"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 Notes:

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.