The Starlit Foal

Chapters

Prologue: The Death
The Birth
The Afterbirth
The New Home
Learning Words
Thoughts
Shadows of the Past
Trust and Fear
New Face
Time
Humor
Magic
Dreamscape
A Walk
Playground
Castle
Fruit and Words

Prologue: The Death

Author's Note

Well, time for a self-insert! I suppose I need to get it all out of the system. I hope you enjoy it. Also, blowing your mind:

What if a new universe is created just for you where you don't die? Think of the times when you were in danger, when you could, in fact, end up dead. What if you did die but you still kept on living in a different universe?

The mind-blowing thing presented here was written thanks to a friend of mine who thought about it in the first place.

P.S. if you came here to troll, to call me edgy or things like that, you should go away because that sort of attitude isn't welcome. I'm open to constructive criticism, but blatant insults isn't the way to go.

Prologue: The Death

It was a winter day, just at the end of the first month of the year 2018. The sky was clear, the air was still. A lone figure was moving through the street. It was empty, devoid of people during the early hours of the day. The figure walked calmly albeit slowly, its eyes looking at the ground. Deep into a forest, buried beneath the snow and earth, was a stash that the human made. He would never need it but he couldn't simply destroy its contents. Even though that stash would no longer matter soon, it still mattered to him in a way that was not practical at all. However, he didn't care. He wouldn't need to care about anything anymore very soon.

Finally, he reached the house. With a few beeps, the door opened, letting him inside the entrance. Ascending the stairs, he came to the second floor. After a few turns of the keys, the door to his apartment opened. A cat came to him, meowing. A small smile appeared on his face as he squatted to pet the cat a few times. Then the human took off his winter jacket, scarf, and hat, putting them in the wardrobe. Kicking the boots off, he proceeded into his room.

His room was a mess. Computer parts were lying around chaotically, a few drawers were opened, a few weeks worth of trash like bottles and quick noodles bowls littering the floor. He sighed, taking off his clothes and throwing them in the pile, but taking his smartphone first and opening a Discord app. Then he picked up a small, unremarkable piece of paper that had been torn from a notebook. He glanced at the writing, his final message to those that were supposed to take care of him but, unfortunately, failed:

You should've helped me when I asked. It is too late now!

He remembered each time he asked his parents to help him. Each time, they didn't or offered solutions that didn't solve anything, only pushing him deeper into issues and problems. Fortunately for him, he wouldn't have to experience it anymore very soon.

He walked out of his room and went to the bathroom. Before entering it, he stuffed the piece of paper between the handle and the door, making sure it would stand there. The bath was full, and an exposed cord was lying nearby along with a socket extender. The human looked at the items. and he was ready to take it. He needed to do something first, however.

"Suicide is badass." he typed, letting out a chuckle, and sent the message to his server for everyone to see. It was a simple joke to make others feel better, for even during times like this, he didn't lose his weird sense of humor. However, he had to be more serious. A few seconds later, another two messages followed, each containing a single sentence: "I think I'm ready. Removing discord." he sighed and then went to the settings of his phone. No one must find out about his other, internet life. They didn't care before, after all.

Reset to factory settings?

Yes

As his phone started deleting data, he placed it on the washing machine. He closed and locked the door to the bathroom and finally took off his underwear, throwing it in the laundry bin. Exposed, he shivered slightly, but he knew it would end soon.

He remembered the night before. He lay in his bed, crying his heart out, remembering all the things that led him to that moment. Early childhood, school, later years, and his last one, eighteenth year. He would cry until it was too late to get any sleep. Very early in the morning, he got up and disassembled his computer. He waited until his parents departed to work so that he could carry out his plan without interruption.

Back from his memories, he looked at his devices again. They were there, the instruments of his death. They looked harmless, they were unmoving and silent, and yet it seemed like they stared at him with judgment. Many other people with worse lives struggled on, continued to live despite everything, and yet there he was, standing nude, preparing to kill himself. However, they didn't know the storm of emotions that was raging inside him.

The young man got inside the bathtub. The water was warm, slightly salty, and to him, it was just right. It was the best bath he had had in years, even though he was too big for it. He grabbed the exposed cord, connected it to the socket extender. After a second of thinking, he closed his eyes and dropped both into the bathtub.

For a fraction of a second, there was nothing. The young man was exhaling, ready for death, no hesitation left, no doubts remaining, and with no regrets in his mind. He only had one thing in his mind — a desire to die and be over with his life. Suddenly, his eyes shot open as electricity crackled through the water, the pain quickly growing in his limbs. His suicide was not going as planned, he realized. The pain didn't cease and only grew and grew, quickly spreading across his body. The human screamed like he had never screamed before, pain making his voice crack, torturing him like nothing before did.

He grabbed the socket extender, and for a mere moment, he thought of throwing it away. However, his determination to die outweighed his fear. He couldn't stop — he must do it, go through with it to the end. Nothing flashed before his eyes, there was just pain, the suffering, and misery. He knew his life wouldn't get better if he stopped.

The human pressed the socket extender against his chest. The pain peaked, making his body twitch violently as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, tears streaming down his face, his mouth wide open in an inhuman scream. It was nothing like ever before in his life, it was the biggest physical pain he had ever felt.

Despite the pain it caused him, he held the extender close to his chest, pressing it with great force, almost cracking his own ribs. He was losing control of his body but his will to die outweighed the self-preservation instinct, only making him press harder.

And then he felt it. The pain deep in his chest, right where his heart was. His scream stopped, stuck somewhere in his throat, his eyes opening widely once again. The beating of his heart stopped, the organ was only trembling as the electricity went through it, disrupting its work, killing it.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the human lost consciousness. The light of life dimmed in his eyes, slowly fading away as he stared into nothing, his mouth agape. It would be another minute before irreversible brain damage set in, and another minute for him to finally die.

However, his lifeless body would continue to twitch until much, much later. Its heat would slowly fade away, the warmth of the water disappearing with it.

He was dead.

There was nothing. Plain, black, featureless, empty. No smell, sound, color, surface, an absolute lack of feel. A void of nothing at all.

He could still think. He was still there. Was it what death is like for everyone? Just an empty void? It felt... strange. His mind was in a disarray, covered by a dream-like mist. He knew he was there but where was it? When was it? How was it? He couldn't say, both literally and figuratively. Would he stay like that forever? He didn't know. There was nothing to perceive and yet his brain could conjure up nothing. How did he even think if his brain died? He had some hopes for an afterlife but he didn't believe it existed. After all, dreams of that nature were impossible to prove real. So, was it the end? Just nothing? Why could he still remember himself? Shouldn't he simply cease to exist? At the very least, he felt no pain.

If this void was everything that was left for him, then... Nothing. There was nothing to expect. Nothing to hope for. Nothing to fear or avoid. There was just that, nothing. He would go insane if he still could. But there was nothing. No feel, no emotion. He knew he felt, he knew there was something of him, but what? Where? How was it even stored?

Suddenly, he felt a pull. A pull from where? What or who was pulling him? How was it possible? There were many questions that couldn't be answered. The pull strengthened but he didn't move. At least he thought so. How could he move if there was nothing to move? Moving is always relative, is it not? So, to move somewhere, he must be relative to something. But there was nothing. When he walked, he used the ground as a relative point. Same was when he was on a bus or a train. But without all of it, how could he move?

Suddenly, he felt something that resembled a warmth of some kind. Familiar and at the same time not, different feelings entered his mind, flooding it. He was surrounded by something he couldn't quite describe. A steady beat resonated inside his mind.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

Was it his own heart? If so, how could it be? He died. His heart couldn't beat.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

It was still there, coming from every direction. But where are the directions in nothing? Was he even in nothing anymore? The void became a very dark pink. Would he listen to the beat again and again? What was that beat?

He could only wait.

Very far away from Earth, a pair of ponies were visiting a doctor. One of them was a lunar pegasus stallion and the other was a unicorn mare. The mare had a noticeable belly, and the stallion was smiling widely. Both of them didn't seem to notice a slight frown of the doctor as he looked at some pictures. Pictures of a foal inside the mare.

"I have news for you," the doctor finally said, looking up to meet the gaze of the mother. He sighed internally and then said: "The foal... something unusual is happening to him."

The smiles faltered as the two ponies looked worriedly at the doctor.

"I don't know whether what is happening to the foal is good or bad," he was quick to add in hopes of calming the pair down. "I've not seen anything like this before... His brain is developing in a very unusual manner."

"So, what does it mean?" the mother asked quietly, fearing the answer.

"All I can say is that this colt will be psychologically different from everyone," the doctor paused, glancing at the pictures. "Although, how much different and in what way, I cannot say. Time will tell." he looked away from the pair for a second. "On a more positive note, your foal is still completely healthy."

"This is good to know." the mare nodded slowly. "Thank you, doctor."

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

Was the beat faster or was there something else? He couldn't tell. He had been there for a long time, listening to the strange beat, trying to determine what it was, busying his mind with something. Many theories bounced around his head but he wasn't satisfied with them. He needed a concrete answer, he needed to know the truth.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

The beat slowed down. Why was it faster? Why did it become slower? What was it that caused it all to happen? He had so many questions but they were left unanswered once again. At the very least, he felt the warmth, and it felt good to have it. The memories of his suicide were fresh in his head. The sound of crackling, the pain, the scream, it was all there, repeating inside his head as he thought about it over and over again.

It turned out that his death wasn't the end. Or was it? He couldn't move even though he felt he had limbs. He couldn't breathe even though he felt he was already doing it.

He felt something. Warmth, some movement. But what was it? Was it him or was it someone else? Again, many unanswered questions. The trend continued and he didn't know when it'd stop and he would finally understand what was going on.

He would often fall into darkness. There was no beat but it wasn't complete nothingness. He dreamt of things. Not memories, not nightmares, just things. It was random, out of logic, out of reason, completely chaotic, but it was something. Not his usual dreams, but there were no usual dreams in the first place.

And he dreamt again. However, now it was a starlit sky. Thousands of thousands of stars glowed, sending their light to him from many lightyears away. Many of those stars might not even exist anymore, but their light was their legacy, and it would still be there for a very long time. No matter how old he would become, the stars would outlive him. He was but a speck of stardust, an atom compared to the vast universe that the humanity had only begun to explore. Infinite possibilities, infinite ways, and all of them out of reach.

The human was floating among the stars, adoring them, basking in their pale light. It was calming, it was serene. The stars were small, but in truth they were much larger than him, they just were very far away. And yet, they gave him light and warmth, a feeling of comfort as if he was lying in the softest bed imaginable.

Suddenly, he saw a figure flying through the stars, disrupting the peace and calm of the scenery. It was a slightly familiar shape but it was shrouded in darkness, seemingly evading him, out of his clear sight.

"Who are you?" he whispered, extending a hoof. It didn't surprise him, no. It was all a dream, and he was going along with it.

The figure stopped. The human felt it was looking right at him with surprise. He also felt that it was friendly, it didn't want to hurt him. It got closer to him, a shape coming out of the darkness.

Then it struck him. He knew who it was. However, he thought it would be impossible to see her in reality. He felt his eyes widen as he took in the features of the one in front of him. Equine shape, a coat of gentle blue, a starlit mane and tail, a moon mark on the flank, and a pair of aqua eyes, looking at him with interest and a hint of worry.

"Princess L-Luna?" he stuttered in shock. Even if it were a dream, he had never seen her before. However, he was glad he was looking at her now. Then, a tear escaped his eyes. He reached out, trying to speak louder: "Please... help me."

Without anyone to give him comfort in life, he had an only hope of getting it in his dreams. And there it was, his chance. Real or not, it was better than nothing.

He willed himself to fly towards her, extending his hooves further, reaching out to his favorite princess, hoping for comfort and warmth. He looked into his eyes, hoping to see acceptance or at the very least tolerance. He needed her, especially at that time of his life.

"Luna..." he whispered, continuing his flight to her but it seemed like he couldn't reach her as if he was stuck in place. "P-please..." more tears flowed as his glistening eyes looked at the Princess of the Night, and in his eyes was desperation.

"I see your pain." she finally said, making a single step towards the young man, covering all the distance between them. "I can help you." she reached out, grabbing him and pulling him closer for a hug. His body shivered as it came into contact with hers, feeling her warmth and her fur. He didn't hesitate to hug her back as tears continued to flow.

"T-thank you..." he said, his voice trembling as he sobbed. He inhaled sharply, but he let his tears flow freely. He thought that he could trust Luna. No matter if it was all in his head or not, she was the one he would always turn to. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "W-what will happen to me?"

"What do you mean?" Luna asked him with confusion in her voice.

"Are you... real?" he said quietly, fearing that everything would disappear, taking the friendly alicorn away. He forced himself to remain calm, he knew that dreams could end easily, and he clung to this one dream.

"I am," she replied, nodding. "Why are you asking?"

"I don't know what is happening..." he replied. "I... I am supposed to be dead. But I'm not," he paused to breathe in, recollecting his thoughts. "I... I... I have no idea what anything is," he looked up at the princess and admitted: "I n-need help..."

"I don't know what happened to you, but you are safe now," Luna assured him, lightly patting him on the back. "I will help you, but we need to start somewhere first. What is your name?"

"I..." he paused to think. He hated the name his parents gave him, he hated everything associated with it. But now, he had a choice, he could finally choose who he was. And he knew what name defined him. "I am Elu."

"Glad to formally meet you, Elu," the princess smiled at him. "I will help you. Once I am back in the waking world, I will search for you."

"Are w-we in the Dreamscape?" Elu asked with uncertainty. If they indeed were, then it meant that...

"Yes, we are," Luna nodded, confirming his thoughts.

For a moment, happiness overtook him. He was in Equestria, he must be! Otherwise, why would he be in the Dreamscape? Why would he meet Princess Luna? It all made sense now. Somehow, he managed to reach Equestria. Now he needed to find a way into the real world. He could finally be someone he wanted to be, a pony among ponies! No more humans, no more Earth!

He didn't know what to say to the princess, however. Could he tell her about his origins? Would she accept the fact that he used to be a human? Even though he threw his human identity away, it didn't mean that he suddenly became someone else. He was still him.

"I see you have much to think about, Elu," Luna pulled him out of his thoughts. "I will make your dreams peaceful. You need to rest. However, I will be here for you when you need me," she lit her horn. "The help you were waiting for is coming."

And with that being said, Elu fell into a deep and relaxing slumber. For some time, he wouldn't have to worry.

Early in the morning, Princess Luna was gliding through the skies, her horn glowing slightly as she searched for the one she had met while browsing the Dreamscape. She was closer and closer to him, she felt it. The magical beacon she had put on him was working well, and soon she would reach it.

She flew above the fields and forests, the signal growing closer and making her anxious. Just whom had she met? Elu was unlike anything she had seen before. However, she felt his pain, his loneliness, his desire for companionship and more. Something terrible had happened to him, she felt it, but what?

"I am supposed to be dead."

What did it mean? It pointed towards something more than could be seen at first and it raised so many questions that were yet to be answered. However, Luna feared that it might be too late if she waited longer. She must hurry lest she might find it too late to do anything to help the poor colt.

She could see a small village standing near a river. It was much like Ponyville but not as big, although the fields nearby were transformed into thriving farmlands. It wasn't unlike many other villages spread across Equestria, growing food for all the country to feed on. During the early morning, the streets of the small village were already bustling with life. Ponies were trotting to their jobs, the farmers were tending to their various crops, and overall, life seemed like usual.

However, Luna could sense a troubled mind within the village, and she had to find the one with it to help him. She saw Elu in the dreamscape, and to her, he looked like a foal. While she wasn't a mother, the Alicorn of the Night had the duty to protect the dreams of ponies, and the ones who needed her utmost attention were foals. They were just stepping into a larger world, and they needed all the help and guidance they could get.

She landed softly near a house that caught her attention. The signal was the strongest there, coming from inside the two-storey building. Ponies glanced at their princess, bowed to her, but she paid them no mind. She had more important matters to attend to than greetings. She raised her hoof and knocked on the door twice. Soon, steps were heard from behind it, and the door opened, revealing a lunar pegasus. His green eyes widened as he saw who was at the entrance and bowed.

"I have urgent matters to attend to, commander Stellares," Luna was quick to say before the stallion could even open his mouth. "In the Dreamscape, I encountered a distressed foal. Everything points to this place as his location."

"W-we do have a foal, your majesty, but he isn't born yet," Stellares explained, then cleared his throat. "He's a few months away from it."

A pause ensued as Luna looked at the stallion in puzzlement and confusion. Meanwhile, he stepped aside, allowing the princess to enter.

"This is certainly... odd," she commented, gathering her thoughts. "May I see your wife?"

"I will ask her right away," the stallion nodded, going deeper inside the house.

Luna frowned slightly. Things were getting more and more complicated with each moment.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

The usual noise of a beat was there to greet him when he woke up. He remembered the dream, but... was it even a dream? However, he felt something that was vaguely familiar, something very much like what he experienced in his odd dream.

It was a presence. It was close to him, and it wished him no harm. Was it Princess Luna? Elu could hear voices but the words were foreign to him and they seemed to be very far away and muffled. Unbeknownst to him, his ear twitched and turned slightly, trying to catch what was being said. However, understanding didn't come to him, he could make no sense out of the spoken words.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

The beat increased again. Why did it happen, what was the cause? Should he panic and try to escape or should he wait it out? Without the knowledge of what was happening, either action could result in a disaster. Knowing his luck, it was better to not act lest he would cause something that would make his situation even worse.

But how worse could it get? He had already hit the bottom. Like a pile of rocks thrown into the ocean, he had no way of swimming up to the surface. He was just as dead as those rocks. For all he knew, he was lying in a coma, his damaged brain producing realistic illusions and hallucinations that he would never be able to separate from truth.

Was it all real or not? He would find out soon, even though it was unknown to him as of yet.

Through many nights, his sleep remained undisturbed. He felt like whatever he was in slightly shrunk around him. Or maybe he became a bit bigger? He didn't know, he couldn't know it without a relative point. He couldn't open his eyes even if he tried. He had little control over whatever body he was in.

The Lunar Alicorn had shown up more in his dreams, comforting him in his darkest times, making sure he wasn't alone. He was grateful but he had no idea if it were real or not. Even after the explanation given by Luna, he was still skeptical. Being reborn? While he did dream of it on many occasions, he had never thought it could be real or even possible.

"Are souls real?" he remembered asking Luna.

"They are," she replied. "Though, we don't know where they go after death. So far, there has been no proof of them existing outside of a host, be it living or magical." she paused, looking at him. "However, you seem to be the proof of souls existing well outside any possible host. This... darkness you described, do you think souls go there after they die?"

"I have no idea," he admitted honestly. "It... could be so, but... I might be an exception," he sighed. "I really doubt that, though..."

"I see," Luna nodded in understanding. "However, I am glad this happened to you, Elu," she smiled at him. "I think you will like it here."

"I think I will," he replied, a small smile of his own touching his lips. "But..." his smile faltered. "So many things could go wrong. Knowing my luck, they will..."

"I will make it certain that they won't," Luna assured him. "Would you like to meet me once you are born?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed but found himself blushing soon after. "Um, if it's not much trouble..."

"No, not at all," the princess replied. "You will be welcome, Elu."

He held these early memories of his new life close. He had already befriended Luna! At least he thought so, and he was afraid of being wrong, especially in this case. He wanted to become friends with her but he feared it was impossible. Not everything would go how he wanted it to. His life wasn't the story he was writing, he had no control over things he desired.

Elu wondered if his fiction was being finished. If it was, then how? He remembered giving clear direction, but was the one he trusted following them? Did he even trust the right person to finish what he started? He would never know it, unfortunately. He had to realize that whatever he had done in his life was gone, and frankly, he didn't want to return.

And even if he stayed, what would it change? No one would magically appear before him to comfort him, nobody would come to him to make him feel better. His life would continue like it was but with another suicide attempts on his hands, not carried out to the end.

Fortunately for him, this one resulted in his death, taking him away from the world he so hated. But would he like the new world? The future was undecided and uncertain, and he knew it. Many things could go wrong, be it either small things like his life or the bigger things like Equestria itself or the world surrounding it. Where would he be born? He had no choice in regards to that once again.

But maybe, just maybe, he would get something better out of the very unusual situation he found himself in.

The Birth

"Is there any trouble, your majesty?" the mother of a yet unborn foal asked with worry in her voice as the princess entered the room where she was currently resting.

"No, there is not," Luna replied assuringly. "But I do have news about your foal, Ring Keeper. A colt, isn't he?"

"Yes, yes he is!" the mare smiled, glancing at her bulging belly. "I've already seen pictures of him, he's growing well!"

"I have no doubt he is." the princess smiled back. "I hope he isn't giving you much trouble."

"Oh, not at all! Even though I do need to get back in shape after he is born, it's not a problem." Ring Keeper replied. "So, what news do you bring, Princess Luna?"

"Your colt isn't just any colt. He is very... special." Luna paused for a moment, thinking of wording what she was going to say next as not to over-stress the mother. "It is nothing bad, trust me, but he would require special attention."

"Thankfully..." the mother sighed in relief. "So, um... may I know what it is?"

"Certainly." Luna nodded, her eyes shifting to a chair nearby. "May I..."

"Oh, um, yes, of course." Ring Keeper blushed in embarrassment, using her magic to move a chair for Princess Luna to sit on.

"Thank you." the princess nodded, taking a seat. "So, as we all know, a soul forms in the body of a pony during the pregnancy of their mother. The soul of your foal is... quite different from normal." she paused, letting the mare digest the information. Noticing no signs of big stress, the princess continued: "It appears that two souls were merged together, forming one. Another soul, the one from the Beyond, reached out and became one with your foal." before the mare could say anything, the princess put a hoof on her shoulder. "Worry not, no harm was done in the process, trust me."

"B-but... what does it all mean?" the mother asked with worry.

"You will have more difficulty with raising the colt, for he already has a personality, dreams, and desires, as well as issues carried over from where he came," Luna explained. Then, she carefully added: "I will understand if you don't want to take such a responsibility—"

"No, it's fine." the mare cut off the princess, raising her hoof. "Your majesty, he is my foal." she gestured at herself and then at her husband. "Our colt, the one my husband sired with me. He is our direct responsibility, and it doesn't matter how difficult it might be." she glanced at Stellares again who was awkwardly standing in the doorway. He smiled slightly, deciding to join his wife.

"Very well, then." Luna nodded, a small smile on her face. "Although, I think that his first few years would be rather awkward between him and you, and he would need help to adjust." she paused for a second, thinking. "He had already reached out to me through the Dreamscape, and I have promised him to assist him in any way I can. If you agree, I will visit him from time to time."

"Oh, well..." the mare blushed in embarrassment. "We do need a babysitter, but we've never thought that a princess would volunteer for that." and then she quickly added: "N-no offense, your majesty."

"None taken," Luna assured the mare. "Maybe you'll be surprised, but I used to babysit many foals. Such an occasion... rarely presents itself nowadays." she frowned slightly but her features became calm in a moment. "So, I hope you well on the delivery of the foal. For now, I will comfort him in his dreams." she turned to leave. "I will see you soon."

"Goodbye, Princess Luna." Ring Keeper nodded, and then the alicorn left, leaving the couple of ponies alone. The mother turned to her husband. "What a day..."

"Yeah..." Stellares replied, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. "But now we know that he will be fine, at least. With the help of her nightly majesty, we will go through it." he nuzzled his wife lovingly.

Something was very close. Elu didn't know what it was but the sensation grew in him minute by minute. It was exciting and at the same time, it was making him anxious. Something very important would happen soon, and he was the center of it. Was it his birth? He had been waiting a long time for it, hoping that what Princess Luna said was true and he would indeed be reborn into a pony. However, he still had many doubts about the whole ordeal. How could it be real? My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was just a cartoon show for little kids, essentially. It couldn't possibly be a real world... could it? He wished it were true but realized that his fantasies were pretty stupid and would most likely never come true, but the growing evidence of the opposite was right in front of his eyes.

He was asleep again, dreaming of nothing in particular, just floating among the stars and gazing into the surrounding cosmos. Stardust, galaxies, nebulas, everything was visible to him, clear as if laid on a silver plate right in front of him. One of those stars at the edge of a certain galaxy should be the Sun, and one of the planets circling it should be Earth. However, even if it were clear where it was, the planet was lightyears away, impossible to be reached quickly. For all Elu knew, it would never be reached, and maybe humans would never find a way to travel through the universe. Not without sacrificing years, if not centuries of traveling.

He remembered seeing a picture. A deep-space telescope made it, and it showed many, many galaxies. And it was just a small part of the night sky visible from Earth. How small? Smaller than a coin looked at from the arm's length. It was very, very small, and yet there were already tens of different galaxies. How many galaxies were there in total? Thousands, millions, maybe even billions or more? It was unclear.

His mind shifted to a smaller picture — himself and his life. With the end of his human life, it seemed like he was granted a second chance. But would he succeed in taking it and using it to its fullest, making his dreams come true? He was uncertain. Would he fit in a pony society? He didn't know. First ten years would possibly be the hardest since he was not a kid anymore in a mental sense, and he doubted he would like to be around foals. It would certainly be uncomfortable, to say the least.

However, it looked like he had already some sort of support, and from none other than Princess Luna herself. It seemed odd that it came so quickly but he accepted it. Perhaps, some things he wrote about her in his stories were true, and she was indeed a friendly pony looking out for foals.

"Elu?" he heard someone calling him. He turned his head and saw Princess Luna. "It will happen very soon now. Would you like to remain asleep during birth or stay awake?"

"...I don't know." the former human replied with uncertainty. "I have no idea how it would feel. Being awake, that is."

"None of us remember how we were born," Luna said. "Maybe it's for the best. Have you ever witnessed another birth?" Elu shook his head to her question. "It is a process that doesn't look pleasant. For many, it is gross. Perhaps, you should consider staying asleep."

"Y-yeah, I think I'll, uh, pick that option." he nodded. "But... I, um, do want to wake up after it's, uh, done."

"It can be done." Luna's horn started to glow. "Sleep well, Elu. You have a life ahead of you."

Slowly, Elu opened his eyes. He blinked a few times as light blinded him, making it nearly impossible to see anything but white. As if someone was reading his mind, the lights dimmed enough for him to be comfortable with them.

The former human tried to understand what he was feeling. First of all, he was slightly wet, something was stuck to his short fur. Then, he was warm, almost completely cocooned in something like a towel. It was soft but ticklish, and yet it was very comfortable.

