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!