Arrival

>"Anon, what the fuck happened to you?!" Your mother screams as you explain why you are a pony.
>Just as you are about to open your mouth to explain, you hear a voice coming from somewhere else.
>"Jack? Jack! Wake up, you dumbhorse!"
>You feel someone shaking you by the shoulder, and open your eyes to realize you were dreaming.
>It seemed like whenever you closed your eyes you could see your old life, before becoming a pony...
>You can't stop the shiver from going down your spine and the grimace on your face as you attempt to shake it off and bring yourself back to the present reality.
>Blinking your tired eyes, you look up at Coca Breeze, who smiles as she sees she's woken you up.
>"Come on, big guy! The train's stopped! We're in Ponytown!"
>You start to groan but stop when she says 'Ponytown'
>You raise an eyebrow, looking to Coca as you stand to your hooves, which still felt very awkward, causing you to almost trip a few times. "Ponytown? Really?" You ask incredulously, unable to hold back a smirk.
>"Well I'm sorry, what would *you* have named it?" Coca asks,
>You tap your chin with a hoof for a moment.
>"Auschwitz."
>Coca Breeze frowns and turns around, flicking her tail in your face.
>You shrug. You thought it was funny.
>Looking out the windows of the train car, you see that it's mostly dark outside, though a few traces of light were starting to break over the horizon. It was dawn.
>Making sure your canvas bag is still safely strapped to your side, you follow Coca breeze off the train.
>You step off the train, taking a deep breath through your nostrils. Being from the rural south, there was always something soothing about the scent of the morning country air. The dirt is cold and hard beneath your hooves, and there are pine trees all around surrounding the train station you have arrived at.
>Former human-turned ponies disembark the train behind you, scattering into the train station and wandering around.
>It was loud and busy
>There are tall lights all around the trainstation casting a bright yellow light.
>Your tall ears flicker and twitch at all the loud noises.
>Although most of the beings around were ponies, there was a small group of human officials near the train announcing.
>An old officer wearing OD Green shouted from a microphone next to the train in a raspy, military vernacular: "NOW HEAR THIS: ALL PONIES ARE TO CHECK IN AT THE TOWN HALL ACROSS THE STREET!" He rang out, though it was almost drowned out by the noise of all the ponies in the train station square.
>You continue following Coca Breeze silently, your jaw hanging slack in slight awe of the spectacles around you.
>There are carts with ponies selling various foods. Some sold hay fries, some sold vegetarian burgers, and some sold straight up beef hotdogs.
>You noticed that although there were a lot of pones at the meat stands, most flocked to the vegetarian options.
>You theorized that ponies couldn't properly digest meat. In fact, a big fat double cheeseburger was the first food you ate after transforming, and you ended up puking your guts out the entire night.
>You now mostly stuck to the nutritional packets supplied as MRE's by the various officials that had been shipping you around.
>Your mouth watered at the smell of the food coming from one stand, though you can't make out what it is.
>Breeze glances to you and sees you wet-dreaming about the one stand, causing her to smirk. "Wanna get something to eat first?" She asks.
>You nod, your rumbling, tightening little pony stomach screaming for food too loud to respond with words.
>You awkwardly trot-gallop up to the food stand, manned by a pink mare with blond mane.
>She smiles brightly at you. "Hiya! What can I getcha, newcomer?"
>You look down at the array of food and want to cry in happiness.
>Pancakes and waffles, drenched in syrup. A full pot of "McDonald's Lawsuit Hot" fresh coffee.
>As Coca trots up next to you and sees the feast, her eyes light up
---
>About thirty minutes later, you feel much better after stuffing your face with pancakes and jelly biscuits and gulping down three mugs of black coffee.
>You hadn't actually eaten a filling meal since becoming a pony three days ago.
>It was much easier to think with a full stomach, the anxiety of the situation had abated quite a bit, though you were still suspicious and uneasy about your current situation.
>Still sitting at the picnic table with your now empty plates, you look over to Coca Breeze sitting next to you.
>This was the first fellow former-human-turned-pony he had met.
