The sky was dark, the moon was pale and bleak, trying to get through the gray clouds. The wind was rushing, whistling, it was blowing and swirling the leaves around the streets of Canterlot. The street lights were on, chasing the darkness away, making way for the light to shine onto the streets. The yellow-tinted light of the lamps illuminated the way for the two young ponies walking together. Aside from them, the street was empty, devoid of the usual flow of different ponies trotting to their own destinations during the quiet morning, through the busy daytime, and the calming, serene evening.

"S-sorry for making this so late." Wave Rider said, a blush of embarrassment on his face as he led the way. "I just lost the track of time."

"It is fine." Anastasia replied warmly, glancing at the colt once. However, she was shivering slightly, her ears swiveling, her eyes darting around as if searching for something, but even she didn't know what it was. Despite all the light, there were dark spots along the street, and the two would pass them very close. She turned her head to the colt and asked him: "Um... where we going?"

"There's a place I know. It's a small cafe, I think." he replied, stepping close to her once he noticed her tension. For a brief moment, his side touched hers. "They do serve some nice food, though." for a second, he thought of adding something else to his statement. However, he closed his maw, rethinking. Then, he said somewhat awkwardly: "I-I think you'll like it."

Soon, the two rounded a corner and came to a small but fine establishment. It was still open, its lights shining invitingly to the young ponies. Wave Rider reached the door first, opening it and stepping aside, allowing Anastasia to pass. Soon after, he followed her inside.
The two were greeted with different aromas in the air, consisting of scents of coffee and freshly cooked meals of different sorts, all of it creating a welcoming, warm, and homely atmosphere. There were just a few patrons spending the early night inside the cafe, talking quietly and yet lively, discussing the events of the day and talking about many other things. Wind Rider led Anastasia in the corner of the room, taking a small table for two. They sat down and took the menus in their magical grasps.

The colt was silent, a pinkish tint on his cheeks as he looked through the menu, not very interested in anything particular. In truth, what caught his interest wasn't on the list of meals but instead right behind that piece of paper. He lowered the menu and glanced at Anastasia, who was looking through all the foreign meals, barely understanding half of their titles.

"Um... need help?" the colt asked, noticing the confusion on her face.

"Yeah." she nodded, putting down the menu, allowing Wave Rider to take a look.

He slightly leaned forward, almost tripping over once he lost his balance. He blushed in embarrassment even though Anastasia didn't seem to notice. She decided to ignore the little accident. However, Wave Rider did took note that they almost touched muzzles, which would be very awkward and embarrassing. The colt tried to shake it off but the blush didn't come off his face, only brightening as time went by. He decided to distract himself with choosing the meal for the girl, and it seemed to work as his blush almost faded away, his voice becoming less shaky and nervous. Soon, the two made their orders.

"So, um..." Wave Rider said, looking between the eyes of Anastasia. "Uh... H-how do you like the place?"

"Seems nice." the girl replied, looking around. "It is like... home kind of."

"Yeah... it does..." he said awkwardly, trying to figure out how to continue the small talk. However, nothing came to his mind. He sighed quietly, looking into her eyes instead, and he finally decided on something that was on his mind ever since he invited her to swim. "Um, Nastya... I actually, um... really like you." he blushed, surprised by his own bravery. "So, um... I want to, uh, get to know you more." he paused. "You know... dating and, uh, stuff..."

For a few seconds, Anastasia blinked, the memories of Stanislav appearing in her head. His moment of confession, his words of love. How he looked at her, and then... then he left after hearing what Anastasia said in return. She remembered that he left the flowers, and soon they died, even though they were placed in the water by her mother. The girl remembered how Stanislav didn't show up at school the next day, and when he finally did, there were dark circles under his eyes and a band aid covering something on his hand. He didn't look at her, he hid from her during breaks, and he became even more unsocial as time went by, sometimes going into the antisocial territory such as getting into fights on a regular basis.

