Twi lead us through the town, the market specifically, me getting more than enough gazes from the ponies milling about. I think that’ll last maybe… the rest of my life? Just a guess…

Anyway, we all eventually got the entrance of, Sweet Apple Acres, as Twi told us. After that she left us there. Telling us to follow the path, then we would see the Apple’s house. I swear to fucking god with these fucking names. We did eventually see a house as we crested over a hill. Unsurprisingly, it looked like a farm. The classic red walled, white roofed, pentagon farm. I gingerly walk up to the door and knock, I had to duck with the porch being a little low. Hooves sound out from inside, the door opens and Applejack standing in the doorway.

“Ember, whaddya doin’ here? And who’s the mare?”

“Hey Applejack, this is Chrysanthemum. And I was told I could come here to find something to do. And I think I make it a job.”

“And what would that be?”

“Applebucking.” I never thought I’d be saying made-up words, but this world, I’m guessing, has a shit-ton of ‘em.

“Oh! Perfect timin’! We were just gettin’ back to buckin’ the trees.”

*Are you kidding me? The sun’s barely out. Well… it looks almost noon… Nevermind…* Sometimes I can think stupid thoughts, I hate that… “Perfect I guess. Mind showing me how you buck these trees?”

“Not at all, jus’ follow me.” I wonder why Chrysi’s been silent this whole time. We both follow Applejack and see her walk up to a tree. She turns around, backside facing the tree. She then kicks the tree, like how a horse on my world would buck. The tree shakes violently as apples fall from it. Into conveniently placed baskets.

“Wow.” Me and Chrysi say. Applejack snorts.

“Alright Ember! Now you give it a try.”

“Fine, I don’t even know if I can do that...”

Why would Ember bring a bucking Changeling into MY house!? Even though he saved from a manticore.

You can use her to study changeling behavior and understand how they work…

I suppose… But still! Ember barely has any knowledge of Equestria, so I can excuse him this time… I should tell him to stop flying around the Everfree Forest.

“Twilight!” Spike? I turn around and see Spike running down the stairs.

“Spike! What did I tell you about running down the stairs!?”

“But… *huff* there’s a… *huff* letter for you… from the princess.” He holds out a letter with Princess Celestia’s seal.

“Oh! Perfect!” I cast a levitation spell and bring the letter to me, it opens as it floats over to me. “*incoherent mumbling*...”

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I am pleased to tell you that my sister has collected most of Embers memories. And from what she has shown me… Dragons would rather perish than experience what he has experienced.

“WHAT!?” What does she mean?

“What Twilight, is something wrong?” Spike came from the kitchen, he loves to cook…

“Nothing Spike, I’m just going to our room, to read this letter, in private.” He shrugs.

“Ok.” I walk upstairs and into our room while Spike makes us lunch. When I close the door I lay down on my bed. The scroll still in my aura.

*Alright… Back to this...*

From what my sister has collected…It’s a wonder how he is still walking around. As a young adult, he was sent into what his kind calls ‘World War Three’, as a ‘foot soldier’. What this means is he was sent to the front lines of war. During that time he has seen his own comrades die, suffered… ‘gun shot wounds’. He has even seen his own kind blown to pieces. This is all I can tell you about this war. If you want to know more, you need to ask him.

His torment didn’t even end there.

As Luna has described it. His… people developed technology eons beyond ours, and he was subject to ‘an experiment’ that would change his physical appearance. What surprised me is how his own kind reacted to his… ‘new look’. He was treated as an animal. They shunned him for his appearance. He had things thrown at him, beaten, and sent to the hospital many times.

I apologize for writing this short letter, I need to attend day court.

Sincerly,

Princess Celestia

P.S. Please be nice to him, after seeing what he’s capable of, it is best you keep him as calm as possible.

The letter softly drops on top of my bed.

“Spike!” Loud, fast thumps sound out and Spike bursts into the room.

“What!?”

“Go and tell the girls to meet here. I have something important to show them, and don’t tell Ember to come.” He salutes.

“Yes ma’am!”