>She seemed to be having a much easier time accepting her new body and becoming female, welcoming the pony life and even wanting to forget her human life.
>You were lucky enough to remain male through the transformation, but somehow you felt more out of place than she did.
>You're not sure why you two were sticking together. You guess being stable-mates on the train made you both default friends.
>Coca daintily sips the last of her orange juice, setting the mug down politely and looking over to you.
>"Alright, that old Army geezer said to head to Town Hall to check in. Lessgo!" The tall, slender unicorn mare squeaked out excitedly.
>You roll your eyes. "Great, more paperwork. I didn't get a head-penis like you. Using a pencil ain't comin' to me yet."
>She stands herself up from the table, offering you a hoof as she glares at you, "That's not an excuse, mister!" though quickly her expression softens, "Look, I'll fill out the forms for you if you can't, okay?"
>You consider it for a moment. You could just... not 'check in'. In fact, from what you could tell there was nothing keeping you from leaving the town on hoof, though you quickly realize that surviving in the deep wilderness this time of year in a new small and unfamiliar body was probably a death wish.
>After a few moments you nod to Coca.
>"Alright Coca, lead the way."
---
>Coca trots a few paces from the table and glances back at you with a toothy grin. "So you like being led. What a beta-stallion!" She snarks at you with a mischievous giggle and begins making way for the town hall across the street from the huge, covered pavilion of the train station
>You get up from the table and begin following Coca, snickering. "Heh, well at least I'm still male!" You counter, "Besides... I'm not a stallion, I'm a man. A human," you continue to insist.
>"Gah, you're so stubborn!" Coca calls back to you. You don't bother responding, mostly because of how loud the pavilion was.
>In fact, the train station was more of a covered town square pavilion than just a station. You could tell this is where most of the trading had to be done.
>It made sense, with the train offloading right here and the frequent traffic of both ponies and humans on hoof/foot, respectively.
>Still following Coca, you glance back at the train being unloaded and ponder...
>How easy would it be to stow-away on one?
>This thought gave way to other questions, such as:
>How often does the train arrive?
>How long does it stay?
>When does it leave?
>Could goods and contraband be smuggled to this Ponytown via the train?
>You make a mental note to come do some train snooping on your own later, when you get some time by yourself to slip away unnoticed.
>For now though, you had to 'check in', whatever that meant.
>As you both cross the street you approach a building centered in the middle of the street with a large painted blue sign with big white letters that read "TOWN HALL"
>Without thinking, you trot ahead and open the door, holding it open for Coca.
>She raises an eyebrow at you. "I'm a strong independent mare that don't need no stallion!" she says in a sarcastic tone, flicking your muzzle with the tip of her tail as she passes you, entering the building
>You make another mental note to not open doors for women... er, mares.
>You curse your parents internally for raising you with manners, but then frown once you realize you may never see them again.
>Shaking it off, you enter and find yourself at the back of a very long line of ponies waiting to 'check in'
>You and Coca wait in line for almost an hour before finally making it to the front desk.
>There was a human woman behind the right side of the desk, and a unicorn mare behind the left side.
>It looked like the mare was the one actually filling out the information while the human asked the questions
>Coca, being in front of you, approached the ladies first.
>"State your name, date of birth, and human profession." The woman says to Coca in a flat, uninterested tone as the mare scribe readies her pen.
>The brown mare blinks her oversized eyes at the lady, tilting her head slightly. "My name is Coca Breeze. I was born April 20th, 1994. My profession was u-um..." She scratches the back of her head, looking around the room. "I-it's hard to remember my human life... My birthday is one of the few things I still do..." she says in a shy tone.
>Some random pony farther back in the line shouts "FOUR-TWENTY-BLAZE-IT, FAGGOT!"
>Coca Breeze blushes and smiles slightly in embarrassment. "That's probably why I remember it, h-heh," she quietly squeaks towards you and the two officials nervously, "Getting lit on my birthday was always memorable!"
>You facehoof, almost wishing you weren't associated with her, though you couldn't help but chuckle.
