Chapter 10
Tracy’s next few days proceeded about the way he expected. Now that the pressure of HR on his shoulders had faded into the backdrop, he could focus much more on the simple task of just getting work done and impressing Janet. He already had a little ground to make up after that initial disappointment, but it didn’t feel beyond his ability. So long as he didn’t let his mind wander too much to the world he had to live in at night, he could work without too much difficulty.
Other than the additional financial strain of getting his car looked at, and paying for a stupid ticket. If there was one small mercy, it was that there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the car. He was out the price of a tow and the investigation, but that was all.
The job itself was supposed to be the dream of a lifetime, and the paycheck certainly would be. But no matter how much he wanted to be completely devoted to it, Tracy found it hard to banish thoughts of the parallel world he now lived in. First it was simple resentment against the demon Discord, for trapping him in a contract that could sense his very intention to skirt the rules. Then the residents, for being so loud downstairs when he was trying to sleep. Roseluck, for tensing and going quiet whenever he walked into the room.
At least I don’t have to worry about thinking she’s pretty anymore. If she’s afraid of me, I can keep my privacy, and fight whatever brainwashing Discord does when I’m in there. Maybe that was part of the trick all along—nothing to do with eating the food of the underworld, but getting involved with the people there. Under that friendly exterior was a world filled with demons that never wanted to let him leave.
But past all that, past the resentment and the frustration, Tracy was still curious. Through connections too tenuous for anyone to sense, he now had direct contact with another world. It had its own culture, its own wildlife, its own dominant species, and he knew almost nothing about it.
For the first week, that thought festered under his devotion to the internship and the lack of any force trying to drag him away. Apex had plenty of interesting projects to capture his attention, even if an intern like himself was usually shoved into whatever role the actual employees wanted least. But instead of daydreaming of a future where his bills paid automatically and he could eat wherever he wanted, Tracy kept thinking back to the house that shouldn’t exist and the world it existed in.
It doesn’t mean I’m giving in to the demon if I take a look around. I’m taking advantage of my situation, I’m being smart. If there’s a way to turn this around on him somehow, it’s probably on that side. Maybe the work was entirely necessary, because gold was incredibly common on that side, and he could trade chocolate for it or something. He could make millions as a ferengi trader.
There was one major obstacle to that goal, just how misaligned their time seemed to be. Through cosmic coincidence—or more likely, demonic design—Earth and Equestria seemed to be exactly twelve hours apart. When his day ended, the Equestrian day began. He could probably take advantage of that fact, at the cost of a little tiredness at work.
He wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to do to prepare—but maybe there was nothing anyone could do. As far as he knew, he was the first human being to ever set foot in another world. Maybe this would all end better than expected, and he would end up with his name in a history book somewhere.
So far as he could tell, there was nothing in his contract banning him from trying to share everything he’d seen with the world. He could write a book about it, start a YouTube channel, whatever people did to get noticed.
But before he could think about any of that, before he could come up with a plan for not getting institutionalized after coming out with a completely insane story, he first had to learn more about his new prison.
He shut the inner door behind him on Friday evening, a little earlier than he usually got home. He’d skipped the trip for takeout, and sure enough Roseluck was downstairs fixing breakfast. Or… eating it, anyway. Apparently Equestria had cereal, and she was feeling lazy. I should really check out the kitchen when she’s away, see what these horse-people eat.
“Hey, uh… Rose. Can I call you Rose?” He settled his backpack down, facing determinedly away from her. At least this way it would mean he wouldn’t be displaying so much of what the clothes didn’t cover. Tracy also didn’t wait for an answer. “I was wondering if you could give me some advice, about where to go in… Equestria?” He glanced nervously at the door, then back to her.
For her part, the horse-girl stared up at him, eyes widening. It seemed almost like she’d been expecting him to ask this. Was this related to why she’d become so quiet and cold lately?
He still didn’t stop. “I’ve wanted to see your country since I moved in, and I haven’t had a chance. Maybe you know some… spots I should visit?”
Her eyes narrowed, and she pushed her overflowing binder aside. Over the last week she’d clearly been trying to organize her papers, without much success. “You want to casually visit military bases, magical defenses, and government buildings?”
