The longer Tracy remained at the stall, the greater hunger and exhaustion began to weigh on him. It might seem like day, but as the sun reached noon that meant midnight in the “real” world. Six hours of sleep if he could get home right then.
He’d probably have settled for a Rockstar, if there were any for sale in an alien world. But there were no disgusting energy drinks for sale, at least not at any of the neighboring stalls.
There were more customers than he might’ve thought for a little flower stand on no particular day. But Tracy couldn’t tell what percentage of them only stopped because he was someone new, or because they saw something interesting on the table to ask about.
He was near to giving up before Rose emerged with a tray of chilled drinks and a plate of flowers to snack on. He probably would’ve ignored them, but he was so hungry.
With nothing but old curly fries on his tongue, the flowers were a welcome change. Light and crunchy, and better than any salad he could remember. That wasn’t a high bar, since Tracy had never much cared for salads in the first place.
Someone tapped the table with a claw, loud enough that he looked up from his plate. “Sorry, was just…”
The market seemed suddenly deserted. Curtains at neighboring stands had closed, or ponies were mysteriously looking the other way. A young mare with her child emerged from the edge of a street, then turned to dart the other way.
A creature towered over Tracy, taller than anything he’d yet seen in Equestria. Even his brief glimpse of their princess was small by comparison. But it was more than his sheer height—the creature defied any conception of evolution or even intelligent design. A mismatch of body parts, none quite looking like they belonged.
He smiled, but the expression never reached his red eyes. “Don’t mind me, you can finish that up. You must be exhausted.”
I know that voice. He’d only heard it a few times, but the memory had been so traumatizing that it was permanently fixed in place now. This could be only one creature. “Discord?”
The alien straightened, puffing out his chest in satisfaction. “Ah, you recognized me. Touching, Tracy. Truly I’m flattered that our first meeting was so memorable.” He ran one claw around the table. As he did, a little replica of Tracy’s car just appeared there, as though put there by the most talented magician. It drove along the edge, until it smacked into his tablet and crashed into a little fireball.
Tracy shuddered, staring at the realistic glass windows. I didn’t just see myself die, I didn’t just see myself die…
As quickly as it had come, the illusion vanished. “W-what can I do for you?” he asked, looking up into the demon’s eyes. If he didn’t look anywhere else, maybe he would be okay. “I haven’t broken my contract.”
“Not recently, no,” Discord agreed. “And fortunate you haven’t. I just dread collections. Best that we all just stay civil. I’m not here for you, I’m here to place an order for some flowers. It is a bit last-minute, but I’m sure the proprietor can arrange for me. I’d like the Spring arrangement, double sized. Marigold and Daffodil. Please.”
Tracy looked reluctantly back to his screen, but there were no horrors on it. Discord’s order was one of the options, and he punched it in without asking for a name. “When do you need it?”
“Before close,” Discord answered. “It’s for a friend’s birthday. She’s going to the party, but she’s never really been a fan of crowds. When she gets home, she’ll want something simple. This will be perfect.”
Tracy processed the order, then accepted a large pile of bits. Discord didn’t even bother counting them, just smacking down a handful without concern for their value.
“Bit of friendly advice, free of charge.” Discord leaned in close, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Many bat ponies have issues staying awake at night. See a doctor if that’s bothering you—they make great spells for it. Just remember, magic always has a price.”
Then he turned, striding confidently from the market. “You forgot your ch—” Tracy trailed off, staring down at the pile of discarded bits. He shrugged, and tossed the rest into the register beside so many others. It would have to be good enough.
A few seconds later, and the curtains behind him ruffled. He glanced back, and Rose poked out from inside, clutching the thermal paper with Discord’s order on it. “Was that…”
He nodded. “It was. My landlord. I guess yours too, since we live in the same place. Guess he needs some flowers.”
“He didn’t do anything to you?” Rose pulled him away from the table, looking him over like a doctor performing a quick checkup. “No, you look the same. Good.”
“He wouldn’t hurt anypony,” Lily called from inside. “Not anymore. He’s reformed or whatever, right?”
“Right,” Rose repeated, voice doubtful. “We’ve been keeping you long enough, Tracy. You should probably head home.”
He should, right then. The exhaustion might not be so bad yet, but it would be in the morning. “Before I do, I need to show you how to enter a few orders.”
