Tracy didn’t usually keep a journal. He had no family to speak of, and wasn’t expecting he would have any children. Who was going to read anything he had to say?
But when he got back from the Equinox festival, he found a notepad program and wrote down everything he could possibly remember. He spent hours getting it all down, and when he was done his only real regret was that he hadn’t managed to smuggle a camera in during the celebration.
The Equestrians were strange, certainly. By some definitions they were a primitive civilization, maybe a century removed from his own world. But just one real night with them, and Tracy saw hints of depth that defied classification, different directions their world had taken that made it more difficult to compare. Ponies didn’t seem to have aircraft for instance, but maybe they didn’t need them. Maybe a third of them could just fly the others around when they needed to get somewhere.
There was more to know about their different tribes, too. The princess he’d briefly met had spoken to him with sensitivity, as though being a bat made him somehow her responsibility.
There was some relief too, that Roseluck and her sisters wouldn’t be losing their family business. They would still have to make changes, but… compared to what they’d already achieved, it seemed so easy.
He was still writing when he heard Rose come home, though his coherent narrative of the religious details had broken into random cultural milieu he’d noticed—the items of clothing they did wear, the way their society seemed subconsciously stratified by race, even if the ponies themselves seemed eager to deny it.
Woah there, Tracy. You’re getting way too invested in something you’re leaving behind.
He stopped his typing abruptly, staring at a document that was nearly ten pages long. Had he really typed all that with hooves? And judging by the growing darkness out his window, he’d been up almost all day doing it. Damn I’m going to be jetlagged when I go to work on Monday.
Maybe it was better for the locals to hate him, so there was no temptation to see more of their world than he should. Every second he had spent there, every faint glimpse urged him to learn more. Who was the princess, and why did the ponies speak so strangely about the seasons? Their spring display had involved physically destroying clouds to melt snow, which pushed any winter metaphor far beyond any sensible explanation.
I’ve got the money for another place once I get my first paycheck. I could avoid coming back here.
But even thinking about it brought back unpleasant memories to his first attempt to dodge the contract. Its terms were lenient, until the moment he tried to go against its purpose.
Instead he slipped out the bedroom door, catching Rose halfway to her own room.
It was rare he ever got to see inside. Her window was open as wide as his, and there were a few faint shreds of sunlight growing from the horizon. We’ll both be in trouble after staying up this late. “How’d the rest of the festival go?”
She stopped in her doorway, spinning back around. Even after spending a whole day on her side, the embarrassment of everyone being naked hadn’t faded.
Her expression brightened, and she obviously fought back exhaustion. “Fantastic! Whole cart was empty when we brought it back. A few ponies even slipped around for seconds.”
“Now that I’ve tasted, I know why. You don’t know what that means coming from someone who never would’ve eaten a flower.”
She smiled tiredly at him. “Did you just come out here to compliment me?”
For being confident enough to keep your stand going even when you thought it was doomed. For being brave enough to try and stop an alien from conquering your country. For being pretty enough to— “No!” he snapped, before he realized it probably made him sound too sharp. “I mean… a little bit. But before that, I wanted to thank you for bringing me. And if your flower sales keep going well, then… I guess I wouldn’t mind a little something part time. I wouldn’t be able to work very many hours on your side, since our time doesn’t line up, but…”
She embraced him, before he’d even finished speaking. “My sisters will be thrilled to have your help.” He squirmed at the contact, but not enough to push her away. It felt wrong to be up so close to her, like he had stumbled somewhere he didn’t deserve to be. “You think I’m bad at keeping books? Notice how much they helped? Lily hates it, and Daisy would only make everything a hundred times worse.”
She let go, retreating towards her door. “We’re closed tomorrow, but I should still get some sleep. There’s only so much coffee a pony can drink before they turn into Pinkie Pie.” She hesitated in her doorway, smiling sleepily at him. “I’ll look into the flying classes for you. Maybe I can find one closer than Canterlot—I wouldn’t want to ride the train that many times a week.”
“Wasn’t I the one who was signing up for a flying class?”
She stuck her tongue out. “Obviously I’d go with you, Tracy. You didn’t even know a princess when you saw her—you’d need moral support, or you’d probably jump off a cliff before you were ready. Or… what do bats do, caves?”
She left him there in the hallway, confused in more ways than he could count.
Technically I can’t take part-time work with any other company after I signed that contract today. But Apex aren’t the devil. It won’t be that hard to help a little flower stand keep up with its inventory. I don’t even have to help them file taxes.
