And as I rose from the depths of the internet graveyard!
I shouted, "I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"
I look around, crickets are chirping.
"WHERE IS EVERYBODY!"
Oh well, Chapter 17 after a long hiatus.
A week had passed since Tycho began practicing the enchantments. Lensing and projecting runes onto enchantable objects was just the start of what could be a new way to commit to science. Though, he was no magician and didn’t want to be one. This tool of enchantment was a means to another end. He wanted badly to do what he dreamed of. CERN, he thought to himself as he waited for the mana capacitors to recharge. Smashing atoms, discovering new mysteries of the universe.
Twilight was in the background, reading up on the fascinating aspects of human technology. Well, Tycho didn’t mind talking casually about it, as long as she didn’t ask for detailed descriptions. He encouraged her to ask Alex about it, as his descriptions are pragmatic. But goddamn, that pony wouldn’t shut up!
He found Trace’s company more pleasant. He was into science and didn’t mind discussing it as a colleague instead of as some student of a new world. That was refreshing. Also, he didn’t talk as much. The half-elf just arrived to redirect his marefriend’s attention as she had patrons in the library. So he joined Tycho as he was finishing his soup for lunch.
“How are you adjusting?” Trace asked, sipping some hot tea.
“I think I have gone from wishing ‘I was back home’ to ‘trying to distract myself from wishing.’” Tycho replied.
Trace nodded. “Is work your only distraction?”
Tycho shook his head. “Weed.”
Trace raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me.”
“I can really use a joint right now. Fuck all, I haven’t smoked a blunt since I got here. Would really calm my nerves.” Tycho explained.
“So, like, pipe herbs or cigars, eh?” Trace chuckled. “Maybe you can ask Zecora for some help with that. She makes some great incense. Not sure about smoking.”
Tycho smiled nostalgically. “Johan and Arjeta showed me a smoking club. You know you had to have a license to smoke? Only takes a day to get one. One medical background check, a ten-minute test with a single hit, and if you didn’t have a bad reaction, you get the weed card.”
Trace smirked in amusement. “Sounds like government taxation of household relaxants, if you ask me. What about friends?”
“Hanging with you guys is cool, and the natives are nice. I guess that is another helpful distraction.” Tycho aligned a final lens before starting up a projection machine. “Okay, Trace, can you magically scan this while I activate it?”
Trace nodded. “Let me know when you’re about to enchant.”
With the help of his spectacles, Tycho took the readings using the laptop. “Okay, power output is good. Mana bead is steadily charging the thaumatic capacitors. Magic particles are saturating the lenses. Projections onto the object should be happening right…about…now.”
Upon the enchanting table, a pair of spectacles of similar make was illuminated by the projected praxes. Trace gazed at it with his metaphysical senses. The patterns from the praxes slowly formed on the spectacles. After a moment, the process was done.
Tycho powered down the machine and exchanged his current pair of spectacles for the newly enchanted one.
“Do they work?” Trace stated.
“Even better than before,” Tycho said, satisfied.
Twilight came running up the stairs. “Sorry, I was helping a patron! Tycho! Did it work?”
The tall human nodded. “Oh yeah. But this is just a start.” Tycho put his old pair in his pocket. “So now we can project enchantment praxes onto objects. But humans work with smaller lenses. These ones are the size of my hand. So I’m gonna need to commission smaller ones.” He explained.
Twilight’s interest sparked again, growing more giddy. “I think Rarity knows some glasssmiths who can help with that.”
“Yes, but for what I am asking for, we’re going really small. I don’t suppose you have laser science in magic?” Tycho asked.
Twilight nodded. “Oh yes! It's a ten-year-old science that has many promising applications.”
“Does that include glass etching?” Tycho asked.
Twilight went wide-eyed in realization. “Smaller praxis patterns etched into smaller lenses! Brilliant!” Twilight reared excitedly. “Let's take a break and discuss what you need!”