Suddenly, something gray appeared in his field of view. Elu was slightly disoriented since it seemed like he could see more than before. He could also see his own muzzle, which was a soft shade of brown. As he shifted his attention to the gray thing in his view, he noticed it had two eyes. Two large, green eyes. Then the former human noticed something black. A mane? Probably. To the sides of that black thing, there were somewhat triangle-shaped things, which he guessed were ears.

Stellares noticed how the colt was looking at him with interest. In his young eyes, he saw intelligence, something that he had never seen before in the eyes of a foal. The father let himself be looked at, remembering what Luna said — his son already had a personality, and he wouldn't want to scare him away.

Elu continued to examine the face of Stellares. He realized that it couldn't be a dream — everything looked way too realistic. He could see every bit of the fur, the details in the green eyes of the pony, and just how subtly his face moved like it was indeed alive and not just an animated picture. While it was still cartoonish in some sense, it retained many realistic features, though not in the sense of being close to horses and ponies of Earth.

The former human extended one of his front hooves. His limb felt almost like a normal arm save for the lack of fingers. Technically, there were fingers, but they were merged into one, a hoof. At least he thought so, but the anatomy of these ponies could be very far away from what he had seen on Earth in relation to horses and other equines.

Softly, Elu placed his hoof on his new father's snout. Surprisingly, he felt the fur, each and every small hair of it. A pair of nostrils, lips, the edges of the snout, he could feel everything.

Stellares didn't move, a smile on his face. His wife was lying on the bed nearby, watching him interact with the colt with interest. Princess Luna was right outside the room, watching the scene unfold through the glass window on the door.

Elu retracted his hoof slightly, and then...

Boop!

The lunar pegasus blinked a few times, caught by surprise. On the other hand, Elu was smiling widely. One of his dreams came true!

Boop!

He let out a childish giggle but retracted his hoof as not to irritate the father too much. Stellares was smiling at him and then nuzzled him softly, making him blush slightly. This was an unfamiliar show of affection he had never experienced before, a sensation unlike any other. He felt a soft and warm breath reaching him, the gray fur rubbing against his body, and then another soft breath when the father retracted his face. Still, it was very welcome.

"It seems he definitely likes you." Ring Keeper commented, making Elu's ears twitch in her direction. He tried to focus his mind on understanding the words, and at first, they sounded very familiar. "I definitely want to see him now!"

"Here he is," Stellares said, turning to his wife and letting her grab the foal with her magic.

For a second, Elu was confused. Someone touched him but it felt unlike any touch before. It was warm, firm, and at the same time soft and not restrictive. Soon, he noticed an aura of mixed gold and red all around him and he understood it. It was the magic of telekinesis, he realized.

Soon, he was face to face with his new mother. He studied her like he studied the pony before her. She was just a normal unicorn. Dark-red mane was long and slightly messy, her eyes were grayish gold, and her fur was light blonde. An inviting smile was on her face as well.

Without hesitation, Elu did what needed to be done.

Boop!

He giggled along with his new mother, both of them content with this action.

"He is very cute!" Ring Keeper almost squeed in happiness, nuzzling her foal with love.

Elu, however, understood not a word. Truthfully, he expected something like this to happen. He did understand what emotions were put behind the words, and it eased his mind. He was liked! Learning a new language wouldn't be too hard since he already knew two. As long as it's not too different from them, he would have a relatively easy time learning it.

"What will his name be, honey?" Stellares asked. "I... don't really have an idea myself."

"I think I have." Ring Keeper said, looking at the colt. "This is... an idea. A feeling that I know how to name him." she paused, collecting her thoughts. "I will name him... Elu."

Elu. He heard his name being spoken, and it elicited a deep feeling of joy and content, making him grin widely. Barely any doubts remained, he was in Equestria.

He had a second chance. He promised himself that he would not waste it.

Author's Note

Just a bit of explanation: Luna was able to talk without hindrance because she was in his (or my, take it however you will) head, and so she could sort-of see his immediate thoughts, and through that, she was able to understand him.

So, in truth, they weren't exactly communicating with words. It was an exchange of thoughts, and thoughts are often associated with pictures, and you will understand a picture no matter what language you are speaking.

Call it telepathy if you will. It's rather difficult to explain since, well, trying to put a picture into words can be pretty hard as well.

The Afterbirth

Elu was placed in a small crib for newborn foals. The lighting was dim, the sun had already set below the horizon, and yet the former human couldn't sleep. His eyes were wide open, looking around. His mother was sleeping soundly on the bed nearby, his father was gone from the room. There was a window to the outside but Elu couldn't see anything: he was small, couldn't walk, and was lying in a crib, and he had no intention of escaping it. Why would he? After all, he could hurt himself and he knew it.

His ears swiveled as he heard the door to the room opening. It didn't creak, but he could still hear the soft turning of the hinges. Some air rushed in, brushing against his short fur and skin underneath. He turned his head and saw a familiar figure making its way to him. Soon, he could see a pair of aqua eyes, and he immediately knew who it was.

Luna's horn glowed softly, illuminating her face. Elu felt a sensation in his mind, and he let it flow freely. The next moment, he sensed a sort of connection between him and the alicorn, something he couldn't quite put in words.

"Hello, Elu," she said without opening her maw. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," he replied in a slightly cheerful tone, his maw stayed closed as well. "Just... glad to be here. I'm glad it's all real." he smiled at her, his eyes glistening with happiness in the pale moonlight. "And... can you lean a bit closer?"

Luna craned her neck, her muzzle a few centimeters away from his, curiosity in her eyes. What did he have to show her?

"Like th—" she began to say only to be interrupted with Elu's hoof firmly pressing against her snout, even silencing her thoughts.

Boop!

Elu giggled softly, retracting his hoof, watching as the princess blinked before letting out her own chuckle. She returned to standing upright, her bright eyes looking at him with interest.

"I hope you do realize that this gesture means trust," she commented, a more serious expression on her face. "It is not uncommon but even we ponies don't use it often."

"I trust you," Elu said without hesitation. "You are my favorite princess!"

"Oh, I'm glad to, um, hear that!" Luna stuttered as a sudden blush appeared on her face. "But may I ask..." the blush slowly disappeared. "How do you know about me and this world?"

"Um..." the former human thought about putting it in words she would understand. "Well, uh, Equestria is a place in... children's book about friendship." this statement was almost entirely correct. "As in... it's fiction. At least was..." he paused, thinking. "So yeah... I am here now."

"This is a surprise to know that we are just fiction." Luna's ears twitched with curiosity. "However, it seems it confirms the multiverse theory. If your words are true, of course."

"M-maybe," he replied nervously. "It would be better if multiverse theory was false."

"And why is that on your mind?" the princess inquired, her eyes widening slightly.

"Well, uh... It's that thing about everything that is possible being true? Something like that, right?" he asked for clarification.

"Yes, it is," Luna nodded in confirmation. "An infinite number of universe, each choice that could be made was made, each possibility realized in full."

"If that's true, then there is an infinite amount of... bad things." he paused, a frown forming on his face. "V-very bad things..." he went silent, a few memories resurfacing in his mind, deepening his frown, turning it into a semi-shocked expression. His eyes were wide and watering. He blinked a few times to clear them away. "It's... best this thing isn't true."

"...I see," the princess nodded in understanding. "I presume you know of another universe, then? And if so, is it hurtful?" she paused, noticing his pained expression. "I have a feeling it is indeed," she glanced at him again. "Very much hurtful."

"Uh... we could be in the, um, same universe," Elu brought up a point while evading the second part of what the alicorn said. "Like... there are thousands of galaxies. This world could be just a really small part of one of those galaxies."

"Seems reasonable," Luna nodded. "However, why would we ponies be fiction on your planet?"

"...I don't know," the former human admitted. "There could be... coincidences, maybe. But honestly I don't know. And um..." he looked into the eyes of the alicorn, "What's waiting for me?"

"Your parents already know just how special you are," Luna replied, a smile returning to her face.

"I'm... not that special," Elu tried to correct her. "I mean, I'm just one of... who knows how many, uh, sapient beings there are. I have different experiences and all, but... Uh... I'm really not that special," a semi-embarrased blush formed on his face.

"Trust me, you are," the princess continued. "It's the first time in recorded history that a foal like you is born."

"Just... don't make it into a celebration," the former human chuckled slightly nervously. "I, uh, don't want to get... stuff... just for, um... being born like this. I already have a sort of advantage, so... I really just want to live, um... with a good family and all that..." his voice trailed off as he realized that he might've said something very personal. He was unsure whether he should share his thoughts so bluntly just yet.

"Of course, El,." Luna nodded. "Your origins aside, you are still special, even if it just by the fact that you're one of the first few foals to be born to mixed pony couples. Your father is a lunar pegasus and your mother is a unicorn, after all. To my knowledge, there are just around four other couples like this."

"Still doesn't change much..." Elu muttered. He did wish he would be born with some lunar pegasi things like excessive fur, maybe fangs, but it didn't go beyond a few pictures he had drawn. But now, he was his own pony self. A newborn colt but, from what he managed to understand, he was still exactly like he wanted.

"Perhaps," the princess agreed. "Forgive me, I have to go now. My duty calls, and I can't leave it unanswered. Sweet dreams, Elu, and may the moon protect your dreams and may the sun illuminate your way."

"Goodbye, Luna," Elu smiled, even though a part of him was somewhat sad that she was going away. Nevertheless, she would return, he knew it, and their separation was only temporary. He just had to be patient.

And so he lay there, listening to Luna's steps growing further and further away until he could no longer hear them.

It had to be a dream but it seemed to be way too long to be one, way too realistic to be one. In dreams, he had never felt anything. His brain generated sensations but they were always off, he couldn't truly feel them. However, this time, he could feel everything. The pressure of the soft mattress he was lying on, the warmth of his own body, the heartbeat, his breath, air going into his lungs and then exhaled through his nostrils, muscles shifting under his skin as he moved. Every single little detail was there, it was something beyond what his brain could make him feel, not to mention what he could see. Everything had way too many details to be a dream. There was no fog, no mist, everything made a certain sound, even if it was too quiet to be heard.

However, he feared that it was all was untrue and he was lying on a hospital bed back on Earth, his brain sustaining permanent, irreversible damage, and he was in a coma until someone would pull the plug. But even if such a thing was the case, he could enjoy what he was experiencing. He believed it was indeed true, everything he had seen or felt so far supported it, leaving little room for that little bit of irrational doubt. While it still remained and might remain forever, he could let it go and allow himself to enjoy his pleasant dream.

He remembered his usual dreams. Chaotic, without structure, sometimes very discordant, sometimes very realistic, and he rarely had good dreams. In fact, he remembered just one; he had it when he was around fourteen. It was a very realistic dream at the time, and the dream he couldn't forget.

It was a snowy day, he was returning home from school. There were no sounds, only images and strange quasi-real feelings. He remembered seeing the road to his house, all covered in puffy white snow. He crossed those last hundred meters in an instant and then he stood in front of the door to his house. He opened the door, getting inside the entrance, and there, on the steps of the stairs, the love of his life stood, smiling at him.

Elu broke from the memory. He didn't want to continue. It was his past, his life on Earth, and it never led anywhere but to pain. Some would call this pain light, meaningless, easy to move on from, but no one could really see what another felt. They could guess, they could make assumptions, but they would never understand it completely.

The former human exhaled slowly. He needed to calm his head, he needed to sleep. He didn't feel tired much but he definitely could use some rest. He closed his eyes and purged his thoughts, his body relaxing, and soon he drifted off to peaceful, undisturbed sleep.

Elu blinked, coming awake, clearing the blur in his eyes. The sun was shining bright, a ray touching his crib. He yawned, stretching his small limbs, ready for the new day and definitely looking forward to it. Then he heard voices.

"...carry him for you," he heard a familiar voice speaking. Unfortunately, the language was indeed foreign to him. However, it did sound pleasant to the ear. It was flowing smoothly, reminding him of his native language, Russian. But even then it was very different, more akin to English, as far as he could hear. He knew he could be wrong, however.

"Alright, thanks, Stel," another familiar voice said in the reply to the first one. Elu turned his eyes and saw his parents, his mother standing up from the bed. "Oh..." she grimaced in slight discomfort. "No exercise for me for now, heh," she chuckled and then turned her head to the crib. "Ah, Elu's awake!"

The colt grinned when he heard his name. He could sense the joy, the happiness in his mother's voice, and it made him happy as well. Even though he couldn't speak yet or understand anything that is spoken to him, he uttered a sound, showing that he did understand his mother in a certain way that was yet simple and primitive.

Soon, Ring Keeper's face was right above him, her eyes looking at him with adoration.

"I know you can't understand us yet, but we love you, Elu," she said, smiling, and the former human reacted by smiling back at her, looking into her warm eyes. "We're fine to go now," she lifted her son out of the crib. "But we need to do something first," she gently moved him to a special table and placed him on it, belly up. "I have no idea what you'll think about it, but it's necessary for now."

Elu watched as diapers appeared in his vision. He frowned at them but he knew they were necessary. After all, he was just a newborn colt, he couldn't control his body as much as he'd like to, not yet, at least. So, he had to tolerate this for quite some time until he learned to control his bodily functions.

He looked away as the diapers were put in him. Soon after, a bottle of milk was moved to him. Internally, he sighed in relief, knowing well where the teats of the mares are and how awkward would it be for him to drink right out of the source.

"I figured this will be more comfortable for you," Ring Keeper commented, removing the cap, exposing the artificial nipple. "Here."

As shameful as it was for Elu, he drank the milk without much hesitation, a bring blush forming on his face. He didn't even remember himself ever drinking milk; he didn't even like milk in the first place, but this one tasted surprisingly good for him. He kept on drinking until his mother stopped him.

"Enough, for now, don't get greedy," she said, pulling the bottle away. Elu didn't protest, knowing well that she knew better. "Now, let's take you home, little one."

He was picked up again and placed in a basket, lined with soft sheets. He relaxed, looking at his mom as she strapped the basket to herself, her chest fluff brushing against its edges. Elu couldn't help himself but stretch out one of his forelegs and touch the fluff. His mouth opened slightly as he realized just how soft it was. He tried to sit upright so he could just smother his muzzle into his mother's chest.

"He's certainly playful," Stellares commented, standing by his wife's side. "I almost forgot he is already a grown-up in a certain way," he chuckled lightly, extending his hoof and ruffling up the short mane of his son. Elu looked back at him and smiled. The father noticed where Elu's eyes were looking, and so he craned his neck, bringing his muzzle close to the son.

Boop!

Elu giggled childishly and his father smiled while Ring Keeper was trying to contain her laughter.

"He's so cute, isn't he?" she said, looking at her son with joy in her eyes.

"He certainly is," her husband nodded. "He will definitely be a good son, I feel it."

Elu nestled in his basket and, once he was comfortable, closed his eyes. All the fidgeting that he did made him somewhat tired, so he decided to take a nap as he would be carried to what he assumed would be his home. Very soon, he drifted off to sleep, a wide smile not leaving his face even after he finally fell asleep.

Author's Note

More cuteness!

...

*boops everyone*

The New Home

Elu woke up while he was still being carried across the village. He opened up his eyes and began to look around, his ears twitching with anticipation and interest. He noticed many houses with thatched roofs, some of them having tiled roofs instead. At first, the former human thought that it was Ponyville but he quickly realized that it definitely wasn't it. There were no buildings of the mane six, and those were quite noticeable. He thought that at the very least he'd be able to see the flying cloud house of Rainbow Dash or Twilight's Crystal Castle if he was in Ponyville.

In truth, he was glad it wasn't the case. That village attracted all sorts of trouble and he would just be a background character with no ~~plot~~ friendship armor. He wasn't ready to go through all those troubles to live near the main characters.

As he moved his eyes, something else caught his attention. Mainly, his muzzle. It was like a bigger nose, blurring out when he was looking forward, and appearing when he looked to the side. It felt especially real, considering he had never seen his nose in his dreams, and this was such a detail that his brain would most likely miss. And yet, it was there.

He booped himself, feeling the muzzle; it wasn't soft but it wasn't too hard either - it was just perfect. He exhaled on his hoof, feeling his breath. He changed the speed of his breathing, testing how it would make him feel. In truth, it wasn't unlike when he was still a human but now he had fur, and it definitely felt strange to see it everywhere, including his face.

It didn't cease to amaze him how real everything was. The texture of the walls of different houses, the sky, the clouds, the trees, they were all real, and no computer, no artist would've been able to truly transport the feeling into a picture, nothing artificial would ever come close to this reality. The wind was blowing lightly, making a gentle breeze pass through Elu's fur. The sun shone on him, warming up his body under the sunlight rays. Every time anything slightly shifted, he could feel it.

He finally noticed the writings. He had thought about what language ponies would use, and it seemed he would soon find the answer. He couldn't understand the written words but they reminded him of some Chinese characters, something very close to many Asian writings he had seen in his life. Unfortunately, he didn't know much about them, and so it looked like he would have more trouble learning the language since he only knew Russian and English, which were nothing like, for example, Japanese. However, knowing more than one language might still help in some way.

Elu's ears twitched as he heard his parents talking. Even though he had yet to learn the language, he was still interested in what they were talking about.

"He's so curious!" Ring Keeper commented, looking at her son. "He already understands a lot, don't you think?" she turned to her husband.

"He definitely does." Stellares nodded, craning his neck to look closer at Elu. Not missing a moment, the colt booped him. "He certainly knows how to show trust." he chuckled, nuzzling into the hoof, prompting Elu to retract it and blush.

"Ah... do you remember that day?" the mother asked, recollecting her memories as a smile appeared on her face. "Almost a year ago, the two of us, having a picnic..."

"On the lakeside. Yes, I remember." he nodded with a smile on his face. "It was an experience I surely won't forget."

"Me neither." Ring Keeper agreed, nuzzling her husband lovingly. "It was such a good day..." suddenly, she yawned. "Anyway, we're almost there. I'm kind of tired..."

"I can watch over him so that you can go get some sleep," Stellares suggested.

"Alright, thanks Stel." the mare smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek.

As for Elu, he suspected that the two were talking about him, he was almost completely sure that was the case, and it seemed like they accepted him despite who he was. However... there were many things inside him that they might not like and he feared it would shake the relationship between them and him. And if so... what would he do?

He tried to stay positive but there was no way he was that lucky. There was something else to it, there must be, at least he thought so. As much as he disliked thinking about it, he knew that if good things happen to him, they also bring many bad things that cancel out anything good that happened or might've happened. That's how life worked for him and he had no idea if it would ever change.

However, Elu was in Equestria now. It was his dream, the dream he often hid, ashamed of it. After all, it was nothing but a fictional country in a show meant for kids. He was far from being a kid, he was, in fact, eighteen. Even then, this irrational hope remained, and it finally came to fruition.

After all, it turned out to be true.

Elu spent the last remaining minutes of the trip taking a short nap and woke up after he was placed in a crib. He opened his eyes and saw that his father was already leaving for something, and his mother was lying on a nearby bed, falling asleep.
With interest, he looked around. The room was pretty big and tall, even though it might only seem so because the colt himself was very small. Even his own crib seemed gigantic. But even then, the room seemed like an entire building. The walls were a soft shade of beige, different photos and drawings decorating them. Elu saw the photo of his parents while they were slightly younger. Both of them were sitting, smiling into the camera, his father's membrane wing hugging his mother close.
There was a window to the outside but nothing could be seen through it at the moment as there was a curtain over it. The curtain itself was a shade of green and decorated with flower patterns. Near the window, a table stood, a pile of papers as well as some quills and inkwells placed on it. There were other things but they were hard to identify from Elu's position.

The former human wondered if he could at least stand up. The crib was designed to not let him fall off, so he could indeed try something as simple as standing, perhaps even walking. He rolled onto his belly and tried moving the hooves under him. For some reason, it felt like moving half-numb limbs. Despite having some control over the legs, they lacked precision or responsiveness he was used to as a human. Despite all of it, however, he wanted to stand up and learn how to walk. He didn't know if it was possible for foals of his age, which was, well, one day, but he still needed to try to make sure.

After a minute or so of fidgeting, he managed to get his hooves underneath him. Finally, he tried to stand up. Rising just by a few centimeters, he fell. He mentally slapped himself for thinking that he'd be able to do that on day one. Perhaps he just needed to exercise patience. He would need a lot of it for many years, after all.

Sighing quietly, he returned to his relaxed lying position. He might as well take another nap. He was just a newborn foal, after all. Kids his age sleep a lot, and so should he.

Before he could fall asleep, Stellares returned to the room and walked up to the crib. As he pushed it, it started moving, surprising Elu. However, he didn't utter a sound as his new father wheeled him out of the room and into another, which was bigger than the previous one by a considerable margin. Before he could explore it with his eyes, Stellares took most of his vision, a bottle of milk held securely in one of his leathery wings.

Elu looked at the bottle and his stomach almost immediately groaned, signaling him that it was indeed the time to be fed. Carefully, the father lowered the bottle until the colt could grab it and then let go. With minor difficulties, the former human could adjust the position of the bottle until it was just right. Soon, he was gulping the milk down, enjoy its taste. He hadn't gotten used to it yet but he was already enjoying the milk despite knowing that it might as well be his mother's. But did it really matter? He knew where usual milk came from, why would pony milk be any different? At the very least, he wasn't drinking it straight from the source, so it didn't matter much anyway.
Once he had enough of the milk, he carefully placed the bottle on its bottom, letting Stellares take it away. The colt suppressed a burp, releasing a sigh instead. He knew he was a foal and could do all sorts of stupid things but he would prefer not to, for now. He would have enough years to be joking around, after all.

"Let's see if we can talk somehow." the stallion said, sitting down in front of the crib. He knocked once, gaining Elu's full attention. The colt looked at him with interest as he put a hoof against his chest and said: "Stellares."

Elu nodded slightly, understanding the message and making a simple connection. His father was Stellares, it was his name. He tried to say it but it came off as weird squeaks, making him silence himself and blush in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, you'll be able to speak in no time." his father encouraged him even though Elu couldn't even understand a single word.

Suddenly, the former human started feeling pressure in the lower part of his body. He swore silently, knowing that he would have to go through the embarrassment of using diapers and then changing them. He would have to repeat this for a few times at the very least until he learned how to control his body and go to the actual toilet without any assistance. Either way, the pressure was growing at a rate Elu didn't like. Most babies would have already been crying but he knew other languages of communication.

Crawling to the edge of the crib, he knocked on the railing, making Stellares look at him questionably. Once Elu got his attention, the colt tapped his diapers. Understanding the message, the stallion nodded, and soon Elu was lifted out of the crib. The pressure inside him was growing and it was becoming very uncomfortable. He tried to figure out how to make the release, what muscle to activate so that he wouldn't have to wait longer.

He struck something right, and soon the pressure was going away, increasing the wetness in his lower area. He sighed in relief and blushed in embarrassment. Despite somewhat understanding how to make a release, he still couldn't walk, and so he couldn't go to the toilet by himself. However, something positive came out of it — he realized he could control some of his bodily functions!

He averted his eyes as Stellares changed the diapers, trying to think of something else. For example, how would Elu spend his free time? So far, he hadn't seen a computer or a smartphone, which meant that Equestria wasn't very technologically advanced. No internet, at the very least. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for him, he would have to interact with other ponies. He wanted it but he knew it would be hard for him to do because of his shyness and introverted nature. A new layer of difficulty was set as well. He was already intellectually superior to most if not all other foals, and so he doubted he would find friends at such a young age.

A minute later, Elu was returned to the crib and he sighed once again. Next few years would be the hardest, even though they would probably be the most interesting. It was an entirely new experience, the one he wouldn't forget, and he was certainly looking forward to it despite being slightly anxious about how things would go.

With these thoughts in his head, he drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note

This chapter was shorter than usual but I promise longer chapters next time!

Learning Words

Author's Note

I had a lot of doubts about continuing to write this story since, well, it's a self-insert that presents me as someone with a sob-worthy life story, and compared to quite a lot of people, my life is actually good, but... Well, I still have problems, hopes, desires, and my problems still matter in some way.

Judging by upvote to downvote ratio, people at the very least like this story despite its nature. So, enjoy a new chapter.

Learning Words

It was evening. Tired from crawling around all day, Elu was relaxing in a bath as his mother used a brush to scratch his back. He remembered his first childhood when his other mother sat by him as he took a bath, but it seemed like a very distant part of his past, something he could barely remember as he approached his twenties. That part of the past had been growing more and more distant with each passing year.

Experiencing this part of the childhood for the second time felt strange. It wasn't unwelcome, no, it was just something he would need to get used to again. After all, for the past eight years, he had been enjoying complete privacy when it came to bathing or showering. In truth, during the bathing, he looked away from his mother and didn't utter as much as a single sound as he was being washed. Thankfully, his privates weren't touched, which put big relief on him. Otherwise, it would've been even more awkward and embarrassing.

Up on the ceiling, watching him, the strange animal was hanging idly. Elu finally recognized what it was — a flying fox. A strange animal he had heard next to nothing about before, and now it was very close to him. He concluded that it was a pet of his family. An unusual pet by human standards, maybe, but Elu found himself getting used to the presence of the flying fox. It wasn't aggressive or overly intrusive, it was just watching over the foal with interest and curiosity. In turn, the former human found himself glancing at it fairly often, still not entirely sure what to think of it. At the very least, it seemed cute and relatively harmless.

Once Elu was done bathing, his mother helped him get out and wrapped him in a big, soft towel to dry him off. Being quite furry, the former human found himself taking more time drying off than before. The sensation wasn't unpleasant but it was odd and unusual just like everything else he had been experiencing with his new body.

He yawned quietly, his eyelids growing heavier. As any kid, he had much energy but he also needed a lot of sleep to replenish it and help himself grow up. Not to mention all the nutrients he needed to consume to be a healthy foal that would later become a healthy adult pony. He couldn't wait to try Equestrian food but he had to drink milk instead. Unfortunately, his teeth weren't as strong as he needed to be able to chew most of the available eatables just yet.

Fortunately, however, they were strong enough for him to eat some banana that the flying fox kept giving him on occasions. Elu's parents didn't seem to mind it at all as they watched the feeding process. Bewildered slightly, the former human could do nothing but accept the banana pressing against his muzzle. It was tasty, too! So, even with the weirdness the flying fox displayed, Elu could see himself getting used to it one day. Considering that this strange animal wasn't going anywhere, he had no real choice in the first place. At the very least, it didn't piss on things randomly like his cat did.

