Not everyone has the genetics to be beautiful. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Life would be dull if there was not much variety in how people look. That said, some people get the short stick when it comes to looks. Max was a prime example. He was cursed with an overbite, a particularly long nose, and a weak chin. It wasn't hard to see why he became such an introvert. His mother tried to do her best for him, but she became worried that he'd remain a basement dweller for the rest of his life. He even claimed this adaptation benefited him when the pandemic started.
It was time for more drastic intervention. Shutting yourself away wasn't a healthy lifestyle. Especially when malicious cyberbullies could mercilessly torment him, possibly to the point of getting him to commit suicide. So his mother decided that for the sake of his well-being, Max should move to Animalia and convert. It may be drastic, but every prospect of it had a superior appeal than the life he had now. It took some persuasion to come around to it, but Max eventually decided he would like the idea. It would be a major upheaval, but it would mean a better life farther down the line.
==========
Max's rather homely looks had caused more than a few cruel kids to call him 'Horseface' over the years. Well, he was going to get the last laugh now. There was very little question that the horse Animalians were one of the best-build and sexiest in their community. Others may argue about which species looks best, but there are plenty of horses they were prime candidates. Not to mention they were among the most prominent thanks to Abby Brown and her bondmate Samson, along various other notable equines. People will be calling Max 'Horseface' for a very different reason now.
Of course, a person with an inferiority complex like Max's would want a particularly fine specimen of horseflesh to compensate. There were different kinds of draft horses to choose from, but Max wanted the Shire horse in particular. It wasn't just because of the name. The Shire horse is one of the largest horse breeds in the world. Several individuals were record-holders of largest living horse. Possibly the largest horse in recorded history was a Shire horse. It seemed like a blatant example of overcompensation, but Max didn't care.
He was plenty pleased with the results afterwards. Before, he was a combination of spindly limbs and flabby guts before. Now, he was a towering mountain of muscles. His coloring was mainly black and white, black holding dominance, but white starting from his nose and down his front, as well as on his hands and legs. He didn't have as much feathering as he would expected, but it would probably be too much of a tangle anyways.
When Max left Horizon Labs, he wondered how long before mares started lining up for him. It turned out to not be very long at all. Almost as soon as he left the building. a mare walked up to him. "Hello there," she said in a friendly, yet seductive tone, "My name's Vera. Are you new here."
"Uh, y-yes," said Max nervously. Before, girls had avoided him like the plague. Having one show interest in him was a very experience.
"Well, I hope you'd accept an invitation to join me and my friends out our apartment," said Vera, "They'll be very interested to meet you too."
"Hold on a minute," said Max, trying to get a grasp of the situation, "Your friends?"
"Yes..." said Vera patiently.
Max was pretty sure he heard the name Vera from one of the Animalia Ambassadoria episodes. What was it about? Oh yeah. "Does that mean you're Vera of the Mane Six?" he asked.
"Well, we don't call ourselves that, but-" started Vera.
"I thought all of you had already partnered with a stallion," said Max.
"Well, nothing's really set in stone right now," said Vera, "Not to mention we're taking in the mares of the Hansom herd under our collective wings while they're looking for mates too."
"But haven't you found mates yet?" asked Max.
"There have been some new stallions," said Vera, "But honestly, I don't think of it is working out. Those 'Studs in the Hood' aren't exactly lifebond material."
"Studs in the Hood?" asked Max, "That group of wannabe hip hop artists/bodybuilders?"
"Yes," said Vera in a flat tone.
"Enough said," said Max.
"So you'd like to come?" asked Vera.
"I'll need more time to think about it," said Max, "But the invitation does sound promising."