//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - Please Say Something // Story: Devotion // by _Undefined_ //------------------------------// Lyra was trying desperately to keep her mind occupied. She had attempted to continue to read her magazine, but her brain kept wandering off to thoughts of Bon Bon and a snake significantly larger than her. Lyra had then retrieved a deck of cards, but solitaire wasn’t distracting enough to keep the thoughts at bay, either. She was having some more success at using the playing cards to build a tower. At least, she was having success in finding something else to focus her attention on. The tower itself refused to remain standing. As she started construction on the third story yet again, she heard a rapid knocking at the door, which resulted in all of the cards falling to the table. Lyra walked over to see who was there, grateful for a conversation that would hopefully keep her from worrying about Bon Bon. She opened the door to find a panic-stricken Golden Harvest – and Golden Harvest wasn’t prone to bouts of hysteria like some of the ponies in Ponyville. Before Lyra could say or do anything, she quickly began to speak. “I just saw some unfamiliar stallion carrying Bon Bon across his back, yelling ‘Where’s the hospital?’ The others pointed him there, so I ran right over here to—” But Lyra was already through the door, on her way to the hospital. Running faster than she had ever run in her entire life. Healing Hooves had left Gentle Presence behind to finish monitoring the giant mamba to make sure it was completely tranquilized. He knew that afterward, she would take the necessary steps to have the snake relocated to a place where it couldn’t hurt any other ponies. As soon as he had placed the jar back in his saddlebag, he and his wife draped Bon Bon’s body across his back and he ran out of the Everfree Forest, ignoring the eyes staring at him through the darkness and remembering to leap over the oak root as he passed it. He didn’t know where the hospital was, but the townsponies quickly showed him the way. He reached the building and charged through the front doors. “Emergency!” he shouted. The receptionist snapped to attention in the otherwise empty waiting room. “She needs a doctor!” Doctor Horse and Nurse Redheart stepped into the waiting room upon hearing the commotion. When he saw the unconscious Bon Bon, the doctor asked, “What happened?” “She was bitten by a giant mamba,” Healing Hooves replied. “On her rear leg.” Nurse Redheart quickly left. “Mamba?” the doctor replied. “We aren’t equipped to handle that kind of bite here. The nearest trauma center is in Canterlot, but by the time we arrange for a pegasus airlift, the venom will have already…” Nurse Redheart returned with two more nurses and a gurney. All four of the medical personnel helped lift Bon Bon off of Healing Hooves’ back. “There’s no antivenom for a giant mamba bite anyway,” Healing Hooves said as he followed the nurses wheeling the gurney down the hall. “We’ll look at the wound,” the doctor said. They all entered the resuscitation area. “But if it was a mamba and there’s no antivenom, then I’m sorry—” Healing Hooves cut him off. “I’m a natural healer,” he said. “There’s one thing we can try.” The doctor’s voice grew cold. “With respect to your profession, there are no herbs or spells that can substitute for an antivenom. Without that, the chances of a pony surviving a mamba bite – especially after the onset of paralysis – are zero.” “We are not giving up on her!” Healing Hooves shouted. “Listen – we’ll attempt CPR, but unless you misidentified the snake or this was a dry bite, there’s nothing we can do.” The nurses began to treat Bon Bon. “No! There’s nothing you can do, but I can! I’ve studied this! I need a clean 5-cc syringe, 5 cc’s of distilled water, and a 10-cc syringe with a hypodermic needle! Now!” The nurses briefly looked at the doctor. He shrugged slightly. “Redheart and Snowheart, continue CPR. Nurse Youngheart, go get him those things.” As Nurse Redheart kept performing chest compressions and Nurse Snowheart retrieved a CPR bag, Healing Hooves levitated the saddlebag off of his back and removed the rubber-covered jar along with a tiny vial of adjuvant. The doctor said, “Would you like to tell me why you think you know how to treat the untreatable?” “I may not have gone to med school,” Healing Hooves said, “but I ask that you respect the fact that I also got my cutie mark for my ability to heal ponies.” Nurse Youngheart returned with the syringes and a small beaker with the distilled water measured inside. “This is the giant mamba’s venom,” Healing Hooves explained as he removed the rubber from the jar and drew some of the liquid into the smaller syringe. He then added the venom to the water, poured in the contents of the vial, and quickly mixed it all together. He drew the mixture into the larger syringe, and to the shock of those watching him, injected the syringe’s contents into his own backside. “What are you doing?” the doctor yelled. “Making an antivenom,” Healing Hooves replied. “But that takes weeks! The venom will kill her within the hour!” “That’s why I’m doing this,” he said and lit his horn. The aura began to envelop his entire body as he cast an experimental spell that neither he nor any other pony had cast before. It was