Roseluck was by no means a sheltered pony.
Technically speaking, she'd spent most of her life that way, protected from all harm in the safety of Celestia's kingdom. But since the return of Nightmare Moon, Roseluck had become brave enough to face the threats around her.
Then she stepped into another world, and all her confidence melted, like a bouquet left out in the sun for a week. For a few terrible moments, she was frozen in place, feeling stretched and deformed by Discord's Worldgate. None of her limbs were in the right place, and many no longer felt right.
She'd seen photographs of humans, probably knew them as well as Heartstrings. But a week of watching images on Tracy's viewing portal was nowhere near the sensation of being one.
The fur being gone was the first thing, bringing with it a chill of cold that made her skin ripple with goose pimples. Her tail was gone, and her forelegs hung awkwardly at her sides. Even her torso felt wrong, stretching out her dress and making her wobble slightly to try and keep her balance.
She lifted her strange new limbs, flexing the dull claws Tracy called “fingers.” They moved at her command, though how anypony could command so many at once was baffling to her.
She was near to despairing before she finally saw something familiar: him.
Tracy grinned at her, mouth hanging open like a stallion's first summer. She could barely identify her own bucking body, yet there was an island of something familiar. He proved those stupid hand-things were good for something, by wrapping one around her back. Those fingers could touch so much all at once, while remaining soft and warm.
"That bad, huh?" she asked. She meant to say something else, probably about how much of an alien monster she'd become. He interrupted.
Their lips were different, but the kiss still felt the same. Some languages, it turned out, were universal.
Embarrassment too, judging by how swiftly he let go. "Sorry about that. It's just... I should've known you'd look this way. Good. Really good. Never thought I'd see anyone who could pull off hair that bright."
She followed his gaze to her mane, or... hair, they called it here. Despite her insistence on a casual date, she'd worn no less powder than usual, and spent quite some time recreating the braid she wore on their first real date. It fell over one of her shoulders, color almost unchanged. Her skin around it was different, pale and pinkish like some of the humans she'd seen, but not quite as white as her old fur.
"I don't want to pull it off," she said seriously. She folded her arms across her chest, looking as stern as she could manage. "If manes detach on your side, I want mine to remain in place."
He laughed, touching her shoulder with his good hand. "It's just something you say, you don't actually do it." He spun around, looking away from her suddenly.
She'd hardly noticed the world away from the porch. There were familiar growing things on this side, a grass lawn and a few stray wildflowers. Mostly weeds—she could make a few decent salads with the ingredients here. Maybe she could get him to pick a few on his way in next time.
She had seen out this way before. Only once through the front door, but several times through Tracy's open window. The metal beasts zooming both directions down the human road still seemed loud and unpleasant. So some things hadn't changed.
"That's her," Tracy muttered, nodding towards the road. A smaller, silvery car pulled neatly to a stop, and another human got out.
She was taller than Rose, with short brown hair and a strange formal suit. Celestia only knew what a mare like her wanted to do with trousers in a formal setting. She carried a black box under one arm, and despite its small size she clearly strained under the weight, leaning to one side.
"Tracy," she said, with a bit of a grunt. "And Rose, I assume." She stopped nearby, settling the box onto the ground with some relief. "Pleasure to meet you." Then she did something strange. Rose had seen it before, though none of Tracy's moving images showed it very close up. She stuck her hand toward Tracy, and he took it, shaking for a second. Then she did the same toward Rose.
She stared down, eyes widening in confusion. "What—"
Tracy gestured from behind her. What could Rose do but try? "Pleasure," Rose repeated. "You sound like... Janet, right? His boss." Up close, there were a few subtle signs of other things. Janet was older than either of them, though not by much. Rose's nose felt completely numb, but Tracy didn't look at Janet the way he looked at Rose. If anything, this woman intimidated him.
Evidently she'd done it wrong, because Janet didn't grip her hand nearly as long. She touched Rose's awkwardly, then pulled back. "Yep. I stand at the threshold of corporate wrath, sheltering my feeble band."
She gestured, expectant. "How's the arm?"
Tracy held it out as best he could, though he didn't remove the supports. "They took off the cast, but it has to stay immobilized for another week. After that, I can't carry more than five pounds, and I have to go in for a checkup every fortnight. X-rays look good, or that's what the doctor says."
Janet looked him over, expression unreadable. Finally she nudged the case toward him with a foot. "Here's the laptop. Take good care of her, she's also your desktop now. IT transferred everything for you. There's docking stations at all the desks now. Very modern."
Tracy bent down with his good arm, wincing as he stretched. It was just like in Equestria—he hid the pain well, but too much bending the wrong way would damage the injured leg.
Rose beat him to it, lifting the handle effortlessly in one hand. It was heavier than it looked, but she could hardly tell what had been giving Janet trouble with it.
"Damn," Janet whistled, staring. "Be careful with this one, Tracy. She gets to the gym more than you do."
She took a single step closer, lowering her voice. "You were right about Steven, by the way. He was fucking hysterical when he walked into my office. I didn't get a single coherent word out of him, had to send him home." She glanced back towards the door to the apartment. "This is a serious question, and I expect a serious answer: is your place haunted?"