His eyes widened, confused. “What? No! Hell no do I want to go anywhere near your military. Just, like… a park, a landmark, maybe a restaurant. Though I’m not really sure about money. I don’t think you’ll take what we use.”
He turned, fishing around in the front flap of his backpack and pulling out the wallet. Aside from being a little too large for him, it looked exactly the same as he pulled it out, flipping it open to reveal the plastic inside. “Do horses take credit cards?”
She slammed the binder closed, then rose to her hooves, breakfast forgotten. “We use bits, just like any sane creatures. What kind of money is that?” Her suspicion was momentarily replaced with confusion as she poked at one of the cards.
“I… Nevermind. I guess forget about the restaurant idea. Maybe I’ll…” He looked away, frowning. “Discord said something about taking gold to a currency exchange. I guess that’s what I’ll have to do if I want any of your money. Unless you wanted to do something simpler and just trade.”
But whatever he’d said, it wasn’t the right thing. Roseluck’s mouth hung open, and her lips formed the same word, repeated over and over. He didn’t have a prayer of guessing what it was on a pair of horse lips. Maybe if she’d been human he could understand. “Look, whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that. I just want to see what your food tastes like. That’s… one of the things you’re supposed to do when you’re a tourist, right? Everybody eats, so it’s one of the things that unites us. New recipes, new culture… I just worry that I’d feel like I missed out if I didn’t try it now.”
For a second he wondered if he’d just broken Roseluck’s brain completely, and she wasn’t going to respond at all. But then she nodded, expression bleak. “There’s, uh… food, right. Let me…” Suddenly she broke into a grin, so wide he almost started feeling suspicious. “We could do that! Tour of… well, not all Equestria. You’d need to pay for an air-cruise or something to do that. But I could show you around Ponyville. I have a friend who works at a bakery, they’d give us free lunch no problem. We trade them flowers for their tables, so…”
“Great,” he said awkwardly. “How about a week from now? Is that too soon?”
She considered, glancing nervously back at the binder. Then she shook her head. “No, not at all! I’ll ask her today, and… I’m positive she’ll approve.”
“Perfect,” he said, retreating. “Thanks. I’m… well, I’m sorry I haven’t tried to talk more. It’s… I’ve never been very good at making new friends. Least of all when they’re…” That probably wasn’t the kindest thing to say, and he shoved it aside. “This isn’t my world. I don’t really know what I’m doing here. Even if I won’t be sticking around, I… appreciate the help.”
Somehow that got her attention. Though this time it was confusion instead of horror, at least if he was reading her expressions right. “You’re not staying? This isn’t… You’re not a scout for something?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Just trying to last through my contract. I knew the bastard was slimy, but… Discord has me staying against my will. Still… wrong of me to take it out on you.”
She left then, wandering out the door with one last glance in Tracy’s direction. It was strange for her to leave the kitchen a mess, or leave her books out like that. She was always so self-conscious about whatever she was writing.
He waited a moment to see if she would return, then casually approached the table and pulled over a loose sheet. He didn’t expect to be able to read it, but then he probably shouldn’t have been able to understand their spoken language, and he could do that.
There wasn’t much to understand. It was an accounting spreadsheet, or the fragment of one. Amounts of… flowers, if he remembered those names right. He’d probably heard the names of each once or twice over the years. So strike off the theory of entirely alien biology for this place. The horse-people might not look very much like horses, but apparently they had the same plants.
Or maybe the translation was arbitrary, and the names of plants he knew were chosen at random for life that the human mind could scarcely comprehend.
There was a lot of red ink on the bottom of the page. If this was some kind of sales manifest, clearly the sales weren’t going well.
Is Roseluck a horse version of what I am, someone desperate with nowhere else to go?
He pushed the page aside, ears flattening with embarrassment. It was none of his business really, any more than he would’ve wanted her playing with his TV after not understanding what a movie was.
Tracy made his way to the window, closer than he’d been since his first day. He stared out at a place that shouldn’t exist—streets hundreds of years in the past, buildings that weren’t much better. Yet he’d always imagined people in the past as dirty and sick, and the ones outside didn’t look either. Actually, one of them was heading right for the door.