He wrapped one wing around her shoulder, walking her over to the tablet. “It’s not as complicated as it seems, watch. We’ll go through it.”
It might not be complicated, but it still took about a half hour to explain it all. Certainly he’d been perfectly efficient the entire time and never been distracted by how close she was.
How does she smell like that? It would’ve been so much easier to go back inside and get some sleep if Rose had smelled like a barn.
It was well past lunchtime when he finally finished and waved goodbye. Rose returned to her panicked preparation, and he made his slow way back across Ponyville.
Each time he crossed it, he felt a little safer about the trip. It might be another world, but Equestria had rules, and he was learning quickly.
Maybe I’ll start making trips out here on weekends.
Another few big orders, and he’d be learning how to fly for sure. I should order a GoPro.
Finally settling his bedroom door resulted in a painful reminder of just how out of sync he was pushing himself. He peeked out the window, ignoring the distant sirens and any other signs there might be people close enough to see.
The moon was well along its path through the sky, and the number on his watch was much higher than it ought to be. Guess if I start now I can at least get a few hours.
Getting to sleep was easy. Getting himself up for work a few hours later, not so much. But he managed, opening the little minifridge under his desk and snatching another energy drink to sip on his way to work.
It helped, though that didn’t make the next eight hours particularly enjoyable. He probably spent half of it staring at AutoCAD, imagining how to shape the block of metal in front of him without actually doing any subtraction.
“Hey Tracy, don’t forget!” Janet called, as he passed her desk on the way out of work. “You’re coming with us to O’Conner’s tomorrow, right? You’re not missing again.”
“Sure, yeah,” he agreed, without much enthusiasm. He didn’t have the energy to argue, really. Friday would be one of the best days to spend time on that side. But a week from Saturday was his first flying lesson, assuming the flower shop made enough to pay for it. It could still work. “I’ll be there.”
And he was. It really should’ve been everything he’d ever wanted. He was surrounded by other engineers, ready to welcome him into a lifetime of productive service. There was so much money in that bar that he didn’t have to buy a single drink.
Even so, he was eager when closing time arrived and he was finally able to Uber home, without getting any of the numbers from the colleagues that had interested him during his first few months.
He helped again with the shop on Monday, mostly to check in on how the POS device was working. The other sisters still hadn’t learned, and there were plenty of duplicate and obviously incorrect orders. But that was easy enough to fix, and it meant more time working beside Rose.
“I’ve got good news!” she proclaimed, fiddling in the register and withdrawing a modest stack of bits. “This is your first paycheck. You can keep it, or I could reserve your spot in the flying class. We will have to keep paying every few weeks. But at this rate, you’ll have more and more bits left over each week.”
Tracy nudged one of the gold coins with one of his hooves. I wonder what these turn into if I cross the border. Paper money was completely unchanged, he’d already learned that just from the spare cash in his jeans. But if these coins were made of gold, maybe there was a way to get cash out of Equestria after all.
It would be something worth investigating, assuming things went well. “I won’t be able to stay for very many hours when I visit,” he said. “Mostly just to keep an eye on your records and service your equipment. If I stay out here too long, then I don’t get to sleep before work. But sure, go ahead and pay for the flying lesson. I’m still nervous, but it can’t be that bad. If it’s for ponies who don’t know how to fly when they should… I should be in the right place.”
Rose nodded, knocking the pile into a plain envelope and slipping it away. “I forget how weird time is for you. Your life is… entirely on that side, isn’t it? All your friends, everything you do. Two lives would be overwhelming.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. Though I left most of my friends behind in Ely. They still talked online sometimes. But he’d become so bad at most of the games they played that both of their last few sessions together had ended badly. He could only keep blaming network latency for so long before they gave up. “But I’m only here for a year. Even if it’s stressful now, I’m just trying to think of the person I’ll be when time is up. I think he’ll be happy I took the time to get to know Equestria. I just need to start taking more pictures, so I have more to remember it.”
“I can’t lend you my camera,” Rose muttered, ears flattening. “We had to sell it a few years ago, back when we still thought we could keep the stand afloat without any debt.”
I can probably do something about that. He shrugged her off with a wing. “Don’t worry about it, Rose. You’ve got enough on your plate. Just focus on what you can control. Are you still going to come with me to Canterlot?”
