Artex Rias wiped sweat from his misshapen head and lowered his khopesh onto the ground,
"Good grief sis, does it always get this hot in the summer time?" he asked his sister.

Artex Rias also known by his birth name Dan, was a Human man who stood five feet, eleven and a half inches tall with brown hair and a lean but muscular build. His eyes were sharply brilliant green but looked constantly saddened, as if by some great loss. The right side of his face was misshapen and lumpy as if a surgeon had implanted two dozen small potatoes under the skin of his face and head. Formerly an obese three hundred and nine pounds, his current weight was closer to two hundred and ten, including the lean muscle which adorned his frame. His light brown shirt lay hung on the broken branch of a nearby apple tree and his brown pants were tied around his waist, held with a belt that sported an abundance of belt pouches and the hatchet/hammer with a three pound head he always wore. Sweat poured down his face, neck, and chest, evidence of the hard work he had been putting in at Sweet Apple Acres. He looked across the vast field of golden wheat, then back at what he had already cut, pleased with what he saw.

Applejack, a few yards away from the field, among the rows of apple trees, bucked another of her family's thousands of trees, still carrying on the conversation,
"Not always." she grunted as her hooves connected with the stout trunk of a tree, "Some summers are cool enough tuh feel like autumn."

The Earth Pony and Human had not been born as siblings. A potentially lethal accident had led to a blood transfusion to Artex from Applejack's older brother, Big Macintosh, which had altered the Human's biology on a genetic level. He had been born Human and he looked Human, but on the inside he was vastly different. His cell reproduction was still based off their original structuring format of Human but his internal organs had changed. His teeth had gradually hardened and straightened to the point where he could eat anything a Kavim (Pony) did. He could also digest the same things Kavim bodies could such as hay, flowers, and grasses yet he could still digest, and frequently hungered for, meat. Through a series of medical tests performed by Kavim doctors with magic showed that his blood matched that of the Apple family, though with a Unicorn's genetic traits, and his reproductive system had begun creating gametes that were compatible solely with that of other Kavim. He was effectively a Kavim in a Human body and with a Human mind.

His matching blood had allowed for a significant bond between Artex and the Apple family. He considered them all as the family he had lost. Six months previous, he and nearly eight hundred other Humans had been brought to Equestria through some power that even the Alicorns had no knowledge of. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Twilight Sparkle had attempted to uncover the source of the magic which had taken the Humans from their home, sadly they had discovered nothing.

In an act that was both brave and foolish, Artex had ventured off alone to find the Ponies and beg for help. His attempt was successful, however a misunderstanding between he and a family of Ponies led to a Unicorn stallion kicking him in the right side of the head. The injury was very severe, but he had made a full recovery although his head would never be the same again.

He had previously been a part of a security team at a student apartment complex and after he left to find the Ponies, his coworkers along with more than a few brave souls, shouldered the burden of keeping the people safe. They had suffered misunderstandings of their own, one of which led to fifty Unicorns of the E.P.U. Guard attacking and killing sixty-three of the Humans. The Princesses, fearful of sparking a full-on conflict with the emotionally distraught Humans, discretely maneuvered them to an abandoned town that was to be their home.

After more than a month, Artex woke from a coma and began working with a linguistics specialist, a Unicorn mare named Razor Wit, and together they undertook the task of learning each other's language. After three weeks working with the Unicorn mare and tired of the nearly complete isolation, Artex asked for some measure of personal freedom. He was sent to Ponyville to see how well he could blend in and live among the Ponies under the guidance of the recently crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle.

There were some difficulties with his introduction, however he eventually managed to become friends with Twilight, and her friends quickly became his as well. At the same time trouble was brewing in the town the other Humans had been herded to. Bitter from the massacre by the E.P.U. Guard and the way they had been treated, a group of Humans set out one night seeking bloody retribution against a small settlement of Pony civilians. Unbeknownst to them, a number of the former Guards who had participated in the massacre had been stripped of literally everything they had and were serving a sentence of seven years in the same small village.

Halted at a filly's bed side by an attack of conscience, the leader of the attack refused to follow through with the murder he had planned. The filly's father ran to defend his daughter and attacked the Human, even though the man had already dropped his weapon. The ensuing scuffle brought Humans and Ponies running to see what had happened. The night ended with one of the former Guards being run through with his own stolen sword.

The incident prompted Princess Celestia to approach the Humans in a much more direct manner than she had originally hoped. The Humans were resistant, but eventually the two groups came to a very uneasy agreement. The Humans would halt all aggression against the Ponies and the Ponies would do the same. The Princess sent out a discreet invitation for Ponies to help settle the town and more than seven hundred volunteers answered the call, in a town unknown to the rest of the world.