As he thought of the cat, his ears drooped. He would never see it again, and for all the things the cat did, it was still a cute animal worthy of keeping around as it brought joy and some form of happiness to Elu while he was still a human. He could only hope that it would live a fulfilling life of a normal cat. Or just do something else that the cats were supposed to do. The former human wasn't much of an animal person, he knew little of the wildlife or pets. At any rate, he was fine with either as long as they didn't disturb him in any unreasonably annoying or harmful way.

After the bath, it was time to dry off. Wrapped in a towel, Elu was placed in a crib and left there for some time. He didn't mind it at all — it was snug and extremely comfy being cocooned like that. Releasing another tired yawn, Elu closed his eyes, soon drifting off to a peaceful sleep. No chaotic dreams, no nightmares, nothing to disturb him happened during his slumber.

Meanwhile, Ring Keeper and Stellares assembled downstairs to discuss their foal and his future. After all, Elu was quite special to them in more ways than they expected to have with a foal at first.

"You know, I think we don't need to keep him in the crib," Stellares suggested. "He's calm and thoughtful. I thought that neither of us would get much sleep after the foal was born, but... Here we are, sleeping just as well if not better than Elu does."

"Yeah, I think we can let him explore the house," Ring Keeper nodded in agreement, a smile touching her face. "We'll take down the crib tomorrow and remake it into a small bed instead. I think Elu will like it."

Suddenly, the flying fox flew down to the two and landed on the mother's back.

"What do you think, Gray?" she asked, letting out a soft chuckle as she turned to the pet.

"He needs eat frut," Gray replied, touching Ring's muzzle with one of his wings.

"You always say that," Ring Keeper laughed. "Anyway, Elu is definitely much smarter than, well, pretty much any other foal," she returned to Stellares. "With that being said... How do we teach him the language?"

"...I honestly didn't think much of that," the father admitted sheepishly. "Well, um... I think we'll do it like... Show him things and name them? There's no other way, really," he paused to think. "I'm sure he already knows a language, but I seriously doubt we'll be able to find a dictionary. "

"Alright. I think we can start teaching him tomorrow, and maybe Princess Luna can help us," Ring Keeper suggested.

"That's pretty reasonable," Stellares nodded, agreeing. "I think we can afford to spend some time together, alone," he smiled. "Just... go to a park, relax under the sun..."

"Just what I was thinking!"

Early in the morning, just as Stellares and Ring Keeper went to make breakfast, Elu woke up. After feeding him and changing the diapers once again, the parents let him out of the crib. And so, he explored everything freely, crawling around constantly until he grew tired. Despite not being able to walk just yet, he began to grasp the feelings of his movement. He could consciously move his muscles how he wanted them to, although combining the movements proved to be quite difficult. However, he was quickly understanding everything and was sure that he would be able to walk very soon. Perhaps not gallop just yet, maybe not even trot, but walking was within reach.

Once breakfast was done, both of his parents sat down with him and pointed out different items, saying their appropriate names. Elu nodded to each and tried to repeat, but his vocal cords weren't there just yet. However, he still learned a few words, including different furniture, food items, silverware, all sorts of household items that he was sure he'd learn by heart eventually.

"I," Stellares gestured at himself. He paused before tapping himself again and saying, "Stellares," he paused yet again before his hoof pointed at Elu. "You... Elu."

The former human nodded, thankful that the pronouns were pretty much the same in this regard.

"We," the father continued, pointing at each member of the family in succession. "Me, Her, You," he paused. "Stellares, Ring Keeper, Elu."

The same thing was repeated with Ring Keeper, and then it was Elu's turn.

"I, Elu," he said in his squeaky childish voice. "You, Stel-la-res," he gestured at the father. "You, Ring Kee-per," he gestured at the mother. "We," he gestured at everyone in succession. "Papa, mama, me," he went through the motions once again. Then, he smiled brightly, releasing a word: "Yay!"

Amused by the foal, the parents smiled, repeating the yay, for it was something they were already familiar with. Overall, everyone was happy with the progress, no matter how initially small it was. Each of the family members was sure that the pace would increase soon, and Elu would be able to speak if not fluently, then, at the very least, much better than the average foal his age.

Suddenly, a knock came from downstairs. Stellares went to answer it, and soon he returned with Princess Luna close behind him. Elu smiled as soon as he saw the alicorn, quickly shuffling over to her and giving her leg a hug.

"Well, it's time for us to go. We'll be back soon, Elu," Ring Keeper said, ruffling up her son's mane and then turning her attention to the princess. "I think he won't give you any trouble at all. He's a lovely foal, and I wouldn't ever wish to give him away for anything."

"I am very glad you think so," Luna nodded, smiling. "I see you're doing quite well with him," she looked at Elu and tapped his head slightly, eliciting a small blush. Unbeknownst to the parents, the princess had already cast the translation spell on him, making it very easy to understand the conversation.

"I love my parents very much!" Elu let out a few squeaks that turned into words for the parents and the princess alike.

"We love you too, Elu!" Ring Keeper couldn't help himself but lift the foal up and gave him a big, warm hug. Realizing that he could be understood, the former human blushed harder, not used to saying such words as he did and being heard and accepted.

"I'm happy to be present during the moments like this," Luna smiled in amusement, watching the scene with joy in her eyes.

"For now, we'll have to go, Elu," the mother said, putting the young colt down. "Have fun with Luna!"

The former human nodded, unable to express his joy in words. He waved their parents goodbye and was soon left alone with Luna, his favorite princess. He didn't fawn over her, he didn't worship her even though such a thought passed in his head on occasions, he didn't like her because she was a princess, but he always wanted to see her personality, to get to know her on a personal level. Finally, such a seemingly impossible wish was granted.

"Luna, I r-really, um, like you too," Elu admitted, stuttering in the face of the princess. "I want to say that... When I first, um, saw you, I kinda..." he paused, gathering his thoughts. "Just... something clicked. In the, uh, book, you are, for some reason I c-can't explain very... relatable," he tapped his front hooves together. "I kind of... felt connected to you."

"That's very interesting and quite surprising, Elu," Luna replied, sitting near him. "And judging by the blush on your face, there's more to it," she lay down, coming eye to eye with the former human.

"Well, yeah..." Elu looked away and then muttered something. Noticing no response, he repeated louder: "I, uh... sorta... had a crush o-on, well... you," his face burned with how the red his blush was.

"Oh? I'm flattered, truly," Luna's cheeks became slightly pink. "But is it had... Or do you still have a crush on me?"

"I dunno..." the former human replied quietly, already regretting his choice to be so honest with the princess. "All these years, I, uh..." he paused, knowing that what he was about to say was very personal. However, he believed Luna would keep it secret. Despite all the rational thought telling him that it might end up badly, he continued: "There was that girl... I loved h-her since I was, uh, eight or nine..." he paused to think. "So, uh... I always thought that I've been loving her since then, and, um..." he halted completely, unable to find the needed words.

"I guess it that the love was not reciprocated?" the princess suggested.

"Yeah..." Elu admitted, his ears drooped as memories flooded his mind. "I mean... We were friends for a long time, had some small pauses, and, uh... It's a bit complicated," he nervously fidgeted in place. "S-she was a pretty nice girl... Just pretty, too... And I, I think that, um... the things, the dumb things I did made it impossible for us to have, like, a real relationship," he kept looking away. "I thought she cared about me, but... but maybe I just pushed her away, and..." he sighed shakily, knowing that he couldn't stop his confession now. He knew he wanted someone to listen to him and to give him some advice. "I did dumb stuff and ruined everything for myself. I, uh... Maybe I saw something in you?" he paused once again, realizing how horribly blunt it probably sounded. "I mean, I do very much like you... M-maybe even in a romantic way, b-but... I know it's not happening," his whole body seemed to shrink as he hid himself from the curious gaze of the princess.

"Why do you think so?" Luna asked.

"Well, you're royalty, a princess, and I couldn't even get the nicest girl I knew to like me despite, uh... being very close friends since I was... seven and until, uh... I was fourteen," Elu explained.

"What happened between you two if you don't mind me asking?"

"I... don't want to talk about it. N-not yet..." the former human replied quietly.

"Alright, then," the princess nodded in understanding. "As for about you and me... I can say that I've not dated a stallion in quite a while. Perhaps, when you grow up... Things can happen."

"I, uh, don't know... I don't think so..." Elu said with great uncertainty.

"Why not?" Luna asked. "You seem like a nice person, Elu, and I've talked to you just a few times. I can see that you're troubled, but it's not something that can't be fixed," she gently tapped the colt, making him uncurl and look at her. "Besides, if things happen between you and a lovely mare, be it me or someone else... Love can make great things possible. For example, move mountains, sometimes quite literally, trust me," she let out a soft chuckle. "Now, how about we put some love and care into a tasty treat? Don't let Celestia know, but I know a fair share of cake recipes, and one of them just happens to be friendly to newborn foals," the princess stood up. "I believe that your parents have everything we may need to bake it."

Elu almost sprung up, standing up on all his fours, ready to do whatever Luna would say. A cake sounded lovely indeed. So, the alicorn grabbed the colt and placed him on her back. With great curiosity, he immediately reached for the starry mane. To his great surprise, it felt like usual mane but it more closely resembled long hair in the water. Flowing and very light.

"Be careful back there, Elu," Luna said in a cheerful tone as she descended the stairs to the first floor of the house. "Just don't pull."

"I know, I'm just looking. It's so... weird seeing it up close," the former human said, watching as the stars and constellations danced in the mane, looking like a real starlit sky if not even more beautiful.

"I'm not surprised," she chuckled. Soon, the two entered the kitchen. "Ah, here we are! Now, let me place you somewhere and you'll watch the process. By the way, what's your favorite cake flavor?"

"I like honey cakes," Elu said as Luna put him on a big chair. "I also really liked a cake my grandmother used to bake. I don't remember much, but it was so... light. There was a lot of cream on the top, too! My second favorite!"

"I'll remember that, maybe there's a similar recipe somewhere," Luna nodded, opening a cupboard. "The one I'm going to bake right now is called 'A Foal's Delight'. My sister would probably come up with something more elegant, but I'm content with this one," she placed a few things on the table. "Anyway, honey, creamy top, that's what you like? We'll see if something can be done to satisfy your tastes."

"Yay!" Elu couldn't help but release that simple exclamation, throwing his hooves up in the air.

Judging by this day alone, he was sure that his time with Luna would always be fun. At the very least, she could bake cakes! Not to mention that she was a great listener and didn't judge him. Maybe he actually got lucky and was finally receiving what he wanted. However, all he could do was wait and see where it would lead, and many doubts and dark thoughts remained in his head.

He hoped that they would be dispelled with time. At the very least, it was a reasonable hope, for once.

Thoughts

Luna was baking a cake, humming something that was suspiciously similar to the main theme of MLP:FiM. Meanwhile, Elu was sitting quietly, watching the princess and thinking about different things.

He was in Equestria as a pony, his own avatar no less, and Princess Luna was baking him a cake, a cake that would certainly be delicious if not outright godly. If someone told him about such a thing a few weeks ago, he would let out a chuckle and then probably spend some time thinking about the situation, wondering what would happen if it came true. Perhaps, he would add it to one of his stories as a light-hearted small episode about the life of one of his characters, a filler of sorts in serious stories and a part of Slice of Life for stories focused more on the regular lives.

However, it was all true, it was real to him, it was happening to him. He smiled to himself, joyful at his heart seeing it, hearing it, feeling it with his very soul. It was as real as everything he had experienced throughout all of his eighteen years of life as a human. He had never expected such an event to ever happen but he was happy it did. After all, he wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. Certainly not for anything back on Earth, in the world of humans.

However, a particular question disturbed his mind. What did he do to deserve to get something like this? To him, it was a dream come true, an ultimate wish and desire becoming real. And yet, he didn't work for it, he didn't do anything to get it, he simply... died. Many other people did much more than that and didn't receive anything for their suffering and struggle. Elu was sure that much more people would continue to struggle back on Earth just to get what he had as a human.

However, something made it so that his dream came true, at least partially and post-mortem. Who or what did it? A deity? A supernatural force, a concept like karma? Or, on the contrary, a natural process for all souls? Unfortunately, the event he experienced brought many more questions than answers. He didn't see a god, no one talked to him, he simply went from the state of nothing to being born anew with his mind still intact and his memories preserved.

He had read some stories about people being reborn with their memories still in them. For example, there was a boy who helped to find a killer, one he claimed to have murdered him in the previous life. What part of this story was true, if any? He had no idea and he had no means of finding it out, especially now.

Deciding to drop the matter for later deep analysis, Elu turned his attention to the present, to something much simpler — Luna baking a cake. He watched as various things floated in the air, engulfed in the light-blue aura of Luna's magic. His eyes brightened at the display, knowing that he would be able to do something similar very soon. Telekinesis was a very useful ability, especially with his hands gone.

"Elu, I've been thinking..." Luna said, drawing his attention. "I can help you learn about us."

"Oh, that's nice!" he replied with a smile. "How will you do it?"

"It's a simple but taxing spell," she started explaining. "It will make you understand the words around you. Not written words, only speech. I think it will greatly speed up the learning process since the spell essentially turns a part of your mind into a dictionary. Each new word you hear, especially if you see its written version at the same time, will be stored in your mind. You will remember it and know what it means because you have a translation for it."

"That sounds pretty good, Luna!" Elu said, rocking his body back and forth in a show of excitement.

"It certainly is," she nodded, smiling at him. "However, you will have to use new words for others to understand you. As I said, the spell is taxing, so I can't cast it on just anyone you want to talk to. However, I have already thought of it," she turned away from cooking and walked to the former human, and suddenly a necklace appeared between her and Elu. "I will put this on you. As long as you have it on, you'll be able to understand us," she locked the necklace around the neck of the colt. The necklace was rather simple, being a silver chain with a large round blue gem in the center of it, glowing slightly. As it rested on his chest, Elu felt something change in his mind, bringing a tingling sensation between his ears, making them twitch.

"Huh..." he let out, looking at the gem as it pulsated with color for a few seconds, sending light jolts of electricity through his brain. "Oh..."

"An unusual sensation, yes," Luna nodded, her voice now slightly but noticeably changed. It was as if listening to an unprofessional translation of a movie — the original dialogue was severely lowered in volume, and a layer of translation was placed on it. "It will pass soon."

"A-alright," Elu nodded with uncertainty, scratching his head right between the ears, ruffling his yet somewhat short mane.

"Don't worry," the princess assured him, returning to cooking. "By the way, I will still be able to understand you."

The former human nodded once again and returned to waiting patiently. He turned his head to the window and looked outside. Ponies were out in the streets, each heading to their own destination, chatting along the way with each other. Each pony had a slight smile on their faces as they walked, and it didn't go unnoticed by Elu.

He was used to seeing blank expressions, frowns, sometimes drunken grins and other faces he didn't like looking at. Truth be told, he rarely smiled in public as well, knowing that it was way out of ordinary and would attract attention. While some people might be fine with that attention or simply wouldn't care, Elu was always the one to try to stay invisible. Unfortunately for him, it was apparent that he would stand out among ponies due to his habit of not displaying emotions while out in the open among many people. He needed to break this habit but he wasn't sure he would be able to break his unsocial nature.

"I thought you'd be asking more questions, Elu," Luna said, breaking his line of thought. "About this village, country, the world as a whole."

"I, uh, guess, but... I want to discover everything by myself," the former human explained. "I'd like to be prepared for everything but I feel like I need to experience all of this by myself to, uh, properly understand it and adjust to it."

"That is pretty reasonable," the princess nodded in understanding. "However, don't be afraid to ask questions," she paused for a second. "Also, something has been on my mind recently... What do you think about the idea of a playmate?"

"Uh... I don't know," Elu shrugged in uncertainty. "I don't really want to play with kids my age. It would be... too weird for me, I guess."

"Don't worry, I can find someone closer to your age if that's the case," Luna nodded and then paused for a few seconds again. "Say... Do you know anything about Ponyville?"

"Y-yeah," the former human replied nervously. "Why?"

"Perhaps you have heard about a certain colt named Pipsqueak," the princess continued. "While he lives in Trottingham, he frequently visits Ponyville during weekends. Since Ponyville is not too far away from here, perhaps something could be arranged for you two to play together."

"I... don't know," Elu said slowly. "I don't mind but... I don't remember the last time I played with kids lower than my age," he paused for a moment. "I think it was way back when I was fifteen or so."

"If you're uncomfortable, we can think of something else," Luna nodded. "For example..." she tapped her chin in thought. "Many young fillies apply for foalsitting. They're mostly from eleven to thirteen years of age, getting their first job experience, and so I think it would benefit you and them, in this case."

"Still sorta weird," the former human said. "S-sorry if I make it too difficult..."

"No, I completely understand, Elu," the alicorn said. "Your situation is rather... interesting. Perhaps I should give you some time to think. Do you agree to this?"

"Alright, yeah, that's good," Elu nodded. "Also, um..." he blushed slightly. "When will the cake be ready?"

After some time of waiting, the cake was finally ready. It was a chocolate cream-covered cake of a moderate size. Pretty simple and yet delicious, which Elu could confirm. He was muzzle-deep in the cake, eating it straight from the plate. Lacking hands and not having the ability to use magic just yet, he had to do something else to get what he wanted.

Soon, he emerged, his entire face covered in cake. He licked around his lips, getting the tiny pieces of chocolate into his mouth, and then swallowed, a pleasant expression on his face.

"This cake's pretty good!" he told Luna, who was enjoying a small piece of her creation nearby. "I just need to learn how to use forks, knives and such again."

"You'd be surprised by how many ponies eat like you," Luna let out a chuckle. "I assume that your culture makes cutlery a must?"

"Yeah. It's not forbidden to eat food with hands but, well... You'd rather use at least something," Elu nodded.

"Hands, you say?" the alicorn's ears perked up. "So, I suppose that your original species is bipedal, isn't it?"

"Sorta like minotaurs, I guess," the former human shrugged, and then went for the cake again. After a few long seconds of eating, he reemerged. "Luna, this cake is delicious!"

"Thank you, Elu," Luna smiled.

"Yeah, but it seems it's a bit too much for me now..." Elu replied, leaning away, feeling completely full. And then he let out a burp. "Um, sorry..."

"This is where our cultures are similar," Luna booped him on the muzzle. "Do not burp, especially in the presence of royalty," she laughed softly, seeing Elu's flustered expression. "Don't worry, though. Among friends, it is fine to do... as long as your friends don't mind it, of course."

A memory of burp battles appeared in Elu's mind. It was a dumb thing but it was funny for a reason that he didn't know.

Friends... That word made him think about the possible friendships he might form with ponies. Would he even be able to do it? He was obviously different from them. While the difference wasn't necessarily something that put an impassable border between him and the ponies, it was an obstacle to overcome, especially if he wanted to form deep bonds with ponies. Maybe even griffons, changelings, and other sapient creatures seen in and around Equestria. It was certainly something to think about when he had the time.

However, overthinking wouldn't help him much and he knew it. Perhaps, he needed to go with the flow and see what it would bring. After all, he was relatively safe, for now. He had loving parents and a princess at his side. If that didn't help him, nothing would. Unless he suddenly became some sort of an omnipotent being, but that would be stretching things too far. It was an even more impossible scenario than just being in Equestria. He knew that anything could happen at this point but there were limits. Discord might be able to break the said limits, but Elu assumed that he was in stone, either before or after the events of the beginning of the second season. Either way, he wasn't there, so he was out of the picture, at least for now.

"You seem to be deep in thought often, Elu," Luna remarked. "Is something troubling you?"

"...I suppose," Elu nodded slightly. "I just tend to think about things a lot. Um... overthink, that is," he gathered his thoughts. "So, uh, I think about everything, sorta."

"Ah, I see," the princess nodded. "I think you should find something to busy yourself with to make those thoughts stay away until they are needed. Tell me, what do you enjoy doing?"

"There are things but some of them can't be done here," the former human said. "But... I like making music, drawing, writing, just... walking and talking to someone. And, uh... some other things," he said vaguely.

"So, you're an artist?" Luna's ears perked up. "That's very nice to know! May I ask what you made?"

"Well, uh... Just some stories, some music... some drawingssss..." he replied awkwardly, stretching the last word. "Uh... do you know the, um, term 'fanfiction'?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with it," the alicorn shook her head. "Though, I think I understand... Unofficial sequels, side stories?"

"Yeah, that sort of thing," Elu nodded. "I write those. I draw for them, make music for them."

"That's pretty interesting. What genre do you use?" Luna looked at the colt with interest.

"In writing? Sorta everything I like," the former human shrugged. "Music? Hmmm... I guess it's just orchestral, though it's usually dark. As for drawings... Um... No idea what genre they are. Sorta realistic and sorta not?"

"What instruments do you play?"

"None. I'm just a composer," Elu explained. "I can play some simple tunes on the piano, maaaaybe one song on a guitar, but that's it," his eyes brightened suddenly. "Oh! I'd actually love to learn how to play double bass! Or cello, or..." his eyes widened significantly. "Pipe organ..." he squeed. "I really love that!"

"Perhaps something can be arranged for it," Luna smiled. "I would love to hear you play someday, especially if you also compose something."

"I sure hope so as well!" Elu almost jumped in excitement. "Can't wait to have magic! That'd make it so much easier than using my fingers!"

"With enough time and effort, I'm sure you'll learn how to do anything you want to achieve, Elu," the alicorn said encouragingly. "Anyway, there's still some cake left. Will you finish or do I have the rest?"

Author's Note

A fairly uneventful chapter, but I hope you liked it either way! I hope that it's not cringe-worthy or unpleasant to read. I find it hard to find the perfect balance between making it good and making it accurate.

At any rate, you'll see what kind of person I am, I suppose. It's somewhat difficult for me to write about it so openly but, well, I will continue if you like it.

I also greatly appreciate the feedback. Don't hesitate to say anything bad about the story as long as it's constructive. I seek to improve the story, after all. If I didn't, I wouldn't publish it.

Shadows of the Past

A calm night was upon Equestria, the moon shining its pale light onto the ground below. A gentle rain was tapping on the roofs and windows of the houses as the ponies slumbered and dreamt. Elu was sleeping in his crib, nicely tucked under a blanket. After a long day with Luna, he was tired, and by the time his parents came back home, he was already yawning and preparing to go to sleep. Despite the peaceful scene, however, he was having a peculiar dream, the first real dream since he was birthed in Equestria.

Appearing in a hallway of his old school as a human he once was, wearing a backpack, he heard kids and teachers whispering in the halls and the classrooms. A radio static was present somewhere in the background, sometimes interrupted by distorted words he couldn't understand. Hesitantly, Elu went forward and soon came to a classroom. It had big clear windows that showed the outside from a great height. It was far from his real school but in the dream, he didn't notice this big difference. Once he entered the classroom, he stopped and looked around. The students and the teachers were featureless, just shadows on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Whispering, they were looking through the windows, ignoring Elu. Soon, he joined them, trying to see what was happening. The outside was calm, the sky was blotted with gray clouds, which were pushed by the wind. People walked around in the streets, cars moved through the town as usual.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded, filling the quietness of the surroundings with a harrowing winding sound of a siren. Elu knew very well what it meant as his heartbeat increased, his eyes widening. However, in this moment of terror, he turned away from the window just in time to save his eyes from what was about to happen.

A bright flash burned his silhouette into the wall with all the other students and teachers as painful orange light tried to incinerate him and turn him into ashes. He dropped to the floor, covering his ears and closing his eyes shut. The earth shook, and a growing rumble sounded, getting closer and closer. Screams of dread filled his ears as he tried to hold himself against the vibration of the ground. The glass broke, allowing a powerful gust of wind to enter, blowing the human to the wall, knocking the air out of his lungs.

The apocalypse, it happened, Elu realized as he turned to face the blast, most of the burning light already gone. There was no going back, everything he ever knew was being destroyed in a nuclear fire, wiping most of the humanity and leaving him alive. For how long, however? Would he die soon after the blast, succumbing to extreme levels of radiation during the first days of the aftermath? He didn't know.

After a small eternity, the rumble stopped, the ground no longer shook. The electricity was out, leaving most of the school in total darkness. Slowly, Elu stood up and hastily opened his backpack. There it was, a gas mask, something that could save his life for a little more before he would be able to get to a shelter or do something else. One last siren continued to send its harrowing sound across the town, this time distorted and much more quiet, reminding the human of what had just happened and what became reality.

Hastily putting on the gas mask and screwing the filter into the inhale valve, Elu opened his eyes and let in a deep breath of filtered air. He was prepared for this, somehow. Some time ago, when he was in his mid-teens, he thought the apocalypse would happen, and so he prepared. Gas masks, filters, even a hazmat suit were purchased. He found out where the nearest fallout shelters were, and it left him wondering how anyone would survive. Most of the shelters were blocked and locked, and those that weren't, needed repairs, at the very least cosmetic ones.

Despite his preparations, he knew he would probably die of thirst or hunger or radiation poisoning but for now, he was alive. He needed to get somewhere and fast.

"Elu... is that you?" a familiar voice sounded from behind him. He swiftly turned around and faced Princess Luna, who was standing near the broken window, gigantic clouds of radioactive dust behind her, hiding the mushroom-shaped cloud way off in the distance. Ruins lay across the town, human silhouettes walking, crawling, lying in the streets.

"P-princess?" Elu gasped, his eyes widening. "You... you can't be here! Get out of here, this place is... radioactive, dangerous! Stay too long and you'll die!"

"It's just a dream, Elu," the princess assured him, stepping closer, a look of concern on her face.

"A... dream?" the human asked in confusion. In a second, it dawned on him. "A dream... Yes, yes, right... I'm dreaming..." he let out a deep sigh, sitting down on the ground. "Just a dream..."

For a few long moments, silence reigned, and the princess stared at the human, a questioning look on her face. Then she turned around and faced the ruins. Looking down, she took in the destroyed town, its dying citizens. The air was filled with terror and dread, she could feel it clearly.

"So much destruction..." Luna returned to the human, a sorrowful look in her aqua eyes. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"I hope you never will see all this in reality..." Elu replied, looking up at her, still in his gas mask. Finally, he stood up, releasing an exhale. "What... what do I do now? Shouldn't I... wake up?"

"It should be so but it seems I can't help you here," the alicorn replied, some confusion in her voice. "Your dreams are very different from what a pony would dream, and it's not just the content, it's the whole structure... It's hard to explain, unfortunately," she paused for a second. "I suppose I can help you in the dream. But first, we should talk about it."