“Couldn’t stop me,” Rose answered, weak smile returning. “After what happened during the Equinox, somepony has got to keep an eye on you.”
She didn’t sound like she meant it. I wish I had some money of my own. I could take her out to dinner after.
His face reddened, and he turned back to the tablet, trying to think of anything else. Pull out of the dive, Tracy. She’s a horse from another universe. You’re a promising young engineer with an actual future with actual humans. Don’t even.
Granted, it did annoy him that half the ponies he met already thought he was Rose’s boyfriend. Maybe he should try and embrace the position.
Yes Tracy is being very good at prioritizing his time smelling the rose ponies. (horrible pun )Totally worth losing a few hours of sleep. (guess they don't just call her Rose because she works with flowers )
Cute ending
Well, she has still been working around flowers all day, in a tent that's just full of them, so it wouldn't surprise me if she smelt of flowers right now regardless.
A better question I sort of want answered now--does Roseluck smell of roses?
Also, sounds like both Equestria, and the inhabitants thereof, are starting to leave their mark on Tracy here...
What could possibly go wrong?
#Famous last words.
This story is the highlight of my lunch break on Thursdays.
I still like the idea of Lyra visiting the other side.
Better check the exchange rate. Does bit contain valued metal, like gold or silver, in it?
I'd have expected the opposite.
Silver Glow approves.
Dooo iiit.
Tracy's already gone more native than he's willing to admit if none of his attractive coworkers appeal to him. The question is whether he'll recognize that.
Give in to the Dark Side of the Horse, young Jedi.....
And so the [Romance] tag is rearing its head...
10301811
I WANT to say that he's probably making a crack about insomnia, but eh, I could be wrong.
He is so... He may as well ask discord the payment structure in bits and just stay in equestria at this point.
🎶. Magic comes at a price! 🎶
We feel for Tracy. Hanging out in a bar is pretty meh. Maybe it's more because ye average human is less interesting than
the hot flankwe mean Ponyvillians!Discord doing something thoughtful for someone? He better be careful, if it becomes too harmonious he will be in trouble again...
Keep going! ;)
Come on, Tracy! You've already recognized that Rose is sexiest pony, and now she smells wonderful. What are you waiting for?
10301864
No, he's only in trouble if he embraces order in place of chaos. He was only the spirit of chaos and disharmony when he used his power in the torment of the ponies. Now he's just the Lord of Chaos. He doesn't even have to completely reject order. He just can't embrace it so fully as he did in Discordant Harmony that he rejects chaos. Speaking of, I don't like that the show painted order as harmony. Order without chaos is just as disharmonious as chaos without order. Without order to balance chaos everything goes off the rails, but without chaos to balance order everything slows to a stop.
10301811
Yep, Tracy has definitely gone native. Now to see if he embraces it or tries to fight it and possibly end up regretting it.
10301927
The comics covered the 'order != harmony' angle with a horrible anti-discord monster. Accord I think it was?
Some where in a hidden room in the crystal palace Cadance is clapping her hooves together and giggling almost evily
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i.pinimg.com/originals/1e/74/d7/1e74d72f40db714728ae9e5bcb22391c.jpg
Would cadence be like this? :P
He certainly took the time to stop and smell the Rose(s)...
10302044
More like Alucard from Hellsung Abridged
10301927
I always thought of it like this. Raining soup on a group of homeless ponies, is chaotic right?
Lukewarm soup and giving them upside down umbrellas, =good / harmonious. Cold soup = neutral. Boiling hot soup = evil
All three acts are chaotic, but there is still differences that make it good to evil good to evil is a different scale then chaos to order, and all that jazz
10301810
Watch it turn into plastic toy money and not switch back. XD
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Honestly, if she bottled and sold whatever perfume she's getting naturally from work, it sounds like she'd make a killing.
10301828
Discord is referring to the fact that its night in Tracy's home words when he says night. It might be daytime in Equestria but it's night time for Tracy.
It's hard the first few days but it won't be long before Tracy can find a good balance.
That's an image that'll stick with you for a while. Hope it's not foreshadowing.
