Tracy didn't quite fly his old car home—as much because of the potential legal dangers as the mechanical weaknesses of the old Civic. Accelerating towards the triple digits began a rattling sound that vibrated through the engines into his hand, making it quite clear just how dissatisfied the car was with his eagerness to show off.
He did take the promised detour to the grocer before stopping at home, both out of personal eagerness to grab a few real mangos, as well as a desire to let Rose see the variety for herself. After the drama with the octopus enclosure, he couldn't help but feel like he'd failed somehow.
Even if she'd confirmed her willingness to come back, he couldn't shake the feeling that at least part of the night would leave a negative impression.
He was right about the supermarket, though he made sure to keep them in the produce section. God help him if she noticed the dark butcher's station in the back, and checked to see what was in the freezer.
She said she was okay with omnivores, but she still looked afraid. But Rose wasn't taking Everwake, and between the time difference and how long they'd been back, she was starting to wear down.
She fought it, filling their cart with a sampling of mostly vegetables that Tracy couldn't even name. "I don't know how many salads we can eat," he said, as they finally reached the front of the checkout. The cashier had to enter a code for each one.
"Salad isn't a dish, it's a category," she said flatly. Whatever the alien tolerance for alcohol might truly be, she sounded entirely sober now. "This is amazing, Tracy! I've never seen so many things in the same season before! How can you have spring berries and winter squash at the same time?"
The cashier was an older man, a pair of cracked glasses barely clinging to his long nose. He rolled his eyes, but didn't comment, just kept entering codes as he packed Tracy’s reusable bags with fresh food.
"Infrastructure," he said, quietly. If there was one thing he'd learned about the differences between ponies and people, it was that ponies didn't really have a concept of "private" trips. Or at least Roseluck didn't. "Only the stuff from the green section was grown near here. Everything else came from far away. The citrus from Florida, those berries probably from Australia at this time of year. Bananas came from South America, apples from Washington..."
Rose's eyes widened with each word, like he'd just spoken the incantation to a spell. "And it can get here so quickly because of... cars, like yours?"
"You Amish or something, lady?" the cashier asked. "You sure it's okay to be out of your commune?"
Tracy stepped between her and the speaker, fiddling with his card. "She's from a very small town," he said, before Roseluck had the chance to answer.
Soon enough they were back outside, loading more produce than Tracy had bought in a year carefully into the backseat of the car.
"Getting it is only a few petals," Rose said, snapping the door closed. "We'll have to see how much of that is good. The farm your food comes from can be as important as the plant. But if even some of that is good... can we shop from your side more often? Strawberries in the middle of fall!"
He shrugged. A few months ago, he probably would've wanted to know how the budgeting side would work if he had to buy most of their food with human currency. But seeing her smile like that—Tracy found he didn't care, so long as she went shopping with him.
"Sure," he said. "But it might be hit and miss sometimes. The local farms only grow what's in season, same as anywhere. But the store will source the rest from far away. It might come from somewhere different in later weeks. I never really thought so much about my food, to be honest. But I rarely got more than some fruit from there anyway."
By the time they made it back into Equestria, the sun was well advanced towards afternoon, staining the windows deep orange. Tracy wanted to be more help bringing everything back inside, but mostly he just carried a single armfull at a time.
Rose yawned as they brought the last of the bags into the kitchen, and she went through the produce with near-mechanical precision. Lots went into the fridge, and others to store dry in various boxes and bowls in the kitchen. However power worked in Equestria, it was scarce enough that their fridge was more like an old-style icebox, save that there wasn't anywhere to replace the ice.
Rose yawned wide, resting one hoof on the stuffed shark on their kitchen table. True to Tracy's fears, it hadn't changed when they brought it through the Worldgate, meaning it was about as long as he was, and now so heavy it was more like furniture than a toy. "Spark, was this whole thing a ploy to make me a bat? Feels like I should've been asleep hours ago."
Tracy twitched once as he heard the name, other thoughts forgotten. "Spark. The hospital nickname?"
Rose shrugged absently. "I don't have to use it if you don't want me to. At least I'm not wilting the pronunciation each time I try."
He watched her, thoughtful. When the hospital did it, he'd been convinced Discord himself was responsible, providing either the records or the intimidation to make the staff think he was an ordinary pony. But with Rose... maybe he could forgive her using another name.