Spike did as he was told, first finding Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner, next was Rarity at her boutique, third was Rainbow Dash, who just happen to be laying on a cloud above. Forth was Fluttershy at her cottage at the edge of town. Lastly was Applejack, he asked where she was, and ran off after her when Granny Smith said she was bucking in the west field. He finally saw her bucking trees with Ember and Chrysanthemum.

“Ember? Who is-” He nearly speaks aloud. He quickly covers his mouth and run up to Applejack. “Applejack.” Said orange pony turns around.

“Hey Spike, something up?”

“Twilight needs you at the library, something important. Don’t bring Ember. Or her.” He runs off without another word.

“Well it sure seems important. Hey Ember! Chrysanthemum!” Ember and Chrysi turn to her, painfully oblivious to Spike’s departure.

“What?” Ember asks

“Ah need to go check on somethin’ you jus’ keep buckin’. Alright?” Ember nods.

“You got it Aj.” He turns back around and scissor-kicks the tree. Aj gallops off towards Twi’s house…

Most of the mane six have arrived, Fluttershy and Applejack begin the last to show up, when they do, Twi ushers them to gather at the table situated in the middle of the main room. After that the room falls silent for a solid ten seconds. With Rainbow breaking the awkward silence.

“Okay, I’ll bite, why did you get us all here for?” Twilight levitates a scroll to her.

“For this. I need you all to read it.”

“Why?” Rainbow asks.

“Just, read it.” Rainbow huffs, grabs the scroll, and reads it, her face turning from bored to horrified, then angry, then downcast. Rainbow stays quiet as she set the scroll down.

“I wanna read it next!” Pinkie shouts and she happily sweeps up the scroll to read. As she reads it her smile disappears, turning into a frown. Even her mane deflates a little. Her whole form slouches a bit and she drops the scroll.

“Pinkie dear, are you alright?” Rarity asks. She looks at the scroll. “What is in that letter..?” She levitates it over to where she was, the scroll covered in a bright blue aura. As Rarity reads it her eyes widen, then droope. The scroll drops to the table as Rarity stays silent.

“What in tarnation is in that letter?” Applejack quickly picks the up with a hoof and reads. Like her friends, the more she reads, her eyes grow wider, she then has a sorrowful look. “Poor fella...” She sets the scroll down. Last to read it was Fluttershy, who now stares at it with trepidation.

“Come on Fluttershy, I need you to read it too.” Twilight says. Fluttershy just squeaks in response. The scroll is covered in a purple aura and it floats over the yellow pegasus. She shakily grasps it in her delicate hooves. As she reads the fur around her face pales, she drops the scroll before she can even read the P.S. The scroll flutters to the table, revealing her light yellow, teary-eyed face. Silence befalls the room, nopony moving, twitching or saying a single word, only broken by Fluttershy’s sniffling. Rarity spoke after what felt like and eternity.

“I… never expected him to have… this kind of past.”

“None of us did Rarity, none of us did.” Twilight says.

“Tah think he’s been through so much… And be like him...” Rainbow was about to speak, but the front door flies open. A tall figure standing in front of the surprised ponies, a massive pair of wings flared.

Applebucking is much more simple, and easy than I first thought. I just had to develope my own way of kicking. I developed a few ways: a spinning kick, kinda like a roundhouse kick for trees coming out at a angle, my talons allowing for good grip. Then there’s a scissor kick, admittingly the weakest, for thinner trees. Then there’s the running two-legged flying kick. The most powerful for really thick and deep rooted trees.

Me, Applejack, and her big brother Big Mac started Bucking the trees after I got used to kicking the trees. We spend at least half an hour of applebucking before I get stopped by Applejack.

“Ember?” I kick a tree and turn to face her.

“What?”

“You feelin’ tired?”

“No, why?”

“You just cleared two an’ half acres in an hour.” I shrug.

“And?”

“It would me an’ Mac a couple a hours tah clear that much.”

“Then you’re not as efficient as me. You saw how I was silent and focused? And you two were talking up a storm?” She nods. “That makes the difference.”