The northern cold winds swirled around the compound under a cloudless evening sky. The lights of a train approached the encampment. Once the giant iron vehicle stopped, two mares exited the passenger cabin as supplies were loaded off the cars. The grey one was outfitted in armor with winter gear, the other bundled for the winter under her fluffy white coat as her pink, blind eyes exhibited a soft light in the darkness.
The two mares made their way into the central meeting cabin as they offloaded their packs. A fire pit was in the center of the room.
“Someone is familiar with Thestral homeliness,” Erebus explained as she sat near the fire to warm up.
Nightshade accounted for her armor, uniform, and warming gear. “How can it be so cold up here? It's not like we’re up at the throat of the world.”
“It's the effects of the Umbra planes. Its magic causes temperatures to fall.” The albino batpony explained as she undressed her winter outfit.
As Shade began looking for something to drink, two night-guard entered. It was Jasmine and Noctus. “Captain. Welcome to Base Camp Nightwatch.” Noctus approached and saluted.
Jasmine followed, yawning, casually standing by. “Hey, Captain.” The thestral hybrid said.
Nightshade smirked at the contrast between the two. Noctus, always to-the-book. Jasmine is seemingly undisciplined but reliable. “At ease. I see everything has been set up for the mission.” The captain observed.
Jasmine pointed over to the kitchen. “I’ll make us some hot cider if you’d like.”
“Cocoa. No salttonight.” Shade corrected as Jasmine proceeded to the kitchenette. “Oh yes, and this is Professor Erebus. She will be our consultant in this mission.”
Noctus bowed respectfully to Erebus. “M’lady, we are glad to benefit from your knowledge.”
Erebus smiled. “Thank you. I am glad to see my friend at work, finally.”
Jasmine returned with some cocoa for everyone. “Waitaminute.” Jasmine’s fluffy ears flickered. “Oh!” Her demeanor suddenly became more energetic. “A fellow thestral!”
Erebus’s ears twitched as she turned her attention to Jasmine. “Eeee, eeree keee!” She greeted Jasmine in the thestral language.
Jasmine nodded. “Neee eereee!” She returned.
Noctus looked between the two. “What was that?”
“Old fashioned Thestral greeting,” Erebus explained. “I mean, normally just saying ‘hi’ is fine, but I can hear from Jasmine’s enthusiasm she wanted to practice our secret language.”
Jasmine nodded gingerly. “I don’t get to hang out with a lot of Thestrals, save wannabies like the lieutenant.”
“I beg your pardon?!” Noctus snapped at Jasmine. “Just because I admire the gifts Luna gave you doesn’t mean I am ashamed of being an Earthpony!”
The guard captain nodded and gave Noctus a hoof tap. “I’m sure Jasmine was just jesting.”
“Always jesting.” Noctus grimaced.
“I don’t sense any wings on you, Corporal.” Erebus observed with her keen hearing.
“Nope, I’m half Earthpony. Can’t fly, but I can climb pretty well. I even sleep upside down once in a while.” Jasmine replied. “So, what is your role in our special mission?”
“Well, I am not exactly here by royal decree. Nightshade asked me to come with you because you will need expert knowledge.” Erebus explained. “I also have a voice with the Batpony aristocrats.”
“What does my half-blood have to do with the umbra?” Jasmine asked, confused.
“Oh, a lot of history. Have you noticed your troops have been ill at ease since coming here?” The bat-pegacorn asked.
Jasmine shrugged. “I thought it was just the cold, and Noctus is always agitated about something.”
“You, I’m agitated with you.” Noctus corrected Jasmine. “But I can confirm this location yields no comfort, even indoors or with calm weather.”
“That large sheet of ice you see there was no accident. It was a consequence of holding in breaches in the Umbra. The one a certain pony gave himself to and enslaved the Crystal Empire.” Erebus explained.
“I thought Sombra was a myth. Certainly, an umbral being was responsible, but a pony of umbral being?” Noctus asked.
“It’s no myth. The Mane Six helped the new Prince and Princess of the Empire take him down.” Nightshade explained as she sipped her beverage.
“Aha! No! It was the dragon child Spike that made it happen!” Jasmine enthusiastically corrected.
“He’s part of the Mane Six.” Shade added. “But yes, that is more accurate.”