It did fit. "I guess it's fine. I might've tried harder to adopt a local alias when I moved in, but... I was still furious with Discord for tricking me. Guess I'm coming around on that now."
Rose met his eyes for a long moment, then gestured at the shark. "Help me get this upstairs? Cute as it is, I don't know if I want to show it off to houseguests. I can think of a place for it in my room."
"Sure. Don't have both hooves, but I'll try." As it turned out, he didn't have to do much. Rose helped him balance it on his back, then Tracy clambered sideways up the steps ahead of her, with the stuffed shark between them.
But with Rose on the bottom, she was the one dealing with most of the weight. The most Tracy had to do was open her door with a wing, and stop just inside. "Where did you want it?"
"Next to the bed." Rose gestured with one hoof, somehow keeping balance as she did so. "See those other stuffed creatures? We've just brought them a new princess."
It wasn't like this was Tracy's first time into Rose's bedroom. He'd seen her handful of stuffed toys before. There wasn't a scrap of clothing out of place, not a single horticulture book off the shelf.
Even the bed was perfect, its sheets partway opened on one side. The whole place smelled like Rose, a mix he would've affectionately described as a fusion of a well-loved flowerbed and an incredibly attractive young woman.
"That's fine, right there!" Rose said. She dropped her end, and suddenly the weight against his shoulders increased. He grunted, but managed to roll to one side, letting the shark flop atop the pile beside a few different foxes and cats. Nothing with hooves, curiously.
By the time he straightened, Rose was less than an inch from him, one hoof on his chest. "Hey, Tracy." She pronounced it correctly that time. "I think we both know how this night should end. Or... maybe start?" She slid past him, yanking a curtain across the window, plunging them into gloom.
Tracy's eyes adjusted in an instant. But that wasn't hard, when the hallway behind them still spilled in a single ray of yellow light. "You didn't need my help," he whispered, pawing at the shark with one hoof. "You've carried me up those steps without breaking a sweat."
"And the intrepid stallion solves the mystery." Rose slid past him, kicking the bedroom door shut. Now there was only the glow coming in from the Equestrian side. His eyes widened, adjusting rapidly. "I've been so patient with you. I did everything you asked."
She stopped beside him, nudging a wing with her mouth. It twitched and opened involuntarily, brushing along her back. "Now you're going to do who I ask."
"My leg," he stammered. But even he couldn't manage to make the excuse seem legitimate. "Not sure if I can even get these clothes off without help."
"I don't mind," she whispered from just beside him. "I can help with that."
Tracy had maybe ten seconds to reach the door. But his hooves didn't budge. He didn't want to get away. He didn't want to sleep alone anymore.
As it turned out, Rose could help with that. And quite a lot of other things while she was at it.
Tracy wasn't sure exactly how long they were together, that first time. Long enough that the sunlight faded from under the curtains, plunging them together into near-darkness.
He probably wouldn't have slept at all, except for the Everwake. At that point, his own desires ceased to matter, and he slept. Soundly, beside someone he cared about.
Tracy woke to distant sunlight, shining across a distant hall. The world came back to him slowly, and what he saw didn't make sense. Since when was his bed so huge, why were there stuffed toys on the floor, who untucked all the sheets?
He yawned, twisting to one side, and finally sat up. The scent of it hit him all at once, practically reliving the night before in a few passionate seconds.
The light he saw was coming from his windows. It was just that his window was on the opposite side of the hall, through two open doors. He was in Rose's bed.
Rose herself was nowhere to be seen, though the wreckage of both their outfits was still scattered on the floor. Shit. I slept with an alien. He tried to roll out of bed, then discovered just how many different ways he was sore.
Knows I have hollow bones she says. Go easy on me she says. He limped out the bedroom more than walked, finding his broken leg hurt less than everything else. But despite the pain, he found himself smiling all the way to the bathroom. How much of that was afterglow, and how much the manic fear of someone who had just Captain Kirked a quadruped, he couldn't yet say.
What the hell am I thinking?
Tracy stared into the bathroom mirror. He looked dreadful—mane disheveled, restraint strap torn, and wings half splayed with residual soreness. Shouldn't I feel guilty about that? Shouldn't I regret it?
If he'd seen Rose's picture a year ago, he would've been repulsed by the suggestion of what he'd just done. That was the correct reaction, wasn't it?
That version of himself might still exist, if he crossed back into his world and became human again. But as long as she came with him... his dumb arm couldn't heal fast enough.
