• Member Since 23rd Oct, 2012
  • offline last seen Sunday

AlwaysDressesInStyle


No way of knowing, where we'll be going, our adventures never end.

E

This story is a sequel to Business Trip


Upon returning home to San Antonio from his Business Trip to New York City, Mr. Jones makes the decision to move to Equestria.

His journey takes longer than he expected, and whoever said 'getting there is half the fun' didn't have their teenage sister along for the ride...

Additional character tags: Snowcatcher, Rainbow Flash, Ploomette, Tex, Truly

Translated to Chinese by WW2ephyr: https://fimtale.com/t/46331

Chapters (1)
Comments ( 44 )

Sweet. It continues. I was really hoping for more after the Mareiott

A charming continuation of its predecessor! I look forward to future stories set in this universe.

Charming and interesting, the visit to the Mareiott was as unexpected as it was welcome.
And if anything Ploomette was just too funny of a name :rainbowlaugh:

On that ending, "oh nice, first job experience as the first humans ever to work as massagists! Here, do work on the many times over world saving national heroes! I'm sure nothing bad can come out of this! :pinkiecrazy:
That's a level of insanity to make Pinkie proud :derpytongue2:

9969678
Glad you liked it! :pinkiehappy:

I'd love to claim credit for naming Ploomette, but she's based on one of the toys:

https://derpibooru.org/145431

https://derpibooru.org/229981

Her official vector is a Fluttershy recolor. But her cutie mark certainly implies something a bit more royal, hence her title of duchess and why she's been appointed as a consul and representative to the UN. And since there's no official canon for her, I decided to make one.

As for the ending, it was tempting to have shenanigans ensue, but ultimately I decided against it. :raritywink: It was an admittedly risky proposition, but it looks like it may pay off for them. :raritywink: What could have resulted in :raritydespair: instead ended up as :raritystarry:

Also, thank you for using spoilers! I always appreciate that. :yay:

Well now, that worked out swimmingly. I look forward to seeing more of this world you have going, it's a fun one!

After a tough day at work, this was just want I needed.:pinkiesmile:

Excellent sequel. I love the serious world-building going on here. I like the addition of Samantha.
Your long description has a typo, "to move to" is repeated.
Also, Equestrian bureaucracy is pretty damn efficient if they can get a visa approved in one month...:pinkiegasp:

Awesome sequel. Hope to read a follow-up at some Point.

9972016

Thanks for that - fixed. Turns out it was in the short description too... :facehoof:

Given how efficint the hotel was at processing the two newbies, I wonder how many ponys there are actually SMILE operatives? :coolphoto:

9972856
No problem. I made the same mistake on one of my story descriptions too.

You have to follow up, we need to see Pinkie's welcome party and him explore more of Ponyville.

I want to see more of this world. Also have a like and follow :twilightsmile:

Dan

I wonder if Dewdrop Dazzle is capable of bloodbending.

And indeed, upvoting and Favouriting this. :)

Rainbow Flash always dresses in style.


...why does everything blue suddenly taste like copper?

That went well. And was fun and adorable.

It also gives me ideas for humans running into this from the other side with aliens. Like, a couple of sought-after alien masseuses happened to be a couple of former office workers who met humans on a business trip, saw an opportunity, and decided to get in on the ground floor.

9984047

I'm not planning on exploring that aspect of things, so if you want to write about ponies trading in office jobs for jobs massaging humans, go for it. It would fit in very well for Admiral Biscuit's not-a-contest that these stories were written for: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/869870/story-notes-labor-day-plus-a-challenge-to-readers

If you want to set them in the same setting as Business Trip let me know. In the ~five minutes I've spent typing this reply I already have a rough outline of a plot that could work...

Another wonderfully charming addition to the PoE/HiE compendium. I hope that you consider continuing the adventures of Mr. Jones. Also, if you get wind of a vacancy at the Mareiott, I would love to visit.