>The scribe-mare scribbles down the information before piping up, "Don't feel too bad about forgetting your human memories!" The hot-pink unicorn exclaims, "The scientists say a little less than half of all human-turned-ponies lose some or all memories of their human past!" The scribe finishes, grinning at Coca with a wide smile.
>Her tone was just a little too cheerful for your taste, but you stay silent in line behind Coca.
>The human woman glares at the scribe mare next to her before looking down to Coca with a half-forced smile.
>"They theorize it's a coping mechanism, sweetie. They're figuring it out as we speak," the woman explains in a more soothing, less emotionless tone.
>Still a curt, vague answer, you judged. You were just glad you weren't one of the ones that lost their memories.
>Coca Breeze is entered into the census, and before you know it, she's grabbing you by the hoof and bringing you up to the table.
>"My friend needs to be registered too!" Coca says happily, smiling as she watches you about to get questioned.
>Your eye winces and you poke your head over the desk, giving the woman and scribe a fake smile.
>Your tail was between your legs
>The hair on the back of your neck was standing on end
>Your ears instinctively folded back, and you for some reason you suddenly felt very anxious about signing yourself into this
>"State your name, date of birth, and human profession."
>You look to Coca Breeze who smiles and nods at you to go on an answer.
>"My name is Jack," You state flatly
>The pink scribe-mare behind the desk suddenly bursts into laughter
>The sudden loud outburst of laughter makes you flinch.
>"No, silly, not that *old* name! She means your name *now*, as a pony!"
>You tilt your head, making a big fuzzy ear flop over as you raise an eyebrow at the scribe.
>"I... don't have another name. Can't we just use that one?"
>Both the human and unicorn shake their heads, with the woman explaining, "Policy doesn't allow us to take your human name. In the eyes of the UN security council, if you have a native human name, you're legally a human. If you're a pony, you will not be classified in their database correctly unless you adopt a seperate name more befitting of an equine society."
>"That sounds stupid. I don't care what the UN thinks." You scoff.
>The woman rolls her eyes. "I can tell we've got another American here..." she mutters under her breath
>For a moment, you consider hitting back with a snarky remark, but decide against it as the scribe's high pitched, filly-like voice pierced your ears again.
>"Well, go on mister, pick a name!" She commands, almost bouncing with excitement.
>You shift your weight on your hooves uncomfortably, glancing nervously around the room. "I don't want to pick a new name..."
>"Aw come on, it's part of the fun! Pick a name!" She insists
>You frown and rear your head back slightly. "I really rather wouldn't."
>"Fine!" She yells, making your ears perk straight up
>For a few seconds, she appears pissed off, but you soon realize she's in thought.
>"Weeeeellllll, you *do* look like a scared lil' kid about ready to ricochet out of here at the first sign of trouble!" the mare says with a giggle
>"SooOOOoooOOO~, to me you look like a..." She studies you for a few moments before exclaiming, "Stray Shot!"
>Coca Breeze tries to hide her giggles behind a hoof, but a quick glance over to her makes it obvious she's trying not to laugh
>The woman sitting at the table chuckles, reaching a hand down and patting you on the head between the ears.
>Not gonna lie, it felt pretty nice to feel petting right there, but you can't help but blush as they all poke fun at your expense.
>What kind of name was Stray Shot? Did you really look like that much of a fickle scaredy cat?
>Ignoring your blush, you shake your head and get your thoughts back on track. You had an objective. "Okay, Stray Shot it is," you state hastily, placing your forehooves on the desk and looking to the scribe. "And er... date of birth July twelfth, 1992. Profession was... uh, package delivery, I guess."
>"Great!" The scribe exclaims happily once again as she scribbles in her oversized tome. "We need more package mules!"
---
>The pink mare scribe giggles again. "Aw, you're gonna fit in juuuust fine here, Shotty!"
>You internally cringe at being called 'Shotty'
>"Fit in," you respond, smiling slyly at the sribe, "More like getting ripped from my home and gettin' pounded in like a square peg in a round hole."
>You laugh. For some reason you frequently dealt with difficult situations by injecting humor.
>No once else, you notice, laughs. Even the bouncy scribe's smile was temporarily a dissapointed frown.
