Boop.
You're shaken from your daydream by the hoof of stranger brown mare gently pressing your snout. She smiles, "You looked like you were leaving us there, anonpone," You, still not totally comfortable with the idea of being a pony, furrow your brow and scoff, "I'm not anonpone, I'm Jack!" you exclaim, and though you are a stallion, your voice squeaks in it's new pony form. The fellow former-human transformee mare next to you was in the same predicament, though he had earlier learned that she was turned into a mare instead of a stallion. An epidemic of humans across Earth has caused those visiting /mlp/ to be turned into their OC's, and human governments have rounded up as many as possible to bring to a town formed specially for the new ponies until they can figure out what to do. You are both on a train headed to who-knows-where. The brown mare next to you giggles and shakes her head, "You're not a human anymore, you know that, right? Gonna have to pick a new name eventually."
You look out the window with a tired, half-lidded gaze, anxious and worried about what this town of newly-turned ponies from all around the world would be like...
"I'm Coca Breeze," the squeaky-voiced, brown-and-cream colored mare says, speaking over the noise of the crude train car barrelling down the tracks. You grunt and flicker an ear in her direction, still looking out the window at the changing landscape, trying to discern if you can figure our where you are and where you're headed based on changes in terrain. Not much luck though, mostly pine tree forests like where you started the evening before. You sigh under your breath and glance at Coca Breeze, giving a single nod. "I'm Jack," you repeat, this time in introduction. Coca Breeze smiles, satisfied with herself that she managed to formally meet another pony.
You begin fiddling with your light-blue covered hooves, looking down at them nervously. For some reason you can't help but feel butterflies in your stomach. In one sense, this was pretty exciting, actually becoming a pony and being placed in a pony society all of the sudden. On the other hand, you were removed from your hometown without consent and were being sent somewhere in the wilderness decided by the UN.
Your track of thought is broken again when Coca's high pitched voice makes your ear reflexively flicker again. "You look nervous, Jack. Why the long face?" she asks in a shitposty manner. You look up at her with a deadpan reaction to the shitty pun, making her burst out in laughter, "Oh my god, I've always wanted to do that!" she squeaks out between giggles. Fuck. The first pony you meet is processing this situation in a totally different way, to put it politely, you think to yourself. Nevertheless, you crack a smirk at her, shrugging before the smile fades away. "I'm just nervous about this, y'know? We don't know where we're going or anything. What're they going to do to us?" Coca's laughing eventually subsides and she gets herself back to her hooves, regarding you with a tilted head. "Why do you care? Isn't it great enough we're ponies? I mean... yeah, I'm not a guy anymore, but who doesn't wanna be the little mare?" she asks with an innocent smile.
You roll your eyes and look out the window again. "Because I don't want to die in the middle of nowhere as a miniature horse, lady." You state flatly. She lightly punches your wing with a hoof, barely messing up some of the feathers. Looking down at the wing, you can't help but grimace. It was so strange, having a feathered appendage, and it almost kind of grossed you out. You flap the wing slightly to set it back right and look at Coca.
"Don't be so pessimistic. It's a town, not a /pol/ neo-nazi death camp," she jokes in a manner that seemed to try to make lighter of the situation.
"We'll see. I'd rather be back in the US to be honest." You say.
Coca Breeze frowns, then sits on her haunches, wrapping her long brown tail around her resting hindlegs. "Hm. You must've had a good life. I didn't have much to live for. Maybe this is the change I needed..." she says, looking off into the distance as she trails off. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts, looking to you again with a slightly embarrassed expression, but continues, "What're you going to do, then?"
You frown at the thought of someone having such a hard life that being turned into a horse and losing your manhood and hauled off to god-knows-where is better than whatever hell you were enduring previously.
'Yeah... I did have a good life,' you silently think to yourself, feeling a sudden pit in your stomach. You shake it off, taking a deep breath. You look to Coca Breeze again with an uneasy but resolute expression. "I'm going to get back home. To my family. As a human. No matter how long it takes..."
Coca frowns at you. "You're gonna have to accept and move on at some point..." she says softly.
You raise an eyebrow, not really able to wrap your head around just going along with where life was taking you. "Hrm..." you say, leaning back onto your haunches and rubbing your tired, bleary eyes with your thick, clumsy-feeling hooves before running them through your admittedly supersoft but unkempt mane. "For now, I just want to stay alive." You mumble to Coca Breeze.
She smiles, finally giggling again before patting you on the shoulder. "I guess that'll do for now, sillyhorse. If you ask me, we'll probably end up happier here than anywhere else. We wouldn't be able to function in normal human towns. We need to be with our own kind, don't you think? I'm ready to forget all that human stuff and just be a pony," she says with closed eyes and a self-satisfied smile. You barf internally at the idea. "Forgetting your human memories? Fuck that."
You look around the traincar, making note of the disposition of your fellow travellers. There was about an even mix of mares and stallions, and a mix of reactions evident in their demeanor.