“We’re driving. It’ll take a few hours to get there. It’s in the Pine Barrens.”
Snowcatcher elaborated on what Ploomette had said. “The Pine Barrens is sparsely populated by humans, but home to an amazingly diverse section of wildlife. There are also a number of legends associated with the area, including what’s known as the Jersey Devil.”
“I had that video game as a kid.”
Snowcatcher facehoofed. “The local legend is that a beast known as the Jersey Devil inhabits the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey, and has been sighted as far away as Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. If you look up descriptions of the beast, however, there’s very little consensus on what it looks like. It resembles a dragon, a cockatrice, or even a thestral pony depending on who you ask.

Most are so focused on what the Jersey Devil might be that they completely overlook what he actually IS!

weirdnj.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/JerseyDevilIllustrationFinal.jpg

images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/f4468d92-e9bd-4f1f-a652-90387db1e84f/d78qlr7-a507247c-caa9-4c04-85a8-6126b65f03c8.png/v1/fill/w_1024,h_782,q_75,strp/vector__discord_3_by_estories-d78qlr7.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwic3ViIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl0sIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiIvZi9mNDQ2OGQ5Mi1lOWJkLTRmMWYtYTY1Mi05MDM4N2RiMWU4NGYvZDc4cWxyNy1hNTA3MjQ3Yy1jYWE5LTRjMDQtODVhOC02MTI2YjY1ZjAzYzgucG5nIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTEwMjQiLCJoZWlnaHQiOiI8PTc4MiJ9XV19.PwRoWzQQQCOF-H8zv11u0BGmMH5gwfOxXEbBgx8Jws4

10038112

Certainly not beyond the realm of possibility, and again, plays perfectly into what Snowcatcher was talking about. And if he visits periodically, that would explain a lot, wouldn't it? :raritywink:

10039369 Indeed. NJ is the center of chaos an absurdity... and it's spreading.

Soon, New Jersey will encompass the world! :raritydespair:

10039462
I, for one, embrace my new New Jerseyan overlords.

10039502 This is wise. :trixieshiftright:

10039976
What can I say? I like my kneecaps.

Blue mustang.
Looks at profile pic.
I see what ya did there.

Looks like I'm late to the party imma Hafta follow you so I don't miss out again.

10040854
Thank you for the follow! As for the blue Mustang, I may have given myself a quick little cameo. :raritywink: I actually do have a Mustang in almost the same shade of blue as my avatar.

10040018 I have injured one of mine.

Apparently relentless self-torment from outlandish training regimens causes physical damage... who knew?

Nice,
Just one thing Tex never introduces himself so the name drop is just inference from the reader.

10041272

Good catch! This is now fixed. :pinkiehappy:

Dan

“A masseuse?” He looked at my hands. “Yeah, I guess humans would have an advantage there.” Much to my surprise, the stallion shoved a number of items off to the side and climbed onto his desk. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Masseur. Masseuse is feminine.

I really enjoyed this slice-of-life - it makes sense that there'd be some sort of requirements to pass before going to Equestria.

ROBCakeran53
Moderator

You are an absolute tease with Mr. Jones and Snowcatcher, you know that?

10250539

I may have watched too much Who's The Boss? when I was younger... :raritywink:

This was really sweet, and loved the hotel mares doing so much to help them out with all this. Also, if this place is partially owned, or at least used as the residence of an official ambassador, cuts down on how likely Marriot is to make a fuss. So bonus there.

That said, a lot of it did seem just, way too easy and/or simple. On the simple side, I'm from Jersey (though the least crappy section in the NW so not close to the Pine Barrens) so I do know how middle of nowhere that place is, but if it's the sole sight of a link between a whole other world/universe, and the primary transfer point between that, the sight of all crossing, and essentially an international border, and has been there long enough for things to be at the state they are with the world, it's really hard to buy it still being some little base with a dirt road leading up to it. There'd be infrastructure put in place to make this a major thing, paved roads, fencing/walls, likely even an airfield by this point. Maybe there is some of that, but the way it's describe just, make it feel way to simplistic for what it is.