The human nodded silently. After a moment of silence, gears clicked in his head, and he raised his hand, gesturing at the part of the floor in front of him. In a few seconds, a campfire appeared, lighting the surroundings and providing warmth. Elu picked up one of the school chairs and set it in front of the campfire, taking a seat.

"So..." he looked up at Luna, who sat across him, the fire between the two. "You want to tell me something, yes?"

"Indeed," the alicorn nodded. "The dreams... they always appear for a reason," she began, looking at the human. "Normal dreams or nightmares, all of them are connected to something inside you. Your fears, wishes, desires, memories... all of them are mixed together, and they form what you see when you sleep," she looked him in the eyes. "I can see that you're very troubled, and the dreams reflect this. This... destruction,—" she gestured at the window and the ruins behind "—It is connected to something you feel. Can you tell me?"

Elu shifted in place nervously, looking away. For a few seconds, he was silent, gathering his thoughts.

"Sometimes..." he began and then sighed deeply. "Sometimes, I think that... my world is better be destroyed," he closed his eyes. "That... it can't get better. It won't get better," he opened his eyes, still looking away from the alicorn. "I feel like everything needs to be... reset," before Luna could say anything, he quickly added: "I know it's probably not the best way and definitely not a good way to do it, but..." he let out another sigh. "I guess I can say that it's what I feel. It might not be rational or it is, I don't know..." he sighed shakily. "That's how it is. Hard to put in words, unfortunately," he finally raised his eyes to look at Luna, expecting her to be angry. However, he didn't see it. He raised his eyebrows in surprise but decided not to say anything about it and instead continue explaining what he thought and felt. "Apocalypse... It's a terrifying thing. No doubt about it," he paused for a second. "I don't imagine myself as a hero. I'm but one guy, and the apocalypse would most likely kill me. Thing is... I don't want the apocalypse to happen. Many things will perish in it, lives will be lost, and..." he sighed yet again. "I don't know."

The fire cracked, casting the shadows of the two on the walls. The pony and the human were quiet for some time as Luna thought about what she had just heard.

"In any case..." Elu stood up and then dug into his backpack again. "I need... aha, this!" he pulled out a small flashlight. A small protrusion on the side allowed him to charge it without batteries. The light was far from bright but it was enough. "Alright..." he went to wipe off the sweat on his forehead but his hand met the visor of the gas mask, making him put down his hand awkwardly "We... should go through the dream, yes?" he asked quietly, turning to Luna. She nodded silently, looking right into his eyes. Her silence scared him but he doubted he could do anything about it yet. Instead, he reached out with his hand and concentrated, and soon a familiar weapon appeared in his hand, weighing down.

"I will think about what you said," Luna finally said, her voice neutral and calm. "Your thoughts... are certainly disturbing," she looked at the weapon in his hands. "And what is this?"

"This is AK-74M," Elu said, detaching the magazine and looking inside. The bullets were in there, thankfully, and so he put the magazine back into the gun. He pulled the bolt carrier and let it go, letting it slam forward with a satisfying noise. "A ranged weapon... a small rapid-firing cannon, I suppose."

"This is rather impressive, to be honest," Luna commented. "It's more compact than a crossbow width-wise. But... why do you need it?"

"I know it's a dream and all, but..." he taped the flashlight to the gun. "I'd like to be armed. Nightmares can't get to me if I kill them first."

"That's... a reasonable point," the princess nodded slowly. "If it helps you deal with the nightmares, so be it."

Finally, the two turned to exit the classroom. The shadows of the students and Elu were still burned into the walls but there were no whispers, no other sound but cracks and creaks of the heavily damaged building they were in.

"Don't worry, I'll look out for you, Elu," Luna assured the human, following him out of the classroom. "This dream is certainly an experience I wouldn't want anyone to know."

"There are way more things out there in my world that no one should know," Elu added darkly, slowly stepping outside, the gun at the ready. The dim light of his flashlight helped little to dispell the darkness but it was better than nothing. Broken desks and chairs were scattered on the floor, the ceiling whitening was mostly gone, lying on the floor.

"On a side note, I noticed that you can control your dream to a certain degree," Luna commented, following Elu.

"Lucid dreams are weird for me. When I try to change everything..." he reached out with one of his hands and concentrated. His surroundings began to vibrate, the walls glitching out, different sounds appearing at the same time. "This happens," he let go, returning the dream to its normal state, releasing a deep breath.

"I see," the alicorn said, nodding. "This is a problem, a major one, Elu," she looked at him with concern. "You feel like you don't control your life, don't you?"

Elu stopped in his track, lowering the weapon, his shoulders sagging.

"You see right through me..." he said in defeat, looking back at her. "Well... you're right," he turned away. "Things happen in life that make me think that I can't do anything at all but the simplest things that don't really matter," he started walking again, shining the light on the walls, scanning the surroundings. "I'm honestly glad that I can talk about it with you," he let out a soft chuckle, a smile appearing under his mask. "You're my favorite princess, after all," he turned to her and smiled. Despite having most of his face hidden behind the gas mask, Luna saw his eyes and the emotions in them.

"Elu... Can you take off the mask?" she asked gently. "I don't think I can see anything but a part of your face. The rest is covered by clothes."

"I... I don't want you to know my face," Elu turned away. "Sorry, but... I want you to know me as a pony. I know it's silly but, well, that's how it is."

"I... see," Luna nodded. She opened her maw to add something but decided not to. "Well, then... lead the way."

Slowly and carefully, Elu and Luna moved through the ruined school. Stepping over the broken furniture, going around collapsed ceilings, and removing obstacles in their way. The school was mostly quiet, only distant whispers could be heard. The human kept his gun at the ready as he scanned the surroundings with caution. Despite knowing that it was a dream, he was fully immersed in it. He knew anything could happen, his dreams were chaotic and unpredictable, and so he kept an eye out, looking out for danger.

Silently, the two came to a staircase. A part of it was collapsed but they could still descend to the floor below, which they proceeded to do slowly. Elu kept his gun at the lower part of the staircase, which was lit even worse than the rest of the school. He could swear he heard whispers coming from there but when he shone the flashlight on it, there was nothing but a blank wall. His heart pounding, imaginary sweat rolling down his forehead, Elu went forward. There was no going back, he could only continue the dream.

Soon, he and Luna came into a somewhat brightly lit hallway. Multiple windows allowed the light from the outside to enter the building, and yet something was very unsettling about the hallway. For a few moments, Elu couldn't see what it was, but as he stopped and concentrated, he saw shadows and silhouettes. He turned off his flashlight, and now he could see them clearly. Near the walls, on the window sills, in the middle of the hallway, shadows stood, eerily resembling something he had encountered before in a fictional form.

"Don't touch the silhouettes," he told Luna. "I... remember something like this. Not in reality, but... in one of the games I played. But now... they're... here," he inhaled shakily, his heartbeat increasing.

"Who are they?" the alicorn asked with cautious interest.

"Ghosts," Elu explained quietly. "From what I know... The nuclear blast evaporated the afterlife. And now everyone who died is stuck here... forever," he moved forward slowly, looking at the ghosts. They were silent, barely moving, thinking that they were still alive.

Luna shivered, unsettled by the explanation, making her wonder if such fiction could become reality. The answer to that question would better be left untold.

They continued to move through the hallway, avoiding the ghosts. A pair of them were on the wall, talking silently as if they were still living, breathing humans. Another pair was in the middle of the hallway, the girl pointing at the outside. Following her gesture, Elu caught a glimpse of the outside and saw the destruction of his school, as well as giant clouds of dust and smoke left from the nuclear blast. A part of the school collapsed completely, most of the windows were gone. It was completely empty and silent, contrary to what he remembered. Despite not liking his school, he found this situation to be rather dreadful and undesirable to see in the real world.

Another shadow on the wall was standing alone, tilting from side to side very slightly. It eerily resembled Elu himself but he decided not to think about it, quickly passing by the shadow, not daring to be anywhere close to it.

"Why did you leave me?" one of the silhouettes suddenly said, making Elu jump and aim his gun right at the ghost. It was a girl, sitting there on the floor and hugging her knees. "Why?.."

The human put a finger to his filter, hoping that Luna would understand the gesture. Fortunately, she did, and she nodded in response. Slowly and carefully, the two went around the ghost, watching where they were stepping as not to make a noise. They were closer and closer to the end of the hall, and soon the only obstacle was a pair of doors, one of which was slightly unhinged. Elu put the gun behind his back and pushed on the door.

"Someone there?" the silhouette said, raising her head.

Not being able to hold the fear anymore, Elu kicked the door open and rushed inside, Luna following him just as quickly. He shut the doors with a loud thud. Holding it with his back against it, he reached and grabbed a chair, and then propped it against the doors, securing them in place.

"Why did you leave me?!" the girl cried, banging against the door, trying to break through, her fearful voice soon turning into a terrifying, inhuman scream. "Why?!"

Elu took a few steps back from the door and grabbed the gun, aiming it at the door. It cracked, and a black hand reached out to the human. Panicking, he took a few more steps back, tripping and almost falling. Thankfully, the hand soon disappeared and the silence retook its reign. Huffing loudly, Elu sat down on the dusty floor, sliding against the wall.

"No idea what it was..." he said quickly, holding his head, his eyes wide open with fear. "I... I've never left anyone!" he looked at Luna. "I... I..." he let out a shaky sigh, a few tears escaping his eyes as he found it impossible to speak.

"I know you haven't left anyone," Luna assured him, giving him a hug. "The dreams never show someone else. They are a part of you," she looked at him. "Someone left you, not the other way around."

Elu didn't know what to say and so he just surrendered himself to the hug, pressing the visor of his gas mask against Luna's cheek. After a while, he calmed down and stood up, firmly grasping the gun. He hadn't used it just yet but he had a feeling he would need it sooner or later.

"L-let's go..." he said quietly, turning to the new hallway. It resembled the last one but this time, there were no ghosts. It was completely empty and silent, only dust particles flying in the air, disturbed by the human earlier.

He knew it was not the end, not yet. The dream had more to tell him, he just needed to find out what it was. Thankfully, Luna was by his side, and so he had nothing to fear...

Hopefully.

Author's Note

Based on a few of the dreams that I had. Also, I'd like to hear what you think about the music I made.

Trust and Fear

In his nightmarish dream, Elu propped himself against the wall as he closed his eyes and let out a deep and weary sigh. Despite having told Luna to go, he stopped, sudden weakness overtaking his slumbering body. He breathed deeply, searching for the energy to continue moving. Luna was standing behind him, a worried expression on her face, and yet she remained silent for now, uncertain of what to do.

"Feelings in the dream... are weird," the human said quietly. "It is like..." he looked up in thought. "I know what I should feel when I do something. I know what I should hear when something should make a sound. But I don't feel any of it," he paused, turning to Luna. "I... I don't know how to describe it well," he admitted. "It's just... real but it's not real at the same time."

"I understand what you mean," the alicorn nodded. "It's a very subtle thing, one that goes unnoticed by most. Or, at the very least, barely anyone can explain it," she looked away for a moment, a curious expression on her face. "I've seen many dreams and yet I don't know everything about them. I doubt I ever will," she pushed one of the doors, revealing what looked like cosmos. Many other doors of different shape and color were visible from ELu's position. "The Dreamscape existed before I was born and will be there forever," Luna said and closed the door, returning to the human. "Tell me more about your dreams if you want to, Elu. I see that you're very interested in dreams as a whole, and perhaps I can explain something you don't understand just yet."

For a moment, Elu was silent, contemplating his decision. Dreams were something very private, something that he thought no one else could see. He had talked about them with his friends from time to time but here and now, he didn't know what to do. On one hand, telling Luna about his dreams would help her understand him. On the other hand, she might find something that would push her away from him.

"I... don't really know what to say or ask or, uh, anything," Elu shrugged nervously. "I've seen... a lot of dreams. Surprisingly, I remember most of them."

"Oh?" Luna raised her brow in surprise. "That's pretty interesting. A lot of ponies don't remember many of their dreams."

"I just find them interesting in a certain way," the human explained. "Sometimes, I try to analyze them to figure out what caused them, maybe even find out what I can do to change them or bring lucid dreams," he paused. "I've never had a fully lucid dream where I could control everything."

"You can learn it if you want," Luna assured him. "But now... What do you think about this very dream?" she looked around, her eyes going from the dusty floor to the broken furniture and windows that showed the ruined town. "Can you understand what caused it and why?"

"I, uh... I probably can," Elu said with uncertainty, shifting from one foot to the other. "Well... this is my school," he shook his head slightly and then corrected himself: "Not really my school, actually. It's still relatively similar in some ways, I suppose," he cleared his throat. "Anyway... My school. Right," he looked away for a moment. "Honestly, not the nicest place I've been to," he said slowly and stopped, thinking of what to say next. But before he could continue, Luna spoke up.

"You were bullied, weren't you?" she asked. Elu winced, painful memories appearing in his head. Luna noticed the reaction and added: "Sorry, it must be a sensitive topic."

"It is..." the human said quietly. "So..." he shook his head slightly to get rid of the negative thoughts and clear his mind. "Frankly... I, uh..." he winced again, finding it difficult to find the needed words or to say anything at all in the first place. "Sorry, it's just hard to talk about," he apologized awkwardly.

"I understand. I've seen many cases of it before," Luna frowned at her memories. "Bullying is hard to get rid of, and its consequences might be lifelong."

"Yeah..." Elu agreed, still looking away. "So, uh, dream interpretation..." he awkwardly returned to the original topic. "I did want to see the school burn... I know it's a terrible thing to think about and, uh, want to do and such, but..." he was burning in shame, trying not to look at the alicorn, fearing what her reaction to his words might be. "So, yeah..."

"There is a lot of frustration inside you," Luna said firmly. "A lot of anger, even hatred. It's dangerous to your wellbeing. Earlier, you said that you wanted the whole world to be destroyed, Elu," her voice was stern and yet on the soft side. "It must be fixed or else you will never be able to be happy," her voice became softer when she spoke the next words. "You must understand that this way of thinking is destructive to you and those around you."

"I understand it, I really do!" the human looked at Luna, raising his voice. "But... well..." his voice lowered once he realized that he almost shouted at the alicorn. "I don't know how to get rid of it. I feel like... No, I know what will help me, but getting it..." he trailed off. "I'm sorry, Luna. I must be frustrating to deal with." he looked away in shame.

"But you understand what is wrong. That's a good starting point, Elu, trust me," she smiled invitingly at the human. "Now... we should continue. There are more things to discover about you, maybe even something you don't even know exists inside you," she paused, looking outside the window. "Dreams are very interesting indeed. And so, we should see what this one has to show."

Nodding, Elu unslung the rifle and took it in his hands. First and foremost, just to be safe, he checked if there was a round in the chamber. Pulling the charging handle with his gloved hand, he saw that the logic of real life was working, and so the round was in its place, ready to be used. Letting go of the handle, he made the bolt carrier slam against the receiver with a satisfying metallic click.

Cautiously, he continued to move through the school, looking out for danger, making sure that the dream didn't have any nasty surprises. Luna followed close behind, keeping her eyes on the surroundings as well, her hooves not making any noise whatsoever no matter what she stepped on. The military boots the human was wearing made quiet steps as he made his way through the hall, stepping carefully and avoiding broken wood and glass, as well as crunchy piles of whitening. His breath was calm, his grip on the weapon was firm, his body tense and ready to jump into action.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and shift under his feet and above his head. Elu jumped back just in time to avoid the ceiling collapsing on top of where he had just been. Breaking the floor and separating the human and the pony from the end of the hall, concrete fell down, raising clouds of dust. Elu fell but managed to land relatively well, the rifle still in his hands.

"It'd be a good idea to get out of here for sure..." he muttered mostly to himself, looking at the hole in the floor. As the dust began to settle and the tremble ceased, he stood up and instinctively dusted himself off, making sure that the visor of his mask was clear.

Fortunately, the hole led to the first floor where the main entrance was or at the very least was supposed to be. Elu carefully climbed down the concrete, keeping his eyes peeled. Sliding down the rest of the way, he finally jumped down, landing on the floor. He straightened himself and looked around, making sure that there was no imminent danger, scanning the surroundings with his eyes. Luna glided down, landing near him and taking a look as well.

Like the hall above, the first floor was devoid of life or ghosts. Different clothes were lying around, torn and dusty, as well as ruined textbooks and some broken laptops and other pieces of personal electronics. Most of the room was filled with plastic tables and chairs, and there were broken plates scattered among the plastic furniture.

"Ah, this is the cafeteria," Elu commented. "Just as I remember it..." he carefully stepped over a broken table, almost slipping on a small puddle of juice on the floor. "Okay, the exit should be near," he turned to one of the doors. Unhinged, a half of it was lying nearby, bent and broken. The human worked his way to the door, keeping his hands on the gun. Despite not seeing any obvious danger or signs that would signal its nearing appearance, he was still extremely cautious and wary of his surroundings.

Once he was in the doorway, he took a peek into what lay beyond. The main hall was empty just like the previous rooms, only trash and broken furniture lying around. No bodies, no students, no teachers, even the security guards were absent. The main hall was completely silent too, allowing Elu to hear his own breath and the thumping of his heart. However, it didn't relieve the worries Elu had. Instead, he kept his gun shouldered, ready to shoot if anything went wrong. His finger was almost touching the trigger, trembling ever so slightly.

Suddenly, someone ran from around the corner. Elu turned to face it and saw a guy holding a knife who was rushing to him. The crazed eyes were looking at Elu with a thirst for blood, hunger for violence.

Without a moment to think, Elu pressed the trigger, filling the unknown human with bullets. Falling down, it wheezed, only to be silenced as the last bullet went through the head, spraying brains and gore all over the floor. Soon, a small puddle of blood began to form under the body, releasing a scent of iron into the air.

His hands twitching and yet feeling as if they were frozen, Elu could barely lower his gun, his heart racing in his chest, threatening to jump out of it, its beat resonating inside his head like a drum. He let out a loud and shaky sigh as he detached the magazine, placed it in one of the pockets of his hoodie, and then summoned another magazine out of thin air, loading it into the rifle, refilling it, all of it done instinctively to the point that he barely even noticed it.

Luna was frozen in place, watching the scene silently, her eyes wide, her ears flat against her skull, ringing from the sound of the shots. To her, they were as real as if both she and the human were in reality and not this strange dream. Her eyes switched from Elu to the body on the floor, her mouth opening and closing, and yet no words came out.

Slowly, Elu approached the body and looked at it. Its face was blurry but he could swear he saw something familiar in it, something that made his blood boil. But one thing was unmistakable — the body belonged to one of his classmates, one of those he hated with all his inner being. Fighting the urge to stomp on it for good measure, the human subdued his negative feelings, forcing them down, and stepped back, away from the corpse.

"So, this is what your Ay Key seventy-four Em is..." Luna commented on the weapon, finally breaking the uneasy silence. "And... did you feel any hesitation?"

"...Maybe I did," Elu replied, still coming to his senses after shooting the rifle. "I... didn't have much time to think," he glanced at the body again. "And... it's not the first time I kill someone in my dreams," he let out a shaky sigh. "I fear that... that it makes me accustomed to it," he looked at his hands, afraid to see them covered in blood. "I... Each time it happens, I feel less and less regret," he turned to Luna. "I don't know what to do about it..."

"Elu, I can help you," the alicorn assured him, stepping closer. "Remember, this is just a dream. It's not reality. We can work to fix everything, trust me."

Silence fell once again as the human thought about what Luna had just said. He knew he wasn't right, he knew he needed to be fixed in more than one way. Probably, the best course of action would be to trust Luna completely. After all, what option did he have? He could, of course, push her away, ignore her attempts to help, and never ask for it ever again. It would be simpler but it wouldn't help him in the slightest, he realized. After all, problems must be solved, not ignored. There it was, his perfect chance to make things work, to solve the problems he had. He was offered help. No obligations, nothing to hinder him, nothing to make him stay away from her and the help she offered. He had nothing but his personal fears of outside influence, fear of how things could go very wrong.

One way or another, a decision must be made, and it would influence him for the rest of his stay in Equestria, and he hoped it would be a very long time. Something needed to change, and the most important change at the moment was he himself.

"I trust you," Elu finally said, letting go of the rifle to hand it by the strap around his neck, freeing his hands. "I... I accept your help," he hesitantly raised his hands and then placed them on the mask. "And if I trust you... I should show myself to you. How I was," he pulled the gas mask up, making the hood fall as well, revealing his face bit by bit. "So..." his voice became clear as his eyes looked at Luna without plexiglass between them. "This is... me," he said awkwardly, trying to smile. His face was pale, highlighting bags under his grayish-green eyes. His face was mostly narrow and plain with some chub underneath the jaw. A few birthmarks could be seen, forming a triangle on his face. His short hair formed a sharp and noticeable widow's peak on his head, making his high forehead even more pronounced. His ears were normal, almost flat against his skull.

"You look... rather interesting," Luna commented, looking him in the eyes and then examining his other facial features. "So that's how you humans look..."

And with those words heard by Elu, he finally woke up, back in his new equine body. He opened his eyes and saw the room and the walls of the crib he was in. He blinked a few times, the memory of the dream fresh in his mind. He lay there for a very long time, contemplating what had just happened to him while he slept.

Perhaps, it was a wise choice. He couldn't do anything but wait and see where it would lead anyway.

He closed his eyes. Waiting would take plenty of time, and the best choice, for now, was going back to sleep.

New Face

A day passed since the nightmare. Another day followed. Four days passed. Then an entire week. Princess Luna hadn't shown up even once during that time, leaving Elu deeply unsettled. What if she was away because of what she saw in his dream? Maybe she didn't want to see him anymore? There could be many reasons why she had appeared neither in real life nor in his dreams, and none of those reasons were good or reassuring. The only explanation he received was his mother mentioning that the nightly alicorn was very busy with something important. However, it didn't bring relief to Elu; he was sure that Luna would find time for him even if she were busy in the waking world. He knew he wasn't exactly that important to keep an eye on at all times and perhaps his significance was overexaggerated by his subconsciousness, but the facts were clear — Princess Luna wasn't there and it could've been caused by what she saw.

Fortunately, the dark thoughts in Elu's head were suppressed by the amount of attention his parents showed to him. Each day he spent with them was bright and carefree as he learned more and more about his surroundings. The crib was taken down, replaced by a much simpler small bed. Stellares and Ring Keeper helped him understand how walking works and how to do it properly. By the end of the week, Elu could walk confidently if not stumble here or there from time to time. Stairs were a small remaining problem, but he was sure he'd develop his motor skills soon enough to be able to move through the house effortlessly.

Aside from his body, his mind was trained as his parents taught him many different words, and that was the time when Luna's necklace became very handy. Elu didn't have to do much more than remember the translations of words, at least for now. The sentence structure resembled both Russian and English, making it easier for him to adapt to. However, he discovered that every single object had its own word. In the languages he spoke, it wasn't uncommon to have the same word meaning multiple things depending on the context, but having a word for each and every single thing? That seemed unpractical to him. However, He hadn't progressed in the language much further just yet, so maybe there was something else to it that he hadn't learned just yet.

He had plenty of knowledge about some of European Latin-based languages even without being able to speak or write in them, but he had never in his life encountered something like what was in written Equestrian. There were probably examples of human languages like this, and they were probably Asian in origin, but Elu was never too interested in them, and so his knowledge was very limited.

First of all, each word closely resembled what it meant in shape and form. For example, a house was a triangle on top of a square. Another example was a pony. Depending on which tribe they were, either a horn, a horseshoe, or a wing would be drawn, each one stylized. If the sentence had multiple ponies as its subject, the symbols would be drawn together without any space or punctuation symbols between them. In fact, it seemed that only entire sentences had spaces between them.

Another thing was pronunciation. Even if two words were similar on paper, they could be pronounced entirely differently, leaving Elu quite puzzled and confused, considering that he hadn't seen many such examples in the languages he knew. However, he was sure he would adapt to it sooner or later. To help him remember the words, his parents gave him a small piece of paper with the symbols drawn on them. Elu would often look at those symbols from time to time, gradually learning them, searching for them in the books. Despite being unable to read just yet, he opened the books and flipped the pages, searching for familiar words. Then, he would try to guess what nearby symbols meant. It seemed easy but more often than not, he couldn't quite understand what was written, especially when it came to verbs and pretty much everything else that wasn't a noun.

For that particular day, he received a few symbols, each associated with the word "pony". They were symbols for each pony race and then a symbol for Wonderbolts, which Elu immediately understood. In truth, this language seemed cartoonish in a certain way.

The symbols were easy to understand, at the very least, and learning them didn't take much effort. It made sense, too — pictures were the easiest to understand, they were a universal language any sapient being could understand. Draw them a tree and they would recognize it as one. Draw them a person and they would understand it.

Elu's ears perked up as he heard the entrance door open downstairs. His curiosity made him go to the stairs and look down to see his parents greeting a mare. Probably not a mare just yet, considering her size and the sound of her voice. A teenage filly, most likely. To understand what was going on, Elu took a few steps down to the first floor and listened.

"I'm glad you could come here at such a short notice, Plain Runner," his mother said, smiling at the filly. "I'm sure you won't have to worry about our Elu too much. He's a calm colt, he won't give you much trouble if any at all."

Elu could see that the filly had to suppress her desire to roll her eyes. Instead, she made a smile, only her tired eyes betraying her actual thoughts. He chuckled internally — it was no surprise foals were more troublesome than human kids. After all, a babysitter would have to deal with someone who is either flying or using magic. In any case, he believed this filly would have a lucky day today.

"Thank you," she said, nodding politely. "Where can I put my stuff?"

"The house is all yours for the day, so feel free to do whatever you need," Ring Keeper replied. "Just don't break anything and I'm sure it will all be fine."

"Alright," the filly nodded once again.

"I suppose everything's good, then," the mother nodded in response. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Have fun!"

Soon, the door to the house closed, leaving Plain Runner alone with Elu. The colt watched her with interest, wondering what she would do. In truth, she didn't have to do much if anything at all. After all, Elu was already an adult in a certain way. Most importantly, he managed to get rid of the diapers entirely. Controlling himself became fairly easy after a while, not to mention that the toilet of the appropriate size was present, allowing him to use it without much difficulty. Fortunately for him, it seemed like foals grew pretty quickly in terms of abilities. The only thing he still didn't have was magic but he often felt a certain tingling in his horn, which made him excited. For all he knew, he would be the first human to use magic, even if the said magic is just simple telekinesis. In any case, things seemed to look up for him, easing his mind.