a spell he had originally devised years ago when he was assigned to aid in the capture of the bugbear. Because none of the agents had been stung by the monster, he hadn’t needed to perform the spell and never had occasion to use it since. He closed his eyes as he focused his attention on the magic overtaking his body. “I’m energizing my immune system to accelerate the production of antibodies,” he explained. “If this goes according to plan, we’ll have an antivenom within a couple of minutes.” “But it takes over an hour to separate the plasma from blood. Not to mention needing to extract the antivenom afterward.” The aura around Healing Hooves’ body glowed brighter. “That’s why we’re skipping those steps,” he said. “I have universal donor type blood. I need you to take a gallon of it out of me and use it to replace a gallon of her blood.” Nurse Youngheart gasped, “A gallon? But the standard blood donation is two quarts.” “A pony can lose a gallon of blood and still be okay,” Healing Hooves said. The doctor nodded in agreement. “And since the antivenom is diluted in my blood, there isn’t as much of a risk of overdose.” The doctor looked over at Nurse Redheart. “How are her vitals?” “Irregular. And both of her pupils are constricted.” “Get the transfusion equipment,” he said to Nurse Youngheart. “This is a long shot, but it’s the only one we’ve got.” Lyra burst into the emergency waiting room and ran directly toward the front desk, which absorbed the brunt of her weight as she failed to stop in time. “Where is she?!” Lyra screamed as she got up off the floor. “Where’s Bon Bon?!” Calmly, the receptionist replied, “Pale yellow earth pony mare, blue and pink mane?” “Yes!” “She was just admitted. I’m afraid you can’t see her right now.” “What?! I’m her marefriend!” Lyra’s heart was pounding, although she didn’t know whether it was from running or from the stress of the situation. “She was just taken to the resuscitation area to be treated. Nopony can see her right now. And please stop yelling. This is a hospital.” “Resuscitation?!” Lyra tried to keep her voice down, but only succeeded in lowering it by a few decibels. “What happened to her? How is she?” “We don’t have that information yet,” the receptionist said. “That won’t be available until the doctor has finished treating her, and I don’t know how long that will take. It won’t be for a while, though.” Lyra stood motionless, staring at the doors leading to the hospital’s hallway. “You said you’re her marefriend?” She snapped back to attention. “Yes. Lyra Heartstrings.” The receptionist wrote it down. “And you said her name is Bon Bon?” “Yes.” More writing. “Does she have any family living in the area?” “I’m her family,” Lyra said resolutely. “But does she have any parents or siblings?” “No siblings. She has parents, but not here. I think they’re in Connecticolt right now.” “Are you able to contact them?” “We have their address at home, yeah.” The receptionist looked behind her at the double doors. “I would recommend you contact them.” Lyra looked uncertain. “Why? Is it serious?” The receptionist paused. “It isn’t my position to diagnose patients. I don’t know exactly what happened. But… her parents should be here. As soon as possible.” Lyra glanced away, then looked back at the receptionist. “Are you sure?” “It would be for the best, yes.” “…You want me to contact them right now?” “We won’t have any updates on Bon Bon’s condition for a while. Now would be the best time to do it.” “Okay…” Lyra said. It was difficult to tell whether she was in shock, numb, or if simply all of her adrenaline had been spent. Her heart was screaming at her to stay in the waiting room and wait for Bon Bon to be released. She wanted to talk it over with Bon Bon; let her make the decision. But the receptionist seemed adamant about it. And she was the professional. So Lyra followed the instruction of the hospital employee and trotted back toward her house. If any of the other townsponies said anything to her, she didn’t hear them. She was operating largely on autopilot. When she got home, she went upstairs to their bedroom, approached the dresser, and opened Bon Bon’s personal drawer. She knew that Bon Bon mailed a Hearth’s Warming card to her mother each year, and she knew that whenever her mother mailed her with a change of address, she stored it in that drawer. Soon, she found the envelope containing the most recent letter from Bon Bon’s mother. During all of the years the two of them had been together, Lyra had made a point of never prying into Bon Bon’s… contentious... relationship with her parents. As she picked it up in her magic, she felt guilty enough just taking the envelope from Bon Bon’s drawer. She was glad that she didn’t need to intrude further and read the letter itself. All she needed was the return address. Lyra took the envelope downstairs, grabbed a piece of paper and a quill, and sat down at the table. She copied the two names that appeared in the upper left corner of the envelope. Dear Sugar Plum and Straight Lace, she wrote. She had no idea how to begin. After a couple of minutes of simply staring at the paper, she decided that there was no good way to do it. She remembered that Bon Bon had begun asking her to cosign her mother’s Hearth’s Warming card each year, so if nothing else, Lyra knew that Sugar Plum already