They are in a flower shop. But I'm guessing if she isn't smelling like flowers or perfume (don't know if Earth ponies do that sort of thing) it's certainly natural. It doesn't appear to be body odor either. Well, I'm guessing Tracy's got a whiff of that good ole' "in heat" smell. Guess he wouldn't mind working there a couple more times.
He'll certainly have some (likely humanized) stories about Equestria to talk about. Still, I wonder if he'll ever have to bring Rose to the other side.
Certainly, he actually believes he is asking her on a date.
The day is coming when the lease ends. He'll either have to end it or he'll renew and embrace a dual life style. Though I wonder if Rose will consider renewing the lease when the business gets back on its feet.
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Hopefully, Tracy doesn't end up too focused on the "flower" end of Rose.
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You'd think he'd be used to the flower smell by now. Then again, Rose probably smells of a very different kind of flower. The hot and sexy kind.
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Only one way to find out.
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His skill set should fit well into the Equestrian business world though he'll certainly have to keep buying and bringing in technology just to keep his sanity. Can you imagine a modern accountant downgrading from a calculator to an abacus? That is certainly a no go for many.
10301864
Choosing between spending time with the okay looking coworkers or the hot naked girl next door. Decisions, decisions.
10302188
That smell is probably not from the flowers.
such a sweet chapter. Discord was rather well behaved.
Nice. I want to see Rose go the other world.
"Pull out of the dive, Tracy"
Oh, somehow I don't think he will.
Love the story so far.
“Embrace the position”
Which position are we referring to?
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Not even next door, she's in the room over! 😏
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Non-lewd response: Well, boyfriendo position, of course! Need to do more work to unlock the husbando perk!
:0
I would suggest you have Tracy read,"The Diamond Lens" a story by Fitz-James O'Brien. Maybe he gets it as a present from another engineer! All about microscopes and the microscopic with striking contrasts of fractals as this mini world and its lady are described.
Unless Tracy's ancestry had some ancient origin in Equestria...I think that would be a good story to give him some perspective, give the young man a little fear of what the future would make him.
The only commonality between these two stories here, a girl. That's it though.
I wonder how long it will take before he accepts the idea of being Rose's coltfriend. I wonder if Discord has any bets standing on it perhaps with the Smooze? The Smooze certainly doesn't mind what Discord is doing if it even understands.
Edit: Discord's comment about batponies staying awake at night is odd since I clearly remember Rose telling her sisters that they get sleepy during the day.
When in Rome, Tracy.
damn I caught up heck... well now that I understand Tracy being a Systems engineer it would be cool to find out that magic would be something very similar to programing. I see a pattern here also: the looming double life he is caring will eventually catch up to him and make him start to trip on his professional side(Earth). In other words he will get a case of "burnout", those are never good especially with what seems like some weird engneering frat he is part of now at his work place lol.
Dang, all caught up now. Great story, though! Can't wait for more!
And now it's just a matter of time before he goes full native. Great chapter!
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Yeah, true.
I was actually expecting Gilda to make a visit.
Technically he is, but in doubt I wouldn't count on it.
You, you should.
Like, really should.
Could just say he doesn't drink. That'd solve it. Frankly I don't know why he can't just say no, period.
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It's a company bonding thing. You want to make sure you stay on your boss's good side and that you're on good terms with your team. Wearing off the edges by including them in your social life can reduce work friction and make it easier to smooth things over if there are any hiccups on the job. Friendship is magic in that way.
Consistently refusing would make him an outsider and possibly make it seem like he's looking down on them. Not something you'd want. Roseluck makes an observation about the value of herds to ponies and to some extent humanity also has a group social structure. The social contract needs some smoothing and maintenance every now and then or things can get twisted.
Hm I guess it’s the reverse…
Skill issue
It sounds like Tracy has a busy and demanding life, balancing work with social commitments. If you’re looking to capture the essence of such a hectic lifestyle, a GoPro could indeed be a great choice to document those bustling days and nights. By the way it should be understood that purchase AutoCAD 2020 cheap is also possible. Whether it’s for personal reflection or sharing with friends, the GoPro’s versatility and durability make it well-suited for someone always on the go. As for Tracy’s work with AutoCAD, it’s a common experience for many professionals to spend long hours in front of the screen, planning and designing without immediate physical creation. It’s a testament to the preparatory work that goes into every tangible product we see.