Finally, the filly noticed Elu. She looked at him nervously, and he looked back with curiosity. After all, it was his first time interacting with someone outside of his family and Princess Luna. He was looking forward to it, of course, but some worries and doubts remained in his head. He knew it was not a date or any other event of similar importance but he still felt like he needed to leave a positive impression. Not to mention that he was still an adult, he should be able to take care of himself, at least in simple things like getting food and water, washing and cleaning himself, and the like.

"Hi, Elu," the filly said in a calm and friendly tone, a hint of tiredness hidden within. "Would you like to play?" she reached into her saddlebag and soon pulled out a small ball roughly the size of a hoof. "C'mon Elu, let's go to your room."

Following her without a question, the colt walked with her to his room. Plain Runner put her saddlebags near his bed and then sat down. Elu took a seat not too far away, wondering what would happen next.

"Alright, so we'll play catch," the filly explained. "I throw you the ball, you catch. Then you throw it at me, and I catch..." she let out a sigh. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you... I doubt you understand anything anyway."

And so, she threw the ball lightly. Elu reached out and caught it, rolling onto his back, making the filly giggle. He blushed and then threw the ball back at her. She caught it with ease and proceeded to throw it at him yet again. This simple game continued for a few minutes before Elu became bored. He set down the ball and looked at Plain Runner, hoping that she had something else in store for him.

"Okay, you want to do something else," she said, a hint of surprise in her voice. "So, uh..." she tapped her chin. "Aha!" she remembered, reaching into her saddlebags yet again. In a moment, she pulled out a few cubes with different pictures on them. In fact, it seemed they were a puzzle, and if one would place the cubes the right way, they would show a bigger picture. "What do you think about this?"

Elu walked to her and sat down near the cubes. Somewhat clumsily, he took them and placed them in the right way, combining different parts of a bigger picture. The filly watched him with great interest, a look of surprise on her face. Soon, Elu assembled the cubes the right way, forming a picture of none other than Celestia.

"Wow, it seems you're way smarter than I expected," Plain Runner said, her eyes wide. "Alright..." she suppressed a tired yawn. "So... I have something else for you," she looked into her saddlebags once again. The filly pulled out a coloring book and set it down between her and Elu. Once she caught his attention, she opened it, revealing outlines of different pictures. The first one was, surprisingly, Princess Celestia once again. The second one was a scenery of Canterlot, from what Elu could see.

"What do you think about coloring them?" the filly asked, putting a pack of pencils nearby.

Nodding, Elu grabbed a few pencils in his mouth and began coloring the first picture very slowly. He knew he would do it better when he finally learned magic, but for now, his maw would be his hand. Surprisingly, his tongue was quite agile, allowing him to draw with precision. Not as well as he would do with a hand, of course, but it was better than nothing. And so, he spent the next twenty minutes coloring the first picture, making sure not to cross the outline.

When he was done, he looked at Plain Runner. She was asleep on the floor, curled up and snoring quietly. Elu blinked a few times and then shrugged. If she needed rest, so be it. He didn't really need her attention that much anyway. So, he put down the pencil and went to his small bed. He grabbed the blanket with his teeth and pulled. Then, he moved it to the filly and placed it on her, covering her. It was a simple gesture but he thought it would be nice to do. Besides, he wouldn't need that blanket anytime soon.

Suddenly, his stomach groaned. He chuckled, knowing that Plain Runner was supposed to feed him. However, he didn't have the heart to wake her up. And besides, he would be able to get something by himself quite easily. In the corner of the room, a few pots stood, a certain type of grass growing on them. In fact, it was what Elu needed to chew regularly to make sure his teeth would be strong. And so, he made his way to the pots and began chewing on the grass, eating it. It was surely unusual but surprisingly, the grass tasted well, and he soon formed a liking for it.

In his previous life, he had seen his cat doing the same thing many times. He didn't know what a carnivore found in the grass, but now he enjoyed doing the same thing. However, he was an omnivore, at least he thought so. But he was also an equine, so it shouldn't really surprise him that he could eat grass, flowers, and the like.

After a few minutes, he realized that he needed some water as well. Fortunately for him, parents also thought of that, placing a big bowl of water near the grass. Just like his cat did, he used his tongue to lap on the water. He tried just sucking it in but it didn't work, and so he had to follow his cat's actions. And soon, he was sated. However, he didn't feel like sleeping just yet. With Plain Runner asleep, he didn't know what else to do either.

He sat down to think. If only they had computers or at least something else of electronic entertainment. He would probably have to push for the invention of all of it when he got the chance, but right now, he was just a small colt, not even a month old. He could barely talk, he had problems walking, and he was, once again, small. Regular ponies seemed like giants, and even foals of age seven seemed way bigger than they really should be.

With those thoughts in his head, he frowned. It would be a very long time for him to grow up and be able to do what other ponies could. The memories of his rebirth were still fresh in his mind, and a long time was ahead of him. But perhaps, he shouldn't worry too much about it just yet. After all, he was just a small colt. He could enjoy simpler things for now.

Elu walked to Plain Runner and lay down next to her. Perhaps, a small nap would be good for him. And by the time he would wake up, he was sure Plain Runner would be awake as well, and fun would continue!

Time

Elu's ears perked up as he woke up to a strange buzzing noise. He blinked a couple of times, rapidly coming to his senses after a reasonably long and peaceful sleep. In just a few moments, he was fully awake, now aware of the odd droning in the background. His ears swiveling, he looked around, trying to find the source of the noise.

The room was just as before Elu went to sleep, everything was where it belonged, and the door to the room was closed just like a few hours ago. Plain Runner was still asleep, lying on her back. Her ears were twitching from time to time as she peacefully dreamed her dreams.

Slightly confused, the colt stood up and made his way to the nearest window, still wondering what the noise was. Climbing onto a nearby chair, he placed his hooves on the windowsill and raised himself to be able to look outside.

His eyes widened as he saw a myriad of black dots high in the sky like a cloud. At first, he thought they were a swarm insects like locust. However, the longer he gazed at the swarm, the more he saw, and it wasn't anything like regular insects. He let out a silent gasp of realization — it was a swarm of changelings.

They flew high above the ground, heading in one direction. Some of them separated from the main group and descended to the village. Suspecting what it might mean, Elu quickly jumped down and rushed to Plain Runner. Mumbling incoherent words loudly, he nudged her, and soon she was awake.

"Mh..." she moaned as she opened her eyes. "What... what is it?"

"Ch-ch..." Elu tried to say as he gestured at the window.

"What? There's nothing there, Elu," the filly looked confused and let put a yawn.

"Ugh!" the colt exclaimed in frustration, dashing back to the windowsill and swiftly climbing on top of it. Then he pointed at the sky. "It! It!"

Still mildly puzzled, the pegasus made her way to the colt and looked out the window. Her pupils shrank to pinpricks as she let out a gasp of fear. Her ears drooped, and after a moment, she started to look around frantically, trying to figure out what to do.

Meanwhile, Elu felt something in his head. It was an odd feeling, an unfamiliar one. It resembled a light headache and yet it didn't hurt; it wasn't more than some pressure from the inside. Unfortunately for the colt, he didn't have much time to think about it and analyze as Plain Runner snatched him, rushing to the closet. She swiftly opened the door to it, the two got inside, and then the filly shut the door close. They were left in nearly total darkness, only dim light from the narrow slit above the door coming through. The space was minimal, even claustrophobic in a way. Even they had trouble fitting inside among all the different things that were stored in the closet.

"Now, Elu... Let's be quiet, a-alright?" Plain Runner said with a shaking voice. "J-just stay quiet..."

Having no need to be told twice, Elu did as asked, and the two waited. A minute slowly passed, crawling like a snail. The second followed. Third, fourth, and fifth passed. The colt swore he could hear his own heartbeat alongside the filly's one, thumping like hammers. The odd feeling from before reappeared; this time, there was more to it — his horn started tingling.

In this nearly perfect silence, Elu heard the front door opening downstairs. Slow, careful steps resonated through the house, and only the ears of the colt could pick them up; the filly seemed completely oblivious to the sounds. For a considerable chunk of time, whoever entered the house inspected the first floor, and even words were exchanged; they were too muffled to understand, unfortunately.

The steps became louder; whoever entered the house was going upstairs to the second floor. Elu breathed slowly and deeply, trying not to be too loud. This situation resembled when he played hide-n-seek in his apartment. This time, however, he wouldn't giggle at the seekers for not being able to find him. Worst of all, he had to understand and accept that he couldn't defend himself if the need came today. He was small, relatively weak, magicless as of yet. He didn't have any weapons, he didn't have anything at all to protect himself. A passing thought in his mind was a note to buy something to fix this problem as soon as he possibly could. Maybe even get back into swordsmanship, work out, and probably even get hoof-to-hoof martial arts training as well. However, it would only come if he survived this encounter, whatever it might be and however it might go.

The steps were growing closer and closer. Elu felt Plain Runner hugging him, keeping him close. To their great fear, the door to the closet swiftly opened. Unfortunately for them, it was a changeling who opened it.

Big sky-blue eyes looked straight into grayish-green eyes of the colt. He could see the long fangs, the carapace, and the holes in the limbs. It was more than a drawing could show, more detailed than the most perfect three-dimensional computer model. A mix of a giant bug and an equine, an insect and a mammal, a changeling was both fearsome and interesting.

Elu wished to know what the changeling felt during this moment. Was he — or was it even a he? — interested in ponies in this way? Did this changeling even feed on love? How did he do it? What did it felt during it? So many questions, so many things the former human wished to know.

The changeling was silent, staring into the eyes of the colt. Its emotions were unreadable despite it having equine facial features. This made another question appear in Elu's mind — were changelings a group of individuals, a hive mind, or a mix of the two? Were they even intelligent in the first place?

"Hello," the changeling finally spoke in a friendly tone; its voice was, without a doubt, male. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you."

"Did you find anyone, Clypeus?" another male voice sounded from the main room.

"Vex, they're foals," the one called Clypeus turned around. "We should leave them alone. They're scared."

"I'm hungry."

"I know, but... they're foals. You know that some bad things can happen if we force love out of them," the first changeling argued.

Elu felt the tingle in his horn growing, a ringing appeared in his ears along with a buzz very similar to an electric one.

"Look, nothing bad will happen if I take just a bit."

"We better not take our chances."

The colt closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh, losing the conversation as the buzz became stronger.

"Step aside," Vex said with a hint of anger in his voice, shoving the first changeling.

Without a warning, Elu exclaimed as a lightning bolt struck the changeling, sending him to the ground, twitching. Clypeus was quick to duck as another lightning bolt was shot from the horn of the colt, colliding with a wall and dissipating with a loud thunder-like booming sound.

"Shh, everything will be alright..." Elu heard Plain Runner whispering as she hugged him. "Just let it out."

With a yell, colt released a wave of electricity, taking down both changelings, avoiding the filly somehow. Just as suddenly as this strange occurrence happened, it went away, leaving a strong smell of ozone in the air and a pleasant feeling in Elu's body. He sighed in relief, finally opening his eyes. His body was shivering slightly, a few tears rolled down his cheeks.

Electricity. A thing that killed him was back, and it returned to help him. He didn't develop a phobia of electricity or fear of baths but he still regarded that event in his life as something not to think about too much.

And yet, he didn't have a choice but to remember that fateful day. A bathroom that has seen better days way before his birth, now looking like something one would find in a run-down public hospital; a cord extender, ready to be dropped into the bathtub; warm, perfect water that begged him to stay in the bathtub for longer; the pain of electricity coursing through his body.

Ever since he appeared in Equestria, he tried to put that day behind him. It was a part of the past, and it wasn't what he would want to change. Through those moments of agony, he died and was reborn in another world. He was given a second chance, one that might be better than his first one. He thought it was all that mattered, and yet that day of suicide haunted him. It didn't help that his first magic outburst was or at the very least resembled electricity.

Elu breathed deeply, calming down, coming back to his senses. He could think about the past later. Or better, he could try to forget it, put it behind. There were new things to look forward to.

Finally, he looked around. The changelings were gone, the smell of ozone was still there, and Plain Runner continued to hug him. Awkwardly, he tried to nudge her away. He appreciated the gesture but he wasn't entirely comfortable with such close contact with anyone he barely even knew. If he were to be honest, the only reason it was easy for him to hug his new parents was because they had been taking care of him ever since he was reborn. They had already proven to be trustworthy, someone that could be and should be hugged. It was a seemingly minor thing, and yet it was just important to Elu as other close physical contact.

In truth, the only physical contact with other people he experienced for many years was handshakes and nothing else. The change from that was welcome, but Elu knew he needed to take quite some time to adjust to it and accept it.

He let out another sigh. He already had enough problems as was, but then there were the changelings. Thankfully, it seemed like they were going away; the buzzing became quieter. If his predictions were correct, they would partake in the invasion of Canterlot in just a few hours, lose, and scatter. Of course, it would only happen if it went according to the canon of the show. Elu knew what the Butterfly Effect was, and maybe his appearance alone dramatically changed the future of Equestria and maybe the whole world.

Deciding to put self-importance back in check, he discarded those thoughts. He was probably important to Luna, but that was it. To most other ponies, he was just a colt. Maybe a smart colt, a colt older than he looked, but still a colt nonetheless. He might change the future, he might not. There was no way of knowing.

However, one thing was certain — Elu was born just around a month before the Changeling Invasion of Canterlot. Now he had a vague idea of where he was in the timeline. Assuming nothing would change, he might be able to help the ponies in some way. There was a problem, however — it might cause the things to deviate from the original script. It could be for the better or it could be for the worse. Elu couldn't predict the future, so there was no way of knowing once again.

The colt finally focused on the present. The changelings were gone, and he felt he needed some more sleep; the strange thing that happened to him drained him almost completely. He yawned loudly, feeling his eyelids grow heavy. He heard Plain Runner say something, but at that point, he didn't care as he fell asleep.

Perhaps, things would become clearer later. Luna might contact him again hopefully. Maybe something else would happen that would be beneficial for him in one way or another. At the very least, the imminent danger was gone, allowing Elu to spend his time on what he was very good at — sleeping without a care in the world.

Author's Note

This chapter is slightly shorter than the other but I hope it was good. And yes, I do sometimes think about that day. It's less and less, so... I think i recovered from it... mostly.

I'll just try no to think about it too much lest I, well, think about it too much and get obsessed with it to the point of feeling more depressed and- well, I think you get what I mean.

Humor

Dreaming, Elu was floating among the stars once again. An infinite canvas full of small dots of light, the full night sky was the true magnificence to behold. It was an infinite darkness, but it was filled with infinite light. Old stars died, new stars were born. From cosmic dust, planets were created. It was an eternal circle of the universe, repeating again and again in a span of many billions of years. The whole process was so long no living being would ever hope to see it by themselves. Unless it was a dream, of course. Despite all the things that happen around the world, dreams can often create something new, something exciting and unusual. And all of that was just in the head of one person.

"You seem to enjoy this view quite a lot," a familiar female voice spoke to Elu.

"Yes... yes, I do," he replied, turning to the source of the voice. "Luna... You're back."

"Sorry I couldn't contact you earlier, many different things were making me quite busy," the alicorn apologized, "I sense you already know what happened. As if... as if you knew it would."

"I didn't know when exactly I appeared in your timeline, but now I do," the colt replied, "The Changeling Invasion of Canterlot... that's a memorable event," he let out a soft chuckle, remembering writing about it in one of his stories.

"I'm tempted to ask what else you know about the possible future, but I'm afraid I might just make it worse by trying to prevent any disasters. Messing with time cannot end well," Luna said, "But... I am interested in knowing at least something. Tell me... is there something we should worry about?"

"Depends on what you mean by that," Elu replied, remembering all the various events from the show, "So far... the Mane Six haven't failed at preventing world-ending events, so you probably don't have to worry about it."

"The... Mane Six?" the alicorn asked, confusion in her voice.

"That's... a play of the words 'mane' and 'main' in a language I know. Probably doesn't work as well in yours as it doesn't in my native language," he explained. However, some confusion remained on Luna's face, and the colt added, "I'm referring to the bearers of the Elements of Harmony."

"Ah, now I see," Luna nodded, "So... they are 'main' because they're the central characters of that children's book our world is in, and they are 'mane' because they... have manes?"

"Yeah, it's kind of dumb," Elu chuckled, "Nevermind... Anyway, I wanted to ask you something... How are my parents?"

"They're safe, and I assured them you are safe as well," the alicorn said, "And I've heard you had a surge of magic. How do you feel?"

"Just... tired. And it brought some bad recent memories..."

"If I may ask, what are those memories?" Luna asked with worry and concern.

"...Electricity killed me."

An uneasy silence fell on the two for a few long moments before Elu spoke again.

"Uh, that was blunt..." he chuckled nervously, "I, uh... um... shocking, am I right?"

"Elu..." Luna let out a deep sigh, "Joking about your own death is... it's just... not right."

"Sorry... I guess I just try to deflect everything with humor, jokes, and such," Elu explained, regretting his choice of words. "I mean... I can laugh at plenty of things. It's a kind of... defense mechanism? Humor makes it easier to deal with heavy stuff. Though, even I don't joke about certain things, and before you ask, I'd rather not talk about those things."

"Elu... don't take it the wrong way, but you certainly need to see a professional," Luna replied in a serious tone, "The issue, however, is that we don't have anyone that can realistically help you deal with it. I suppose I'm the best at it currently but only because I'm the only person to having had talked to you for some time."

"C-can we just change the topic now?" the colt replied rather nervously, "I, I know I have to deal with all that, but... uh... I just... want to take on it at my own pace, alright? I have nothing against you or anything, but... I hope you understand."

Silence fell once again. Elu was looking away from the princess, trying not to think about his deeper problems just yet. He was very aware of them, he knew he had to fix them eventually if he wanted to live a healthy life; but at the moment, he wasn't ready to reveal himself in full and discuss his innermost. It was one thing writing about it or making a story based on it; it was a completely another thing being there in person in front of someone else; the consequences would be very real and very personal.

Elu trusted Luna. However, before he came to Equestria, she was just a character. An idea. A fictional character that was animated using a computer, and her voice was provided by a voice actor, the same one that voiced Rarity. Now, Luna was very real. She sounded similar to how she sounded in the show but now she wasn't fictional. She was real, she had a personality that wasn't dictated by a script. And in truth, such a realization was scary from a certain point of view. Thankfully, Luna didn't know as much about Elu as he knew about her. Otherwise, it would make him paranoid.

"I understand," Luna finally said, "In this case... let's talk about your magic. You've had a surge, which means that you either have some level of telekinesis or other forms of basic magic or you are about to get them. Either way, you would need to learn how to control your magic and how to develop it. I'm sure your parents will do a good job at it, but feel free to ask me for assistance."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind," Elu nodded, "Oh, and, well, I have my own idea of how telekinesis works. Basically, what I think happens is that you reach out with your magic and you feel the texture of what you want to lift in the air. You feel that texture as if you're actually touching the thing without magic. And then you just... kinda move it around. Yeah, that's not the most well thought out, uh, theory," he chuckled sheepishly, "But, well, magic was also fictional... until I became a pony and appeared here. It's very interesting and I'll probably spend some time figuring out magic stuff."

"Your idea of telekinesis does sound interesting and it's pretty close to reality," Luna nodded, "What unicorns feel when they use telekinesis is difficult to describe. However, you will feel it and understand it once you accomplish telekinesis. Not to mention that foals until the age of four can self-levitate sometimes. Usually, they don't remember it when they grow up but you... you will feel it in full."

"Sounds awesome!" the colt replied enthusiastically and then yawned. "Wait... did I just yawn in a dream?"

"That means you'll wake up soon," the alicorn explained, "In this case, I'll leave you to rest. I still have some business to attend to at Canterlot, but I'll try to see if I can visit you when I have the time."

Elu woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside the house. He blinked groggily, coming to his senses and stretching his body. After a small yawn, he looked around. Plain Runner was nearby, sleeping soundly. In fact, she wasn't just nearby, she was all around the colt, who was tucked in and protected by her from all sides. He blushed slightly, not used to such a thing, and attempted to snuggle away from her. Unfortunately, she turned in her sleep, hugging him closer.

The two were still in the closet, its door half-opened, allowing some light to go through. The air had a slight scent of ozone in it, and the changelings were gone, leaving not a trace behind. The sounds coming from the outside were calm and peaceful as well, just as if nothing had ever happened to this quiet and distant village.

Elu suddenly felt a tingle in his horn. However, instead of spewing lightning, he telekinetically moved a small ball from somewhere in the closet. The eyes of the colt opened wide as he saw the ball hovering in front of his face, surrounded by his green aura. He wanted to jump in joy, shout like a dolt, dance around carefree — he finally had magic! A very basic form of magic, but he had it, and it wasn't going away anytime soon.

For the next few minutes, Elu had been spinning the ball around, moving it in random directions, just staring at it as it moved according to how he wanted it. At first, he had difficulty following the movement with his eyes — it was faster than moving anything with his hands as a human. It made him question just how needed close-range teleportation of objects would be if just moving them telekinetically was already fast enough.

However, he was soon bored with it and he felt a slight soreness in his horn. Deciding to drop telekinesis for now, he slightly nudged the filly, hoping that she would wake up soon. His stomach growled, he licked his dry lips. The sooner the filly woke up, the sooner he would be able to break free from her sleeping grasp and find some food and water.

"Mhh..." the filly moaned as she was nudged awake, "J-just five more minutes, mom..."

Chuckling at the situation, Elu continued to nudge her. After all, it was better than crying to be fed. A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered how awfully loud children can be. He was aiming not to be one of those no matter what. First and foremost, he didn't want to annoy those who took care of him. Second, he didn't want to embarrass himself; after all, he would remember it clearly despite being physically young.

"Ah, Elu..." Plain Runner finally opened her eyes, "Sorry, I dozed off... I guess you want to eat, right?"

Elu nodded, and his stomach groaned again, which was more than enough for the filly to stand up and return to the main room. Quickly, the colt reached the water and lapped on it. Suddenly, he heard a flutter from above, and then something sat on his back. He froze in place and slowly turned his head.

"Frut?" the fruit bat chirped, shoving a banana into Elu's mouth. He groaned in displeasure but accepted the tasty treat regardless. In a few moments, the bat unfolded its wings and took off, moving to Plain Runner.

"Awww, he's so cute!" she commented, a smile appearing on her face. The fruit bat landed on her back and was soon petted by the filly, "Haven't noticed him before..."

Elu let out a sigh and returned to drinking the water. He too almost forgot about the existence of this unusual pet. Though, it was a cute, fluffy, adorable pet indeed. Useful, too — where did it keep getting all those bananas? There were other questions that were yet unanswered, but they weren't anything to worry about at the moment.

The bat chirped gently as it was being petted, closing its eyes and nuzzling Plain Runner affectionately.

"You know, now I want one!" the filly said, continuing to pet the creature, "No idea if my parents allow it, but... Gotta try, he's adorable! And... if my parents don't allow, I'll just come over more," she turned to Elu, "You know, Elu, you're easy to deal with. I like you for that. You're better than... like, ninety-nine percent of all foals. No, make that ninety-nine point ninety-nine."

Elu let out a short laugh.

"And you're smart," Plain Runner added, "I mean... it seems you have no problem understanding me whatsoever."

The colt nodded and then showed a tip of his tongue in a silly manner.

"Ah, you wanna do a blep?" the filly giggled, "Well, then..." she copied his expression. And then, she blew a raspberry.

Finding it hilarious for some reason, Elu burst out laughing hard. He might've been somewhat smart but simple body noises could be enough to amuse him sometimes. Was it refined humor? No, but if it made laughs, it was right anyway. And, most importantly, it was one of the simplest things he could enjoy. It helped him deal with harder, more difficult things in life. And while Luna's words about it lingered in his mind, he hoped he could do at least something by himself.

Magic

A few days had passed since the changeling invasion. From time to time, Elu would randomly feel a tingling sensation in his horn; and sometimes, it would emit sparks. They were dim and white, resembling fireflies during the night. Surprisingly, they attracted the attention of Elu's family pet — the fruit bat, also known as the flying fox. It would chirp curiously, watching Elu closely when he had the tingles. From his side, it was both adorable and somewhat creepy. Still not used to the presence of such a creature, the colt had some trouble closing his eyes while the bat looked at him.

During a night, Elu lay in his bed. It was no longer a crib, its protective rails were removed, turning it into a miniaturized bed. As he prepared to go to sleep, nestling into the bedsheets, the bat flew down from the ceiling and landed near him. Elu stopped moving, turning his head to face the pet. After a few seconds, he reached out with his hoof and lightly tapped on the bat's muzzle.

"Boop," he said, letting out a childish giggle. The bat blinked, and then touched his muzzle with a thumb of its wing in return.

"Bup," the bat echoed. Elu tapped its muzzle again, and the battle of boops started. For a few minutes, the two would give each other boops, caring about nothing more than to tire out the opponent. The colt was determined to win this random and silly battle, continuing to tap the muzzle of the bat. However, being a kid, he quickly tired out, and finally allowed the bat to win with one last boop.

Elu let out a chuckle and relaxed on his bed, closing his eyes. The bat stood by his side for a few moments before lying down and nestling close to the colt. Not minding such a development one bit, he snuggled closer to the warm and fuzzy bat and hugged it. And soon, the two fell asleep.

One day, Elu was minding his own business, trying to find a way to entertain himself. His parents were away to buy some groceries and other things, so he was left all by himself. At first, he walked around the house, climbing on different things, exploring each corner he could physically fit into. Once that grew stale, he found a ball and rolled it around, kicking and pushing it in different directions. However, it didn't keep his attention for long — he needed something more, something to keep him busy for around an hour.

"I'll invent the internet..." the grumbled silently to himself. "And games. And... ugh, I didn't get to play Metro Exodus!" he let out a sigh, "Not that I would be able to play it, my PC is crap... But maybe if I stayed alive for longer, I would buy a new one." he slapped himself on the forehead but quickly rethought: "That's just a minor thing, though. Who cares about one game? Things are generally better for me now. I just should use the time I have to its fullest," he looked up, "But I do need to invent the internet. As long as some sick bastards don't make the Darknet and other, uh, things... ugh..." shivers ran down his spine at that last thought.

As other random thoughts appeared in his head, he finally found something to entertain himself with. He returned to his bed and lay on it, eyes staring at the ceiling. It was the perfect opportunity to daydream.

