//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 - Always One More Thing 
// Story: Into the Rift 
// by DiscordsAdvocate 
//------------------------------//

There was an air of surprise with a slight hint of fear as the Minister finished his statement.

"This hearing is based on Mr. Hernandez's instatement as a resident Ponyville, Sir." Mayor Mare adjusted her glasses. "Though we welcome the Honourable Arcane Seeker witnessing our proceedings."
 
All except Tycho could see who stepped forward to the podium opposite of him. The new speaker was a unicorn of an orange coat with a crimson mane. He bore a cutiemark of a complex five-point star surrounded by a circle with smaller symbols decorating it, and an eye in the center. His eyes of a very dark brown turned to eye Alex, then Tycho before he calmly reoriented his attention to the council. Tycho faced Alex's direction and gestured to Seeker, as if asking Alex if he's going to do anything about this intrusion. Alex remained calm and observed.
 
Seeker cleared his throat. "I am well aware of the irregular nature of my presence, but I assure you my inquiries are very much relevant to this proceeding." This person’s voice sounded arrogant, the kind you get when you have every right to be. 
 
The ponies at the bench quickly exchanged glances, then nodded as one. Gale Force spoke on behalf of  his fellow council members. "We have scheduled this meeting to go 10 more minutes."
 
Tycho sighed, annoyed. "Fine, the floor is yours. We'll be going."
 
He sensed the table behind him shift to block his exit. "I think you should be here to listen to this, human," Arcane Seeker said to Tycho.
 
If there was one thing Tycho was in no mood for, it was more bureaucratic bullshit. "You-" He gritted his teeth as Alex immediately stood up and put a hand on Tycho's shoulder.
 
 His friend whispered, "Don't."
 
That voice dripping with arrogance started to monologue. "For more than a year, we have seen the arrival of humans,” he paused, as if to remove a bad taste in his mouth, “of a variety of powers, technology, weaponry, and skill. It was thanks in part to the documentation provided from our reliable researchers that we have learned so much about them." Seeker began.
 
Lyra was still hiding in her potted plant disguise, her brow furrowed in concern. She had been turning in research notes on humans for a while now. What were they using it for?
 
"If it had only been the arrival of Alex Roberts, then we would have no reason to be suspicious. And then arrived an," Seeker cleared his throat, "’independent commando’ whom Princess Luna, in her infinite wisdom, has permitted the sharing of military secrets to.” He shook his head in disapproval. “Then the arrival of a female of incredible power. Power that may be on par with a Princess!"

Tycho balked at that. Was he talking about Eleanor? She was the only female human jumper spoken of.

"There is, of course, Trace, whose circumstances of arrival  with Twilight Sparkle is strange at best. Moreover, he has association with powerful entities from his realm that ignore the boundary between our worlds. Then, a dragon and a pony have been torn from our world and have returned with strange and outlandish powers." Continued Seeker.
 
Scootaloo narrowed her eyes and frowned at the stallion, mirroring her mother, who wanted to toss that unicorn out the courthouse.

"And now we have come to the most serious of these occurrences. The deliberate pulling of this human, Dr. Tycho Hernandez, a human of considerable technical and scientific knowledge." Seeker stomped a hoof on the podium. “And what, you may ask, is very strangest of all? All of these jumpers have ended up in Equestria. Not the Griffon Kingdom, not Zebrica, not the Minotaur Badlands or the Great Ocean Depths of the Seaponies, no. Equestria. Each-and-every-one.” That left everypony silent, as the council began to consider his words.

“What are you implying, Minister?” Asked Gold Coins.. 

He turned to sneer at such a stupid question, “Implying? I imply nothing. I will say it plainly. This is a precursor to invasion. There in no other rational explanation.” Arcane’s eye radiated righteous anger. Why weren't these fools seeing the truth? 

Alex stood up. "Minister, it has been determined scientifically by Twilight Sparkle and Lyra Heartstrings, and validated by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, that our jumping, with the exception Tycho and Mr. Trace, was strictly random and not deliberate," he said softly. "I can fully understand, though, why this would seem like we were trying to invade your world. We aren't, I assure you. We are here to live our remaining years in peace. And it should be clear that Tycho did not get pulled here intentionally, but out of necessity."
 