Erebus yawned. “I’ll explain more tomorrow morning. Where is my cabin?”
Jasmine raised a hoof. “I’ll show you!” She then escorted Erebus to the cabin.
Nightshade was about to speak to Noctus before noticing Erebus’s shadow stretched by the window in the firelight, looking in the direction of the umbral planes. As the distance between Erebus and her shadow came to but a thread, the shadow quickly slinked into the line,rounding the corner to rejoin her counterpart. Shade just watched, partly haunted and partly fascinated by the nature of Erebus’s magic.
“Captain?” Noctus asked, expecting his superior to give orders before concluding the evening.
“Oh, right.” Shade regained her composure. “Lieutenant, Erebus is my friend. You might say my best friend. Now, I don’t have the authorization to tell you, so I will summarize. I want you to make sure Erebus is safe. I cannot always keep my attention on her, and if my attention is required elsewhere, I need you to make sure she is safe. If she suddenly faints, have her taken to the nearest shelter and have food ready for her to eat. Also, let me know immediately if she experiences any distress, okay?”
“Of course, captain.” Noctus stood and saluted. “But…what distress should I know about?”
Nightshade considered her answer carefully. “The kind where a shadow gets bigger than that which casts it.”
The evening concluded without any disturbance.
Daytime came as the camp became busy with the nightguard clearing up snow, placing more fuel into and near the wood stoves, and making breakfast. Once the day shift had eaten, Captain Nightshade began the briefing.
“Well done, guardsfolk, on setting up a well-secured and organized base camp. Your briefing begins.” Shade nodded over to Jasmine to turn on the projector. “This is the Umbral plane. Not because it is a massive plane of ice over what seems to be a deep lake, but because below the lake is a breach into the Umbra. The Umbra itself is a parallel dimension. What is that? For lack of a better word, it's an existence parallel to our own. In other words, we share the same world but exist differently and only by crossing a threshold can one enter the other.” Shade then looked to Erebus. “Right?”
Erebus nodded with a spoonful of her favorite peanut butter. “Closhe enougsh.”
Shade then continued with the brief. “Now, we have a consultant, Professor Erebus, who will be providing us with some history and information about this location.”
Erebus licked her spoon clean before setting it aside and stepping up to the lecture. “Are we on the correct slide?” She confirmed with Shade, who nodded. “Good. Now, I am Professor Erebus, born in the Thestral homeland of Hallow Shades. That is the Equestrian general name. But I digress. I am well-studied on the Umbral planes and magic involved. The Umbra has had a problematic history in Equestria. Geographically, the world is similar to ours, but its existence is very luminous. That is, very intangible save only for itself. You might say we are walking among the umbra everywhere we are, but we cannot see, touch, or interact with it in any way. That is the same for them. The curious and studious have had experience interacting with the umbra and its indigenous fauna. But it's the fauna in the umbra that gives cause for caution.”
Erebus switched to another slide, showing several drawings and one confirmed photograph of a shadowy umbral creature. “The fauna exhibit varying degrees of intelligence. Not all are actively dangerous, but can be if you don’t know how to deal with them. One particular group of fauna we have confirmed is a societal group of intelligent lifeforms. They have no name as we would call it, but they have been trying to breach into our world for a very long time.” She switched to another slide showing clippings of files where possession was studied.
“Why do they wish to enter our world? Because they want everything we have. These beings, we shall refer to as Umbral Intelligences,” Erebus was about to continue until a guardsmare raised a hoof. Erebus’s ears twitched. “Uh, yes?”
“Can we shorten that?” The mare asked.
“I, uh…well yeah, I guess that is too long. Okay, so we shall refer to them as Umbralsapients.” Erebus was about to continue until guardscolt raised a hoof. “Oh. Yes?”
“It's still too long. Too many syllables if we get into trouble.” The guard said, with Shade smirking, Noctus looking annoyed, and Jasmine nodding in agreement.
“Right then…Umbralsentients?” Erebus said, feeling they were getting off track.
“That’s the same number of syllables. You didn’t shorten it at all!” Another guard complained.