And, also just, kind of felt odd how fast and easy everything was, I did love how the fact he got approved to move there with no knowledge of the place, no way to speak the language, and no idea what he was doing was explicitly called out as due to the Tex not being very good at his job. And on Jones' part, he did just go there to find out more information, the whole 'Oh yeah, here's you Visa, head on over right away' wasn't really expected. But, other stuff, just how easy it all went, not even in Equestria an hour and everything is perfectly set up, complete with the two of them separating and living in different cities right away and just..... the ending especially felt a bit too pat and quick to feel plausible.

But, even with that, was still just a wonderful, cute, fun, and very interesting story.

10280474

First of all, thank you. Secondly, I love thought-provoking questions!

I do know how middle of nowhere that place is, but if it's the sole sight of a link between a whole other world/universe, and the primary transfer point between that, the sight of all crossing, and essentially an international border, and has been there long enough for things to be at the state they are with the world, it's really hard to buy it still being some little base with a dirt road leading up to it. There'd be infrastructure put in place to make this a major thing, paved roads, fencing/walls, likely even an airfield by this point. Maybe there is some of that, but the way it's describe just, make it feel way to simplistic for what it is.

This gets explored a bit more in the sequel, 16. But if you'll indulge me, I can go into way more detail. I'm very good at overthinking things, especially when someone asks a good question that likely won't be satisfactorily answered in story. :raritywink: Mostly though, if there are plotholes I want to patch them.

Human-pony contact occurred somewhere in the very late '70s or very early '80s. But the ponies saw how many problems there were in our world and took a stance of observation and minimal interaction. Celestia's aware of it, and there are about a half dozen ponies (all pegasi: Firefly, Surprise, Heart Throb, Wind Whistler, & North Star) living here with the Williams family (the Williams' were friends with Bonnie Zacherle, who worked for a certain toy company, and G1 MLP was born). The Williams' are the only humans aware of ponies.

Fast forward a few decades and a freak storm over the Everfree sends a pair of pegasi into our world. Stuff happens (a lot of it, and hopefully one day I actually finish writing it and get it posted), and that results in Equestria having to acknowledge the existence of Earth. If we use September 2019 (publication date of Business Trip) as the date of Mr. Jones' trip, Snowcatcher explicitly says I’ve got four years, three months, and twenty-seven days left.. At that point she's been on Earth for eight months and four days. She was on the very first bus from the portal (January 2019), and the genesis of the Mareiott happened on that bus ride to the New York consulate. It took less than eight months to go from an idea to open for business, which is pretty impressive. In 16 we learn that the exact day that Earth was announced to ponies was three years, seven months, and twenty-six days ago (with 'today' being date of that pony's crossing of the portal; conveniently, she was on the same bus as Snowcatcher, as were most of our characters), which takes us back to mid-2015.

Even if we don't pinpoint an exact date (my own personal preference, otherwise I need to worry about 'how would these real life people deal with this situation' which is something I'd prefer to avoid), it's slightly over four years from 'time of announcement' to Mr. Jones' stay at the Mareiott (add another three more months until he goes through the portal himself). Four and a half years from the time communications are opened between worlds, and ~11 months from the time ponies and people first started actively using the portal. Not only would that be adequate time to get the road paved, it would be more than enough time to get a small settlement started (at the very least, a gas station, hotel, and half a dozen fast food places).

There are a few reasons for this. The first is the ponies are adamant they don't want people trying to sign them up for credit cards, cell phones, etc. right as they get to Earth (everypony has their own comfort level with technology, and while there are those who make the mall their first stop after the consulate so they can stock up on all the Earth essentials; the vast majority don't).

Equestria's bigger concern is they still have some trust issues with us. They were forced into expanding contact due to circumstances instead of choice. That's why there's a minimum five year stay, and a maximum of seven. They view this as an experiment: can people and ponies coexist? If 'yes' the restrictions will be lifted and more portals will be opened (and conveniently located in major cities across the globe). If 'no' once the seven years is up, they're recalling all their citizens and the existing portal will be destroyed (humans in Equestria will be given the option of returning home or staying, they won't be purged; Equestria's a very inviting place). Why go to the effort of building infrastructure for something that will be temporary either way? The portal's in a remote location, and the ponies want to keep it that way (at least for now). Despite that, there's more infrastructure on the New Jersey side since Equestria's side is in the middle of the Everfree Forest. While the road to the portal is dirt, a vintage Checker limo and a bus have both demonstrated the ability to get to and from the portal with no problems. Except for the lowest sports cars, the road to the portal on the New Jersey side isn't particularly challenging (as long as the weather's good; good thing some of the ponies working at the checkpoint are pegasi). Equestria's side has almost no infrastructure. A rugged 4WD such as a Jeep or Hummer is required to get from the portal to Ponyville (unless you want to hoof it; which the vast majority of ponies do).