"The road to Tartarus is often paid with good intentions; your words Mr. Roberts." Seeker manifested in a set of papers. "These are reports I have acquired from the crown as per my right as Minister to investigate dangerous magical occurrences. This is one of our sworn duties of MTS. And it is my fear that these jumpers are merely a preview of what is to come in the future."

Mayor Mare sighed. "And what do you fear may come of all this, Minister?"
 
"More dangerous arrivals." Seeker then pointed to Alex and Tycho. "And these jumpers may be the beacons for their coming."
 
Rainbow Dash flapped up. "If you think Alex is bringing other jumpers here, you are crazy!"
 
"Am I? I suspect something outside your husband’s control is at work here. You and the other jumpers may not be aware of it, but I am determined to seek it out. It is no coincidence that other jumpers arrived after you, Mr. Roberts." The minister addressed the older human. "And now that we know a controlled jump can be performed, I think it is appropriate you and your fellow jumpers be contained while an in-depth investigation is con-"

Tycho burst out laughing. Much to the surprise of the entire court. Alex tried to calm him down but Tycho pushed away his arm.

"Does something amuse you, Mr. Tycho?" Seeker asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tycho cleared his eyes. "Life is just funny." He heard this schpiel before, from those agents back at LHC. So he escaped one detainment to fall right into another. He didn’t notice Seeker narrowing his gaze at Tycho in strong disapproval.

"Request denied." Mayor Mare adjusted her glasses.
 
Upon hearing the Mayor's ruling, the minister quickly spun to face her. "You cannot-"
 
"Don't contest me in Equestrian law, Minister. When Celestia decreed the jumpers were to be given amnesty and citizenship, that provided them with dispensation from the government. They are protected by the same laws we are. Celestia permitted Tycho to receive amnesty before his arrival, which grants him the same rights as a citizen. Thus he cannot be detained at your order without written permission from the crown." Mayor concluded.
 
The minister gritted his teeth. "That will take months, Mayor. It would be best simply let me run this investigation now."
 
"Very well, we shall let the council decide. Would everypony please weigh in?" Mayor Mare sat comfortably with a twinkle in her eye.
 
"I deny the request." Filthy Rich stated. "The Jumpers have proven themselves good members of society. I see no reason to change that.”
 
"Denied." Said Gale Force. “Even if Tycho was pulled here deliberately, The Paladin of Redemption has stated it was a sacrifice to save his people from a jumping catastrophe.”
 
"I abstain." Gold Coins replied, much to everyone (but Alex's) surprise.
 
Berry Punch merely belched as she lazily leaned back in her chair. Mayor Mare deadpanned toward the mare for a moment before she turned to the court. "That means no. Thus, with four votes and one abstain, your request to detain our citizens, and our more recent guest,” She gestured to Tycho, “is hereby denied. You will have to petition the proper ministries and the princesses to receive authority in this matter."
 
"Minister, while I don't want to be detained, I'll be happy set time aside to meet you and arrange for-" Alex couldn't finish the sentence as Seeker interrupted.
 
"Mares and Gentlecolts, expect to receive a summons to the Council of Nobles in the near-future." Arcane sneered and teleported away.
 
No one had noticed until Rainbow Dash turned to see Twilight in a state of shock, almost pale.
 
"Twi? Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shook her friend out of her stupor.
 
Twilight looked at Alex. "I'm, I'm sorry. I mean, I don't know why Minister Seeker is here, I swear I never wrote anything to them to warrant this!" She sobbed.
 
"If... our guests would please take their leave? We have other business to attend to." Mayor Mare sighed. “And Mr. Hernandez, this isn’t how I wanted you to be welcomed to our humble town. But, for what it's worth, you are most welcome here among us.
 
Tycho said nothing. He shoved the table out of the way and stormed out, passing by the disguised Lyra as she shook; also pale. Also upset. "N-no. This wasn't supposed to happen." She muttered under her breath.

Nightshade, who hadn't said anything, followed Tycho with Alex in tow. Alex looked to his left, seeing Tycho propping himself against the wall of the building with both hands, facing the ground. His head turned to face Alex. 