“Umbral-lifeforms.” Erebus said with a hint of a hiss.
“We got it down to four!” Jasmine said with enthusiasm. “Can we go for three?”
“Look, we gotta go through thi—” Erebus tried to get the ponies back on track but to no avail.
“Umbral critters?” One guard suggested among the debating guards.
“Umbrals!” Another suggested.
“That’s too general!” Replied a guard.
“Umbral ponies?” Suggested another.
“Now that’s just being species-centric. We don’t know if they are ponies!” The debate continued as Noctus tried getting the guards to pay attention, but to no avail.
Then Erebus spread her wings as her shadow casually walked to stand behind her., It began to grow with an unnatural menace. Shade noticed and quickly waved her hooves to get Ere’s attention, shaking her head rapidly signaling to her friend this was a bad idea.
“Umbralians!” Another suggested.
“I got it! We can use-” Another suggested before being cut off.
Erebus took a deep breath and screeched, “EEEEEEEEEEEEE!” Standing in front of the guards, her shadow stood taller and wider than her. All the guards held their hooves over their ears as the thestral then fell silent. “We will use ‘Umbral’ and designate types based on subspecies as encountered.” Her shadow glared down onto the troops as they stood in awe. Then Ere’s shadow began to settle back as it was before the albino thestral continued her lecture.
The next slide showed a few pictures of batponies. “The formation of the umbral planes brings us to an obscure point in Equestrian history. You should all know of the Thestrals or Bat Ponies as we sometimes refer to ourselves.” Erebus continued as Jasmine nodded. “Among the magics practiced by many different tribes, we were the first to encounter umbralmancy and used it to drive away umbral spirits. In the end, it was used to close a tear between our respective realms. However, another one existed here, below the lake.”
Another slide showed an old painting of a deep valley, but with similar features surrounding that resembled the landscape of where the base was built. “As you can see, this part of the north was different. There didn’t used to be a lake here, and that dark spot was the tear. It was not clear whether or not the hostile fauna of the Umbra was organized, but that changed when King Sombra appeared.”
A slide showed a menacing picture of a unicorn made of shadow, wearing a crown, a regal cape, and green & purple eyes. His mane and tail flowed like that of an alicorn, and his horn stood tall with the color of fire. “You should all know who Sombra is as he attacked the Crystal Empire. Twice. The first time, he enslaved the city and took it with him into the Umbra, which the city had somehow managed to survive. The second led to his defeat with the help of the elements, particularly Spike, the dragon assistant to the Element of Magic.” Erebus continued. “Contrary to some stories, he was leading several amorphous Umbral monsters while he was trying to get the Crystal Heart to boost his power. They were held back and banished after the Crystal Heart was re-centered.” Erebus stated.
“So when the Batponies drove away their attackers, they turned against the Crystal Empire?” A guard asked.
“Correct. We had sent an envoy to the Crystal Empire warning of the possible attack as there were rumors of a breach nearby. We don’t like the cold so we didn’t do much to search for it. The Crystal Ponies, however, didn’t take our news with much heed.” Erebus shook her head. “Politics.”
“Thestrals didn’t like Celestia after banishing Nightmare Moon, thinking that Celestia was attempting a coup and used Nightmare Moon as an excuse. The Princess never visited the homeland, so, yeah. No friendship between them and anyone who favored the moon princess.” Jasmine stated.
“That is…sadly accurate.” Erebus followed. “So, the Crystal Empire was attacked. Celestia’s reaction was very swift, and she melted the nearby glacier and turned the valley into a frozen lake, covering the breach.” Erebus finished her lecture.
Captain Nightshade took over the lecture. “Thank you, my dear Erebus. So, a breach to the Umbra was covered in ice and somehow Sombra still attacked. So our mission is a survey mission.”
There were muffled disappointments among the guard.
Captain Nightshade slammed her hoof down. “HEY! Look alive! This is a hostile environment covering an even more hostile environment! This mission is top class and the expectations on us are high!” Shade asserted. “The Nightguard have been regarded as the lesser of the two protectors of Equestria. The Day Guard are accomplished. As you all know, the Nightguard are regarded as a form of rehab. Now we have been trusted with a delicate situation requiring diplomacy with two seldomly contacted tribes and assessing the danger of a very real threat.”