The intro to 16 is set five years hence, and the mares are voting on whether to stay on Earth or go home. The fact that they're voting tells us the portal will be staying open. Then we jump into the past and the regulations are discussed a bit since at the time, they'd be in place. As the story progresses, we'll see the gradual opening up of our two worlds.

the ending especially felt a bit too pat and quick to feel plausible.

It's very plot convenient that the nearest town to the portal is Ponyville. :scootangel: A town with a day spa with named characters running it. I'll be the first to admit that this is very, very convenient. Though to be fair, the Everfree is a good place to locate a mysterious portal to another world. :raritywink: I consider this a palate cleanser between stories, as there's far more substance in 16. But Mr. Jones' story needed to continue first, since he was the main protagonist of Business Trip and he will only play a minor part in 16.

if I learn how to do this I can get paid to spend every day petting ponies

Now this got a genuine laugh out of me.

Dan

So what is Ploomette's conversational style/honorific? Your Grace? Madam Consul? Your Excellency?

Apparently, "Excellency" is reserved for the Ambassador, and consuls are just 'Mr./Mrs. Name,' but in her case, the noble title would become the default.
https://www.formsofaddress.info/consul/
https://www.vic.gov.au/how-address-royalty-and-officials#how-to-address-diplomatic-and-consular-corps

All consuls … full time or honorary … are addressed orally on in writing as ‘Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr. (Name)’ …. whichever honorific to which they are normally entitled. An ambassador is the only diplomat that gets a special honorific or courtesy title.

10579418

Ploomette would probably just tell you to call her 'Ploom'. :raritywink: She's not all that much for formalities, unless she needs to be. Then she changes tunes as quickly as flipping a light switch. She's more relaxed around ponies than humans for the time being, with a perception that she has to always be formal in the presence of humans to make a good impression.

When she's in serious mode, 'Your Grace' is the address for British dukes, so it would be perfectly acceptable to address her as such. Equestria likely has their own titles, but she's perfectly fine with people addressing her with their home countries' terms of respect be it English, French, Equestrian, etc.

It looks like Blueblood will be happy with his title. I didn't know that about ambassadors - thank you! We probably won't see Blueblood show up again, but it's possible, and I could certainly see him insisting on being addressed as 'Your Excellency'. I might just have to write him into a future scene just to do so.

Would it be more correct to change this line of dialogue from:

“Presenting Duchess Ploomette of the House of Hurricane, Equestrian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Equestrian Consul General of New York City.”

to

“Presenting Her Grace, Duchess Ploomette of the House of Hurricane, Equestrian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Equestrian Consul General of New York City.”

Comment posted by Dan deleted Feb 25th, 2022

10579456

She might not understand the greeting and assume it was traditional in their culture. I don't think she'd be upset unless someone was deliberately mocking/belittling her, and she'd most likely use tone of voice to determine that instead of the words themselves. Conversely, she'd likely struggle with sarcasm. But that's also why her guards all studied different languages. They all know English (and Equestrian, of course), but the other four languages they've each spent years learning are all different from one another. Yes, Swoop still insists on using third pony even in other languages. Between them, they have a knowledge pool of twenty-four languages Ploomette doesn't know. There are times they can help translate.

and that while I found her absolutely adorable, I didn’t find myself interested in her like that.

Yet:raritywink:

(That's the impression I got anyway, but maybe that's just me.)

Case in point:

Not that she left my mind for the next week. My king-size bed felt even emptier without her cuddled up next to me at night.

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