Nightshade looked up to Tycho sadly.

"I thought I had assurances." Tycho growled to Alex.
 
Alex nodded solemnly. "You have every right to be mad."
 
"I gave up a lot, friend!" The blind man spat out. As Twi, Dash, and Scoots arrived to see Tycho glaring angrily at Alex. "This shit had better go away, Mr Roberts!" He pointed an unfriendly finger at Alex’s face as he tried to calm himself down.

Alex stood silent and wiped his forehead as the other members of their entourage exited. “Tycho, I am not about to back down on my promise to help you live here.” He stood and moved closer to Tycho.

Tycho shook his head. “Alex, that guy runs the ministry. Twi said I could have worked there . The fuck am I supposed to do now?!”

Alex pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s a setback, yes. Doesn’t mean we’re down and out, buddy. Can you trust your-” He gestured to Nightshade and the others, “friends to get around this new roadblock?”

“Tycho, you haven’t been here long enough to hear all our stories.” Tycho looked confused about that as Nightshade explained. “Each of us have overcome things more difficult than this.” Nightshade walked up to him. “But, you don’t want us carrying you through this, do you?” She asked bluntly.

Tycho faced her and thought a moment. “...no, I really don’t want to sit helplessly while you guys do everything for me.” At the same time, he’d rather not deal with anymore hassles, but it sounded better to play a bigger part in establishing himself here.

“You want to feel like you’re doing something.” Nightshade observed. “Would you feel in more control if you helped us?”

‘That is definitely a better context of addressing this,’ Tycho thought. “Alex, you need to keep me in the loop.” He regained his composure and stood straight. “I mean everything.”

Alex nodded. “Fair enough. You should be part of this group, anyways. You’re a jumper now, after all.”

‘So I am,’ Tycho thought. “I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

Alex waved his hand and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I thought we could have put all that behind us, but there is another loose string... maybe several."
 
Dash assessed the situation and spoke. “Even as Elements, Paladins, Gentlefolk, whatever; we can’t solve every problem or tie every loose end.”
 
Tycho sighed. "Sometimes one slips past you." He stood up and put a hand on Alex's shoulder to indicate his returned calm.

Twilight was still upset but managed to keep her composure. “You trusted us to make sure you would survive the  jump. You trusted us to bring you here. Can you trust us to help you again?”

Tycho shrugged. "I guess one more leap of faith won't hurt."
 
Alex half-smiled. "Thank you for tolerating this, Tycho. All this, buddy."
 
Tycho looked toward Nightshade who must have been smiling at this point. "Okay, let's get me some threads." He had a good feeling about the woman’s… mare’s intentions. 
 




They arrived at Elusive's tailor shop. Alex went in first, this time, and gestured for Tycho to follow him in. The rest of the crowd followed in tow. "So this Elusive, he's Applejack's boyfriend?" Tycho asked as he inspected the variety of vests, work clothes, and hats.
 
"Special friend." Nightshade corrected.

Alex nodded. "That is the term they use. Yes. Elusive and Applejack are joined at the flank, as they say here. He used to be a 'ladies-man' before he decided to settle on being ‘one lady’s man.’"
 
"Probably an ideally chiseled stallion, I reckon?" The taller human asked before, from behind the curtain, entered the Unicorn tailor.
 
"Alex! Lovely to see you again!" Elusive said in his signature effeminate voice and shook Alex's hand.
 
His voice reminded Tycho of the gayer guy on Will & Grace. So... Applejack was into metrosexual guys?
 
"Oh, Nightshade,when was the last time you stepped in here? Months?" Elusive hugged her. "And, as always, it’s great to have more than one national hero in my boutique." He then hugged Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

"You haven't lost your act, Elusive. This is Tycho Hernandez, whom you missed at the party." Alex chuckled.

Elusive looked up at Tycho. "By the sun! I have found the mountain!" He switched to his real, more masculine voice.

Tycho needed a good chuckle. That did it for him. "Let me guess; that is your real voice. You put up that act to convince people you're a good tailor." Tycho knelt down to shake his hoof.
 