The guard silently paid attention as Erebus observed her friend proudly. Her shadow’s tail slowly wagged.
“So, can I count on all of you to handle this above and beyond the call of duty?!” Shade asked.
“Yes, ma’am!” shouted the guard.
“Good! Lieutenant,” Shade called for Noctus, who approached. “Brief everyone on their respective assignments, and Corporal?” Shade called for Jasmine, who stood at attention, albeit still chill compared to Noctus, “I need to speak with you and the Professor.”
As Noctus began to read and review each assignment, Shade, Erebus, and Jasmine went to the captain’s office.
As Nightshade sat at her desk, she pulled out a map. “So, we’re all the way up North, but somehow have to go mid-south to the Thestral homeland. So before we talk diplomatic strategy, how are we to get there in a timely matter so I’m not stretching the chain of command?”
Erebus nodded. “Luckily, we are close to the breach, so we can use that to our advantage.”
Jasmine cocked her head. “Teleport through the Umbra?”
“More like creating our own umbral pathway without stepping into the umbra. I can leave it open both ways.” The professor explained.
Nightshade nodded. “In that case, our diplomatic team is assembled.”
Jasmine went wide-eyed. “I-I-I get to go too?!”
Shade nodded. “Makes sense. You and Ere would know that place better than me.”
“It's a logical strategy. An accomplished professor, an accomplished guardsmare, both Thestrals that know the culture to introduce the Captain.” Erebus agreed.
“This is great! I’m so looking forward to this!” Jasmine reared in joy.
“I’m sure seeing your homeland would be a great experience.” Said the Captain.
“Even better! It's mango season!” Jasmine hopped up and down.
“Oh!” Ere’s ears perked. “Well…that is certainly a bonus.” She licked her teeth under her upper lips. Her shadow acted like it was salivating.
Back at Ponyville, it was afternoon time and Tycho sat outside his porch finishing a cup of soup. He was deep in thought, going straight back to his days at CERN. June 2012, the Higgs Boson particle was discovered. One of the greatest achievement of mechanical science. And yet, everything done about a month ago was more than CERN could ever have accomplished. But how?
He reasoned in his head and delved back to particle physics. Elementary particles contributed greatly to the makeup and interaction of everything. This universe has magic. His universe does not. How did they interact? They had just connected two universes with glaring differences in physics, and somehow it worked.
He was a physics engineer and since magic in this world could accomplish what took CERN a massive particle accelerator, maybe he could ascertain its nature. Magic, as Twilight had explained, exists in particles and waves, but something has bind it all together to work. If the Higgs Boson particle was the most significant particle in his universe, what of this one? More importantly, how could he find it?
If it could find it, he thought, then perhaps he wouldn’t need a bunch of metaphysical laptops and a giant particle accelerator to open that doorway. Tycho remembered listening to youtube videos of people claiming to have built homemade particle accelerators. They could work if they can muster the forces required. The machines themselves would be so complex that Equestria’s technological advancements would need to be accelerated half-a-century to build the tools that build the tools, etc, etc…
Or he could use those crafty enchantments he developed to build what he needed. Magic is used for just about anything in this world. And a homemade accelerator, however small, can be enhanced with enchanted parts to do exactly what he needed. He knew the design for the LHC top to bottom. All he needed was some space to work, customized parts, some well-calculated engineering, and he’d be smashing atoms in no time.
There were still some obstacles. He and his fellow ‘jumpers’ were still the target of suspicion by the guy in charge of magical research. But he had allies that can get around him. He will need to afford the parts, but he has the clout to justify grant money.
Tycho took out the laptop and began typing out a list of what equipment he will need and what tasks he will need to accomplish to get started on this project.
His ears then picked up Alex walking up to him.
“How are you doing, Tycho?” Alex inquired as he sat on the step of Tycho’s porch.
Tycho, ever the multitasker, continued to type as he answered his questions. “Hanging in there.” He answered coldly.