In the future, he would be a nice colt. Probably handsome, too. As long as he exercised and ate healthily, he should be fine. He had the willpower to do it, he knew he did, he just needed a small push. He was certain his parents would provide just enough to get him started on what he thought would be best for himself. So, the future seemed bright and colorful just like the ponies surrounding him.

Then his mind shifted to finding a loved one. At the moment, his hormones were gone, and so his desire for a girl greatly diminished. It, however, still remained somewhere in the corner of his mind, waiting for its moment. While such a thought brought him excitement, it also brought fear. In his first life, he had only one love, and it was unrequited. It was a long story, spanning almost ten years, but those years marked one of the biggest failures in his life.

Now, when he became a pony, what would be different? Would he be able to avoid making mistakes that put him in the grave in the first place? Would he not end up in the same situation he did in his first life? He knew he was just a hormone-filled teenager with an almost constant boner in place for brains, but it was no excuse. He could've been better, he should've been better, he should've thought better.

Elu rolled on his side, now staring at a wall with a blank look on his face. The new world gave him a second chance, a chance to start all over again with all the experience he got. It wasn't something he wanted to mess up; he couldn't afford it. And yet, there was a seemingly immovable obstacle in front of him.

He was an alien. A complete outsider. And if he truly loved someone, he would have to reveal his true self to them someday. But who would believe him? When he wrote about it in his stories, it seemed so easy. But now he faced it in reality, and it looked so much more complicated. With a story, he could always edit some things here and there to fit the situation or the other way around; in this life, there was no going back. It was a constant movement, constant progress. With each second, he was traveling forward, and he couldn't turn around to change anything.

Such a thought scared him. If he made a mistake, he wouldn't be able to undo it. He wouldn't be able to make the situation better or revert it completely. And most importantly, all the consequences would affect him in many direct and non-direct ways. His actions had consequences, and he wasn't omnipotent anymore. He was the only character of his life story, and he had only one thing he could control — himself. Not his parents, not Luna, not anyone else at all.

He stood up from the bed, making a sigh. The daydreaming turned sour, and he decided to take a shower to wash it off. The sound of running water, the sensation of it impacting his body and flowing down to the bottom of the bathtub should be enough to calm him.

Once he entered the bathroom, he climbed into the bathtub and turned on the shower. As the water cascaded from the hose above, he let it sink into his fur. He felt it traveling across his skin, soaking his fur; it flowed down his face, making him close his eyes and feel the streams of the water. He listened to the noise of it, letting his thoughts fall back deeper into his mind.

He turned in place from time to time, changing his position to let the water wash different parts of his body. And then, a dark thought crawled into his head.

Just around a month ago, he was getting into the bathtub to electrocute himself, bring the end to his own life. And yet, now he didn't feel anything. He was familiar with the concept of PTSD, and he thought that if he were to survive, he would face it in some way. And yet, there was nothing — only a memory reminded him of what happened. Fortunately, the bathroom of the current house he was in was good. Tiles were whole, uncracked, and painted a nice shade of blue; the bathtub looked new, having no cracks or anything like that either; the lighting in the room was warm, an edge between white and yellow; no dust or web was visible; the ceiling didn't have paint peeling off of it.

Elu let a small smile appear in his face. The new situation was better indeed. He wasn't in a sad-looking bathroom to die; he was in a nice bathroom to enjoy some washing. The water was cool, but not ice-cold; the shower hose made it seem like it was raining. It was a nice sensation, one he could stay for and enjoy.

After another few long minutes, the colt turned off the shower and stepped out of the bathtub. He reached for a conveniently placed towel and began to dry himself off, turning into a fuzzy ball of fur in the process. His ear twitched as he heard the door open downstairs, and two familiar voices could be heard.

A wide smile made its way onto his face — he was not alone, he had someone to rely on. And most importantly, his new parents reminded of a whole another life ahead of him. With their help, he would be able to achieve his dreams. At the very least, he believed this.

"How are you feeling today?" Luna asked. She was visiting Elu once again, having found time in her busy schedule. The aftermath of the Invasion was dealt with, and the peace was restored in Equestria once again. The colt knew it would be disturbed time and time again, but for now, he could relax and just talk with whom he considered to be his friend.

"The buzzing in the horn and sleep aren't a good combo..." he complained, stifling a yawn and tapping his horn with a hoof. He tilted from side to side in an armchair, trying not to fall asleep. "But otherwise? I'm good, I suppose..."

"First magical surges are rather exhausting for foals, yes," the alicorn nodded in understanding. She saw Elu tense up, so she quickly added: "There's nothing dangerous to it. It would feel like... a huge relief once it's done."

"The same sensation when you feel your ear unclog itself when you didn't know it wasn't clogged in the first place?" Elu suggested.

"I suppose so, yes," Luna chuckled in amusement. "You know, Elu, you seem to come up with interesting and funny things to say rather easily."

"My mind is full of references and trivia," he replied with a playful smile, "Maybe not much in comparison to what some people know, but I've been collecting useless information for fifteen years! You know, since there are no memories from when I was younger than three or four years old. Also, technically, if I use that information in some way, it's not useless anymore..." he tapped his chin and then gestured at Luna, "Buuut you get what I'm saying, right?"

"Ponies can start remembering things from when they become one or two years old," the alicorn replied and then raised a brow, "Now, tell me... What is the age of maturity of your species?"

"That's a random question, but to answer it, I... I don't actually know for sure," Elu shrugged with uncertainty. "A lot of people say maturity comes at the age of eighteen. Personally? I think it depends on a person. Some are idiots at twenty, some are mature at fifteen. And I think I'm somewhere in the middle of that. Can't really say if I'm mature right now. Well, I'm not, since I'm a foal," he let out a short laugh. "But chronologically? I guess I'm mature... Even though it's not about time, and... whatever, I think you get what I mean."

"I agree with your views about maturity," the alicorn nodded, "As for us ponies, we take full responsibility at the age of fourteen. It might surprise you, but I'm pretty sure there is a big difference in our species' aging and development."

"That's what I thought, actually," the colt nodded enthusiastically, "Neither of us can really apply time to determine the mental and physical age. Speaking of that, how much is a year?"

"It is four seasons, and each season is one hundred days. A day is twenty-four hours, an hour is sixty minutes, and a minute is sixty seconds." Luna explained quickly.

"That last part seems way too familiar to what we have," Elu commented with curiosity, "How did you come up with that?"

"Unfortunately, this part was described in one of many books that were destroyed or warped during the reign of Discord. Are you familiar with Discord?" after receiving the nod, Luna continued: "So, we don't know why we use the current time. Some of our scientists have been trying to figure out—"

"Wait a moment..." Elu suddenly cut her off, hearing a buzz in between his ears. A spark appeared on his horn, quickly fizzling away. Another one followed, glowing more intensely. The colt asked in an uncertain tone: "Uh, is this it?"

"Alright, just stay calm, Elu," the alicorn told him, "Nothing will go wrong, I promise you," she looked him in the eyes with a soft and caring expression. "There is nothing to go wrong in the first place. Don't suppress it, don't fight it — just let it flow."

Elu nodded slowly as more sparks appeared on his horn, and they no longer faded. He closed his eyes and shakily exhaled, feeling power coursing from inside his body and concentrating in his horn. It generated more and more energy, making him feel like a balloon that is about to explode.

With a grunt, he released a wave of electricity, making his mane and fur stand up. In a moment after, he sneezed, and then finally opened his eyes. Luna was standing nearby, her mane electrified, and a confused look on her face.

"You don't look bad with that style," Elu commented on her looks. "That's classic metal look right there."

"Uh, what?" she asked, turning to him.

"Neeevermind," he replied, "Anyway... I feel better now. A bit tingly over my whole body, but I think that's the electricity dying out..."

"Well, it seems you did well for your first surge," Luna said, straightening her posture and trying to smoothen her ethereal mane. "It's comparably weak, but I'm sure more will come later. Possibly in a day or two. I'll try to find some time for you then, you could definitely use more ponies to help you go through this part of life. By the way, how do you feel after this discharge?"

"I... uh... I just said that. You know, feeling slightly tingly?" he said in puzzlement.

"Oh..." Luna blinked a few times, "Sorry, it seems your electricity messed up my thoughts. I'd say that's good news — your magic isn't weak."

"Oh yay!" Elu smiled widely. "In that case, onwards to magic!"

Author's Note

A note - yeah, my bathroom can look like something out of a horror film. Unfortunately, it seems my parents would like to spend more money on keeping my mom's hair color and all the cosmetics she's using than to, I don't know, fix a leak that's been there for a few years.

If I live long enough and earn enough money, I will get myself a house, and I will make sure it will be a nice place, a place worth living in.

I probably would've been slightly happier if I didn't live in an old soviet apartment that hasn't had repairs in forever.

Dreamscape

Elu lay on his comfortable bed, his chest rising and falling as he breathed deeply, entangled in the web of dreams. Forgetting the reality, he traveled to his subconsciousness as it showed him everything that he is in a way he might never be able to understand completely. Images, sounds, and sensations filled his brain, and a dream came to him.

He stood in the crowd of cheering people, observing them as they watched the fireworks silently exploding in the evening sky. Elu glanced at his body and saw a well-tailored dark-gray suit along with a thin-striped purple and black buttoned shirt underneath. He slightly adjusted it with his hands and straightened the posture.

For a moment, he became aware of the fact that he was dreaming. Holding onto the straw of thought, he looked around. If he was going to explore this dream, he would like to have the help of the Dreamwalker herself — Princess Luna. He began calling out to her as he walked through the crowd.

On a nearby bench, a group of girls was sitting, chatting among themselves. He addressed them, asking where Luna was. They looked at him with weird looks on their faces, and Elu mentally slapped himself. It was his dream, and everyone he met in it was a part of him in one way or another. None of them knew more than he did, and none of them had more power than he did.

Focusing, he changed his direction, continuing his search for Luna. Calling her name, he made his way to a simple asphalt road. On its side, a billboard stood. An ad featuring My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic scrolled through it, showing an image of Princess Luna herself. Elu walked up to the billboard and touched it before the image could disappear.

A low rumble echoed in his head as the image distorted as if it were a disturbed surface of the water. Ripples traveled from where the former human touched it, changing the image to a pure starlit sky. Surprised, Elu took a few steps back, cautiousness appearing in his mind. However, curiosity was stronger, and it pulled him towards the sky. He reached out with his hand and found that he could go right through the billboard as if it were a doorway. Intrigued, he walked into the opening.

On the outside, everything was filled with stars and cosmic dust, slowly traveling across the black canvas. However, that was not all — multiple doors were visible, standing in long, seemingly infinite rows. Each door was different, even if only ever so slightly. The pattern of the wood used, cracks, different shades or styles of paint over the wood, it was infinite variation. Muffled voices and sounds could be heard coming from behind those doors, joining into an omnipresent noise.

Elu looked back at his own door. It resembled the door of his room where he lived as a human: plain thick and heavy wooden door painted green. Heavy and sometimes difficult to open but lacking a proper lock. He remembered how his previous parents used to come in without knocking, and he thought of installing a lock or a deadbolt. He wondered what became of his old room. His bed, his other furniture, his computer, tablet, phone, a decent library comprised mostly of sci-fi and post-apocalyptic books such as Metro 2033 Universe, and a decent collection of Russian and USSR gas masks. Was it all mindlessly dumped, sold to cover the expenses of his funeral, or was it still there, collecting dust?

Guiltily, Elu hung his head in shame. Despite everything that his parents did wrong, they didn't deserve to see him die before they did. As much as he disliked them, there was still a degree of familial love left with him even after his death. Maybe they cared for him but just didn't know how to do it properly. And then, there was his older brother. The two were never exactly close but they weren't enemies either. If anything, his brother didn't deserve to see his younger sibling die.

However, Elu didn't wish to go back in time to prevent what he did. There was only now, and he couldn't change the past even if he wanted to. Now, he had all he could've asked for aside from one small but very important thing. And even then, it would be much easier to achieve that thing in Equestria than on Earth, he was sure of it.

It was no time to wallow in self-pity or thoughts of the past. He could sort out his inner conflict later once everything else was out of the way. And now, he had something interesting to explore. Whether it was part of his dream or not, the Dreamscape seemed like something worth exploring. He never thought about it outside of fiction, and it looked like he was experiencing it for real. One thing disturbed his mind, however — he wasn't a pony. No matter how much he wanted it, he couldn't transform himself into a pony in his dreams. His body was painfully human regardless of what he did.

He focused his mind and managed to summon a tall mirror. He was finally able to take a proper look at his new dream form: a slim human, slimmer than he ever was, he stood at one meter eighty-three centimeters. Shoulder-length dark brown, straight, almost black hair complimented his grayish-green eyes. Surprisingly, this form was more handsome than he probably ever was. He chuckled to himself about this little fact, knowing that being a handsome human was no longer possible or even needed. This, however, reminded him that he would need to keep himself fit even as a pony.

"I'm surprised to see you here," he heard a familiar voice say to his right. He turned his head and saw the only one who could access the Dreamscape.

"Hello, Luna," he greeted her, "I... don't know why I'm here. I was dreaming of stuff, and then... well, things happened, and I'm here."

"I see..." a thoughtful expression flashed on Luna's face, "In any case, you look pretty good. This suit is certainly well-made, and... your all-around looks seem to be better than what I saw last time."

"Probably because I never looked that good when I was still a human," Elu admitted, "I tried getting into exercising, eating healthily, but... Either my willpower is weak, which shouldn't be the case, or I'm just a lazy fat ass," he let out a chuckle, "Not much difference, but you know..."

"Did you not eat healthily because the healthier food was less available, more expensive or because you got addicted to something tasty but unhealthy?" Luna asked with interest and some worry.

"...A mix of both, I suppose," the former human replied, "I'm usually given just enough pocket money to buy a bag of chips or something like that but not enough to buy some chicken and other good food. And... I'm a somewhat picky eater. Not to mention that the majority of what my previous family used to eat wasn't that rich in protein."

"I'm sure the situation can be fixed now," the alicorn smiled encouragingly at him, "I'm not sure about the meat, however... Tell me Elu, do you like fish?"

"Not really," he shook his head, "it's often full of bones, and I guess I was pretty unlucky to get that most of the time. Otherwise, I guess it's... fine?"

"Alright, we'll figure something out," Luna nodded, "So, as you can see, you stepped outside your dream into the Dreamscape. To be honest, that can sometimes happen to ponies, but I see you're aware of being asleep and dreaming," she walked past him and looked into his dream. A frozen image of a cheering crowd with fireworks in the sky was visible, "What is this dream about?"

"I have no idea," Elu shrugged, "My dreams tend to be random. I remember dreaming of my city, imagining different things in parts of it that I've not visited before. For example, I dreamt of finding a cliff with a lake below. But in reality, it was the continuation of a forest. Nothing unusual."

"You have a rich imagination, it seems. Or, at the very least, you like to dream of interesting things," Luna told him.

"Well, I guess that's why I became a decent writer," he replied, "It's fun to imagine things and write them down. I don't know why, but yeah, it's fun."

"Very well, what would you like to do now? You're in the Dreamscape, Elu. You could take a look at the dreams of others."

"Seems like a breach of privacy to me," he frowned, "I don't really want to do it. What if I look into a dream, and someone is having, uh, a threesome? That'd be awkward."

"You do have a point," Luna chuckled, "Well, how about you accompany me to troublesome dreams? I might need your help."

"My help?" Elu blinked in confusion, "I, uh... Well, I'm not an alicorn with great power and I'm just eighteen. I'm not sure how I'd be able to help you at all."

"You'd be surprised," the alicorn replied vaguely and then turned around, "Now, come with me. There's a pony in trouble, we can't afford to waste time."

Swiftly nodding, the former human followed the trotting princess. His steps made small ripples appear in the night sky below him. Luna quickened her pace, prompting Elu to do the same to be able to catch up with her. Surprisingly, he found it easy to move as quickly as he wanted. Unlike in many of his dreams, he didn't feel like he was trying to walk through water. Nothing was holding him back this time, nothing prevented him from moving at least as quickly as he used to when he was a human.

"Never found this suit comfortable..." Elu said, focusing his mind. His clothes morphed into a long hooded coat made of black fabric, a leather belt wrapped around the waist. His shoes were replaced by black leather high boots, strapped to his legs by small belts. The trousers changed into a pair of pants made out of the same fabric his coat was made of. "Much better now. Always wanted that."

Luna glanced at him but didn't say anything as she continued to rush to the pony in need of help. In a few moments, they reached the needed door, and the alicorn opened it wide. Behind it, a simple rectangular stone corridor could be seen, and a young pony was galloping through it, chased by a skeleton with a sword. The bones and the armor of the skeleton clanked as it breathed heavily, its heavy steps echoing through the corridor. The foal was quick but the skeleton was closing in.

Elu was the first to act, jumping in between the foal and the skeleton. The latter stopped in its tracks, seemingly confused by what had just happened. Soon, the foal stopped as well and looked back. The former human looked at them and saw that they were a colt of roughly five years of age.

"Help..." the colt said fearfully as he folded his ears and crouched.

Elu nodded in response and proceeded to summon a saber into his left hand.

"You know, Luna..." he said to the princess, "If I can help a kid with nightmares while also looking like a badass... Why not?" he grinned, and then dashed at the skeleton. It raised its own sword, but it was obvious it knew no technique. Having a flair for the theatrical, Elu spun, giving the skeleton enough time to block the hit.

His inner child dancing in amusement, Elu proceeded to dance around with the skeleton, treating this encounter more like a fun thing than a serious competition of skill. The colt, mesmerized by this performance, couldn't help but lighten up and smile. Luna was standing aside and watching, a neutral expression on her face. However, it changed to a brighter one as the corners of her lips rose slightly.

Having had his fun, Elu finally dropped the theatrics and chopped off the head of the skeleton. The skeleton collapsed instantly, soon turning to dust. The colt clapped his hooves together, a joyful smile on his face. The former human smiled back and bowed slightly, making his saber disappear.

"Have good dreams," he told the colt before exiting the dream. However, he had to wait for Luna as she said some things to the colt. Once she came out, Elu asked: "So, how did I do?"

"You weren't really fighting, were you?"

"I wasn't," Elu nodded, "This is just a kid's mind. What he imagines, while seemingly scary, is mostly harmless. And I, well... I like theatrical fights. They're fun."

"But from what I can see, you have some actual skill," Luna commented, raising a brow.

"I had some training in swordsmanship," the former human admitted, "It's a fun thing to do. Plus, it's practical. I've not had any practice in probably around half a year. Didn't stop me from getting a third place in the last tournament I took part in. And even then, I didn't get more because the weapons provided, as well as gloves, were not that adequate," before Luna could say anything, he raised his hands to his chest, "I know, I know... Blaming the instrument for the lack of skill is not alright. But seriously... if you were a human and took part in that tournament, you'd see how it was an actual issue."

"Are you bragging right now?" Luna playfully replied.

"Well, no shame in saying what I'm decent at. I earned it, after all," Elu shrugged, "Anyway, how's the colt?"

"He liked you," the alicorn replied with a smile, "He definitely liked your performance, too."

"Always wanted to do stuff like that," the former human grinned in satisfaction, "Anyway, any more nightmares to fix?"

"You've gotten into it, haven't you? But to answer your question, no. I believe this was the last one for the night," Luna started to fade from the Dreamscape, "I'll get some rest, and advise you do the same. Your body might be rested, but your mind needs more. Good night, Elu."

Author's Note

Yeah, I sure like doing things like that. Theatrics make a lot of things better, and I've been fond of them ever since I was a kid. If I ever had the opportunity, be it in dreams or reality, I'd do a similar thing for sure.

And yep, I did take part in swordsmanship tournaments. I can't really return to that since it requires plenty of money. Equipment, then fixing the equipment after damaging it, things like that are costly. I still have a longsword lying around, though.

A Walk

In the morning, Elu slowly opened his eyes to meet the new day. A pleasantly warm feeling washed over his body, heightening his mood by making him smile. Full of energy, the colt got up from his bed and stretched. For a moment, he considered cracking his knuckles and other parts of his body. Unfortunately, he had to realize that he had no knuckles anymore and he needed to relearn how to crack his body.

First, he stood up on his hind legs. Carefully balancing, he twisted his upper body to the left. He felt some resistance and twisted harder, finally eliciting a few satisfying pops from his spine. Letting out a sigh of relief, he proceeded to tilt his head from left to right, soon making it pop as well. Next were the legs; firmly placing them on the floor, he twisted his body. To his relief, pops sounded just like he wanted.

With most of his body cracked, he felt disappointed that he couldn't crack neither his fingers nor his toes. If his knowledge of equine anatomy was correct, fingers were fused together to form a hoof; same with toes. Unfortunately, they couldn't be cracked individually anymore.

Surprisingly, a few pops were heard coming from the top of his head. He looked up and saw sparkles coming from his horn like miniature fireworks, making his ears twitch.

A smile danced on his brightened face as he made his way to the nearest mirror. Looking at himself, he could notice a couple of differences to what he had seen the first time. Slightly more defined facial features, longer mane, denser and fluffier fur, and less fat. The changes were small but to Elu, they were noticeable. He imagined himself standing before this mirror years into the future as a teenager. In his imagination, he would be fit, healthy, and reasonably groomed; something he couldn't quite get right when he was a human. He was reasonably strong, he knew how to take care of himself, but what he couldn't get rid of was his fat. He didn't know whether it was laziness or something else, but it seemed that no matter what he did, there was no progress. A diet turned back into overeating, and exercises remained on the low side of things.

Now, however, Elu had all the motivation and the possibility in the world to become whom he wanted. He started a new life from a mostly blank page, and he intended to make sure it would go well. Chips, instant noodles, all the other junk food? So far, he hadn't seen it nor wanted it. Exercise? With the internet gone, his biggest sit-down form of time-wasting was gone as well, and he could do nothing but at the very least walk around to cure the boredom.

He wondered how he would look like if his personal pony avatar were different. What if he made himself an alicorn? He never seriously considered this thought, casting it aside as being uncreative and plain dumb. He remembered his first avatar — a light-gray unicorn with a black mane and dark-green eyes, who was also a cyborg, having his legs replaced by mechanical ones. Years ago, when he only began his introduction into the world of MLP:FiM, he thought his idea was great. But as with many things in life, his priorities shifted, and so did his avatars. From a cyborg to a plain but tall unicorn of the same colors and then to his current half-thestral avatar.

In all honesty, he was content with it. It gave him a sense of his own identity, something that he created by himself. He was no longer bound to choices and decisions that weren't his own. And to top it all off, it had only just begun.

His thoughts were disturbed when his body reminded him of the needs it had. He trotted to the toilet room and successfully did all that he had to, and soon was taking a nice shower. He rarely sung while showering, but right now, he really wanted to. However, his parents were home, judging by the noise coming from downstairs. Being as shy as Elu was, he took the shower silently. Using his teeth, he picked up a long brush and rubbed his fur with it. Once everything was done, he turned off the water and dried himself off with a towel. Fortunately for him, the control of his body was easier and easier with each passing day. The only thing that was still missing was magic, but he was sure it would come to him sooner or later.

"Elu, sweetie!" he heard his mother calling him from downstairs, "Would you like to go for a walk with us?"

"Yes, mom!" he replied in the language of ponies. His voice was unusual to him, and he would certainly have to become comfortable with it. And yet, despite coming from completely different vocal cords, his voice seemed to have Russian accent regardless. In any case, speaking any words, no matter the language, became easier as well. He had some problems properly controlling his tongue, which was wider and longer than what he had before; he also couldn't properly use his vocal cords or lips. Their shape and feel were familiar, but they were slightly off, making it difficult for him to speak.

He didn't trouble his mind with these thoughts, however. Instead, he joyfully trotted down the stairs into the kitchen and dining area after going back to the bedroom and retrieving the translator necklace Luna gave him. Downstairs, he was met with a plate of mashed fruit and vegetables, and a glass of apple juice. He didn't need to be told even once, so he took his place at the table and dove straight for the meal.

"Now, don't rush. I know you're excited, but it's not a reason to make a mess," Ring Keeper told him.

Nodding, Elu slowed down slightly, making sure to lick the plate clean. It was a sort of guilty pleasure for him. After all, it wasn't ethical to do that among other people. However, it seemed that his new parents didn't care about it in the slightest. In fact, the only one who ate with more or less human methods was Ring Kepper. She used her magic to grab the food and put it in her mouth. It seemed like unicorns didn't need any cutlery. After all, why would one need a fork or a spoon when magic can do the same easier?

After Elu was done, he carefully moved the empty plate to the sink. Then he washed his face to get rid of some fruit stuck in the fur around his mouth.

"Are you ready to go?" Ring Keeper asked him. After receiving a nod, she said: "Alright, then! It's time I show you around the village."

It was time for it indeed. Elu remembered glimpses here and there, but he couldn't picture the village just yet. He was carried around it when he was asleep, and so the only impression he got from it was confusion in its layout at most.

Once he and his parents exited the house, Elu stopped for a moment to enjoy the scenery and its feel. Soft warm wind brushed against his fur, and the same wind rustled the leaves in many trees around the village. The air was fresh, smelling of multitude of different flowers grown by the villagers. Ponies were walking around, doing their business with pleasant expressions on their faces. The colts and fillies were playing around, watchful adults observing them, smiling; other ponies were working, pulling carts, tending to various plants or buildings.

Elu looked up at the sky and saw pegasi working on bringing the clouds above the village. Some of the clouds were gray; it was obvious that a light rain will wash over the village closer to the evening.

All of what the colt could see made him smile brighter. The village was full of life, and it was something he doubted he would ever be able to express well in his writing. But at the moment, he wasn't thinking about it. Instead, he was enjoying everything he could sense with his body. The bright and colorful visuals, the smells and scents, noise and sounds, even the feel of the ground underneath his hooves and air brushing against his fur. There were more subtle feelings like the air pressure and humidity, making everything all the more real.

And it was real.

After taking a deep breath, Elu followed his parents deeper into the village. Their house wasn't too far away from the center of it, but it still required a few minutes of walking. Meanwhile, Elu could see just how big everyone was in comparison to himself. He was barely a third of the height of the average pony, and he still had a long time to grow into an adult.

With his height, there were some shortcomings that the realism of his situation brought. With the view so low, he could see certain details on the ponies that he didn't wish to see just yet. He knew that almost every single pony was nude, and it was completely normal, but he had yet to fully accept it and get used to it. Thankfully, tails provided a decent cover most of the time. Not to mention that he no longer had hormones dictating him to find a mate. With his interest in sex lower than ever, he could relatively easy keep his eyes off the private parts of other ponies, especially mares. The only thing that kept nudging him towards looking was curiosity.