knew her name. She decided to go with the direct approach. I’m Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon’s marefriend. Lyra realized that those Hearth’s Warming cards had never explicitly explained what their relationship was. She just assumed that Sugar Plum had figured it out. Well, she knows now, Lyra thought. There’s been some kind of accident and Bon Bon was taken to the hospital. I don’t know what it is yet, but they said it was serious and that I should contact her parents immediately. I know you haven’t seen each other in years, but the receptionist sounded like they wanted you to be here as soon as possible. Unable to think of anything else to add, Lyra signed her name at the bottom and placed the letter in an envelope. After addressing the envelope, she trotted over to the post office. “What’s the fastest delivery to Connecticolt you have?” she asked the stallion behind the desk. “I can send a direct pegasus courier right now,” he said. “It’ll get there in about three hours.” He quoted the price. It was not cheap. Lyra frowned. She had been so excited to receive her share of the profits from her band’s first tour. She was looking forward to doing something special for herself and Bon Bon, as well as being able to be a more equal contributor to the household finances. Instead, she was about to spend a large chunk of the money to deliver a letter. Still, she knew that she couldn’t not tell Bon Bon’s parents. If the situation was reversed, she would want no expense spared to make sure her own parents were in the know. And this was important. So she paid the money. The letter was on its way. It wasn’t until Lyra stepped outside that it hit her. It’s serious. I should contact her parents. … Bon Bon might die. Lyra’s legs gave out beneath her. Lyra didn’t know how long she was on the ground in front of the post office, lying on her stomach in a catatonic state. She didn’t know how she got up, or when she walked back to the hospital. All she knew was that she was currently sitting on a cushion in the waiting room. Sitting next to her was the earth pony she had seen run by earlier in the day. A couple of hours earlier, that pony had come in and asked the receptionist about Bon Bon and another pony. When the receptionist told her that they were both in the resuscitation area and suggested sitting down next to Bon Bon’s marefriend, the earth pony had introduced herself as Gentle Presence. As the two waited, she told Lyra what had happened in the Everfree Forest. At present, lying down on a bench seat next to Gentle Presence was the unicorn, whose name, Lyra learned, was Healing Hooves. He had come out of the resuscitation area being supported by a nurse, who led him over to the seat next to his wife and gave him a pitcher of fruit juice. Gentle Presence had told him that the snake was taken care of and then introduced him to Lyra. He explained to the two of them what had happened behind the doors – how he had created an antivenom and then given a gallon of blood in order to get the antivenom into Bon Bon’s body. He said that Bon Bon was still unconscious. He said he wasn’t sure whether she would recover. Upon hearing that, Lyra had begun to hyperventilate. So Gentle Presence started speaking to her in a soft, comforting voice. Lyra calmed down. A little bit. Just enough to resume normal breathing. She was only able to maintain that state so long as she kept hearing that soothing voice. If Gentle Presence hadn’t been there, Lyra undoubtedly would have been in hysterics. Instead, Lyra was merely on edge. She could not stop nervously bouncing her left front leg. Lyra wasn’t sure how long she sat in the waiting room. It had to have been hours – it had gotten dark outside. It felt like months. There were magazines, but every time Lyra picked one up, her brain refused to comprehend any of the words printed within. The entire time, Gentle Presence and Healing Hooves waited with her. They needed to know Bon Bon’s condition, too. Finally, Doctor Horse stepped into the waiting room for a private conversation with the receptionist. She pointed to the two mares, no doubt identifying them for the doctor. He then stepped over and introduced himself. “How are you doing?” he asked Healing Hooves. “The woozy feeling has pretty much gone away. I’ll be fine.” He looked over at Lyra, her face making no secret of the fact that she was desperate for information. “How’s Bon Bon?” “Unresponsive,” the doctor said. Gentle Presence quietly told Lyra to keep taking slow, deep breaths through pursed lips. “Can we see her?” “It’s still visiting hours, yes.” He led the three into a room in the intensive care unit. After the doctor, Lyra was the first to enter. She gasped upon seeing the pony lying on her back in the bed. Bon Bon’s muzzle was covered by a long strap. Extending out from the strap, centered over her nose and mouth, were tubes hooked up to large machines that quietly pulsated next to the bed. On top of those machines, a heart monitor beeped at slow, regular intervals. Other tubes and wires extended from her forelegs and chest, connected to assorted medical equipment and bags. Her left rear leg was bandaged. The pain that Lyra had been feeling in her soul all day nearly overwhelmed her. Lyra tried to rush forward, but found that once again, her legs had given out. The