The situation between the Ponies and Humans was tense for a time but eventually the two species settled on an uneasy cooperative understanding. The peace was not to last though. Some weeks later, a pack of Diamond Dog Soldiers stormed through a small Pony village and carried off every one of the residents to the next closest Pony settlement. The Diamond Dog commander informed the town that there had been an outbreak of a deadly virus in one of the Diamond Dog City/States and that the ones who were not killed had effectively become feral killing machines.

The Humans and Ponies in the small and as yet unknown town were blissfully unaware of their peril until Princess Luna, in the habit of lending an ear in the town's nightly meetings, received word from her sister and helped rally the defense of the town. The ensuing battle, later dubbed The Battle For New Humansville, was a close thing. Before the end, Princess Luna herself was forced to take the field, fighting alongside both Ponies and Humans. The day was won, but the death toll was catastrophic for the rabid Diamond Dogs. The Humans and Ponies suffered far fewer casualities in the defense of their new home and not a single Diamond Dog survived the attack.

A funeral service was held for the warriors who fell in the Battle For New Humansville and on that same day the Princesses and Artex held a public meeting to discuss long term laws and statutes. The end result of the meeting was the revelation that Humans had developed an internal organ which allowed them to use magic, an ordination of an organization of first responders named the Community Welfare Guardians or C.W.G., and The Unity Pact. The Unity Pact stated that any and all sentient beings, regardless of species, were welcome to live in Equestria, specifically in New Humansville, so long as their intentions were peaceful. The Unity Pact was signed by Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Twilight, and Artex and took effect immediately.

After the meeting ended, Artex returned to Ponyville where he continued to work at Sweet Apple Acres in the mornings, which was where he found himself sweating and talking to his 'sister'.

"Well I wouldn't be complaining if it decided to cool off a bit." Artex said picking up his favorite tool in his right hand, "I'm going to keep going for a few more minutes but I'm going to need some water here before too long."

He knelt down and began cutting the wheat with the thick khopesh he wore over his left shoulder. The tool was an unusual specimen. It had been a gift from Applejack and Big Macintosh to Artex, forged by the Pony blacksmith in Ponyville. Hard Hitter, had fashioned it with utility in mind and had no knowledge of what a khopesh even was.

The sight of a Human in Ponyville had been a novelty at first, but after several months, it was as if the athletically thin, if extremely ugly man had always been there.

He grasped a hefty hand full of wheat and sheared through it. He set down his khopesh then tied the wheat stalks together and set them aside then picked up the khopesh and repeated the process.

* * *

Last Of The Wilds

Nearly a hundred and fifty miles away to the North-East sat the small town of New Humansville. The town was in a state of construction. All around Ponies and Humans worked and toiled, trying their hardest to get their town up and running. The population of the town had temporarily increased by more than eight hundred Ponies. The new additions were contracted to build houses and other buildings for New Humansville. Prior to the arrival of the Humans, the town had laid abandoned for several hundred years. Because of the dereliction of the wooden buildings, they had decomposed and fallen over, leaving piles of debris resting on their stone foundations. There were seventeen buildings that had withstood the test of time though. The Town Hall and the sixteen other stone buildings closest to it.

Town Hall sat in the very center of New Humansville surrounded by a wide circular, courtyard, the Town Square, which spanned more than four hundred Fathoms (roughly twelve hundred feet) from the outlying stone buildings to the stone walls of Town Hall. Town Hall had recently undergone renovations due to a fierce battle some three months prior where Humans and Ponies had fought side by side against the rabid victims of a terrible disease. Town Hall had sustained significant damage when nearly three thousand rabid Diamond Dogs had attacked.

Beyond the outlying buildings were much newer constructions, mostly houses for the residents. The houses were being raised roughly two per day.

Within the South most outlying stone building sat one hundred Humans listening to a single Unicorn mare as she continued to teach the Humans the Ponies' native language of Velensovth. Long Wind, the Unicorn teacher had been working hard every single day, trying to teach the Humans. It was an agonizingly slow process. The substantial differences between American and Velensovth had proven themselves to be arduous barriers. There was a positive point to it though, the Humans were eager to learn to speak with the Ponies, predominantly because if they were 'in class' they didn't have to work in the fields, catch fish, cook, or cut down trees for wood or to free up more land in which to grow food.

The Humans and the Ponies had recently been making a significant effort to work together and they worked hard and efficiently, toward the goal of seeing their home complete. Though they were beginning to understand eachother's speech, there was an undeniable feeling of kinship between them all. They had spilled their blood to protect each other and the bond was growing stronger by the day.

* * *

Artex straightened up and wiped beads of sweat from his brow,
"It's lunch time A.J." he said to his adopted sister.

Applejack finished bucking her tree and shook her body, spraying sweat in wide arcs,
"Yep, it sure is." she turned and approached Artex as he reached for his shirt, "Ah tell ya, Ah sure worked up an appetite today."