“Meaning I am not, I assume you meant.” Elusive chuckled. “Just kidding, sir. I don’t use that voice as much as I used to." Elusive took his hand in greeting. "Thanks to my reputation, everypony knows me here, I only let it out for newcomers." Elusive gestured to the back of the boutique. "Come! Let’s take your measurements. Leave your underwear on." He then switched to the effeminate voice again. "We don't need to measure that, honey."
 
"Are you trying to make me feel uncomfortable?" Tycho grimaced as he ignored all the chuckles behind him.
 



 
Tycho stood in his boxers behind a curtain while the unicorn tailor took his measurements. "You are lucky I'm not charging you extra for your size." Elusive quipped. "I swear, how big do you humans get?"
 
Tycho needed something to take the stress off, he grinned. "Well, Mr. Elusive, humans don't stop growing. The tallest of us is as big as a tree. Robert Wadlow was his name."
 
Elusive raised an eyebrow. "Considering Mr. Roberts has been here more than a year and hasn't grown an inch, I doubt that is true."
 
Tycho shrugged. "Guess I can't pull a fast on on you. To be honest, it’s rare for humans to grow past seven feet. But yeah, we won't be growing further, except maybe sideways."
 
"Fourteen hooves and one half frog. And, by all means, put on more pounds so I can charge you for more cloth" Elusive and Tycho shared a chuckle as he finished measuring Tycho, floating his tape measure and hanging it on the nearby rack.
 
"So, moving things with your horn." Tycho questioned.
 
Elusive started writing notes and calculations from his new customer’s measurements. "You curious what it's like?"
 
Tycho stepped down and got dressed. "Yeah, is it like a limb others don't have that feels... well just feels something we can't?"
 
Elusive tapped his horn. "Like a limb and a sense you don't have. When I am not casting a spell through it, it's like a closed eye. When I 'open' it, I can feel the field of magic and alter it how I have trained and practiced. Much like your fingers can alter a set of objects." He smiled. "So, what kind of materials are you comfortable with?"
 
"Cotton, dark colors, and suede for jackets, shoes, and coats. Where do you guys get leather from, by the way?" Tycho slipped on his jacket.
 
Elusive gestured him to bend down to hear him easier. "The cows don't know what we do with the bodies after they die." He whispered darkly into Tycho's ear.
 
Tycho shook his head. "You're trying your hoof at human dark-comedy?"
 
Elusive grinned. "Was I successful?"
 
Tycho stood up. "Don't let your girlfriend hear that."
 
"You mean Applejack? Yeah, I keep that out of the house." The tailor chuckled. “Okay, so I put aside time today to work on a few pairs of shirts, trousers, socks, and underwear. This week I’ll have all your spring clothes done. Then summer done next week. Winter the week after. I'll send your foot measurements to a leatherworker for two pairs of shoes that resemble yours as best as we can. The socks," He smirked. "Well it is going to be embarrassing but we'll order those through a discrete special source, you understand."

Tycho nodded. "Great. Seriously though, where do you get the leather?'

Elusive grinned. "Not cows, I swear." He stamped the invoice and escorted Tycho the main room. "You haven't been noticing little ponies disappearing near my shop, have you?" He said darkly.

Tycho groaned. "Have any of my kind introduced you to Sweeney Todd?" He asked as he entered the waiting room.

Elusive shook his head. "Now Tycho, a good Pony would be sickened to see such a grim production about a 'demon barber.'" He faked an evil laugh before switching back to his pleasant self. “All kidding aside, Tycho, the material we call leather is made of different micro fibers, glued together in layers with a fish based glue and set in a press for a few days. Tough stuff..” Tycho nodded at that, appreciating the relatively simple solution.

Everypony looked at Tycho and Elusive, confused, while Alex tried to look innocent. "Alex, thank you for bringing me yet another human customer. I’m never without work thanks to you guys." Said Elusive.
 
"I suppose when the standard for modesty here is in your fur, tailoring must be an expensive profession." Tycho surmised.
 
"Especially for stallions." Rainbow Dash pointed out. "You'll mostly see us mares covering up, Tyke."
 