"You alive up there?" came Rose's voice, echoing up the stairs. She appeared in the bathroom doorway a second later, grinning at him. Where he looked like he'd been run over, Rose smelled like sunshine, and her mane was perfectly styled.
Tracy turned from his scathing reflection, and kissed his girlfriend, passion replacing the nervous shyness of the day before. "I'm working on an early breakfast downstairs," she whispered when they broke apart. They didn't stay far apart, though. "Midnight snack, maybe. It's a process."
"Process of..." he trailed off, lost in the scent of her. "What?"
She giggled. "Clean up, bat. It's daytime on your side. Don't you have work or something?"
The blissful glow in his brain faded to the background, replaced with a surge of panic. "Buck me." He had two weeks of work to do in the next four days.
"Maybe after breakfast," she said, leaving him alone with his reflection.
What was going through Tracy...err...Spark Gap's mind in that moment
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Sometimes the best way to deal with a trap is to go ahead and set it off
And rose gets her pony, Congratulations Rose!
I've never imagined any one of the Flower Sisters as a predator before... until I read this chapter. Tracy felt like a prey in Rose's hooves.
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well if we're keeping up the starwars references then, he should spring the trap
NIce job! Say, do you need some advice for writing mature? Just a friendly offer of help
Oh yeah, you know, I had forgotten all about that stuff? It actually hasn't factored into the story quite nearly as much as many of us first anticipated yet, has it?
Ah, I miss those, actually, reuseable bags--due to COVID, all of the local stores around me have disallowed them for the time being. Now I have a whole heap of plastic bags that I don't know what to do with. I mean, recycle them, obviously, but frustratingly, that's easier said than done.
Very small. And rather distant, but let's not get into that.
I mean, I saw what she was doing coming from a mile away, Tracy, so what's your excuse?
It will be interesting to see what, if any, aftermath might come from this night.
This was another great chapter and I wonder if Roseluck partly wanted that shark to give Tracy an excuse to enter her bedroom. He's to skittish to say yes if directly asked. Tracy is getting more pony by the day which is good for him.
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I suspect that she did
but that's just my suspicion
Nice art and nice chapter.
Way to go dom, Rose. Didn't think you had it in ya.
And so Tracy has officially gotten some pony plot. This is certainly gonna be interesting. 'Cause you KNOW Discord knows about it. I see some more fine print revealing in the future...
So begins the countdown before he inevitably stays for good.
One more thing I feel I should give a shout to
So the original artist for this chapter's art felt they ran out of time on the project had to bail, but both Viwrapstur and Klara PL volunteered to pause their work to get these pics done within a week.
Cant show my appreciation enough for them what they did, so free to pop by their channels and give both of them a big Thankyou for putting their schedules aside for us
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Yeeeah. I sense a Chekhov's gun...and I'm afraid it's going to go off according to Finagle.
If this is some crazy Cadance/Celestia/Discord bet I'm pretty sure one of them is utterly giddy at this point.
Equestria and the rest of the world would certainly benefit from globalization if they could set up the infrastructure. Though I'm guessing even something as small as dietary differences would reduce its effectiveness.
She's the captain now.
So this is the moment we've waited for? Because if Rose did indeed "bed" Tracy and certain things fall where they may, Tracy might have just become Ponyville's newest resident. Or rather second newest (third if he's lucky).
Pony. Human. It's the same thing in the multiverse.
Her boat. Her ride.
Really interested to see Tracy's work life considering how quickly rumors of Tracy's situation must be spreading at work.
Me realizing this is teen and we don't get to read the sex scene
I can't help but think that part of Rose's motivation for buying that enormous stuffed shark was to get Tracy in her bedroom. Not sure if she thought of that then or just before asking for help, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the former. Whichever it was, he definitely fell for the trap (not that he was complaining).
I wonder how he's going to manage the workload he's been given while still recovering from his injuries. Also, I'm loving all these Star Wars clips in the comments.
He's starting to use local vulgarity! How long until he drops an 'anypony' or 'somepony' at work?
I'm gonna be using this one.
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It's a suspicion but the point he knew he was screwed was when the naked (probably now sweating) pony was advancing on him.
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If Tracy has to blow himself up, he'll at least enjoy the momentary flight until he comes back down in pieces.
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It was going to screw him eventually. At least it didn't screw his work life. Still, I'm pretty sure missing round two with Rose was just as bad. Earth ponies don't mess around.