He hoped there were certain journals that could sate it instead. After all, he didn't want to be caught staring. He had no idea what ponies thought of it, so he assumed it was close to what humanity had. Sometimes, even as much as looking at a girl for too long would prove to be enough to make her angry. Wanting to avoid such situations as much as possible, Elu kept his eyes looking in front of him at nothing in particular.

Thankfully for the colt, there were plenty of distractions along the way. Used to seeing plain blocky apartment blocks, Elu was fascinated by smaller, slightly more decorative houses that made up the majority of the village. The style was completely different, too — it was more medieval in a certain way. Wooden frames and thatched roofs were dominant around the village, giving off a somewhat homely feel. That was the best way Elu could describe it at the time.

He noticed that some foals stopped to look at him. Being an young adult that he was, he didn't like it much, instinctively thinking that something was wrong about him. However, he immediately remembered that he was, in fact, not that much different from any other foal if appearances are concerned. Perhaps, those foals only wanted to invite him to play a game or something. However, he had no idea if he would ever accept it at such an age. He wasn't feeling particularly comfortable playing with kids, especially those that were this young.

Fortunately, Elu didn't have to explore this idea further since no foal approached him. Silently sighing in relief, he continued exploring the village with his eyes. It seemed that his parents and he were coming to a local marketplace. The colt could see many vendors selling fruits of their labor, sometimes literal. Various foods, instruments both for music and work, cutlery, practical clothes, and many other things were bought and sold.

"Howdy, Ring Keeper!" a stallion called Elu's mother. He was a bulky earth pony of red fur and blonde mane, and his distinctive visible feature was a cowboy-like hat. The colt also noted that the stallion had a particular accent that he assumed was Equestrian version of a southern one, "Ah've got some fresh apples right here! Will do for right about everything ya may want: juice, pie, ya name it," he looked down and saw Elu. Smiling, he said: "That's a fine colt ya got, ma'am. No longer that small to carry him around, ain't he?"

"He's growing up fast, yes," Ring Keeper nodded with a pleasant expression on her face, "In fact, I'm sure he'll do some magic soon."

"Glad to hear that!" the stallion replied, "Ya know, Ah think Ah can spare yer colt a bottle o' good ol' apple juice," he reached below the counter and got about a liter bottle full of the aforementioned juice. He packed it into a paper bag that had a string around it, "Ya'll grow big and strong with this... Elu, right?" the colt nodded, "Mah cousin Big Mac sure did. That's why they named him big, after all!"

"Thanks!" Elu said as his mother secured the bag so it lay against his side with the string around his body. Surprisingly, it was reasonably comfortable.

"No problem, partner," the stallion slightly ruffled the mane of the colt in a friendly way and then turned back to his mother, "So, what about dem apples?"

"Thank you, but we still have plenty since the last time," Ring Keeper politely declined, "Say... Where's Snow Plower? I've not seen him around so far."

"Ah, he's gotten sick," the stallion replied, "Ya know, it often happens to him during summer. In any case, his daughter's at the stall. She's come over from one of dem big cities. Ya might've seen her, but in case ya forgot, she's about half a head smaller than ya, has light-blue fur and pink mane. Name's... Polina, I think. A pretty exotic name, so ya won't forget it. Hasn't gotten her mark yet, though. Last I saw her, she was somewhere there," the stallion gestured to his right.

"Thanks, Cripps," the mare nodded, "Have a good day!"

"Ya too, ma'am!" the stallion tipped his hat, and soon Elu and his parents walked away, following his directions.

Elu wondered if he would meet Big Mac himself one day. He didn't care too much about meeting the ponies he saw in the cartoon, but it would still be nice if he did. Though, considering the age difference, he doubted that he could interact with them until years later. Unless, of course, he was content with being treated like a fanboy. He never really understood the cults surrounding celebrities or other people, so he wasn't overexcited about being able to see the Bearers of the Elements or other ponies closely associated with them. The only one he wanted to meet personally was Princess Luna, and this wish was granted.

"Excuse me... Polina?" Elu's line of thought was broken when Ring Keeper stopped at one of the stalls. The colt's mouth immediately watered when he saw what as being sold — plenty of different flavors of ice-cream.

"Good day!" a teenage filly replied, "Yes, that's me! What kind of ice-cream would you like?"

"A raspberry one for me," she turned to her husband. "Stel, what would you like?"

"Chocolate one, please," Stellares replied politely.

"And you, Elu?" she addressed her son. After a few moments, he gestured at the flavor he wanted, "Vanilla-chocolate mix for him, please."

"Raspberry, chocolate, and vanilla-chocolate, got it. On a stick, in a waffle cup, or cone?" Polina asked.

"I'd go with a cone," Ring Keeper answered.

"Same here," Stellares added.

"Cup," Elu finished.

"Raspberry cone, chocolate cone, and vanilla-chocolate cup coming right up!" the filly said, "That'd be one baru and forty byte."

Elu's ears perked up at the completely foreign words that had no direct translation to either English or Russian. However, he managed to understand that baru was bigger than a byte, and a baru was probably what he'd call a bit while byte was most likely a hundredth of a baru.

Fortunately, he didn't have to think about it much because his ice-cream was ready first. It also came with a small stringed paper bag that fit in a comfortable way right below his chin. By tilting his head, he could easily lick the ice-cream. He shivered when he felt the amazing taste this mix had. He had no idea how it managed to taste so well, but he wasn't about to complain.

His day had only just begun but he already felt great. Whatever dark thoughts he had were pushed deep into his mind, replaced by joy and genuine happiness. His problems or even the world problems could wait, especially when he had such a great cup of ice-cream to eat.

Playground

Author's Note

Finally, a new chapter, and a big one! Enjoy!

Playground

A sunny day with a light breeze, just a few fuzzy white clouds in the sky; birds happily chirping their midday songs; ponies walking around and chatting pleasantly – the day couldn't have been better. Elu and his parents were resting on a bench, enjoying their ice-cream. The colt awkwardly held his ice-cream cup with hooves, trying not to drop it. It felt strange to hold the cup that way, for he still remembered the feel of his hands and fingers. In fact, he could still feel them in a certain way. It was all his imagination, of course, but he was familiar with what people who lose a limb might experience – phantom feelings. He didn't have any fingers anymore, of course, but he swore they were there somewhere, hidden inside his hooves. He could almost make them wiggle, and maybe they would sprout from his hooves if he did it hard enough.

However, he had many other things to think about while lapping on the delicious ice-cream. Curiously, like a child, he moved one of his legs in and out of shadow. The rays of the sun warmed up his fur, and then it gradually cooled in the shade of the trees. The shadows moved ever so slightly as the wind rustled the leaves; the sun blinked from above the green foliage.

It was a stark contrast to when he was on the Earth last. It was the end of January — the cold white snow of a typical Siberian winter covered the streets of his town, and the trees were devoid of leaves. During the day, the only noise from the outside was that of human life. Perhaps it would've been even quieter if he lived further from the busy part of the town. Despite all this, at nights, it was perfectly silent, almost eerily so.

The greenery was long gone, and the town exposed its monotony, grayness, and lifelessness — each house was the same as the other, all of them arranged in an orderly fashion, built during the times when people's comfort wasn't even one of the primary concerns. Four floors in height, two apartments on each floor, and four halls in each house to a total of twenty-four apartments per house. It varied, but not by much: some houses had five floors, had four apartments per floor, or just three or even two halls, and any combination of them. And yet, it was all painfully similar no matter how colorful the walls were painted, outside or inside. The mish-mash of different balconies didn't help it either.

Inner yards were empty, old Soviet-era playgrounds rusting and rotting away; sometimes, they were painted, but the old paint wasn't removed at all, resulting in a colorful, and yet ugly, mess. Decent playgrounds were few and far inbetween, and they were occupied rarer and rarer day by day. There were a few escapes from this dullness and decay — either internet and computer games, or drugs. Early drinking, teens smoking, drug usage, Elu had seen it with his own eyes. Sometimes, on the way to school, he noticed used syringes lying on the ground near apartment complexes. Drunken voices singing and yelling during summer nights weren't uncommon either.

Behind his school, teens would usually assemble after classes to either play games or smoke. Later during the evening, they might go to someone's apartment or house and get drunk. Drugs aplenty were waiting for them: chewing tobacco made from who knows what, and rumored to having been made from chicken droppings; powdered tobacco from plenty of kiosks and similar shady shops around; marijuana from dealers; and sometimes even harder and more harmful drugs. Elu shivered when he remembered the stories he had heard about them.

He often wondered how he managed to stay out of this, how he managed to avoid the most of those things. He tried cigarettes once, but the taste was horrid, and so he dropped it after just one small inhale. Life hasn't given him much joy most of the time, but he resisted the temptation to use drugs to get away from the gray world he found himself in.

In truth, the thoughts about what he saw and heard terrified him deep inside. That was his childhood? True, it had its bright and cheerful moments, but they were clouded by the overwhelming amount of terrible things he learned to ignore for the most part.

The colt sighed quietly, knowing well that the memories of his youth would never leave him. Growing up, he didn't know what life could be, how different it could be, and so accepted the surroundings as they were. But when he was finally able to see other parts of the world through the Internet, he saw just how wrong everything around him was. Countless amounts of taxpayers' money wasted and hidden away to line the politicians' pickets; bored and yet very aggressive gangs of teens looking for trouble; widespread nepotism and corruption; all of it went unnoticed day by day.

And yet, pitying himself was not the answer. He had done enough of it in his previous life, and it was now gone behind eternity. He wouldn't return, that was the most important thing.

"Is everything alright?" he heard his mother ask. Breaking from his dark thoughts, he looked at her and opened his mouth, and yet he couldn't figure out what the proper word would translate his thoughts from English to Equestrian. But suddenly, it clicked — he knew the word; after all, sitting down and trying to learn how immaterial concepts are named was one of the first things he did when he got a dictionary.

"Memories," Elu replied simply. Even if he knew how to explain it all, he was uncertain whether he would reveal any of it. Perhaps, it was better left unknown by his parents. They had enough things to worry about already.

"Memories trouble you?" Ring Keeper asked for clarification. After receiving a nod, she said, "I think what matters more is that you're here now. I don't know what you experienced, but you have a new life. I promise to make you happy, Elu."

He looked away, unable to accept such kindness freely. He wasn't sure his first parents ever told him they want him to be happy. Did they even think that way? Elu didn't want to dwell too much on it.

"Thank you," he simply said, reluctantly offering his mother a hug. Without hesitation, she hugged him tightly and nuzzled him lovingly. And so he melted into the hug, embracing a wide, joyful smile.

And then there were ponies. Perhaps an inner bias clouded his mind, but they were friendly, small smiles present on their pleasant, relaxed faces. For Elu to smile, he had to make a conscious effort, and even then it looked unnatural most of the time. Sometimes, he noticed the worried glances his new parents gave him, for he always adopted a neutral expression that was empty and gray as those of people he met in his old world. Perhaps, it was simply an instinct — to hide one's true emotions lest he be hurt.

However, it might change very soon. Ponies didn't seem like a mess of gray people; when Elu could hear them, they talked of many different things, and he could hear and even feel their emotions. It was true that this new world was more colorful, but it went beyond just the visible. It was a subtle difference from his human hometown, but Elu could see, hear, smell, and feel it with his whole body. It was as if he became much more perceptible to emotions of others, to their body language and expressions. Or maybe they simply showed their feelings better?

The answer didn't matter, however — reality did. And at the moment, he hugged his mother, feeling the warmth of her body on his and her soft breath brushing against his fur. They soon separated, but it wasn't unwanted. All good things were only good in moderation, after all; grow too accustomed to them and they would become dull and uninteresting.

"What do you think about playing with other kids?" Ring Keeper asked Elu, "There's a playground nearby, I'm sure you'd find something interesting to do."

"...Don't know," he replied with uncertainty. He remembered playing with younger kids a few years ago, but now he was closer to twenty than to fifteen. While he needed and wanted physical activity, he didn't know how to talk to kids. They'd think him to be their age and mindset, but he was far from that. On the other hand, he could always do something by himself like he often did during his first childhood.

"I won't push you, don't worry," she assured him with a smile.

In the end, Elu hopped from the bench, and the answer became clear. His parents stood up as well and led him to the playground. The closer they came to it, the louder one could hear the sounds of joyful kids playing their games. They didn't even need anything complicated — jumping and running around was enough. Playing ball, chatting about anything in the world, hide-n-seek, nothing was foreign to them.

Elu's eyes widened when he saw the playground itself. Sprawling, it was a size of a football field if not bigger, and it was a sight to behold. Small hills dotted with tiny houses and slides, rope walkways, trees that even a pony could climb; but most importantly, in the center of the field stood a large castle made of real stone and built according to real castle design. The eyes of the colt sparkled and he couldn't help himself — he took off and ran over to the playground. Going up the closest hill, he looked into the first house. It was small, true, but it had a real fireplace made of rocks, a table, and even two beds, all foal-sized. The wood was of good quality with no cracks or chips, each plank just the perfect size. Everything was clean, and there even was a blackboard — someone made a drawing of Celestia using chalks. A simple drawing with simple shapes, just like a foal would do. Elu looked at the beautiful carving that decorated a small windowsill along with the doorway and the door itself, then took a closer look at the fireplace. It was used some time ago — ash and charred small logs were present. Was it really a functional house a foal could indeed live in? It seemed so unreal and yet so right.

Elu dashed outside and to the nearest slide. It was made of wood as well, polished and lacquered until it was the smoothest it could be. He laughed as he slid down to the bottom, which ended with a roll on the grass. No mud, no poop, no trash, just a thick layer of clean, green grass. The colt got up and continued his exploration, making his way towards the castle. He was itching to get into it and explore it, but he wanted to explore everything. He got into a bigger house, which had two floors. The first one was not unlike the one from the first house, but there was something interesting — a hatch in the floor.

Child-like curiosity consumed the colt and he used his hooves to open it up. Under the hatch, a flight of stairs led underground, lit by torches alight with white flames. Without hesitation, Elu went in, for one of his biggest pleasures of the soul was explorations of what lay underground. The tunnel was clean and dry, the stairs were smooth and made of stone slabs slightly cool to the touch. Surprisingly, no heat came off of the torches, making them seem entirely harmless. Curiosly, Elu waved his hoof over the flame. But then, a voice appeared.

"Remember, foals, fire can be a dangerous thing," it said in an unmistakable female voice. Despite speaking in a foreign language, it was obvious that the voice belonged to none other but Celestia herself. "This one is safe, but be wary around other flames. They can hurt you, sometimes badly. Good luck on your discoveries, my little pony!"

Elu let out a short laugh. This lesson seemed so silly, but perhaps it worked with foals. He was no foal in mind, so he knew all too well what things could harm him and what couldn't. Maybe putting his hoof in this flame wasn't the wisest decision, but the childish side of him prevailed this time.

He continued down the stairs, and they led him into a wide hall lit by the same torches. The path didn't diverge, and the colt had a feeling he knew where it would lead him. He trotted along the hall, looking around with interest, noting just how well the arched hallway was made. Stones of different sizes were connected by mortar, and the sharp edges were polished until they posed no harm. There were a few holes in the ceiling where the fresh air came from along with water drainage canals and holes in the floor. They were too small for any foal to even attempt to go through, fortunately.

Soon, he saw the light at the end. After a flight of stairs, he came into what appeared to be one of the castle's towers.

"Aha, an intruder!" someone exclaimed suddenly, making him jump. He turned around and saw an earth pony colt standing above the exit, a helmet of cardboard on his head and a wooden spear with a soft tip aimed at Elu, "Wait... Didn't see ya before. You game?"

"Game?" Elu asked in confusion.

"Ya know, bandits and knights," the colt explained, "Bandits try to rob the village and fight us, we protect it."

"Didn't know," he shook his head.

"Ah, alrighty, ya new one. Wanna play? Ya can join us, the fair knights!" he saluted, the oversized helmet he wore sliding down and covering his eyes. After adjusting the helmet, he continued, "Oh, and me name's Speartip, knight in the service of, err... The Table!" he tapped his chin in thought, pausing for a moment, "Or was it the Round Table?"

"I'm Elu," the colt introduced himself as well, nervousness in his voice, "Um, I can... join."

"Elu? That an interesting name ya got," Speartip commented, "Anyway, that's good ya wanna join. But ya'r bit too small for a knight," he adjusted his helmet once again, "How old are ya?"

"Um... Forty days?" Elu replied. Truthfully, he didn't count days or weeks. All that mattered to him was being in Equestria in the first place. And besides, he forgot if the country used anything similar to Earth calendar.

"Not even half month and ya can talk that goody?" the colt replied in a slightly surprised tone, "I know who ya can be! A... schoolar!"

"What?"

"Ya know... Magic stuff. Schoolars have water balloons we throw at bandits," Speartip explained.

"But I can't magic," Elu shook his head, "Is like..." Pzt his horn went as he tried to use his inner energy.

"I see ya can, just... ya know, try more," the colt turned around and picked up a small rock from the ground, which he proceeded to place in front of him, "See this small rock? Ya certainly can move that, right? I saw me sistre fly once by lifting herself! And she's like, uh, fifty days. Ya'r not that far away."

Elu nodded, mentally preparing himself. He knew that sooner or later he would learn telekinesis as all other unicorns did. For them, it's not much harder than walking, and he wanted to learn it as soon as possible. He remembered the magical outburst he had not so long ago; after it, he started feeling something he couldn't properly describe with words in any of the languages he knew. It was like having a second stomach but inside his head, but it filled over time. It didn't demand to be released, but it reminded him that he had the energy. It waited inside him, waited to be used. He just needed to figure out how to let out such energy.

Perhaps, he could try something he had already written about in his stories and yet give it a twist. Concentrating, he imagined having a phantom hand. A palm and five fingers, but more flexible than any human hand could be. Without a restriction but reach, it could wrap around anything and hold it securely. No sweat nor oil would appear on it, ensuring a tight grip at all times. No random twitch nor cramp would ever bother it.

Elu imagined reaching out with his hand to the rock. Slowly, he felt its texture, imagined the pressure and the temperature. Smooth but slightly rough, not exceeding nor lower than the surrounding temperature, its weight firmly pressing on his palm. All he needed to do was to close his fist and lift it up.

The spiral of his horn began to glow purple, and yet it was just a tint, barely visible in sunlight. A purple aura wrapped around the rock, and yet it didn't seem Speartip noticed it. But once the rock began to lift up, he smiled.

"Knew ya could do it!" he said encouragingly, "Now, higher!"

Like separating a magnet from another, Elu could feel the rock becoming lighter the further away from the ground it was. Ten centimeters, fifteen, twenty, thirty, fifty, a meter, and now it was light as a small rock should be. The colt spun it around, moved from side to side, tilted. His eyes were bright with the realization — he could use telekinesis!

Frankly, it wasn't how he imagined it. It didn't come with struggle or sweat, but it felt... natural. Perhaps, that is how unicorns learned how to move things with magic. It didn't feel like a huge accomplishment, and maybe it wasn't meant to be. After all, what unicorn can't use telekinesis?

Elu let go of the rock and it dropped to the ground. However, his aura didn't disappear. It hung in the air where he imagined his phantom hand would be. It was a thin cloud of sparkling purple shaped vaguely like a hand. For some reason, Speartip didn't comment on it, choosing to congratulate Elu instead. The young colt waved the hand in front of the bigger one's face but didn't elicit any reaction whatsoever. Taking a mental note of it, he willed the magical mist of his to disappear. The strange feeling inside his head changed — now it was a light buzz.

"Ya can definitely throw water balloons as they're lighter than rocks," Speartip said, jumping from his post and walking up to Elu, "Let's go, I'll introduce ya to others."

Nodding, Elu followed him into the main castle. The inner yard was small and simple, consisting of training grounds and some prop ballistae and trebuchets. They were obviously not functional as the true war machines would, but they were adopted for other projectiles — water balloons. The stone walls that surrounded the inner yard had colts atop them standing guard, all of them dressed in cardboard armor. Some of them even had crossbows that more closely represented slingshots. Instead of bolts, they would let loose water balloons, which each crossbow pony had a sack of hanging at their side. Other weapons were safe for foals to use — sword blades, for example, were made of what looked like foam.

Frankly, Elu didn't expect anything war-themed to be a part of a playground for ponies. It seems no one was afraid of foals hitting each other even if it could result in bruises. And yet, the colt would've expected to see the theme of war more prevalent in griffons, but it looked like ponies weren't afraid of that theme either.

"Hey, everyone!" Speartip attracted the knights' attention, "Elu joins the game and also joins us!"

"The castle's on the lock, where'd you find him?" one of the other colts asked him, "Sure he's not a spy?"

"Haven't seen him before, and he didn't know our game, so he's trusty," Speartip assured, "So, with us now. Gotta take him to the Lady to be knighted."

"But me scholar, no?" Elu asked.

"Everyone is knighted," the colt shrugged, "And maybe ya can swing sword now, too."

Elu's eyes brightened. He hadn't partaken in anything even remotely resembling swordsmanship for some time now, and he wouldn't mind refreshing his skills. While he did do something while dreaming, it was no comparison to reality. And maybe, just maybe, he would join a swordsmanship club and train again.

While thinking, he was led to the biggest tower that consisted of no less than three floors. Elu and Speartip made their way to the entrance where a guard greeted them. Taller than either of the two, he seemed the oldest as well.

"I will announce your arrival to the Lady," he said, his voice rather deep, signifying the puberty he had recently entered.

"Lady?" Elu asked in curiosity.

"A filly that has the honor to lead us," Speartip explained, "She's most beautiful, too. She gives the best knight a..." he blushed, lowering his voice, "A kiss..."

"Want be best knight?" the colt asked with a slight chuckle.

"Everyone does," Speartip replied with a serious expression, "If ya get a kiss, ya get respect."

"Also, tell more of game," Elu asked, wanting to know more about the playground and its interesting game. It felt like something older roleplay lovers would come up with, not kids.

"I said before, bandits against knights," the colt repeated, but decided to elaborate, "Knights are led by the Lady, bandits are led by the Mistress. We fight for stuff. If they get castle, we lose. If we get their camp, we win. If we win, we get respect, admiration, and good wood swords made for us. If we lose, we have to do anything bandits tell us to like, ugh... stupid stuff."

"Like?"

"Dancing with our butts up," Speartip grumbled quietly, "Let's not talk of it."

"Who usually win?" Elu continued.

"Bandits..." the colt frowned, "They're mostly older ponies. They think knights are lame and can't protect the Lady well. But we'll prove they're wrong! Everyone will want to be knight after we win!"

"Why bandits win?"

"I dunno, but we just can't fight them all," he complained, "But maybe ya'll help us, so it'll be good. Ya can throw balloons at them, that gotta teach them!"

"You two may enter," the older pony said once he returned, gesturing for Speartip and Elu to enter the tower.

The first floor consisted of a few beds and stands with weapons and armor, and the stairs leading to the second floor were secured by another guard roughly the same age as the one at the entrance. Once the two ascended, they saw a wooden throne richly decorated with carvings and paint. Speartip bowed, and Elu followed his example. Before he did, however, he managed to get a good look at the filly. She was easily the oldest out of every foal he saw at the castle, and she was indeed beautiful in her own way. A curly deep-blue mane in a royal hairdo, the eyes of complimenting cobalt, even though her fur was of grayish color. She wore a simple and yet elegant dress, a tiara atop her head.

"We hear another wants to join our noblest cause," the Lady spoke in a firm yet gentle tone that reminded Elu of either Celestia or Luna, "We welcome you in our service. May We know your name?"

"Elu," he replied. Even though it was just a game, he felt something about it, and he was deeply immersed in it.

"You shall shed this name, for a knightly name you shall now adopt," she continued, "We name you... Roundel. You shall strike true and strike precisely, and nine shall stay in your path. You are now a Knight of the Castle. You may rise."

Elu rose and looked at the Lady. The name she'd given him seemed familiar, for it was translated by his amulet. However, he didn't remember what it was that his name signified.

Suddenly, hoof steps sounded from below, and a guard soon appeared in the room.

"We're attacked!" he exclaimed, "We need everyone, now!"

"Go, my fair knights, and may victory smile upon you!" the Lady gave them her blessing, and the three colts hurried off. Elu tried his best to keep up, but the others were quicker than him and had longer legs, almost leaving him behind.

A few moments later, they were up on one of the towers. Elu could see a group of colts and fillies standing not too far away from the gate, all of them armed and armored. Unlike the silver-painted armor of the knights, they bore different colors: dirty green, brown, and black. Just like Speartip said, the bandits looked older than the knights as well.

"We'll count to ten!" the biggest of them, presumably the leader, declared, "If you surrender, only half of you will have to do stuff for us! The others will be free to go!"

"We cannot betray Our Fair Lady!" one of the knights replied.

"One! Two! Three!" the bandit began the countdown.

Meanwhile, Elu spied a sack of water balloons lying nearby. He rummaged through it and found a couple of them. If he was as good at throwing as before, he could try something. He lifted himself up to get a better look at the bandits and aimed. Subconscious calculations were met, wind taken into account, and... there the balloon went.

"Five!" the bandit said before the balloon exploded straight on his head, showering him with water all over. For a moment, he stood there silently, turning his head to the tower. Elu grinned, happy that his throwing skills didn't dull. It was a good distance, one he'd rarely throw anything over. Unexpectedly, the bandit waved and said, "Good shot! Soaked my all through for sure!"

The knights cheered, and then the battle ensued. The bandits went to break down the gate, which was made of reinforced cardboard-like material — easy to punch through with enough force. Meanwhile, Elu took a few more balloons and threw them at the attackers. Hitting a moving target was more difficult, so most of the time he merely splashed at their hooves.

"They're inside!" one of the knights hollered, drawing their blade. Unfortunately for Elu, he didn't have many water balloons, so he quickly exhausted the existing supply.

"Here, Roundel, use this," Speartip threw a sword to Elu, "Let's show 'em!"

Elu nodded, and the two descended the tower to the inner yard. The battle was on, the knights were standing their ground, trying to fight the bandits off. Some other colts tried to assist by throwing water balloons, but hit their own most of the time. Those that were hit either by a balloon or by a weapon into unarmored spots had to stand aside and watch the skirmish without the ability to support their side.