He winced as the gray horse landed on the path, skidding a little on her hooves and nearly falling over. She righted herself despite the weight of her bags, then marched straight up to the door and knocked.
There could be no pretending he wasn’t here, not with the window right there and her face grinning at him only a few feet away.
This is a warmup, it’s fine. I already live with one of them, I can talk to a different one.
He walked slowly, then bent down and pulled the door open with his mouth. It was a little awkward thinking of all the other horse mouths that had been on it, but he managed.
“Hello!” the horse said, smiling brightly at him. She wasn’t quite looking at him, now that he thought about it. Her eyes didn’t focus. “Are you, uh… Tracy Maxwell?”
He blinked, utterly baffled by the question. Then he nodded. “You actually said it right. My roommate never does.”
She giggled, holding out one hoof with a letter. Of course that only made her look more adorable, right down to her silly vest and mailbag. “I get a lot of hard names delivering mail. Yours isn’t that bad.”
How is she holding a letter like that? We don’t have fingers.
Tracy wasn’t exactly sure how he was supposed to take the letter, so he settled for just grabbing it in his mouth and settling it down on the windowsill beside him. She didn’t seem to mind that, or even think it was strange. “Have a nice day!” she said, turning and taking off the way she’d come.
After he’d finished blushing, Tracy shut the door behind her, and turned his attention to this new strangeness. A letter for him? From the wrong side of the house?
He nearly crossed back to his side to read it, but it probably wasn’t a good idea to do that too often. Sooner or later someone was going to see a horse walking out the door and call animal control.
The letter looked surprisingly official for something dredged up out of horse town. Or… Ponyville? Wasn’t that what Roseluck called it? There was a fancy sun-and-moon seal printed in the corner, and his own name and equestrian address in the middle. Actually, if those symbols were a stamp, it was so similar to the way things worked on Earth that he might’ve been able to mail it as-is.
Inside was a thick bundle of legal-looking writing. Most of it didn’t make sense to him, though he did stop to read the first line of the beginning.
“Tracy Maxwell, by order of the Equestrian Immigration Service, your application for residency visa has been approved.”
He skimmed the rest of it, but there wasn’t a lot to see. Just more confirmation of how approved he was to be there. I guess that’s good. I won’t get horse deported. But who had sent that in? More importantly, did that mean Equestria knew more about his world than the other way around? If there was procedure for an alien living in one of their towns… maybe they weren’t as primitive as a few glances out his window suggested.
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Equestria, now with VISA’s! Gotta love discord. Or was it Bon Bon in this case? Hmmm...
Well, well. Now, Rose learns of Discord's involvement! And they're having their first date!
And huh... A residency visa... I presume Discord sent the application in... Or Bon Bon / Lyra trying to help things along??
... That contract is ensuring that Tracy uses the place as his residence... Does that mean engineering luck, so he keeps his job?
I need to check out that contract more...
You just had to
saythink it...Guess that's a good time for Bon Bon/Lyra to interview Tracy?
And the cat's (sort of?) out of the bag. Roseluck's reaction is surprisingly restrained, although maybe she's just holding it in.
I think they'd be more concerned with the transformation part than the horse part. Could lead to some curious authorities investigating the house, though, which could make for an interesting problem.
Well there's that question from earlier chapters settled. No Fnord-23 needed (unless Discord was the one to give Dotted that lovely bit of bureaucratic nightmare fuel).
This amused me greatly. I don't know where this is going, but there's a great amount of chaos to be had.
Tracy finally get's around to see what an opportunity this entire shiding is. And has no idea of how weird things can get there
...Basically? I mean, it's probably no accident at all that it was these two that Discord roped into being roomies. Heck, I suspect he waited until he got Roseluck under contract before seeking for any takers on the human side of things, so he'd know what sort of human would be best to pair her up with. Not that such a detail really matters much at this point in the game.
But for a being of chaos, Discord's pretty good at planning out his actions, and I fully expect its the same thing here.