People thought Luna's appearance was out of the blue as well but she did have a role. I'm guessing it won't be too long before Tracy's heading to Echo Caverns to see an actual Thestral civilization. No way that thing was dropped into the story suddenly and nothing comes out of it.
Yeah it was pretty annoying for me too. At least until they allowed it over where I'm at. You'd just had to bag your own groceries.
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Things go a certain way, I'm pretty sure Pinkie's gonna have a sudden urge to plan a surprise baby shower. Pinkie sense is strong.
There is another Chekov Gun
His boss being a Hippogriff, she has been exposed to Equestrian magic by putting her talon through the portal. How long until she emails him about body changes?
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You know, I've gotten so used to seeing that in pony fics that the significance of that flew right over my head until you pointed it out?
About time.
Rose once she got Tracy up to her room:
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We're still not sure how much of that is real and how much is Tracy's mind settling into a new paradigm. I thought it was real initially after last chapter but that's because the picture wasn't there yet. The picture definitely sells the "It's all in his head" angle.
Beyond that, he's now lived there for 9 months and it's only been brought up twice now, once in last chapter and once back with his idiot friends and he thought he felt his tail in that restaurant with them, which, despite being 25 chapters ago, was only about a month ago in universe.
In other words, it took Tracy more than half a year of living in magic horse world to get to that point and Janet only reached in for a few seconds. Even if the changes are real, which I'm not so sure they are, it's unrealistic for Janet to experience them.
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Funny thing, the store I usually go shopping at around here was apparently prohibiting "reusable" bags for a short while. ...but still allowing you to bring in normal "disposable" plastic shopping bags from other stores to re-use. (Or you could just pull empty boxes off the shelves, as one usually does there when you forget to bring bags with you.) Presumably someone figured out how idiotic that was and re-allowed the reusable bags again not too long after.
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There might be a difference in how long bacteria live in the respective surfaces.
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wouldnt exactly be shocked if someone randomly decided to write a spin off or one shot of it
i.imgur.com/RVhovky.jpg
i.imgur.com/xF0DQf2.jpg
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Bit kinky to do anything in that room with so many watchers, isn't it?
Next thought: "wait, what do ponies do for contraception, because I certainly didn't wrap it! 😱" building up the fires of relationship for months, it should definitely be self-sustaining now...
Dear Princess Sharklestia...
"Captain Kirked a quadruped" feels like it should be a song lyric. I can only imagine what the whole tune would be called.
Oh boy. It's all fun and games until crunch time hits. Tracy's in for a rough couple days. At least the nights will have something to look forward to.
He's doomed.
Dooooooooomed.
He is really putting "going native" to full practice huh Lol
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I feel like that would be the song name. I can imagine a line that precedes that line though.
"I had no idea what was in my head
When I Captain Kirked a quadruped"
Captain Kirked a quadruped
Badge Granted: Best Line Ever
"A reference becomes art, when it speaks from the heart."
250 bits
Wait a minute!
They did the sex things didn't they?
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The dresser likes to watch. So lewd.
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500
Ah, the plot thickens!
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More like Rose "Harkness Ruled" him.
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I'm impressed by your ability to fund all of this art. Don't get me wrong, though - it's definitely a rare treat, and I'm not complaining.
...
But we transport crops by trains all the time. We did that before we had cars, along with barges. They also have airships, regular ships, earth ponies that can haul massive loads. They transferred apples via train in the show, an entire tree even.
I should wonder why earth pony magic can't just grow stuff out of season whenever they like, for that matter.
Doesn't she also have a fridge? That means they have refrigerated train cars! THEY HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE.
That shark seems super excited to watch.
Why not just say she was Amish but didnt like the lifestyle Im sure there are Amish kids who grow up and want to leave just like thered be adults who want to join.
Don't sell pony technology short we've seen canon LED screens, trains, powered carriages and even bodysuits we can't hope to replicate (Twilight thought Pinkie was Fluttershy till she took the suit off) and that doesn't even touch on their fiction.
I think you should be more concerned with the broken bones rather than the hollow ones
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Rely onan Estrus cycle where they can only become pregnant in certain times of the year?
Clop writers do your thang!
Jeez Rose, taking: "I don't know about this..." as consent.
this story is just amazing and this chapter is awesome.
the artwork is just wow.
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But he might not know about that (yet)! 😘