Tracy made a point of spending the rest of his weekend on the correct side of his door, though the town beyond had lost much of the fear that had kept him trapped inside. Now that he’d been hired full time, there were a few things he wanted to pick up, some of which were for an alien flower company in another dimension…
Maybe he should’ve just taken the department up on their invitation to the pub. Hopefully the flying lessons wouldn’t be happening on the same nights, or that would get awkward fast. ‘Yeah boss, in the secret world inside my apartment, I’m actually a bat horse learning to fly. There’s a local, sexiest pony you ever saw, and she’s going to be taking me in exchange for helping with the flower business.’
For all its other restrictions, Tracy’s intimate study of the contract could locate no injunction against telling other people, though it was quite specific about posting videos to the internet at large. Maybe Discord knew how likely he was to be believed.
When Monday came so did his first real day on the job, nearly a month ahead of schedule. The whole department had a little party waiting for him, complete with his name misspelled on a cake shaped vaguely like a baseball for some reason.
He got his key to the campus pool, along with his first real assignment working for Apex. It should’ve been the best day of his life.
But as Tracy stared at his drafting screen, sketching out the initial template for the part he was designing, he found his mind drifting far from the CAD file and the promise of a gigantic salary.
He’d been living on the threshold of another universe, and rarely stepped outside.
It was time to change that.
Whoa buddy, daydream after you write the program. Even I know that a CAD schematic's easy to scrag up.
But yes, she is quite pretty isn't she?
This time, don't forget the camera. (or you have smartphone?)
There's a curious thought: Is a contract multiversally binding?
In any case, Equestria's certainly growing on Tracy. The question is how well he'll be able to maintain his work-life balance between two worlds and the expectations of both.
Tracy and Rose make a nice Couple. Wouldn't be surprised if Tracy ends up staying in Equestria permanently
Nice to see Tracy acknowledging Rose as sexiest pony.
Because bat, obviously. Discord and his little jokes)
Tracy is getting more invested in Equestria so he may not want to leave after the contract ends whihc would of course be all according to Discord's plan.
10269544
I don't think our side's contracts are multiversally binding, heck, they currently aren't even Interplanetary binding since the Internets would be different on each planet. But if you're talking about a Discord contract.... well....
10269544
I'm no expert in legalese, but I would think that if the contract doesn't explicitly state that it is multiversal in scope, then it at the very least has fairly shaky legal ground to claim that it does starting out, not helped by the fact that nothing in US law (or any IRL law, really) covers this subject, much less lay out procedure on how to manage this in these sort of cases. That being said, the company can probably try to argue that the contract covering the multiverse is still implied in how its written even if it doesn't explicitly state as such, but Tracy could always argue back that wasn't that clear to him, and if he can prove that, it'd give him a standing to fight back with. Ultimately, I think it would inevitably have to go to court in order so to sort it out, either way.
I doubt it'll come to that though--how would Apex ever find out he's even hopping universes to begin with, let alone taking up part-time work there at the same time? Especially when Tracy's going out of his way to keep the whole experience secret, and indeed believes it to be in his best interest to do so, even if this wasn't a concern at all.
10269605
That totally went over my head. Thanks for pointing it out.
Discord is probably very pleased right now.
10269647
Well, I am pretty sure that Discord's contract is the only one which is absolutely enforced, whereas any contract on the human's side has to go through the courts, and sufficiently excessive/ridiculous things could be overturned. (Not sure correct terminology here)
So, read the fine print again, and make sure there isn't anything enforcing any other contracts you are currently bound by. Or, ya know, don't risk it.
I suppose at this point the question is whether or not bits are gold, if gold/gems are something he knows about and can obtain easier, and if he can pawn it safely on Earthside. That, or any other Arbritrage, so long as he avoids suspicion/Contract violation. I think trying to buffer enough cash in case of him losing his job Earthside might be a very good idea, preferably with extra in case of unexpected expenses.
10269692
And the United States legal system explicitly does not permit supernatural evidence, which would probably encompass all evidence of magic...
Oh, he finally realized, hasn't him? Maybe that contact will change him in ways he can't even imagine yet.