“But that’s still impressive.” Big mac says. He’s pretty quiet, the strong, silent type. Kinda fitting for a male his size.

“Thank you.” But then I realize something. “Does that mean you were taking a break or something?” The both look down, clearly I’m right. “Eh… just wondering... Does this mean that we’re done for the day..?”

“Not at all! It’s barely past twelve! We still got the whole day ahead of us.”

“Fair enough.” We all make a silent agreement and get back to bucking the trees. *I wonder how I’m working so well with them… Maybe due to the work I’ve done? They’re hard workers themselves, from what I’ve seen.* It’s only been a few minutes when I hear a voice.

“Applejack.” Boyish, maybe Spike? I take a quick glance behind me. *Yup, it’s Spike. Wonder what he wants.*

“Hey Spike, somethin’ up?”

“Twilight needs you at the library, something important. Don’t bring Ember.” I don’t look back, but I hear the little dragon run off.

“It sure seems important. Hey Ember!” I turn around.

“What?”

“Ah need to go check on somethin’ you jus’ keep buckin’. Alright?” I nod.

“You got it Aj.” I turn back around and scissor-kick a tree. Aj gallops off to somewhere, with me following close behind…

Apparently Twilight requested the others to meet at her home. Once Applejack walked in I looked through a window, thankfully they weren’t looking in my direction. I quickly back away from the window and get close to the door. I can hear them talking.

“Okay, I’ll bite, why did you get us all here for?”

“For this. I need you all to read it.” Read what?

“Why?” Rainbow asks.

“Just, read it.” I hear Rainbow huff. A bit of silence and I can hear more talking.

“I wanna read it next!” Pinkie shouts. Some weird scratching and it goes silent again.

“Pinkie dear, are you alright?” Rarity asks. “What it is in that letter..?” I hear some sparkle-shit and it lasts for a minute. Silence takes back its place.

“What in tarnation is in that letter?” Applejack says with that classic southern drawl, it’s surprisingly likeable though… Some more weird scratching and silence once again takes the room they occupy. Minutes go by and I hear more sparkling shit.

“Come on Fluttershy, I need you to read it too.” I hear squeaks and it all goes quiet a fifth time. This time it lasts a few minutes.

“I… never expected him to have… this kind of past.” Rarity breaks the silence.

“None of us did Rarity, none of us did.” Twilight says.

“Tah think he’s been through so much… And be like him...” Applejack mutters. At this point I’m both upset and confused. Upset because this might mean they somehow know of my past without me telling them. And confused because that might not be it.

Leaning towards the ladder.

Using my magic, I make the door swing open and teleport inside. Once inside I flare my wings. All the ponies stare at me wide eyed, Fluttershy cowering under the table. I pang of guilt stabs my chest. After knowing her for a minute, she’s quite the… scared one to say the least.

But that didn’t matter, what mattered is figuring out what they were reading and talking about. And a paper sat in the center of the table. I use my magic to bring it to me.

“Ember! You don’t need to read that!” Twilight shouts out. I just look at her with a glare that says, ‘I will fucking kill you’, not that I would, I just did that to keep her from taking it from me. I read the paper; apparently a letter from Princess Celestia. Saying how Luna shared some of my memories. My. Fucking. Memories.

To say I was pissed is a bit of an understatement.

I especially like the little bit about keeping me calm. Fucking humorous. It actually made me chuckle.

“So, you all know about me know, my general life anyway. Am I right?” They all slowly nod. I even struck fear into Rainbow! Bonus! Despite the asinine request from Celestia is offencive enough, I crack a smile. “You know what, I’ not even mad.”

“Really?” Twilight asks. I nod and smile widely.

“Yes, really. I’m not mad. I. Am. Furious.” They all flinch. “You couldn't just fucking ask me?” They all look down dejectedly. “I guess not, why? Why can’t you just ask me about me?”

“I was too afraid too...” Twilight finally answers.

“And that makes it ok to go through such lengths, using one of you own diarchs!?” She looks down, too embarrassed to look up. “Thought so.” I pause for a minute. “Now that I think about, it’s kinda understandable; If I meet a new species that were three times my size, I’d be a little intimidated too. Probably downright terrified depending on how siad species looked. And I could put this all behind me…” Surprised look all around. “On one condition.”