Was it happening again? Anastasia didn't like Wind Rider in a romantic way. Ponies were still foreign to her, and loving one seemed impossible. However, maybe it didn't hurt to try? She didn't know, but what she knew was that she didn't want to outright reject the colt like she did with Stanislav. She wouldn't allow the same thing to happen again. Maybe something would work between her and the colt, she just needed to give it a chance.

The silence began to turn very awkward for the two as Wave Rider couldn't find the place for his eyes, looking everywhere but not at the girl. He thought about how he could've phrased it better, maybe wait a little, maybe not tell her about it at all. After all, she was an alien, she probably wasn't looking for a relationship and most likely didn't even want to be with a pony.

"That is nice." Anastasia finally said, much to Wave Rider's relief. He noticed a small smile appearing on her face, and her posture was relaxed. "I won't mind."

"Alright!" the colt said joyfully, a bright grin spreading across his face as his ears perked up. Aware of his over-enthusiasm, he blushed, calming down a little. "Um..." and then his brain stopped. All the questions he wanted to ask her were just gone. All of sudden, he had nothing to say. "W-what's your favorite colo~or?" he asked slowly, mentally slapping himself for such a stupid question and the way he asked it.

"Um... that one." Anastasia pointed at the walls, which were of light-green color. "Forgot name..."

"That's green." Wave Rider replied, releasing an inner sigh. Maybe things weren't so bad, maybe he hadn't messed up yet. "And that's a nice color!"

"It is." the girl nodded. Deciding to keep the conversation going, she asked: "What is yours?"

"Favorite color?" the colt asked for confirmation, and after a nod from the girl, he said: "Um, I don't even know... I don't really have a favorite. Actually..." he tapped his chin, one of his ears flicking. "I think the color of early sunrise..." he paused, thinking more. "Yeah, that one. Somewhere between pink and red, I guess."

A waitress came over to their table and set down two cups and a small kettle filled with tea.

"Um, thanks!" Wave Rider said to the waitress, who just smiled and went away. The colt turned back to Anastasia and took the kettle, pouring into her cup first, and then his. He took a small sip. "Oh... hot but nice." his blush deepened but the hidden, second possible meaning behind the words seemed to evade the girl in front of him.

"Tea is nice." Anastasia nodded, taking her own sip. "Mh... this is nice!" she took another sip. "I want did to ask... The thing on your, um..." she tried to find the word. "Uh..." she gestured at his flank. "It. What is it?"

"That's a special mark." the colt explained. "It shows our main talent. Every single pony gets it at one point or another, and, uh, it's also a pony-exclusive thing, I guess. The mark shows what we're the best at, what we like doing the most, that sort of thing. My talent is studying and just understanding things easily, even something complicated." and then he silently added: "Well, aside from relationships, I guess..."

"Will I get specal mark?" she asked, messing up the pronunciation.

"I don't know, probably yes." Wave Rider shrugged. "I mean... you're not fully a pony, right?"

"I guess." Anastasia nodded. "But it is interesting!"

"Yup, it certainly is."

The two spent another hour chatting about small things, sharing tea and having a nice, fulfilling meal. The establishment was about to close when the two finally finished, Wave Rider paid for both of them, and the young ponies left.

"Um... I'll walk you home, alright?" Wave Rider asked, a pink tint on his cheeks. Despite feeling more courageous, he was still quite shy and nervous, especially in front of the girl. After all, he didn't want to unknowingly upset her by doing or saying something she would consider bad or even insulting.

"I won't mind." Anastasia nodded, feeling relief washing over her. The streets were mostly silent and dark, and she didn't want to go through them alone. The company of the colt was certainly welcome.

And so they walked in silence, only the clop of their hooves sounding across the street as they went. A small smile was on Wave Rider's face as he gladly showed Anastasia the way through the dimly-lit streets.

Meanwhile, the girl was in deep thought. She knew that she couldn't just ignore the fact that a pony liked her in a somewhat romantic way. It wasn't the first time someone liked her in that way, obviously, but this was different now. Anastasia needed to be careful and thoughtful of where she wanted to go in the relationship. Should she say that she wanted to remain just friends?