In addition to what others have said, I'm quite interested in how Tracy will manage his sleep schedule given the reversed times of day and the fact that Roseluck is active during what would be Tracy's normal sleeping time. If he keeps his
datesinteractions with Roseluck strictly to the weekends, he's going to effectively need to completely flip his sleep schedule for the weekend and flip it back for the weekdays. That doesn't sound pleasant at all.How curious
Wonderbar!~ I'd just speed read the whole book yesterday, this is great to see it update so soon!
10269659
Who says that Discord didn't add such a clause?
10269983
For the rental contract, Discord probably would have such clauses. But we're not talking about that, we're talking about the contract Tracy signed when he got the full-time job at Apex, and seeing Discord wasn't at all involved in that (that we know of ), Apex would have to take it at least to court in order to try and dispute it, as their contract would go no further than the typical routine for US business law, which obviously isn't in the habit of covering clauses concerning the multiverse, giving Tracy a possible loophole that the courts would then have to decide.
Imagine being on the jury for that court case, though.
I suppose Discord could've put a clause in the rental contract that would enforce Tracy to only be employed in certain arrangements that could disallow this too, but I do not know why he would do such a thing, nor that I don't think it'd work in Discord's favor considering the intents of his long game with Tracy and Roseluck.
Besides...he's Discord. He wants to cause chaos, and this would definitely do that.
Ah... curiosity has fully taken over Tracy. Having a pretty girl next door helps as well.
Give it a few years, and before you know it you'll have your hooves filled with little foals.
Pretty enough to kiss? Or something more intimate?
Don't exactly know how to explain this to the guys. Also, quite an upgrade Tracy, pretty to sexy.
10269529
10269553
Pretty, sexy, likable personality. Quite often naked. Can't really imagine Tracy not trying to date her, eventually.
He's doomed.
"sexiest pony" eh? 😏
It must be strange switching between to keyboard types, but we suppose the physical switch from hands to hooves helps keep the association muscle-memories separate.
Tracy be trippin', better star learning that fly thing quick!
Keep going! ;)
10270013
It is your standard non compete clause. In another dimension there is no way it could compete on any level. Plus there is no exchange rate for his pay so it is no worse than earning rewards in an MMO.
10269847
They could attend night classes intended for bat ponies, between the hours of 7 and 11 pm, so it's not too late for Rose.
10270667
Was it ever explained how typing with two buttons works?
10271009
It's called a chord keyboard (see our earlier post on the matter). It's not two buttons but two knobs (basically oversized thumb sticks). You press both in a given direction and it types a certain letter according to the combination.
I guess he'll probably be fine working two jobs, as long as he keeps his personal digital footprint covered. Not to mention being compensated with money from another dimension that has no use on his entire home planet probably doesn't fall under the normal "Compensation for services" that usually come in those kinds of clauses, much like the way getting paid for services in a videogame wouldn't count (unless you can transfer said game money into real currency).
That's it Tracy, try to avoid the tags on this story :-)
Ahh, the Fine Print of the contract :-)
10269605
BOO. I did NOT get that from the story. BOO. Bad pun. Bad, bad Pun. Crate for one minute.
There's the human need to explore! It's coming out at last.
10271176
I would love for someone to draw that. I'm having trouble picturing it.
10271009
I think technically those would be morning classes on the Equestrian side, but you have a point
10271819
https://www.thewrightstuff.com/product.asp?itemid=3144
Check that out.
10271967
No, morning for Tracy, night for Rose. That's what I originally meant. But the other way could work, too.
10272126
Very cool. Now someone needs to draw a pony using this. Tracy's normal keyboard turns into a $400-460 piece of equipment whenever he takes it into Equestria, and his muscle memory typing skills subconsciously transform into an ability to use this keyboard.
I still want art of a pony using one, though.
10272188
...Not sure why I didn’t think of that. That seems uncomfortably early, it perhaps it’s not too bad on the weekends.
At least no wone would suspect he is telling the truth and try to dig deeper.
They would "only" casslify him as insane.
10269529
10269553
Nothing more to say.
They are so impossibly cute.
Pet peeve:
Using "buck" as a swear
It makes what Applejack does all day downright lewd. She's not that kind of working pony!
10349558
Didn't think of it like that, but why comment this here, tho?
He He he no amount of Coffee can do that.... i hope...
Somehow... this will end badly, dosent it?
10806356
reminds me of the story "shifting melodies" where some Changelings would get as weird as Pinkie when they ate Sugar.
one protagonist's sister was like that.
Goodness Tracy, your snark makes the most interesting revelations. Can't wait to see what else it will reveal in the future.
10349558
I don't see the downside.