Elusive hoofed over an invoice to Alex. "So what is this I heard about a Royal Minister giving you all trouble?"
 
Alex shook his head. "Another loose end after our ‘shenanigans.’ Thanks for your help with that guard, by the way."

"Not at all. The colt appreciates his new wardrobe of kilts." Elusive flashed a toothy grin.
 



 
They finally arrived at Twilight's home.
 
"So, where is your house?" Tycho could only sense what must be a really big tree.
 
"We are at my home." Twilight answered and pointed to the tree.

"You live under a tree?" Tycho asked, confused.

"In the tree, Mr. Hernandez.” Twilight giggled. “My home is built inside."

Several flags were being raised in Tycho's brain that contradicted everything he remembered about engineering and practicality. He didn't need to be an architect to know this was ridiculous. "If Greenpeace saw this place, they'd shit a brick." Tycho remarked.

"What is wrong with my home?" Twilight narrowed her eyes at the man.
 
"How is this tree still alive after gutting it to make a house?" Tycho asked bluntly.

"Magic." Nightshade simply replied.

"But how do you keep insects-."

"Magic." Rainbow Dash replied this time.
 
"But you can't even keep a fire or candle inside or it will-"

"Magic!" All three mares answered.

"Tyke, just accept it or you will be burning your diplomas." Alex patted Tycho on the shoulder.
 
Tycho continued to grumble at how unsatisfying the answer was as Nightshade giggled at her friend's disposition.
 
Twilight opened the door and entered first. "Spike! We're home!"
 
"Coming down, Twi!" Tycho heard the voice of a teenage boy as he ran down.
 
"Twilight has a little brother?" Tycho whispered to Alex.
 
"No, he's a dragon." Alex answered.
 
"Holy shit, really?" Tycho said excited, but his excitement was promptly shot down when the mass that came down was half the size of Twilight, but probably as tall as her head.

"Oh! Hi Mr. Herna-Hernand-um, Mr. Tycho!" Spike said. "Wow, Alex, I thought you were big!" The dragon inserted an object into his either nostril and sniffed hard.
 
Tycho just faced toward the small dragon. "So, a dragon, yes?" He was disappointed, hoping for one larger than a him at least. Oh well.
 
"Well don't look so underwhelmed!" Spike put his talons on his hips. "I maybe small but I have a lot of talents!"
 
Tycho knelt down to quickly save his bad first-impression. "Sorry, Spike. When we humans think of dragons, we tend to think of larger lizards; whom usually hunger for people."
 
"Ew!" Spike.
 
"Tycho!" Twilight scolded.
 
"No way! I eat gems and anything ponies eat. Even hay burgers!" Spike grimaced. "Anyways, I cook, run the library with Twilight, help out the CMC." He blushed at that. "Especially Sweetie Belle."
 
Tycho raised an eyebrow. "So rather than living in a cave and hoarding valuables, you're a socialite, eh? Fire breath to boot?"
 
"Yeah, but mine is magical!" The teenage dragon grinned. "Come on, big guy, ask me what it does." He proudly goaded.
 
Tycho shrugged and smiled. "Okay, little bro, what does it do?”
 
"It teleports inanimate objects all the way to Canterlot! I can cook with it at perfect temperatures instantly! And Twilight and I have a few more tricks with it!" Spike beamed.
 
Tycho smiled. "Well lil'bro, call me big bro from now on, cause I have a feeling you'll be seeing a lot of me." 

Spike smiled widely at that proposition.
 
Alex sat down on the couch. "I take it Trace is working at the meadery and Fei is at school?"

"Yeah. Sis should be back in a few hours," Spike replied as he went to the kitchen. 

"Fei?" Tycho asked.

"Twi and Trace's adoptive daughter. She's also from Trace's world." Dash explained. "She's a kit-su-nee."

"Kitsune, Dash." Twilight corrected.

Tycho raised an eyebrow. "A multi tailed fox spirit? Does she bring good luck?"

"Don’t ask that while she is present." Alex replied. “She has some magic similar to Trace. She comes from his world.”

The variety in this world is amazing, Tycho thought. Granted, some of them came from other dimensions, but still.

