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.