They spent several hours at that table, before finally heading home to finish their conversation by the fireplace. Load told him about all the work he'd done, building infrastructure at an archaeological dig site. Tracy learned about the friends he'd made, all sentenced to community service just as he had been.
In return, Tracy had less to share with Load than he wanted, since all his questions were about Earth. He hadn't ever cared about politics the way Load did, and the others weren't talking nearly as much. Their awkward parting had left them all a bit sour.
"How'd you find your way back here?" he finally asked. "Community service is done, so... why here? Did the others all come here so you could say hi?"
Load laughed in response. "Only a little. The guys and I want to do our own construction business. Start out as contractors, earn enough for our own equipment... that kind of thing is still possible here, Tracy. Work hard, and you can go places. Turns out I just wasn't doing the right kind of work before. This is where I belonged."
He nodded, considering his words carefully. Load would take any opportunity to talk politics all night. "So why Ponyville specifically?"
"Not just to say hi," Load continued. "It's the princess—Ponyville is one of a few towns that can't build as fast as ponies need. They'll take anyone with a pair of hooves and a strong back. Buck, you could even find somepony to hire you."
He laughed, shaking his head. "No thanks. But... damn, that's cool. Does that mean you're staying local?"
Load nodded. "After spring. Ponyville was the first stop. But now that the negotiations are over, we're going to Vanhoover for Plumb Line, then on to Los Pegasus until it warms up." He flicked his tail towards the window. "No offence Tracy, but I'm spending my winter somewhere without snow this time."
He fished around in his makeshift saddlebags, removing a tightly wrapped envelope. "Before I forget, can you mail this for me?"
He nodded absently. "Just like that? You know Load, this Worldgate is open until the end of January. We could drive back to Ely. Roseluck might even want to come. I'd have to ask, but... she'd probably be down. I could let her drive some of the highway miles."
Load rose, retreating from the fireplace now. And from Tracy. "I want to. But if I do that... there's a good chance they won't let me leave. They'll talk me out of it. I don't want to be talked out of it."
He backed up a little further, right over to the window. "Look out there, Tracy. That's somewhere I want to live. That's somewhere I can raise a kid. Do you think you'll get to keep living here? Maybe once I'm more established I could go. A year or two."
"No," Tracy said flatly. "No chance. Rose and I have tried every angle, believe me. There might be other Worldgates, somewhere out in the world. But the princess can't do it, and Discord won't."
Load sighed. "Well... it's getting late, I can't miss my train. Hope I see you again in spring, Tracy." He smacked one hoof against a fresh photo, taken at the Hearth’s Warming party with Rose and Tracy just a few days ago. "I can tell you've found what I did. Don't give it up."
Tracy watched him go, vanishing into the darkness and the snow.
Tracy went to work that day just like he had on any other. He checked the laptop with one hoof, his spare vial of Everwake with the other. Only when he was sure about both did he step out into the hall, ready to go.
He passed several unopened crates piling up near his far wall, which had been steadily accumulating there all winter. SBCs, displays, batteries. One way or another the flower stand would have enough parts to keep going, maybe until Equestria finally invented its own computers.
Rose lingered near the open bedroom door, grinning sleepily at him. "You have to keep working?" she asked. "Spark, you know what week it is. What's the point of going in?"
It's about to be the only thing I have again, he thought. Tracy hadn't actually done anything about the move. He hadn't looked for somewhere else, hadn't started packing his things. He still had a week, that was practically forever.
"I have to," he said. "But I promise, I'll come straight back. We'll make everyday count."
They'd already done that, as much as they could in winter. But before the season ended, Tracy's time in Equestria soon would. They'd searched every book they could, begged to Discord, even petitioned the princess. All failed.
Rose still didn't look happy. "Look." Tracy slipped past her, lifting her phone off the nightstand and thrusting it towards her. "You can send me messages while I'm there. I'll tell you as soon as I'm on my way home. I'll bring home more exotic fruit. Something real fun."
Roseluck watched him. She didn't even smile. "Is that it, Tracy? You've made up your mind?"
He winced, but didn't look away. "No. I haven't."
She closed the distance between them, and kissed him. Passionately this time, dragging him towards bed, tugging at his clothes as she went. "Then try... to think..." she began. "There are two ways. If you stay—then you have to leave Apex next week anyway. Leave now."
It wasn't easy to push her away, but he managed. She could've forced him—earth pony strength could've crushed him like a moth. But she didn't hold too tightly. "What if I don't stay?" he asked. "Then I need to work."
"No," Rose said weakly. "You already paid Discord. Can't you just apologize to Janet a week from now? If this is our last week together, don't you want to spend it all together? Tell her you're hurt again, that worked last time."