Clearly, somebody somewhere out there in Equestria has gotten wind of Tracy, and at least he's figured he's...not from around these parts to push through the visa paperwork. Might be Discord pulling some strings behind the scenes, might not be. It does amuse me though, considering how many of us were joking around about precisely this exact sort of thing earlier on.
And hey! Tracy's making an attempt at being friendly. See, I knew he just needed a bit of time to...adjust...to his circumstances first. Proves he can be perfectly civil normally.
Poor Roseluck, though, figuring out that Discord's involved in all of this. She's probably wondering now if Tracy even understands just who the heck they're dealing with, because she certainly does. Or worse, wondering if he does fully understand who and what Discord is, but is otherwise unfazed by it, because as far as Roseluck knows, things like Discord might be the norm in the human world. I mean, she still thinks all of the Thanoses of the world is a norm there, so why not all of the Discords too?
Looks at Romance tag.
I don't think you're done worrying about that, Tracy.
Once again, Derpy proving she's awesomesauce.
Visa application is probably magically included in the contract, not that Discord would personally get involved bureaucracy. I like how this also confirms speculation that Equestria doesn't think something like this is unusual. Roseluck has gone to talk to BonBon to tell her that Discord's involved which means it's more likely a prank than an invasion.
ooooohhhh. This chapter was really, really pretty. Ah like how yer words meshed up so well.
Awesome job!
The pacing was really wrong with this chapter. It felt like whoever was paying for this finished up unexpectedly and there's suddenly only x number of chapters to do what you want with the story so you wanted to get there.
So it's a date! Awkwardness was only level three, and side sweeping her expectations was a good trick.
You know, most spies (at least, ones actually worth their salt) wouldn't do overtly say "yeah I wanna see your troops and military arrangements!". We mean, uh, of course a Wonderbolts show would be great!
So he's gotten a glimpse of her plight. Wouldn't it be funny if they start a garden on his side?
Keep going! ;)
this was a fun chapter, ha! profit plotting :D
10172494 The application must look very Discord-like
"Hmm..." Discord spread the government form out over Fluttershy's kitchen table and shooed away a curious mouse. "Name, yes. Sex, none yet, but you never know. Age, forward, of course, like most mortals. I don't see why Twilight thought I'd have any kind of trouble with this form. It's so easy."
Just don't let the locals know about the twenty-first Rule of Acquisition: Never place friendship above profit.
And just like that, they have a date! Tracy, you sly dog.
"Especially after I took over the Discord route from Post Haste. At least your name doesn't treat apostrophes like they're vowels."
A wider tech tree means you can't make as much progress down any given branch.
Good to see Tracy easing himself into the neighborhood. Don't worry, you'll fit right in with the rest of the madness. And I can only imagine what Roseluck will make up of all the revelations he unwittingly divulged... assuming she thinks she can trust him.
Well, yes it does. Rationalization is how they get you.
And I'm pretty sure that's illegal, forging someone's name, falsifying documents, and impersonating him at any meetings that the process required.
Well, Rosy did seem to a have a crush-at-first-sight on him before she found out he was from another world, so... looks like this [Romance] tag might come into play sooner than expected.
10172529
There is nothing so discordant or chaotic inducing as bureaucracy. It had to be invented by Discord to promote discord and chaos. I have no doubt he is pretty proud of it.
10172722
Yeah, that sounds just like him. Use something that seems very much structured, logical and orderly on the surface to cause the maximum amount of chaos without lifting a single claw for eons to come. I suspect he was laughing his plot of while in the statue.
10172516
derpicdn.net/img/2019/3/14/1985656/thumb.png
Nope I can safely say I'm still happily funding this story, also very excited and curious to see where Starscribe takes it
10172529
I can imagine Discord continuously getting back his forms with a big fat "REJECTED" stamp and sending back increasingly Discordian responses until the poor bureaucrat who has to deal with all this (Dotted Line, quite possibly) gives up and just approves the document to avoid having to deal with this mess any more.
And then two months later he gets called into his boss's room for a reprimand for letting an improperly filed form through:
"This is a major breach of the civil servant's code, and threatens the very heart of the Equestrian government! Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"Discord."
"...My condolences. I think it'll be in the best interests of everyone involved if this were forgotten about entirely.