Tracy laughed, though there was nothing of the warmth in it Rose was used to. It was the same fake laugh he used when trying to convince ponies he understood something he didn't. He reached back, opening the door wide. "Not that I've ever seen. You see any ghosts?"
Janet eyed the open doorway, then looked to Rose. "What about you. Ever see any ghosts? I know it sounds silly, but... I tell you, I have. And if you saw Steven's face, you'd think he did too."
Rose shook her head. "My landlord is a bucking nightmare, but I don't think he counts as a ghost. You're talking about... souls of the dead?" She looked back towards Tracy. "I thought you worked with machines."
He shut the door quickly. "No ghosts, boss. That's one thing I'm certain about."
Janet eyed him. Somehow, Rose could read that expression, the same way she'd judge a pony's ears and tail to reflect their emotions. She was growing suspicious.
"It would help to know what set Steven off," she said. "He insists you didn't do anything to him, didn't touch him, nothing. But what he did say... like I said, completely incoherent. I've been good to you, Tracy. I'm good to all my people. But doing that takes knowing what they need.
"I have never heard Steven say a word about religion, not to me or anyone else. But before I sent the kid home, he told half the office you were a demon. If your house isn't haunted, why would he think that?"
Rose choked back a laugh, not very successfully. Even in his own world people thought Tracy was some kind of evil invader. She wasn't the only one.
Tracy sighed deeply. "Suppose there was a reason, boss. Suppose it was something so completely insane that you'd call me to have me confined if I told you."
Janet did something strange then, reaching into her shirt and removing something from within. It was a piece of jewelry, though the shape and purpose of it was so bewildering Rose almost dropped the box. There was a little human on it, with an exceptionally unhappy expression.
"I'd ask whether he was right about the demons," Janet said. "I know, completely inappropriate. If you're a Satanist, it's no business of Apex. It won't affect your position on my team."
"No!" Tracy looked like he might vibrate apart with nervousness, glancing between Janet and Rose. "I'm not a Satanist, whatever that even means. I can show you what Steven saw, right here. I just..." His shoulders sagged. Rose could imagine his wings dragging along behind him as he spoke. "Just promise not to tell anyone. Can you do that?"
"Is it illegal?"
"No. Not on their side, and I know we don't have laws about it on ours."
"Then fine." Janet folded her arms. Her behavior might be strange, but Rose found her admiration growing even so. Tracy was wrong to be afraid of her. "Promise. What is it?"
Tracy walked over to the door, then held it open. "Rose, could you bring that box inside for me? We won't want to take it with us tonight anyway."
Go right back in, just after crossing? Rose looked nervously between him and the door. "Are you... sure?"
He nodded wearily. "Janet's right, I owe her my trust." There was an undercurrent of something else, just beneath the surface. But he wasn't saying, and she couldn't smell him well enough to guess.
Rose stopped in front of the doorway, settling the box down on the ground. She wasn't sure what would happen when she crossed, but hooves couldn't grab things like that.
Then she stepped back. The change was as disorienting as it had been the first time. She fell forward onto her hooves, and all the normal things about being a pony were briefly confusing. She felt a moment of panic as her forelegs settled against the floor, the usual flat lumps. She pranced back around in a circle, smiling up at Janet.
The humans towered over her, but she was brave this time. She didn't run away. She bent down, took the box in her mouth, and pulled it inside.
Then came the hard part. She was already feeling overwhelmed, completely out of her depth. Could she handle that assault of alien sensations a second time?
Tracy looked back at her, eyes wide with panic. She could smell it on him too—for him, this moment was as desperate as an invasion.
Rose crossed. She wobbled, and he caught her this time, steadying her with one hand. "Thank you."
Janet looked inside, then back at the two of them. "He's not crazy,” she muttered, moving one hand over her chest in a strange pattern. "I'll be damned."
"I could never explain it," Tracy said. "If I'd told you, you would've put me on a 5150."
Janet pushed him gently aside, walking around them both and over to the doorway. She extended one hand across the threshold, very slowly. It turned bright yellow, sharpening and narrowing into an avian claw. She squealed in surprise, stumbling back. "God in heaven. What is that?"
It was Rose's turn to steady Tracy. He swallowed, opening his mouth and closing it again without managing anything. But Rose waited—any explanation she had to give would probably make things worse.
"The house is cursed," Tracy said. "Along with anyone in it. I have to keep living here until the end of the year, or else it's permanent."
It's not a curse! But she restrained herself, only out of compassion. But she would demand an apology later, once this woman had gone.
Janet nodded, tucking her jewelry away. "That is... insane." She stared down at her hand, flexing her fingers, turning it over. "I am going to... expect you to tell me everything. Eventually." She nodded politely towards Rose. "You live in a cursed house too?"
Rose nodded. "I'm from there. It doesn't seem cursed to me."
"Oh." She paled another few shades. "Of course you are. Of course you are." She turned to leave. "I need a 1.0 by the end of next week, Tracy," she said. Her tone felt oddly stiff, all friendliness gone. "You scared the shit out of Steven, you can finish his work."
She walked calmly back to her car, snapped the door shut, and drove away.