“And what is that?” Rainbow immediately goes on the defensive.

“You, all you, will never speak of this again. Unless if I allow it. Is this understood?” Fluttershy has come out from under the table, a little calm. They all nod vigorously. At that I smile normally. “Good!” I walk over to Pinkie, who happen to be sitting next to eachother. I stand in between them and kneel to their eye level. Without saying a word, I reach up with both of my hands and scratch the two ponie behind their ears. Something I learned from Applebloom a while back. Their reactions where just like hers, their bodies would stiffen at first, then slouch a little. Then their eyes would roll up and… Pinkie’s tongue hung out, Fluttershy just kept a cute, puppy-face. And predictably, the others are shocked. A few minutes are spent in silence again, broken by Pinkie’s sighs or Fluttershy’s humming.

“Where did ya learn to do that?” Rainbow asks. I smirk.

“Applebloom, she saw that I have hands and asked me to do the same I’m doing right now. I don’t know how she found this out, but she did.” I stop scratching and stand back up.

“Aww… I want more scritchy scratchy!” Pinkie is back to… whoever the fuck she is. Same goes for Fluttershy, a small, delicate smile curving her lips. I smile back at her before I turn my attention to the whole group.

“Later Pinkie. Right now, I would like to find a fucking place to live in, it’s getting pretty old having to wake up every late morning and something weird happening.” I glance quickly at Twi, making her blush and chuckle nervously. “Since you apparently have some connections in whatever kind of government runs this country, do you think you can find a way to get me a house Twilight? Preferably one with a basement?” Twi shakes her head, probably to get rid of those awkward moments.

“Well… There is a council of ambassadors. They meet once a year to discuss about unknown matters, or to negotiate...”

“And what does this have to do with me?”

“Since you are a new species on this planet, and being the only human in recorded history,”

“That makes me feel really fucking welcome, thanks for the reminder.” I say blandly, everypony’s ears fold back. Twi’s out of embarrassment.

“Sorry…”

“Just go on...”

“Ok… *ahem* as I was saying, you can act as the ambassador for your own kind.”

"And how does that help me get my own place?”

“By being part of this council, you receive a thick paycheck. And I think I can get you a grant from Princess Celestia so you can buy you own house.” At that word, ‘paycheck’ she had my full attention. I like, no… love money. Who doesn’t? I’m not like one of those stereotypical rich fucks if you’re thinking that. I just like to have money, not enough to corrupt me. I should stop digging this hole I’ll get out of.

“I’m interested. How soon can you do that?”

“Right now actually. Spike!” Said little dragon comes down the stairs.

“What is it Twilight?”

“Take a letter...”

It only took Twi two minutes for Spike to write down what Twi has said, some shit about me becoming a diplomat or something. I wasn’t paying attention, Chrysi came back from doing whatever the hell changelings do, she thankfully kept her disguise on for the other ponies. I, however, returned to scratching Pinkie begin the ears. And from the look of it, she was in heaven. She was laying on the ground, a leg twitching ever now and again. While the others were talking with Chrysi. She managed to have made up a story where she’s from Fillydelphia. These ponies and their fucking punny names. One particular second Spike doubled over, like he was about to vomit, instead a large burst of green fire erupted with a loud burp. Apparently this happens every single time Celestia sends a letter to Twi. That’s not the weird part, the weird part was that to send a letter to Celestia, Spike breaths fire and burns the rolled up letter, turning it to sparkling purple ashes, then it would fly out a random window and head to… Canterlot. At this point I’ve learned to put names, magic, and all their abnormal shit under the ‘Shit I Will Never Understand’ folder. And never question anything, just fucking label it as ‘magic’. That’s the answer they keep responding with…

Anyway! The green fire spins into a ball until A scroll with a sun seal on it pops into existence. It’s covered in a purple mist as it floats over to Twi, it unrolls and she reads it. Her eyes progressively widening, she looks to me.

“What?”