Horse deported fucked me up a bit. He better do some horse reading to make sure that document horse holds up in court, orr he'll be horse out of luck.
The first real conversation between the two and it was as good as it could have gotten. The truth certainly sets you free. Though I guess I was still hoping to see just a little more paranoid Rose.
And that there is the crack that will lead straight to his heart.
That's -10 relationship points.
A lunch with a new companion. Or is it a date?
Yep, once he cools off the shock, he's quite cordial.
Guess Discord works fast or this experiment really is government-sponsored. Still skimming got Tracy in trouble the last time. Best to read every last word. Especially any fine print.
10172722
If Discord is promoting discord, does it count as self-promotion?
10172467
Yep, it's already far too late for him. Soon he'll have gone fully native.
Things to note in this chapter:
1. An intern making a good salary? WHERE DO I SIGN UP!
This is unheard of.
2. The ticket and the car trouble did not just magically go away. Discord may have made them, but he did not unmake them.
3.
Tracy, please stay. We can be friends.
Another pegasi or bat pony might say ...
I can show you the sky
All the shimmering splendor
Tell me Tracy when did you last let your heart just fly
A whole new world
A --
... C&D? AWW.
fine.
4.
He's not bothering to explain "different world". He probably takes it as a given that she's looked outside, or seen his being different, etc.
Nothing to hide, just nothing to discuss. That he's from a different world is something he's treating as unimportant when dealing with her.
EDIT: OK, Chapter 8 has confirmation that Roseluck is now aware that he's from a different world and looks different.
5.
How do you go from "spots" to "government and military"? It's not like Roseluck is secretly a member of ...
Or is she? Would we know?
EDIT: Nope. Chapter 9 confirms that Bon Bon and Lyra are the agents, and Roseluck has simply been told that it's probably not an invasion, it's not Tirek again, it's not someone out to hurt everypony, it's not dangerous, etc. All these horrible things, oh, stop thinking of the horror that it probably isn't.
... Yea, that will work really well, won't it?
6. "Do horses take credit cards?". No "We are ponies, thank you". Nothing about thestrals as a type of pony (bat pony). No reaction at all.
Further proof, to Tracy, that she understands that he is a completely different creature living here. Of course, "We take bits like any sane creature" isn't going to be welcoming to a tourist visiting.I hate once-a-week updates. I forget all about the previous chapter by the time the next one comes.
7.
And the cat's out of the bag. Or worms out of the can. Or
ducksswans loose in the pond.8.
Didn't you go though basic training at your agency? You don't practically admit to your intelligence target what you're doing or that they are a target of intelligence gathering.Rose really isn't worried about all the horrors that it won't be, Nope, no sirree.
9. Residency visa? Ok, I can understand Discord doing the paperwork and all that, but Equestria even having something like that?
I'm finding another problem, maybe you can help? If I try to press the like button, the number goes from green to black and actually drops. How do I make the number get bigger?
Oh no... I love this and I’m all caught up...
There could be worse fates I suppose!
Horse Deported, is my new favorite phrase.
10172920
In regards to the Visa, it's probably for griffon and minotaur immigrants.
It would be more accurate to say that his time zone is exactly twelve hours apart. (And by my recolection, it's Equestria that's 12 hours behind because I think I remember reading that it was Friday day when for Tracy it was Friday night. Am I right? Anyway, that would mean that Equestria is aligned with the time zone of China, Japan, or northern Russia somewhere, depending on where in the U.S. Tracy lives. Where does he live? I can't remember if you said that.
10173113
So, somewhere near San Francisco, probably.
10173215
So that would be Pacific Time. UTC -8, plus 12 hours, is UTC +4, or the UAE and parts of Russia, that Equestria is aligned with. https://www.worldtimezone.com/utc/utc+0400.html
Also, did anyone already point out that "Lancer Realty" is a reference to John de Lancie?
10173354
Eyup
I haven't felt this excited since I was reading Synthesis.
Ah, yes, absolutely nothing to do with having to choose a side to live on.
I wonder if Pinkie would throw a party for someone who gets horse deported.
10174176
Do you even need to ask? Of course, she would.