>You let the smile fall from your face, quietly taking a small step back. "I guess this isn't the time or place for my quips..." You mutter
>Next to you, Coca Breeze breaks the awkward silence. "Okay! So what now?" She asks impatiently to the two officials at the desk
>"You will both be contacted by town officials within the next few days and given instructions where to report for work." the scribe explains
>You tilt your head. "Work? Do we get paid?"
>You had no interest in working without monetary compensation.
>You look up at the mare, praying she didn't say you were going to be paid in hugs or some shit
>She giggles. "Of course you'll get paid, silly! In addition to the newly-minted gold bit, town workers will also receive ration cards at the end of the week to redeem food from the Stockpile!"
>Your ears perk up. "Wait, there's a Stockpile?"
>The mare nods rapidly. "Yeah! The humans at the UN were nice enough to give us a whooooole warehouse full of non-perishable foods and goods to last the whole coming winter!"
>Your eyes widen slightly in interest. "Really now? Is it just food? No other valuables?" You ask as innocently as possible.
>You feel guilty just for asking, but you can't resist feeling out the options you have to make ends meet, even less-than-legal ones
>The scribe looks at you in confusion for a moment before resuming her goofy but admittedly cute smile
>"Well sure, Shotty! I dunno what, but there's gotta be some reason they keep it so locked down!"
>You shrug at the scribe. "Oh, well alright" you say, letting yourself sound preoccupied and disinterested.
>This Stockpile is something you put on your mental list to check out as well when you could slip away unnoticed
>Concluding your business in this office, you take one of the free maps of the town & surrounding area before leaving.
---
>After finishing your business with the census pony and human officials, you and Coca Breeze trot back out into town square
>You follow behind Coca with your face buried into the Town Map
>Coca suddenly stops in the middle of the dirt road, causing you to crash into the back of her from not looking
>Dropping the map, you barely manage not to crash on top of her, but it was too late to keep from head-butting her, well, butt.
>"Eep!" Coca squeaks as she is pushed face-first into the ground, her forelegs buckling under her
>As you realize what happened, your eyes widen and your cheeks flush red under your fur as you rush to Coca's side and offers a hoof.
>"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I-It was an accident!" You stammer out in embarrassment
>Coca looks up at you, initially with an angry expression, but takes your hoof and stands herself back up
>"Jesus Christ, dude. I know we're mostly from /mlp/ here, but are you *already* trying to get some mare flank?"
>You shake your head briskly in denial, making your ears flop around
>"N-not at all! I was looking at my map!" You were clearly failing the redface test
>Coca Breeze stares at you sternly for several tense moments before bursting into laughter
>Though she would never admit it aloud, in her own mind, she couldn't deny the stallion's cuteness when blushing and flustered
>"Relax, I'm just fucking with you, /Shotty/~" Coca says with an evil smile, putting special emphasis on the word you feared was going to become your new nickname
>Reaching her hoof up she ruffles your mane with a smirk and half-lidded gaze, "If you were a unicorn, that might've been much more exciting."

>You think about it for a moment and laugh heartily, and without realizing it you subconsciously wag your tail back-and-forth behind you
>Coca Breeze's smile fades and she stares at you with a raised eyebrow, looking you up and down. "Huh... That's the first time you've laughed without it being fake." She states matter-of-factly, smiling cheekily at you
>Buzzkill
>At that, your laughter ceases and so does your smile
>Thanks Coca
>Coca frowns, the mare feeling a vague sense of pity for some unknown reason
>Brushing it aside, you pick up your map again and sit on your haunches to get a good look
>Coca makes her way over to your side and peeks over your shoulder at the map with her big brown eyes, leaning against your larger frame
>You do your best to drown out the hustle and bustle of townsponies noisily congregating around town square
>Using the map's legend, you find where 'Housing' is labelled.
>This was your next destination
>It turned out that registering in the census right after Coca caused you both to be assigned consecutive 'homes' right next to each other
>Studying the route, you map out the way to the housing district in your brain and embark down the street with Coca Breeze