He almost did. But Janet deserved honesty too. She'd stuck her neck out for Tracy, even braved Equestria herself. Apex was a job—but Janet deserved better.
"I'll talk to her about it today," he said. "This is a new year, so technically I should have some vacation days. Maybe under the circumstances, she'll give me the week."
"I'm sure she will," Rose said, tiredness vanishing from her face. She picked up the phone with one hoof, somehow, staring down at the screen. "I could talk to her myself, help convince her."
"No," he said abruptly, backing towards the door. "No, don't do that. She's good people, but she'll want me to be the one to ask. You can thank her, after she gives me the time off. But don't ask her. I'll ask at the first chance I get."
"I love you, Spark," she whispered. "I'm not ready for Sunday."
Tracy left then, before he did something stupid. He picked up his bag from where he'd dropped it in the hall, then hesitated by the exit door. He listened, making sure none of his neighbors were outside to see him.
He heard nothing, which was normal this early in the morning. When he stepped outside, there were no police, nothing out of the ordinary.
There was nothing at all unusual waiting for him in the car, other than the face he saw reflected in the rear-view.
It wasn't even human anymore. Bat eyes glazed back at him, and bat ears stuck up so high they obstructed his view of the cars behind him. His back started to itch, and didn't stop until he looked away from the mirror and pushed it from his mind.
Maybe this was the real reason that Discord refused to renew the lease no matter how hard he asked. He'd never last another year. But maybe we could alternate, going six months between each world. Rose doesn't mind being human, I bet she'd do it.
She loved him. Could he say the same?
He pondered that question all the way into work. He was so distracted he nearly went the wrong way, and almost ended up in the visitor lot. He drove in an awkward loop around the campus, before finally finding his way into his marked place.
Tracy fought back a yawn as he passed security and got onto the elevator. He touched his vial of Everwake, confirming for the third or fourth time that it was in his laptop bag. He knew from experience now that it didn't transform into some inferior Earth drug, or lose its magic when it crossed between worlds. But what would happen if the company took rumors seriously enough to bring in dogs or something?
They won't. Those were just rumors, and I've been doing good work. Why bring in dogs when they could give me a drug test. For that matter, Tracy didn't know what a test like that would reveal. Did magic potions leave a detectable signature?
He settled into his usual place, snagged a doughnut from a box out in the hallway, and went to work without incident. There was only a little disappointment that Rose didn't decide to make today the day she finally figured out texting. It wasn't.
He made a little progress on the department's big project of Q1, and only then stepped away from his computer to wander to Janet's door. It was open, which meant that she wasn't too busy.
Unfortunately, it wasn't just her inside, but a good third of the department, all seated around the wall while she explained something projected onto her desk from above.
Was there a meeting today? Why didn't they get me? His reputation at Apex might take another year to fully heal.
But if his coworkers were embarrassed about the confrontation, none of them showed it. Most politely looked away. Tracy himself tried to retreat out the open door, until Janet finally noticed him. "No, Tracy, you should be here for this. We're reviewing the reference design for the pressure intake. You should see it too."
He couldn't argue the point now, so he found an empty chair and sat. The meeting resumed, with one of the draftspeople on his left shifting slightly to get further away. No one else seemed to care.
The meeting was about as productive as he would've expected, reviewing something he could've done on his own in half the time. But as he sunk further and further into the seat, he felt the strange pressure against his back again. It was strong enough that he lifted up onto his hands, avoiding putting weight on his back.
I'm not looking at any reflections here, where's that coming from? Tracy shifted uncomfortably, perching on the edge of the seat. He took a few deep breaths, fighting down the strange feeling. Nothing's happening. There's no magic here, it's fine.
Except it wasn't fine. The nervous woman on his other side nudged him, whispering, "Are you okay?"
Then someone screamed, pointing directly at him from the other side of the room. Janet stopped talking, looking away from her notes.
Tracy stumbled to his feet, dazed. "Is something wrong?" His words came out slurred, and he felt a brief sting of pain on his tongue. But that was nothing compared to the floor getting ripped out from under him.
Tracy staggered backward, moving instinctively towards the door. His shoes slipped right off his feet, and more confused voices joined the first scream. Some pointed, some just stared in morbid fascination.
It was the same transition that happened whenever Tracy passed between worlds, only much slower. And worse, since it didn't seem to have any effect on his clothes. Suddenly there were pants trailing past his hooves, and a shirt that caught up on his feet and tripped him when he took another step. He rolled, and one of his wings emerged from the opening.
Tracy's ears flattened at the barrage of shouts and confusion. Janet remained morbidly in place—but many of the others didn't. With Tracy blocking the only door, they pressed against the accordion-style folding rear wall.
Metal squealed and it tore right off the ceiling, toppling backward and taking a half-dozen engineers with it.