I'm surprised he hasn't been ambushed yet. New resident and all.
Oh dear. Famous Last Thoughts activated!
You're gonna get fired for woolgathering (well, horsehair gathering?) at work, and discover that while Discord's warning that dollars won't buy anything in Equestria checks out, human pawn shops are happy to treat bits as gold bullion in exchange for the dollars needed to pay the contractual rent... so you're gonna get a job on the pony side!
Yup. Maybe 5 hours a week buckin' apples will provide enough bits-to-dollars to pay rent, buy groceries on the human side, and fund a new car (you wanted a Lambo, right?!)
Good thing there's no surviving family to have to explain what you do for a living to, though.
...Right?
Oh dear, you're doomed!
*reads 2nd paragraph*
Like I said, new car, dude!
*reads 3rd paragraph*
Oof, can I call 'em or what?
I wasn't even gonna mention the [Romance] tag on the story, but you insisted on doing that yourself. Again, Famous Last Thoughts, Mister! I hope you like flowers!
Why so contrarian?
Faced with a choice between folks that were happy and wanted me around, and folks who'd be happy to see the back of their newest competition, I know which group I'd choose to stick with. Horns or no horns!
Yas!! Give in to the pony side!
Seriously. Just be careful. Drop an "everypony" at work and that firing prediction could come true faster than HR can type "brony deviant" on the pink slip.
Dude, that's not even money. That's just an electronic access key for money. Of course they don't take VISA (or MasterCard)*. A vendor has to have an account with a credit company (or a middleman)--and the right hardware!--to accept payment via their service.
20 bits says the word is "Discord."
...You're lucky you aren't being sent for a mop after dropping the D-bomb on one of the Flower Trio like that, dude!
It's probably just Discord making sure nopony wonders why a new pony appeared out of thin air in his favorite playground. Some bureaucrat somewhere thinks you came in on a boat from Thestralia or something.
*And they definitely, positively, absolutely do NOT take American Express!
Oh well then... official documents!?! This just got governmental.
10174398 I picture something like this
Mane 6 at castle chatting
Rarity: ah pinkie whats wrong dearie
Pinkie: I cant find him
Rainbow dash: find who??
Pinkie: the new pony in town. Well more human turned pony, pony. I have looked high. I've looked low. I looked under twi.
Twilight: hey
Pinkie: but he's no where around and it been a week. A week!!
10175390
I'd love to know who approved it and how Tracy got approved.
10172599
He also probably shouldn't treat mares in usual ferengi way of treating females.
...okay, not probably. Definitely
10172467
Just look at the way it's phrased. Yes, he meant he should not worry about thinking it because he doesn't think so. But
it also could meanwhat will it end as is "nothing to worry about because thinking this way is perfectly fine".I just had an idea for a future interaction: Tracy walks out the door, and someone on the street just happens to see him transforming into a human. "Oh. Hi. Yeah, I don't care that you saw me. No one will believe you if you try to talk about it." [he gets in his car] "Bye." Or something like that.
Here's another idea: A short passage describing how going in and out of the door is mundane for him now. Walk in, transform into a bat pony, it's so normal now, he doesn't even give it a second thought. Something blase like that.
One more idea: He takes Rose out into the human world to show her stuff there, and of course she turns into a red-haired human while there.
Oh, and this idea I just came up with, not for the story, but just an interesting "what if?": What if the house worked in the opposite way? All occupants of the house turn human, or stay human, and you don't turn into a pony until you leave the house on the Equestria side and go into Ponyville. Then it would be flipped and Rose would have to be the one who is all shocked, scared, and embarrassed at first.
Rose: "No. We only take bitcoins."
Tracy: "Huh? You know what those are?"
Rose: "Of course. Bits in form of coins. What else should bitcoins are?"
Tracy: "...Nevermind."
I'll just remind again of those comments from chapter 3:
10140906
10141055
Tracing is God
Tracy is puny human
Im confused is Tracy male or female I swear at times' its saying Tracy is female then say male but maybe im just missing something.
10481092
He's male despite not having the typical stallion build in the images posted, and he's always referred as such.
A good start for him