Some of the mares were visibly disturbed at the new reality of being female, while others seemed either indifferent or even elated at the new circumstance. Some stallions and mares in the farther reaches of the car seemed to be getting very... close to each other and you quickly avert your gaze back out the window. You were going to be really happy to get out of this fucking train.
In fact, if you could figure out how to use these new stupid wings, maybe you could, but the first time you tried you faceplanted, leaving a nice 'dumbass mark' on your face for all to see. You haven't tried since. It wouldn't bother you so much if you hadn't been a private pilot as a human. Granted, you only flew little single engines for fun, but at least you never face-planted... You make a mental note to gain control of your flying abilities as soon as possible. Maybe you could pilotage & dead reckon your way home?
You look down at your now only physical possession: an Army Green surplus courier bag web-slung around your left shoulder, carrying a few items issued to you at the military depot before you boarded the train. You remember the US National Guard officer looking down at you with a mix of confusion, intrigue, and pity as he handed you a Ka-Bar knife, flint & steel, some rope, and a water canteen. From what you could gather, it was all surplus that had expired past service life, but it would serve it's purpose nonetheless.
You are broken out of your reflections by the feeling of something soft and warm leaning against you, and you look over to see Coca Breeze asleep, leaning against your right side and lightly snoring. You sigh and look out the window again, and soon find yourself, despite your best efforts, drifting off to sleep as well...
"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 were 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, making 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. You trot along the cobblestone roads of the small town with Coca Breeze in close tow, carefully following your map. You take in the sights of the town, noticing how new everything looked
There weren't a large number buildings up yet, but there was something quaint about them. Small, rural-looking thatched-roof homes and stores dotted the downtown's streets and town square, supported by huge tree trunk corners that must've been cut locally. You pass a mare and her stallion who are strolling down the street holding hooves and lost in each others eyes, obviously in love
'People here are already pairing off?' You wonder to yourself
Being turned from human to pony and getting shipped off to a pony village in who-knows-where already had you pretty rattled and out of your element, so the last thing on your mind has been sex and romance. Frankly, you're just thankful that you haven't had a random boner yet. That would be pretty embarrassing and not easily hidden. You decide to stop thinking about that, lest you jinx yourself. As you and Coca make your way deeper into town towards the more dense residential areas, you both start to notice the nice thatched-roof cottages started giving way to crude wooden constructs. Checking the map one last time to make sure they were indeed at the right intersection, you see the street that your new living quarters were supposed to be down.
"Fuck dude, this is literally a shanty town!" Coca complains loudly
You begin trotting down your home street with Coca, assessing your new neighbors' "homes" as you pass them
Small, crudely constructed single-room wooden shacks (about the size of a small 1-person university dorm room) lined each side of the street. You noticed that though each hobo-shack had a metal door, it didn't appear there were locks. How safe. Coca was right. This was literally a shanty town. You sigh and narrow your eyes to see further down the road as you trot
"They said your house was number 777 and mine was 778." You remind her, shooting her a smartass grin, "Lookit the bright side. At least you got trips, right?"
Coca just punches your shoulder in response
A few minutes later, you both arrive at your assigned quarters. Like the others they were crude, wooden, and small. Neither of you have a particularly pleased expression. You trot up to the door of 778, your unit, and put your hoof against the door. You look over at Coca doing the same, her home being about 5 meters down from yours.
"I guess I'll go in and get settled. We can meet back up later if you want," you offer
Coca Breeze frowns as she opens her door and gets her first peek inside, though she brightens a bit at the offer
"Yeah! I think I saw a pub over near the town center! How about I come knock on your door in a few hours and we can poison our new pony bodies with alcohol! Whoohoo!" She exclaims before waving byebye and entering her home, closing the door behind her.
You just smile and shake your head, heading into your own adobe to settle in. And by settle in, you mean unpack the 3 or 4 things in your canvas bag. The planked wood floor creaks under your hooves as you move around. There wasn't much to the interior design of this shack
It was a square room with a stained old red carpet in the middle of the floor. There was a small wooden chair with no arm rests tucked in the back right corner of the room, and the left corner had a wooden counter-top. After staring at it for a minute, you get the idea to lay out your sleeping bag behind the wooden counter, concealing it completely unless you are standing directly over it. At least if anyone broke in, they wouldn't immediately see your sleeping form in the middle of the floor
Speaking of sleep, you suddenly remember how tired you are. You've gotten maybe 10 hours of sleep over the past three days. The discomfort of being in a strange new place was drowned out by your new body's drowsiness. You plop down onto the sleeping bag in the corner behind the counter for a short nap. In the mere four minutes it took for you to fall asleep, your head was full of questions like what your assigned job was going to be, and what sort of people or ponies would be contacting him about it...
Soon, though, your tired little body relents consciousness for a few hours of desperately needed sleep.