Elu looked at his sword and tried to figure out what it was. Seemingly it would be best described as an arming sword, although he didn't know whether the European Medieval terms could even be applied to an Equestrian weapon. Fortunately, the sword had a reasonable guard to use to parry, and the blade wasn't comically short either. So, Elu charged into battle.

The first foe overswung and missed, giving ample opportunity for the colt to strike. Still remembering his training, he opted for a short precise stab in the exposed side, thus eliciting an 'ow' from his opponent. Without a pause, a second one attacked Elu, this time more experienced. However, foals were no trained soldiers, so all Elu had to do was to feint — to fool the enemy into defending strikes from one direction while he swiftly changed it to strike from unexpected angles. Elu was no trained swordsmanship, but foals were no trained swordsmen either. At the very least, he had around half a month of training with both longsword and sabre, and even partook in a few tournaments. Never won any of them, but wasn't at the bottom of the list either.

"Ah, you hit me with that balloon!" the same bandit approached him, now without armor, "I challenge you!"

Elu nodded, assuming a stance. He had no idea about the proper hoof work he would need to do to be efficient, but even now his training kicked in — hooves not too close and yet not too wide apart, bent at the knees. He wasn't sure he'd win this duel — the opponent looked gigantic compared to him, and his weapon was longer as well. However, Elu couldn't refuse such a challenge. He saluted as he usually did before a duel, and it began.

At first, the bandit went in almost recklessly, but Elu managed to block the blows and not get hit. However, he couldn't counterattack because of his lack of reach. If he wanted to get the bandit, he would need to get closer. Thus, the duel was on even ground: Elu had an upper hand in skill while the bandit leader had advantage in reach and speed. None could hit the other, but Elu grew tired quickly, his small form not yet ready for exhausting activities. It would've ended as a defeat for him if not for the other knight that came to help. He struck the bandit leader from the side, forcing him to retreat.

The battle was over. Some bandits were grumbling as they gathered their things and left in defeat, others congratulated the knights on the victory. Elu huffed, sweat rolling down his body in rivers, and he let the sword fall on the ground. Thankfully, there was a bench nearby, and he made his way to it to lie down for a moment.

"Ya did really good, Roundel!" Speartip sat nearby, "They hit me, but ya fought like a lion! Na, a dragon! Ya'r like... Royal Guards!"

"Thanks..." Elu replied tiredly as he wiped the sweat off his face, "What now?"

"Gonna prepare and head out for counterattack!" the colt replied joyfully, "We'll win this time for sure! Also, wanna eat? I have some nut sticks."

Elu nodded, and soon he received two sticks of chocolate with different nuts in them. It just so happened that he absolutely loved chocolate with nuts, so it didn't take him long to devour them whole.

This day looked great, much better than he could imagine. He didn't feel fear, anxiety, he didn't feel uncomfortable. Playing with kids proved to be great fun and not at all like he previously imagined it to be. They weren't lazily digging in the sandbox, no — they played their own big game that could and did attract an adult.

However, he would need to rest before continuing, so he closed his eyes for a while. The sun warmed his body, and this wooden bench proved to be a comfortable bed despite its simplicity. Soon, Elu was asleep, breathing lightly as his body and mind rested. After all, he was still a kid, and kids often needed sleep.

Castle

The white sun gently warmed the back of Elu as he lazily lay on the bench in the playground castle. His eyelids were low and yet he wasn't asleep, merely zoned out as he enjoyed the moments of quietness. The colts and fillies were conversing nearby but he didn't pay them much mind, tuning them out as background noise. He had done so many times in his life when his old family was particularly loud in the adjacent room to his and made it difficult for him to fall asleep early. He breathed lightly and deeply while he rested, his mind pleasantly empty. He knew he would have to get up sooner or later, but that time hadn't come yet, so why would he care? Instead, he focused on what he could feel.

The wood of the bench was smooth, polished, not a single chip on it. It was dry and warm, and almost perfectly flat. It was neither too narrow nor too wide, but it was the perfect size for him. He knew nothing about kinds of timber or their properties, but this bench could bend rather easily. It was probably a deliberate choice — elastic things are harder to break.

Then Elu focused on his body. He could feel the pressure of the bench where it touched his body, his muscles shifting when he changed his position, his heartbeat, his breath. The most unusual sensation remained the feel of the fur almost everywhere on his body. It felt like a beard but more dense, softer, and all over his body. It wasn't thin, patchy human body hair but proper fur that felt nice and looked good. For a moment, a thought passed in his head, a question — how do ponies grow beards?

Another unusual sensation was the nudity. Most of his previous life, Elu wasn't nude despite the fact that he nearly always wore nothing but his underwear at home. Now, it was complete freedom which allowed his skin to breathe properly in all areas, including his privates. He was slowly getting used to the casual universal nudity but his eyes still passed some of the privates with a sort of interest, one that was forbidden before. Humans don't usually go around nude, and the parts most hidden were always what others wanted to see. And now, Elu had no idea what to think and how to feel about the current reality. But, at the very least, he didn't have to worry about clothes anymore. It wasn't like he had trouble picking them — anything that was for men and came in black was fine to him as long as it was simple, affordable, practical, and comfortable. Sometimes, during especially sunny days, those that were unusually hot for Siberia, he wore white or gray clothes. In any case, there was nothing bright or exciting about anything he wore.

Even now, his colors were rather simple: a light, soft shade of brown for the fur, and the much darker one for the mane. His eyes remained the grayish-green they were in his previous life. In fact, he still wasn't entirely sure what their true color was. Under one lighting, they were gray; under the other, they were clearly green. He had seen old photos of himself, and often the eyes looked clearly gray. It was an interesting thing he discovered while researching eye color change for one of his stories.

Finally, Elu grew bored of lying on the bench and doing nothing, so he fully opened his eyes and stood up. He let out a yawn, blinked a few times, and refreshed his thoughts. He picked up the sword he used and inspected it a bit more closely.

During the battle, he didn't think much, but now he realized that the sword lacked the proper balance or weight of the real examples. It wasn't surprising, but Elu was still slightly disappointed. Some time ago, he got a longsword replica for training; while its blade was made of plastic, the balance and the weight were close to the real examples. With his interested in swordsmanship reignited, he hoped he would be able to get back into it and train again. Unfortunately, he was too young for it, so he had to wait quite a few years.

Elu swung the sword a couple of times. It definitely felt weird not having a proper connection to it; all he had was his horn and the glow around the sword, nothing in between them. He even waved his hoof to check it. He didn't know what he wanted to feel — some sort of string, perhaps? However, there was nothing but air, the very one he breathed. Nothing at all was unusual about it.

He let go of the sword, letting it fall to the ground. However, his aura remained in the air just like he wanted it to. A formless blob of something that looked like smoke or jelly, a substance unlike any other. It felt just like his hand — he was aware where his aura were even if his eyes were closed. It was a part of him despite not being physically connected to him in any familiar way.

"What'cha doing, Roundel?" Speartip approached him, "Ya know, standing there with yer horn glowing?"

For some reason, it didn't seem like he could see the aura floating in the air. Out of curiosity, and also ignoring the question, Elu waved the aura in front of Speartip's face. He didn't react at all, simply looking at the unicorn in confusion. A small smile appeared on Elu's face when...

*Boop*

Speartip scrunched his muzzle in surprise and then sneezed. Elu burst out laughing as the colt reddened in cheeks with embarrassment.

"What was that for?" he complained, "Ya startled me!"

"Sorry," Elu said, using the aura to wipe the tears of laughter from his face, "I do magic."

"Alright, anyway... We gotta counterattack soon while bandits are weak. Ya gonna stay here for defense or attack with us?"

For a moment, Elu considered going with them to approach the bandits and drive them further away from the castle walls. However, he realized that the bandits might expect it and so would attack the castle while the main force was away. It's not an uncommon tactic and was quite easy to pull off. While Elu wasn't a bad swordsman, he was probably the youngest, which also meant the weakest. He still felt a bit drowsy and tired, so it would be best for him to stay and use the advantages of defense.

"I stay," he finally replied.

"Aw, I hoped ya'd come with us, but okay," Speartip replied, "We gonna return with victory!"

He, along with most other knights assembled in the courtyard and soon marched off through the broken gates. Those who stayed were three 'scholars' including Elu and two knights not counting the Lady's guards. Despite having some trouble identifying the ages of ponies judging by the appearances alone, Elu suspected that the defenders were the youngest out of the whole group.

While they lazily walked or lay around, Elu got to work. The gates couldn't possibly be left open like that, so he went to inspect them closer. They were indeed made of some weak cardboard-like material that would never be able to hold off any attack. Perhaps, it was an intentional design since there didn't seem to be any siege engines around: no ladders, towers, and definitely no ballistae or trebuchets to break down the walls. Elu seriously doubted anyone would let foals use any of that.

However, there was one important thing he did notice. Right after the gate, there was a drawbridge over a small stream. For some reason, no one thought of pulling it up before the battle. Elu immediately rushed up the wall to the battlements above the gateway and saw a windlass. Ropes from it were connected to the end of the bridge. Elu used both his magic and hooves to rotate the windlass, slowly but surely raising the drawbridge until it was perpendicular to the ground, closing the access to the castle from the outside.

"What're you doing?" someone approached him, a colt of a similar age to Speartip, but a unicorn.

"Move this up," Elu gestured at the bridge and then up.

"Why?"

"Bandits," he replied, "Knights return — bridge down. Before — bridge up."

"You think they'll show up after the thrashing we gave them?" the unicorn asked skeptically.

"Yes," Elu nodded, then tried to elaborate, "They... distract. Knights away — take castle. Not much defenders."

"So, you're saying they could trick us and take the castle while most of us are away?" the unicorn asked for confirmation, to which Elu nodded, "Hm, makes sense. I'll stand guard here in case they show up, then."

Elu nodded once again and left the battlements to pick up the sword he left lying on the ground. He wished he had a sheath or a scabbard to carry the sword with, but the only thing he could use for it was a rope. A few of them were hanging from the nearby weapon rack, so he picked one up and made a loop to fit a sword. Then he tied it around his body. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it served its function.

Then his eyes opened wide when he realized that there was a second entrance, the one he used to enter the castle in the first place. Immediately, he took off and galloped to the tower which had the secret entrance. In what seemed like a second, he was near it, looking into the tunnel down the stairs. There was nothing: no movement, no sound. However, he needed to check it, maybe even close the entrance in the house. He pulled out his sword and slowly descended into the tunnel. Dry and silent, it was empty, but Elu's heart thumped like drums. He knew it was just a game, but it was so immersive he pushed the obvious to the back of his mind.

Slowly but surely, he moved through the tunnel, trying to step softly. He held his breath, hoping that its sound won't give him away. Step by step, he went through the tunnel until he reached the next flight of stairs that led into the house outside the castle. Up above, he could hear voices talking. He lowered his body and slowly creeped up, his ears aimed forward.

"...bridge up," a voice said, "Doubt they're defending the secret tunnel, though. I'm sure everyone's on the walls, I counted."

"You certain?" a second voice asked in a hushed tone, "Like, one hundred percent certain?"

"Yeah, absolutely," the first one assured, "So, we can send someone through the tunnel to lower the bridge or just attack them straight away. That'd get a little crowded, though. The tunnel isn't that big, and the exit is pretty cramped."

Elu was almost at the top and he could see a pair of flanks. He almost chuckled, realizing that the bandits weren't paying attention to the tunnel. He sneaked up and hit the pony in the flank. As the first bandit exclaimed in surprise, Elu darted forward and got the second one.

"Damn, you scared me!" the first one said, "Also, did you have to hit that hard? My butt hurts now."

"Sorry," Elu replied and then went back into the tunnel, closing the hatch behind him.

He could already hear someone entering the house, so galloped straight back to the castle. His heart was pumping as he ran, hoping that the bandits didn't get in before he reached the next flight of stairs. The tunnel was straight, it would be easy to use a crossbow to send a water balloon flying towards him. Fortunately, he managed to reach the exit without being hit, and so he closed the hatch. Panting, he stopped for a few moments before dashing into the courtyard.

"Everyone! Bandits go tunnel!" he shouted, wishing nothing more than to be able to speak the language properly.

"What?" someone yelled back.

"Tunnel, bandits!" Elu repeated, and the knights rushed to him, "They attack!"

"They're using the secret tunnel?" one of them asked and he nodded, "Alright, we're going to wait for them there. You ready?"

Still breathing heavily, Elu nodded. Thankfully, he didn't drop his sword while running through the tunnel.

"Water balloons?" he asked, hoping to get some sort of ranged weapon.

"That tower has some," a knight gestured at one of the towers, and Elu took off after a nod.

He swiftly climbed up the stairs and saw a box with water balloons. There were roughly ten of them ready, which should be enough to use against the attackers. Elu grabbed the box and went back into the yard and then into the tower that had the secret tunnel. The hatch was closed, the knights were standing around it in preparation for the bandits, their bodies stiff and their minds silent. The air was so thick with anticipation Elu had to remind himself that it was just a game. And yet, this thought went away as he placed the box and prepared himself.

Deep inside, he was joyful about this kind of childhood. His fear of interacting with foals were gone, and he allowed himself to feel like a child again. Carefree, without any responsibilities, he could play with others and enjoy himself fully. He knew he would have to become an adult someday, but this day wouldn't come anytime soon.

Minutes passed, and yet the bandits hadn't shown up. However, Elu caught the noise of the drawbridge being lowered. He went into the courtyard and saw the knights come in with their steps proud. Surrounded by them, a filly was trotting, dressed all in black, and a flag was dragging behind her.

"We have captured the villain!" one of the knights proclaimed, "Today, we are victorious!"

The castle erupted in cheering, and all knights and scholars gathered to look at the Mistress, the leader of bandits. Not much older than the Lady, she seemed to be a complete opposite of her – dark mane was tied behind her head in a ponytail, and her fur was a gray color. The clothes she wore resembled a cloak with some armored pieces here and there. A frown was present on her face, and yet she congratulated the knights for their victory.

"Yeah, we gave them!" Speartip appeared at Elu's side, "How was it here?"

"Bandits try get in," he explained simply, "But all fine."

"Oh, that's good! Anyway, it's time to get our rewards! All of us are gonna get those nice wooden swords..." the colt trailed off, a dreamy look in his eyes. Elu decided not to disturb him, and soon the two, along with the others, went into the castle keep for the celebration.

The keep was unfortunately a bit too small to fit everyone in, and Elu was too small himself to be able to see anything from the ground. Somewhat uncomfortably squished between others, he still managed to see the Lady coming from the second floor. She stopped in the middle of the stairs, making sure she could see everyone.

"My dear knights, defenders of the realm!" she spoke in a regal tone, "Today, we have gained victory! Today, we are celebrating it!" she made a pause and everyone cheered before becoming quiet again, "And it is my honor to offer the most distinguished knights and scholars my sincerest gratitude... I think you are all aware that if not for one pony, bandits would have taken over our castle and plunged it into ruin. He fought bravely, and his ingenuity saved us from the cunning abilities of our enemies. Sir Roundel, please come here!"

Elu blushed when everyone looked at him and parted, allowing him to go straight to the Lady. In all honesty, he dreaded this moment, even if it was a moment of fame. He had earned it, but it was simply because he was an adult inside. And besides, someone else would've come up with something like that.

But it didn't matter what didn't happen – his deeds did. On numb legs, he made their way to the Lady, counting his steps and trying to look at a dot in the wall behind the filly instead of looking directly at her.

"This is a fine sword that would serve you well," she said, showing a well-polished wooden longsword. The blade was painted in silver, and a wire wrap around the hilt seemed genuine. The straight guard of the weapon along with the pommel at its end were made of another kind of wood, one that looked stronger and more durable, "And, of course, my personal gratitude..." she leaned in and kissed Elu on the cheek. His blush intensified, and he felt like he was going to have a heart attack. This kiss was nothing, but it felt like it meant something. Thankfully, the filly was older, and so it made things somewhat less awkward and wrong, all things considered.

Elu soon returned to his place, his mind abuzz with thoughts. It was a simple game from beginning to the end, but he felt accomplished. The sword he had gotten looked and felt genuine, and even the size was proper – the foam sword he had during the game was nothing in comparison to this one in any way.

After other distinguished knights received their praise and prize, the foals took off their armor and went their separate ways: some went home, others stayed to play around for a bit longer, but the grand game of Knights vs Bandits was over. The Lady herself undressed and appeared in the courtyard soon after, and now no one would think that she looked like a princess once. After giving Elu a friendly wink, she went away.

He stood there in the courtyard, the sword strapped to his side, and he was unsure of what to do next. He was slightly tired, he felt a buzz in his muscles, and he let out a yawn. And yet, for some reason, he wanted to stay and play for a little longer. And yet, with the game over, he didn't know what else he could do. Perhaps, he can just go home and come back some other day to play this game again, but he wasn't sure.

"Hey, what'cha doing?" Speartip approached him.

"Uh, nothing..." Elu replied slowly.

"Ya know, ya'r really lucky," the colt continued, "Getting the Lady's gratitude... not many get that. But anyway... wanna do something together?"

"Tired," he shook his head with uncertainty, "But... tomorrow?"

"I'll be here at around ten," Speartip nodded with a smile, "Alrighty, I'll see ya then!"

"Yeah," Elu nodded, and then went to where he entered the playground.

Soon, he noticed his parents sitting under a tree shade, so he went straight to them. They greeted him with a smile and adjusted their position to let him sit with them.

"I see you've had your fun, Elu," Ring Keeper told him, "Made any friends?"

"Uh... maybe," he replied, unsure. He wouldn't exactly call anyone a friend just yet, although Speartip became the closest. And besides, they could become friends despite the age difference; after all, Elu had fun with the foals, so why would he be uncertain anymore? "Oh! Um... ten hour, tomorrow, going meet, uh..."

"So, you did make a friend?" the mother replied in a gleeful tone, "How wonderful! So, do you mean that you want to meet up at ten tomorrow?"

"Yes," Elu nodded, letting out a silent sigh of frustration. It would be at least half a year before he would learn how to speak the language properly. He chuckled to himself, realizing that he thought about that for quite a few times already. He just needed to remind himself that everything would be fine. He had learned two languages already, and the third one wouldn't be too much difficult.

After spending some time just lying on a bench and relaxing, Elu and his family decided to head back home. The sun was still out, but the colt felt like he needed some rest, and his bed would be the best for it. He had a lot of fun playing around, but if he tried to push himself further, he might just end up hurting himself because he couldn't control his body as precisely as he'd like. He stumbled a couple of times already but, thankfully, didn't fall. Sleepiness might just change that, so it would be better for him to take a bit of rest here and there.

With a yawn and a smile of joy on his face, Elu followed his parents back to his home. Truly, Equestria seemed like a much nicer place, and he would love to discover more. All would come to him sooner or later, he just had to wait and get ready for it.

Author's Note

Reminds me of the best parts of my childhood. I've never had as much fun as I'm writing about here, but... I still had some. Doing some roleplay with knights and bandits wasn't something I did often, but I did use sticks for "swordfighting" back in the day. I wasn't always the winner, but there's a reason why people generally didn't want to duel me.

And I still have a plastic longsword replica around. Maybe if I get enough money, I will pick up swordsmanship again, who knows?

P.S. I stopped using Grammarly (they have some vague ToS that might allow them to use any of my writing for whatever purpose they see fit), so the amount of small mistakes might be higher than usual.

Fruit and Words

Elu woke up in the middle of the night. His ears twitched as he caught some strange noises, a rustling of sorts. He opened his eyes and looked around, easily seeing in the darkness despite there being almost no light. His mother was sleeping on the bed, her chest rising and falling calmly and steadily. The window to the outside world was open, a stream of fresh air coming in, sometimes strengthened by gusts of wind. Critters were chirping quietly and all was quiet as the moon shone onto the land below. The former human closed his eyes when something suddenly collided with his crib, rocking it. His eyes shot open and he immediately saw the cause of it.

It was a strange creature about the size of him, maybe even slightly bigger. It had membrane wings, and so Elu assumed it was a bat of sorts. However, something was different. He focused and managed to make out a long snout, a pair of big round eyes, and two simple ears that reminded him of a cat. The creature was looking at the foal with interest, and Elu was staring back at it, not knowing what to do.

The creature jumped down, landing near the former human, and started sniffing around. Elu was still, somewhat afraid to move or even breathe. What was that strange creature? He remembered seeing something like this on the internet but he forgot the exact name of the creature or what it was supposed to be. Carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore? It was the main question on his mind.

Suddenly, the snout of the creature appeared mere centimeters away from Elu's. Its wings were holding a piece of banana, and soon the said piece was gently pressed against the maw of the former human. He opened it hesitantly, and the banana was stuffed in it soon enough.

"Eat frut." the strange creature said in a language Elu couldn't understand yet, its voice chirping slightly. The creature booped him on the muzzle and unfolded its wings, taking off.

Elu, dumbfounded, chewed the banana slowly and watched as the creature flew up and soon took place right on the ceiling, its hind legs securely holding onto the chandelier. In a cocoon of its own wings, the creature was fast asleep in just a few moments.

After the former human ate the banana, he lay in his crib for a few long minutes, thinking about what had just happened. His tail was twitching slightly, his ears flat against his skull as he stared at the unmoving cocoon. However, he eventually drifted back into sleep.

In the morning, after Elu's diapers were discarded and he was properly bathed and fed, his mother brought him to the soft-carpeted floor and let him go once he reached it. Elu was stuck in one place, his ears slightly drooped as he looked at the floor under him, not knowing what to do. He glanced upwards and noticed that the creature he saw during the night was still sleeping, hanging on the chandelier. Ring Keeper and her husband were lying not too far away from him, observing him with interest and encouraged him to move by smiling at him.

"Now, come to mama." Ring Keeper said, spreading her forelegs in an inviting manner.

Elu, understanding the message, started to crawl towards her, his ears perking up. His legs still wouldn't let him move properly, but he could give them something to work with anyway. The tickling sensation down his body made him even more nervous as the carpet rubbed against a certain sensitive area. He had no idea how he would get used to the casual nudity of ponies. Doing it in reality would be harder than thinking about it while writing a story, after all. He felt exposed way too much, vulnerable, and defenseless, especially being as young and as small as he was at the time. However, his worries faded into the back of his mind as his parents continued to smile at him.

Soon, he made his way to the mother, and she grabbed him with her forelegs and then brought him up. She nuzzled him lovingly, making him blush at such an open sign of paternal affection, something he wasn't used to at all. At first, he wanted to push her away but ended up surrendering himself to her. She was his new mother, she was showing him how she loved him. He wasn't a changeling but he craved loved like one, feeling its warm waves washing over his soul, making it feel like his heart was shivering with delight and comfort. He giggled childishly, feeling a tickling sensation where Ring Keeper nuzzled him.

Soon, he was put back on the floor, and he turned to his father. Without the latter having to say anything, Elu quickly crawled up to him, sat on his haunches once he reached Stellares, and extend his forelegs for a nuzzle from him. Without hesitation, the stallion grabbed his son and nuzzled him as lovingly as Ring Keeper did if not more. The colt giggled once again, and soon he was put down one more time. He turned around to face his mother, willing to continue this type of playing around, but surprisingly, she had something in her hooves.

"Elu, it's you." his mother said warmly. "Take a look."

His eyes widened as he crawled towards what was apparently a mirror large enough to provide him with a view of himself. He awkwardly sat in front of the mirror and looked at himself, a tingling sensation in his eyes.

The short but soft fur of a light shade of brown, dark-brown mohawk mane that had yet to grow into a longer mane, and eyes of grayish green. It was him, how he envisioned himself as a pony. He remembered drawing how he would want to look like. A simple unicorn with some bat pony or, how he decided to call them, lunar pegasi heritage. He knew he could make himself into anything he would want: an alicorn, a griffon, some other sort of being. However, he decided to be a unicorn despite having all the other options. His horn was yet small but it was there, his tufted ears perking up on his head. He gazed at himself, his mind somewhat empty as he stared into his own eyes. It was him. Sitting there on a soft carpet, looking at himself, his mother holding the simple mirror still.

If what he drew came to life, became true, then what were the chances that other things he had created in his previous life had become just as real as his pony life? Could it be that one of his characters was somewhere nearby, could it be that he was thrown into one of his stories? He wondered if his story was written by himself, by another him. However, he decided not to overthink. While it wouldn't make him insane, such thoughts of 'what would' or 'what if' were unnecessary.

He returned to his new world. He noticed wetness under his eyes, a warm feeling on his face. It was all real, there was no doubt. The corners of his mouth lifted up as he continued to look at himself, repeating those four words in his head:

It is all real.

"Is everything alright, Elu?" Ring Keeper asked worriedly, putting the mirror away. Without saying a word, Elu shuffled over to his mother and hugged her. "Aww..." leaning away only slightly, the colt looked at his father. Understanding what he wanted, Stellares was quick to join the hug. Pressed between the two ponies, Elu nuzzled each of them, letting out some incoherent but nonetheless cute foalish noise.

Despite feeling anxious, Elu knew it was a good thing both for himself and his parents. He also had an idea but he wasn't sure if it would work at the moment. However, he decided to try it.

"Mh... Mmh..." he opened his maw, trying to utter something that would make sense, at the very least to him. "Mm... Muh..." he was frustrated at his inability to speak but he was struggling nevertheless. "Mum." he looked Ring Keeper in the eyes. "Mum!"

She nearly gasped, her smile widening. She nuzzled him lovingly, placing a kiss on his forehead afterwards.

More confident than before, Elu turned to his father.

"Ph... Pf..." he struggled once again, finding the right things in his body to control his voice. "Pha... Paph... Papa." he finally said, grinning from ear to ear. "Papa!"

It was time for Stellares to nuzzle the colt, and soon after, the three ponies hugged once again, sharing the familial love they had for each other, and Elu's was growing by the seconds of the embrace. He had no idea if the two understood what he was saying, the meaning of his words, but it didn't matter. He meant what he said and sooner or later, he would be able to make them understand him.

But how could he speak already, if one could even call it speech? Do foals grow up faster than human babies? From his limited knowledge, Elu knew that horses could walk and even gallop within a day. It was apparent these ponies weren't the same. However, he wouldn't mind faster early childhood, but only as long as his life wouldn't be limited to thirty or forty years, and who knew, maybe it was even less.

After all, he planned to stay in Equestria for a long, long while, and his journey had just begun.

Author's Note

It's a shorter chapter but next chapters will be far larger. This one doesn't fit what I've planned next, so here it is as a stand-alone, I suppose.

P.S. Eat frut