Twilight had just levitated several books from her library. "Here we go. From basics to intermediate to advanced studies in magical principles and physics. Only ten books in all." She sighed. "Tycho, I am sorry but I don't think I'll be able to get you to work for MTS, but that doesn't you will be unemployed." She tapped a hoof to her chin in thought. "I don't think the minister will try to block it as it would look bad for him. Spike, can you get me a grant application form, please!"

"The ones in your office? Sure!" Spike called out from the kitchen before he exited and ran out and up the stairs. 

Tycho sat down with the rest of the group. "Let me guess, you apply for a grant into research and justify training me so I can aid you in that research."

Twilight nodded. "I had always done most of my research under my own budget and asked very little from the Ministry. They won't turn me down. I can pay you to work for me!"

Tycho thought about that. "And what exactly will I be helping you research?"

Twilight’s good mood finally surfaced as she excitedly took out a list. "I have all kinds of things we can select from to study. Let's see, thaumatic resonance between starswirls and cold iron; the study of interaction between snozwanger particles and fire spells; biomolecular manipulation of polynucleotides on human DNA to add a nucleosheath in defense of radiance;" That caught Tycho's ear. "Oh, but that is Emerald's project. Sorry." Tycho would have to ask Doctor Emerald about that tomorrow. "The study of mana."

Now THAT sounded interesting. "Mana?" Tycho leaned forward.

Nightshade's ears perked up. "Solid magic, Twi? You think you found some?"

Twilight shook her head. "I believe I might have a means of detecting it. So, mana is a theoretical material made of concentrated magical particles that bond together into a solid object."

Dash rolled her eyes. "You had us at solid magic, Twi."

"Except the eggheads are finding that interesting." Tycho remarked. "What could you do with mana, if it existed?"

Twilight looked up at the ceiling as Spike came down the stairs. "Lots of things. Powering magical artifacts for years. Extracting it for excess magical power for producing new spells." She seemed giddy. "Between running the library and raising a family, I don't have much time to work on these."

Tycho scratched his chin. "Show me what you have on the mana research. Particle detection was what I wrote my thesis on. My methodology was used at CERN, after all." 

Twilight clopped her hooves together and took the grant application from Spike. "I'll write the grant. We'll ask for enough so we can pay you for three years. So how does one week to read all those sound?"

"Give me a couple of days per book. I'll have a lot of questions for you as I go through all these." Tycho replied.

"Dr. Tycho Hernandez, Research Professor." Alex patted Tycho on the back. "Better update your CV."

Tycho felt Nightshade lay a friendly hoof on his leg. "Back to doing what you do best? How does that feel?" 

Tycho sighed. "Glad I'll be keeping busy for the time being."





Tycho returned to his home with a stack of books. Alex invited Tycho for a homemade lunch earlier, but Tycho had to contact his parents first. He put down the books and switched on the laptop. The first thing he did was check his Euro account and 401k. He then secured his Euro account. Maybe it won't be useless, but if he was declared dead it it would be shut down. He set up another bank account under an alias name and transferred all his money to that, first. Thankfully the bank transfer was quick. Seeing that he had six figures in the bank, he quickly bought skype phone minutes so he could contact people on Earth more easily. He then fired up skype and took out his headset and plugged it in.

The first call he made was to his parents. It didn't take long for someone to pick up.

"Tycho?" His mother's voice sounded anxious.

"It’s me." Tycho said, relieved to hear her voice.

"How dare you make us wait before you called back!" She was understandably upset, given the stress she had just been through, Tycho thought.

"I am very ashamed to have put you and Dad through that." Tycho sighed. "I hope you can forgive me."

"There is no need for forgiveness, Tycho. We are just happy you are alive and well. But where are you?” She asked.

“Are you back home?" Tycho's father's voice called from the background.

Tycho wished he had considered what to tell her. "I have been... displaced. There was an incident at the LHC. Can you put dad on the other pho-"

"Tycho?" His father's voice came up on another line.

"Dad! Thank the Gods." Tycho sighed.

"I hope you have a good reason for not coming home after all this." His father sternly said.