Tracy didn't stop to stare—he ran.
oh dear, that unexpected and scary
The Everwake staying active does sorta imply magic is a thing Earthside. Hehe.
Does Everwake need a Nocturne body to digest it? So it was fueling his transformation? Etc?
Discord always has a master plan.
the art work is amazing , but look closer Tracy is not the only one changing.
Well now, choice just got made. I wonder if Rose is pregnant, so Discord stepped in?
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yeah...if the Janet in the background was intentional is he the spark making everyone from his side into "ponies"? or was it an accident. And wow! what a way to get found out.
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No surprise there, Janet is a hippogriff so she can actually grip a steering wheel
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"Spark. Gap."
Two words, it was in front of us the whole story
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yeah, but it appears Janet's case is slower
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Janet hasn't been in Equestria everyday either, nor consuming potion after potion
Tracy is in REAL TROUBLE. I doubt he could even drive the car like that and the police followed by the military would soon be coming -- all this assuming nobody there has a gun.
NOTE: He is still under lease even if it is the final week -- this has to be breaking the rules of the contract in some way.
Plus it looks like his decision is made for him. After this there is no staying on Earth.
---
Oh and I liked the picture of tracy and rose above the fireplace.
not the disaster i expected.
You know, on that point...I've been thinking that over, and we know that this whole affair with the worldgate is due to some kind of deal or bet between Discord and Celestia, and we still don't clearly know why, but many have speculated it was to bring someone from the human world to Equestria and see if they hit it off with one of the natives. However...the thought has occurred to me that it might be less about bringing those two together than it is to test and see how they respond when faced with the possibility of said worldgate closing again. What Discord and Celestia are trying to find out is--will Tracy or Rose make the sacrifice to stay with each other, or will they part ways in favor of staying in their respective worlds?
To me, this makes the most sense, because it then accounts for a couple other things, like how Shane and company's little intrusion was clearly not part of whatever the plan was--might even explain why Discord signaled so strongly to be careful about letting others through the portal, as such additional visitors are not part of the plan and might contaminate the "experiment," we'll say.
My point with all of this, though, is that it could mean the worldgate is closing for no reason other than it's part of the bet, so Discord and Celestia can prove a point to each other. This is especially backed up by the fact that Discord still hasn't given an exact reason why the worldgate has to close other than it just does. Which means...once whatever points are made, the possibility of the worldgate being reopened again afterwards might still be on the table...assuming I'm right about all of this. I say that, because I just can't believe Celestia would be willing to go through all of this and also run the risk of forcibly breaking up two lovers at the end of an experiment neither of the two subjects asked to be in or volunteered to be a part of. Giving herself the possibility of at least trying to make it up to these two...well, let's just call them what they are: victims, after it's all said and done seems like something she'd want to do, and worth the effort of getting Discord to cooperate enough to allow it too, or else no deal.
Speculation on my part, yes, but...I feel confident enough on it that I'm throwing it out there anyway.
Not to say that you're neccessarly wrong here, Shane...but don't go making assumptions here. Just because it worked out for you doesn't mean it'll work out just as well for Tracy too. He's not the same sort of person as you, with a different set of needs--this could still play out differently for him.
Oh dear, down to a week now! That deadline's getting dang close, and still no final decision in sight...
Rose, I sympathize, girl, I really do...but you and I both know you're saying that more for selfish reasons. I want you and him to both work this out together...but at the same time, the final choice, whatever it is, still needs to be his--not yours.
The million dollar question.
Hey, another thought...is could his perception of reflections (or however you want to phrase it) be a possible side-effect of the Everwake? He has been on it every time he's noticed the abnormalities in reflections...
Well, other than the magic you've brought with you...
About the ending...I know it would seem to invalidate everything I opened this comment up with...but I'm not convinced this is actually happening due to anything with the worldgate itself. Can't rule out just yet that it could be due to something else entirely too.
Tracy, if you go back to work... You're gonna have a bat time.
I'll go sit in the corner...
Plot-twist-no-jutsu!
Hmm. Gosh. Imagine that. I'm sure Tracy can't relate at all.
Malandy raises an interesting point: Constantly dosing himself with a magical liquid may have catalyzed Tracy's magic on Earth. Or this was all part of the prank from the beginning. We've seen that Discord can play the long game. But right now, Tracy needs to get home ASAP. Thank goodness for those flying lessons.
... though, looking closer, Janet's ears do seem a little pointier than normal for humans. Oh dear. If this Earth is anything like Sunset Shimmer's, it'll soak up magic like a sponge. As I said, the long game.
Well, I guess that solves that problem. :-) Better go back to Equestria and request asylum.
The Everwake might still get him but it's a secondary concern now. Unless cutting off the magic now would eventually return him back to human form, he has no choice but Equestria. No way he could run to his apartment in this state. He'll have to fly home.