She turned to Wave Rider and opened her mouth but stopped once she saw his face. He was smiling, his eyes gleaming with joy, and there was a bounce in his step that would've gone unnoticed if not for all the other signs.

Anastasia realized that by taking the easy route, she might hurt the feelings of the colt. Besides, it wasn't like she didn't want a relationship. In truth, the thought about settling down with someone passed her mind on quite a few occasions but she was too young at the time to give it some needed proper thought, especially considering how busy she often was.

She closed her mouth and turned her head away, looking ahead. She decided to wait and think carefully. Wave Rider seemed nice, caring, and definitely a gentleman. He was shy and awkward, but it was in no way off-putting. The girl also remembered that she might never find a way back home and perhaps it was the time to start things anew. In the back of her mind, hidden deep inside, there was a treacherous thought, just something that was always there since she appeared in Equestria and learned more of the new world.

Do I really want to return?

The question bugged her more than usual. Indeed, did she really want to go back to the world that had many harmful things? What was there for her aside from things that were already decided for her?

This thought scared her. What would her parents think about it? What would her friends think?

For a second, she wanted to talk about it with Wave Rider. However, she quickly rethought — she didn't want to ruin the mood. Could she even trust him enough to talk about it? Even though she had already put much trust in him, she was unsure.

She sighed quietly, and then deeply inhaled the cool autumn air. It eased her mind, relaxing her tense body. She needed to be there and then. Not in the future, not in the past. What mattered was the fact that she had a great time with the colt, and the whole day was spent nicely, including her having a lot of fun, much more fun than she usually had.

A smile spread across her face. All she needed was a bit of positivity, after all.

"We're here." Wave Rider announced once the two reached the mansion. The lights in it were out, a gentle darkness spread across the territory like a silky veil. However, despite how peaceful it was, Anastasia had fear.

"Um..." she muttered before the colt could leave. He looked at her with question in his eyes. "Wave, uh... Can you stay here night?" the girl blushed slightly. "I... I fear dark."

"Well, uh..." the colt immediately became red as a tomato. Was what she said just an excuse for something or was he overthinking it? "I, um... okay..." he opened the gates of the mansion. "If you don't mind, then, uh, yeah..."

"Thanks!" Anastasia replied joyfully, walking inside.

She remembered her lonely times at the mansion. Emptiness, darkness, silence, it weighed her down, disturbing her sleep and generally reminding her that she was alone. With the colt, however, she could at the very least stay without the fear of loneliness.

Soon, the young ponies quietly entered the mansion. Anastasia sighed in relief, knowing that she wouldn't be alone on that night. She thought that Sirius and Iclyn were probably upstairs, already sleeping soundly, but she wanted to have something of her own. Her light jealousy didn't help much when she thought about the couple either.

"I take shower." she said to the colt, lighting her horn.

Penetrating the darkness, the magical glow softened the surroundings, basking them in a light-blue color. Content with the result, the girl went upstairs and entered the bathroom.

To her surprise, she encountered an unusual and very explicit scene of two ponies copulating in the pool. A bright blush, the reddest of red, appeared on her face as she heard the moans and wet slaps echoing across the bathroom.

"I l-love you, umpf, so much, Icly~yn!" Anastasia heard, and it didn't help her blush at all. And thankfully, she hadn't been spotted yet. Taking her chance, Anastasia quickly exited the room.

The scene made her think about the future once again. There they were, Sirius and Iclyn, happy together in love. It was obvious they were going strong together, much better than if they were alone.

For a second, Anastasia thought about having sex with Wind Rider. However, her mind came to a screeching halt — she mustn't rush things. Why would she do it just because Sirius and Iclyn were doing it? It wouldn't make much sense, and she didn't want to use the colt as a way to make herself feel better. He deserved more than having a one night stand, and Anastasia herself wasn't too comfortable with her new body anyway, much less comfortable with being intimate with an alien. Not yet, at least.

The girl sat down and sighed. Much like Sirius, she would need help adjusting to the new world.

Author's Notes:

I decided to shift the focus of the story more towards the second human. After all, it's unclear if Anastasia will ever return to Earth. And if she had to stay, she would need to adapt.