since my mom is asking, I might as well write it all down."
I tapped my fingers on the edge of the bed nervously, the dull ringing of the metal proving to be a poor companion to my thoughts. "Well... the world I come from isn't really all that bad," I said. "For every person doing wrong, there are several more doing right. Like... for every person committing a crime, there are several police officers seeking to apprehend them. For every person who is stealing, there are several others giving — be that to friends, family or charity. And for every person who is waging a war, there are several diplomats who are pressing for peace."
"Hmm... interesting," Twilight mused, scribbling furiously in her notebook. "Equestria has very little crime and no war. As for charity, there is a unicorn in Canterlot who is famous for his voluntary work. I believe his name is Worthy Cause."
I chuckled. "A fitting name for somepony who works in such a field," I replied. "I like to consider myself a part of humanity's good side — I try to avoid confrontation, except in the most extreme of circumstances, and I gave whatever free time and money I could to various charities: Barnardo's, which is a charity aimed at helping children, The Salvation Army, which helps those who cannot help themselves, and the British Heart Foundation, which funds research into a cure for various ailments which affect the heart."
"And yet you fell victim to the violence that also inhabits your world," Twilight said softly, reaching out and patting me. "I can't imagine what kind of pain you must have been in."
"I don't want to talk about it," I said, idly patting her in return. "All that matters is the fact that I have been given a chance to start a new life in a new place, free of any worries and issues."
"And I for one hope you will seize that chance, Geo," Velvet said sternly. "After all, Equestria is a very nice place to live — and with our Twilight responsible for looking after you... well, let's just say you're going to really enjoy living here."
Twilight blushed. "Mom," she whined. "I'm only responsible for gathering information about humans from him." She paused for a moment. "She raises a good point, though... what are you going to do when you're discharged from this place?"
"I will cross that particular bridge whenever I finally get to it." I shrugged. "But in the meantime I'm happy here, answering your questions and spending time in your company."
Twilight smiled as a bell rang somewhere in the hospital and her family glanced at the clock on the wall. "Looks like visiting hours are over," Night Light said. "It was good to meet you, Geo, perhaps we can visit again sometime?"
"Please do," I nodded. "I would especially like to hear any embarrassing stories you have about Twilight."
Night Light and Velvet both chuckled as Twilight batted me with a forehoof, before she hugged her family and they all said their goodbyes to each other. After they had left she came back over to me. "Trust me when I say that there aren't that many stories about me as a filly," she said. "Shining Armour, on the other hoof, is a different matter entirely. Now..." She held up our lunches in her levitation aura. "I believe we were about to have some lunch?"
She passed me my sandwich and I unwrapped it; after checking to make sure it was the right one this time, and exchanging a smile with her, the two of us proceeded to eat in silence.