Magic dominating Tracy on Earth was expected but not in this way. It might have some implications on Discord's motives and insistence in closing the Worldgate. Depending on the rules, magic might just leak to the traveler or it might eventually leak to us all. The Everwake just sped things along. There might be good reasons why there hasn't been much contact or travel between worlds throughout history. At least on a massive scale.
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He'll be fine. He's just feeling a little horse...
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Janet's eyes in the last illustration suggests that there are Consequences™ to visiting Equestria.
Tracy, no!
What I had suspected came true
(Does that mean he'll be a pony forever?)
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Ears too
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Good point; I missed that bit.
Tracy, my man, you've been on everwake how long? I think that ship has long since left port.
10720599
I can't decide if I hate you or I love you for that.
10720573
I've said it before and I'll say it again, the terms of his contact were that he may return to his normal form on his return to Earth. Normally in contacts that means 'has permission to', but in Discord's case, I suspect he intentionally combined that with the 'could possibly' definition.
I see two possibilities.
One: he has actually fallen asleep, and this is a bad nightmare. He is now off Everwake , and I think it was four days of overdue? So when he wakes up, he'll have just enough time to make a decision.
2: shenanigans.
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My thought was that the Everwake ran out and this was a dream while he sleeps off the last week in the front hall. Or maybe in his front yard if you want the Twilight Zone version.
If Janet's slowly turning, what about Tracy's other two buddies from his home town?
10720629
He could be asleep but if it has to be more than a couple days he'll have to wake up in the hospital to prevent dehydration issues. Still, the presence of Janet's changes as well may suggest that something is actually happening. I doubt Tracy would have dreamt that even if he saw changes in himself.
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it is also posable just amazing art and this Janet has on eye shadow.
only time will tell, but my money is on Discord.
10720656
Name me one human with golden eyes
It seems the office rumours were right ?
A week to go... That’s a week of potential visitors of sorts to his house.
Even the trip home might be troublesome.
Sometimes, the magic of friendship makes you lose your pants in public.
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I think that may be the wrong kind of friendship to show in public
Hahahaha oh man.
I'm actually kinda disappointed if this takes away a difficult choice, but it's nice seeing that midway transformation.
Well...........that happened?! I’m not 100% sure why, but I guess that makes the choice of staying or going significantly easier!
So I little chaotic surprise on Discord's side. Well he can always blame it on Tracy, he did overuse magic potion on magic devoid world
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10720656
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You know, we havent seen art of Tracy on the human side till he had been in Equestria for a few months.... Green eyes are a slightly rare color to see in humans... who's to assume that his natural eye color was always Green?
tooooooooootally not implying there's going to be new art of older chapters coming out soon addressing this very thing, nope, no sir, *whistles innocently* vintage.ponychan.net/chan/files/src/132943551259.png
Las Pegasus
Oh no, that's going to lead to some significantly traumatized coworkers.The bat wings and fangs looks significantly less "cute and cuddly bat pony" and more "horrifying demon from hell", especially when sprouting from a seemingly normal person.
I wonder how this happened but I suspect it's the result of the the Everwake abuse. I wonder how he's going to explain this and when he's going to crash.
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But yes, when we first saw Janet she did look a little different
camo.fimfiction.net/SwAtBCZeOIiBdq3Fc6w9jyHMND6rvfqDgZO5tmnKYYQ?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F8K9QL7r.png
I can just see Tracy returning home to find the Worldgate closed. Suddenly Discord appears, all smiles, telling Tracy, "Well you obviously weren't going to make a decision, so I decided on a compromise. Isn't that what you wanted?"
10720873
That would be a violation of the contract though. His lease isn't over until Sunday.
Aand now we're waiting for the next chapter to reveal; Everwake crash or Discord?
10720656
my point is though that Janet, while having eye shadow color be the same as in this image (you can see it back when she reaches an arm through the portal in chap 46 or 47), when she goes through full that color is farther spread around her eyes....and now in this image it's the same pattern as on the equestrian side. She doesn't wear it that way in previous images. She's under the changes too.
You know, I had figured it would be the Everwake that caused the next big problem, not this Earth side transformation. I suppose the hints were there for it.
10720804
I naturally have green eyes so...
Oh hey he became a furry.
I know the next part is going to be about Sparky's panicked flight (literal and/or figurative) but I'm hoping that we also get to hear about what happens to Janet after this. Even if she isn't changing like the art suggests, there's still too many possibilities for someone to notice that she isn't reacting like what would be expected.
10720945
I suspect the everwake caused this. He was slowly raising how much equestrian magic he brought in in his own body. Its why his clothes didn't change
If his engineering co-workers are anything like mine, they will tease Tracy mercilessly.
"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-BAT-MAN!"