Artex tied his shirt to his belt and slipped his khopesh into its sheath as he walked side by side with Applejack toward the barn,
"Ditto." he said.

Applejack looked up at the towering Human,
"Are yall stayin' for lunch, or are ya headin' for Fluttershy's place right away?"

Artex pursed his lips in thought,
"I'll probably head to the library first. I wanted to take Suey with me so Fluttershy could give her a checkup."

Applejack smiled,
"Ah swear, you love that piglet like a foal."

Artex smiled back at her,
"She's not just a piglet, she's a Great Pig. On Earth, Humans would call her a Dire Boar."

Applejack snorted in amusement,
"Well, no matter what yall call her, yall know we ain't got an issue with you bringin' her out here. She could eat the rotten apples on the ground while we work."

Artex stopped and crossed his arms,
"Just how big do you want her to be? From what Fluttershy says, Suey is going to be twelve feet . . . " Artex stopped and converted feet to Fathoms, "Four Fathoms tall. She's already sure to end up being a big girl, I don't want her eating your whole orchard."

Applejack waved her 'brother' onward,
"Come on ya big goof! Just bring her with ya tomorrow and you'll see what Ah mean."

"Oh alright, you win A.J. I'll bring her." they had reached the barn by that point so Artex took a moment to greet the rest of the Apple family before he left.

The empty land between the farm house and the barn had been set out with an assortment of freshly baked foods. The food sat on a long table which was covered with a white table cloth. Granny Smith sat in her rocking chair next to the table. Applejack's older brother, Big Macintosh, stood off to one side using a hose and spigot to wash off his hooves. Applebloom sat on a chair on the far side of the table, her big red bow secured to her mane , cute as always.

Artex walked up to the eldest Apple and knelt down and gave her a hug,
"Sorry Granny Smith, I can't stay for lunch. I need to get to the library and pick up Suey."

Granny Smith gave the Human man a one hoof hug,
"Yall don't have to tell this old mare everything you're doin'." she said with a smile, "Ah'm just worried about ya. Young feller like you ought to have a quintet of pretty mares on him an' a bun or two in the oven. When are ya goin' to get to makin' us some more Apples?"

Artex grumbled quietly under his breath, "Not thinking about this right now."

Applejack blew out an exasperated breath,
"It ain't like he can just go into town an' come back with a bunch o' mares, Granny. There ain't a whole lot o' his kind 'round here.'

Granny Smith waved an old, wrinkly hoof at her granddaughter,
"Oh nonsense! Unless Ah heard wrong, his kind is our kind! His body done changed his seed so that means the right soil for him to be plowin' an' plantin' his seed in, is the same kind that yer big brother'll be plowin' before too long!"

Applejack lapsed into silence, slowly turning her head toward Big Macintosh,
"Did Ah just hear that right?" she asked slowly.

Big Mac's eyes wandered left and right nervously,
"Eyup?"

Applejack slowly raised her right hoof and removed her hat then set it on the table,
"An' just when were ya goin' to tell ME 'bout this?" she took a menacing step toward the hugely muscled stallion.

"Applejack," Granny said sternly, "You're goin' to leave yer brother alone. He don't answer to yall, so don't go actin' like it. Ain't your decision who he's courtin'," she smiled mischievously, "It's mine. An' jes for the record, Ah happen to approve."

Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, Artex stepped away from Granny Smith and walked up behind Applebloom,
"Hey there kid."

The adorable filly turned in her seat and gave him a big hug,
"Hi uncle Artex!" she squealed happily, "Are ya goin' to join us for lunch?"

Artex smiled and patted her head affectionately,
"Sorry Bloom, I have to get to Fluttershy's place. Suey needs a checkup."

Applebloom's face fell into a heart melting pout,
"Aww, Ah was hopin' yall could give me another one o' those piggy back rides."

Artex smiled down at the adorable filly,
"Sorry Bloom, don't worry I'll be back tomorrow morning and Applejack even convinced me to bring Suey."

Applebloom's sweet little face lit up like a Christmas tree. Artex ruffled her mane and headed over to where Big Macintosh was sweating bullets under his sister's glare. Artex interposed himself between them and reached out both his arms and gave Big Macintosh a hug around his neck.

"Good luck." he whispered in his brother's ear, "Oh and uh . . . go get you some brother!"

Artex would swear the titanic stallion was blushing. He couldn't see any red in his cheeks, he was red all over, but his ears did shoot straight up and his eyes bulged. Pony eyes were big anyway so when their eyes bulged, it was downright freaky.

The disfigured Human slung his shirt over his right shoulder and started on the walk back to Ponyville.

Next Chapter: Chapter 1: Meeting New Friends Estimated time remaining: 23 Hours, 45 Minutes