There was a brief silence as Alex very much empathized with his friend’s troubles, and it was clear he was taking ‘baby steps’ to cope. “How did that date with Nightshade go?” He asked to break the silence.
Tycho paused in thought and typing. That was a very good question. His brain had put his thoughts and feelings about this issue on the metaphorical back burner as the thought of returning home was the priority. “Well, it was fun. I can tell Nightshade is attracted to me and I can’t deny I find her company appealing.”
Alex nodded. “But?” He anticipated what was coming.
“No way I can bang a horse.” Tycho bluntly finished.
Alex stifled a chuckle. “Be careful using that word, Tyke. That is a racial slur in this world.”
Tycho bit his lower lip, now mindful of that mistake. “Yeah, sorry. But you should get it. Nightshade is nice, fun, and uplifting. She is no scientist, but it's clear she is attracted to eggheads, as your wife would call us.” Tycho took a sip of tea. “But no way would our relationship be physical.”
“I find that younger people tend to worry about long-term consequences of possible relationships. Like marriage, kids, sex, and all that. But you just had one date, and you have only been here for a month.” Alex pointed out. “At the same time, I know the Captain well enough she has definitely set her sites on you.”
“She has already sent me an email, by the way. I sent her one back. I almost wish…” Tycho groaned. “I wish I had met her back home.”
Alex nodded sympathetically and patted Tycho on the knee. “You can imagine dating her as a human, is what you’re saying?”
“Yeah.” Tycho sighed. “Judging from some of her flirtatiousness with her friend and the fact she put my hand on her butt-”
“Woah!” Alex exclaimed. “Dash was right, she is into you.”
“I can imagine cuddling, snuggled together moments of relaxation. I even like her nuzzling. But anything more intimate, and I feel my stomach churn.’ Tycho described. “If she was on two legs instead of four…” Tycho stopped and shook his head. “I don’t suppose Eleanor is...”
Alex shook his head. “She isn’t interested in men.” He answered hearing Tycho swear under his breath. “There are diamond dogs. They walk on two legs and exhibit a lot of humanoid physique.” Alex suggested.
Tycho smirked. “I noticed that. They reminded me of those Disney anthros. Like from Robin Hood?”
“Oh? I remembered you liked that movie.” Alex reminisced.
“My first crush was Maid Marian, the fox chick from the movie. I mean, I was just ten, and I had no idea what furries were at the time, but as time passed, I think back and imagined what other anthros would look like if you gave them anthromorphic characteristics. Then puberty hit, and I heard the voice of Krystal from Star Fox.” Tycho chuckled. “That took me back to that crush.”
“Which one of us explained what she looked like in detail?” Alex asked. “I mean, back on Earth when we were younger?”
“I forgot, but it was always that first image I referred back to. And with my imagination I took read about the appearances of other characters like Elora and Lola Bunny.” Tycho confessed. “Then I found out about furries and started thinking I definitely was one.”
“How anthropomorphic would make the difference?” Alex asked outright.
“T and A, of course,” Tycho replied.
Alex thought on this conundrum for a moment. “You realize there is transformation magic in this world, right?” He pointed out.
Tycho was about to take a sip of tea but stopped and thought. That he didn’t think of this possibility in a world of advanced magic. “Well, not sure if Nightshade would be into that sort of thing. And besides, we’ve only had one date.”
Alex nodded. “Perhaps. I have known Nightshade for a long time. She really cares about you, you know? As we all do. But Dash has pointed out that Shade is very adventurous and open to new experiences.”
“How did she learn this?” Tycho asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Let's just say Dash noticed Shade’s flirtatiousness with Erebus. It sounds playful, but she thinks its actually serious. I’m sure Shade would talk about it with you at some time.” Alex got up. “Hey, tomorrow, you’re joining all of us for breakfast?”
Tycho nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
The two fist-bumped as Alex went back to his house. Tycho sighed. He was definitely of two parts in this world. One trying to adjust, thinking of the possibilities creating a life here and one trying to get back home. Stretched, but not torn. Not yet.