First Visit to Embassy 4/24/17?

>As Stray Shot and Coca Breeze disembark the ship that had carried them from Baltimare, the mare's attention is immediately grabbed by the Equestrian Guard with the megaphone telling everyone to go fill out the census in the Embassy.
>"Alright, that old Army geezer said to head to the Embassy 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 her haunches, 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 docks 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 Embassy across the dirt road from the makeshift docks.
>You trot off the docks 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 crowded port was.
>It made sense, with the ship offloading right here and the frequent traffic of both ponies and Griffons on hoof/claw, respectively.
>Still following Coca, you glance back at the ship 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 do the ships arrive?
>How long do they stay?
>When do they leave?
>Could goods and contraband be smuggled to this town via ship?
>You make a mental note to come do some port 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 "Equestrian Embassy," with a flagpole stretching high into the sky with a giant Equestrian flag waving in the breeze.
>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 stallion Royal Guard 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 Guard asked the questions
>Coca, being in front of you, approached the ladies first.
>"State your name, date of birth, and human profession." The guard says to Coca in a flat, uninterested tone as the mare scribe readies her pen.
>The brown mare blinks her oversized eyes at the guard, 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 Guard 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. They're figuring it out as we speak," the guard 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 Walker," 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 Guard and unicorn shake their heads, with the woman explaining, "Policy doesn't allow us to take your human name. It's all in the eyes of the bean counters in Canterlot. If you're a pony, you will not be classified in their database correctly unless you adopt a separate name more befitting of an equine society."
>"That sounds stupid. I don't care what they think." You scoff.
>The Guard rolls his eyes. "This must be another one of those Americans..." he 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 mare sitting at the table chuckles, reaching a hoof 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. As far as what I was good at... I could fly and do some minor gunsmithin', but I don't think we have guns here."
>"I didn't know humans could fly! 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 couple of 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 Equestrian 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 Royals 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 the standard issue saddlebags containing a knife, flint & steel, and rope before leaving.
---
>After finishing your business with the census pony and human officials, you and Coca Breeze trot back out into town square
>You pull the knife you were just given out of it's sheath, inspecting the Equestrian blade. It looked oddly similar to the Ka-Bar combat knife from Earth, Stray noted to himself.
>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