Already Tycho felt the hurt come back. "You two heard on the news the LHC did something to stop the phenomena, right?" Tycho asked. Both parents said nothing, but that indicated they were listening. "Me and my coworkers were responsible. But... we had to fight off interpol to accomplish it."

"You fought interpol?" His father exclaimed.

"Are you in Stockholm, Tycho?" His mother panicked.

"No!” He took a deep breath to control his tone. “I am not in prison. I am displaced... the whole thing," Tycho knew this would be crazy to tell them, but he couldn't bring himself to lie. "I had to do something risky and it... teleported me." He really hoped they'd accept that for now.

His father knew what that word meant, and his mom was smart enough to understand what he was implying. "Where?" They both asked at the same time. Amazingly, he didn’t detect any skepticism.

Tycho rubbed his temples. Here we go. "I'm no longer on Earth." No response. There was a long, very uncomfortable wait. "We're using similar technology where I am now to contact you." Another long pause. "Mom, Dad, I know this sounds crazy, believe me, I feel like I am going-"

"You are right. This is crazy! You expected me to believe that you are on another planet?" His father shouted in Portuguese. "Why are you lying to us? You said you saved the world, I believe you. But this?"

"Alejandro!" His mother calmed him. "Tycho, what happened at work?"

"I was inside the collision chamber while the labs at Australia and Tokyo were creating quantum entanglements at the center of the chamber. The protons slammed at the center, and I got sucked in. I had to do it to activate a device to make it work. It couldn't be done by remote." He felt tears welling up as he laid his head on his arm that was on the desk. "And we don't know how to bring me back."

His father hung up, while his mother started speaking to him, putting the phone down. Tycho just listened to their exchange, barely making out what they were saying, though he was sure his father was not believing it, while his mother was trying to call him down. He should have figured his parents wouldn't believe this. It was about ten minutes before his mother returned to the phone.

"Tycho, we love you very much. Can you call back tomorrow?" His mother sounded very upset and stressed. 

Tycho took a deep breath. "Yes, I can do that." He heard her hang up. Tycho laid his head down and rested his mind for a moment. He should have figured they would react like this. It might have been better he let them believe he was dead, he thought.

His depressive stupor was interrupted when he received a skype chat message. Tycho solemnly checked the message. It was Arjeta!

<I don't know how you survived or where you are, but wait for us to get back to you tonight!> The message said.

Tycho smiled sadly. They were okay, at least he hoped so. He looked at his front door and thought about skipping lunch and trying to sleep this off. Then again, he promised he wouldn’t isolate himself from anyone. They’d come for him if he was upset regardless, he figured. May as well go and talk to Alex about it.





Meanwhile, Lyra was vigorously writing in her office.

“Dear Honorable Arcane Seeker of the Ministry of Magic, Technology, and Science. It is with utmost urgency that I request full disclosure of MTS’s position about humans. As you know, I have provided extensive research on them in the past, and I do not feel it is warranted to treat them with suspicion or as a danger. My reports have been consistent and diligent throughout the months and I have never deviated from the standards and ethics of research.” 

She dipped the pen into the inkwell and continued writing. The mare heard the door open. “Honey, I’m home!” She heard Bonbon call out.

“Hi Bonbon, I’m in the office!” Lyra called downstairs.

BonBon entered the office and frowned. Lyra had her notes out again... all of them.

“Lyra, what is going on? I thought you were doing human research a lot less now,” Lyra’s wife sighed.

Lyra frowned after finishing her letter. “You know MTS?” Lyra asked Bonbon after folding the letter into the envelope. “The Minister paid us a visit. He has an issue with the humans!” She waved her hooves in frustration.

Bonbon seemed surprised by that. “What issue? I mean, yes they are dangerous as they are, but-”

“No! I mean more dangerous than they seem.” Lyra facehoofed. “Bonbon, I am practically the leading researcher on humans! I have sent over 10 research papers on them! Then this happens!” Lyra huffed. “He wants to contain them someplace while he runs a investigation!” 

Bonbon trotted up to Lyra and hugged her. “Relax. You are forgetting who that minister is dealing with. These guys have handled worse.”

Lyra frowned and didn’t tell Bonbon just how rough the MTS could get if given the authority to act.