doctor and Gentle Presence moved to each side to help her back up, then slowly led her over to the left side of the bed. “Be careful not to disturb any of the equipment,” the doctor said. Lyra gently placed her hoof on Bon Bon near her shoulder. If nothing else – and there really was nothing else – it was reassuring to feel that Bon Bon’s coat was still warm. Lyra wanted to do more. She wanted to hug her marefriend, or at least nuzzle her. But all of the medical paraphernalia prevented her from getting any closer. She sniffled as a tear ran down each of her cheeks. Healing Hooves was sitting on the floor over by the door. “How is she doing?” he asked. The doctor looked to Lyra. “Did you notify her parents?” Lyra, still with her hoof touching Bon Bon, turned her head. “Yes,” she answered. “They should have gotten the letter by now.” “Good,” the doctor said. “Hopefully they arrive soon.” Lyra looked back at Bon Bon. “Is she going to be okay?” It was more of a plea than a question. The doctor took a moment before answering. “I can’t say.” The other ponies considered that response for a moment. Healing Hooves was the only one who read between the lines. He replied, “You can’t say because you don’t know? Or…?” The doctor sighed. “Legally, I can’t say.” Lyra turned her head to the doctor once again. “What?” With a genuinely apologetic voice, he explained. “I’m required to keep all medical information confidential. I can discuss it with other physicians on a need-to-know basis.” He acknowledged Healing Hooves. “Unfortunately, even though you helped her earlier, because you’re a healer and not a licensed doctor, in the eyes of the law, you aren’t considered a physician with whom I can discuss her condition.” “But I’m her marefriend,” Lyra said. “She’d want me to know.” “By law, I’m not allowed to share a patient’s medical information with anypony without the patient’s consent. In a situation like this, where the patient isn’t able to give consent, Equestria law dictates that I’m only allowed to share the information with the appointed agent in a durable power of attorney document. In this specific case, because she has no such document, and because she has no spouse or adult children, the default surrogate decision makers – and therefore, the ponies to whom I can disclose her medical information – are her parents.” Lyra put her hoof back on the ground and turned toward the doctor. “But she’d want me to know!” “Unfortunately, as her marefriend, you aren’t close enough—” “We’ve been together for three years! Together together!” Her desperation had turned to anger. Nurse Snowheart stepped into the room to see what was going on. The doctor remained sympathetic in his tone. “I understand. I truly do. But this isn’t my decision to make. By law, her parents are the surrogate decision makers. In the meantime, I’ll do everything I can to treat her, but until her parents arrive, I legally can’t give you any information.” “Make an exception!” Lyra shouted. “Her parents aren’t here! I’m the one she trusts! I’m the one who’ll do anything to make her better! Just tell me what’s happening!” “I’m sorry,” he said, “but I can’t. Now please calm down.” “No! If Bon Bon was awake, she’d tell you to tell me! I need to know what’s wrong with her! I need to know what to do!” With each sentence, Lyra took another step closer to the doctor. Nurse Snowheart marched over and stood at his side. He abandoned sympathy for authority. “You need to get a hold of yourself. If you can’t keep your emotions in check, I’m going to have to bar you from even entering this hospital, and neither of us wants that. There’s nothing that you can do right now. I assure you, we are all working in her best interest and will continue to do so.” Gentle Presence stepped over to Lyra. “Please,” she said to her. “You have every right to be upset. But yelling isn’t going to make anything better. Take a deep breath.” At her direction, Lyra took a few deep breaths. Eventually, she stopped seething. She couldn’t bring herself to apologize to the doctor, but she did turn away from him with her head lowered. The doctor looked at the clock hanging on the wall. “I’m afraid that visiting hours are over for the night now,” he said. “You can come back at nine a.m. tomorrow morning.” He saw that Healing Hooves was still sitting on the floor. “Are you okay to walk?” he asked. “I will be – I just need to take it easy,” he said. “And get some dinner in me – that’ll help.” “We should all eat,” Gentle Presence said. “Come and have dinner with us, Lyra.” Lyra just stood and stared at Bon Bon. Gentle Presence stepped forward. “We’ll be back tomorrow morning the second the clock hits nine. But right now, we have to leave.” Lyra leaned down toward the bed. Softly, she said, “I’ll be right back, first thing tomorrow. I love you.” She carefully leaned over the wires and kissed Bon Bon on the forehead. After they left the hospital, Gentle Presence and Healing Hooves asked Lyra where they could get a late dinner in Ponyville. Their options were limited to either the local Hayburger or the Ponyville Diner, so she led them to the latter. Healing Hooves, mindful of his iron levels, ordered the spinach and citrus salad. Gentle Presence and Lyra ordered the macaroni and cheese. They were in agreement that the day called for comfort food. As they waited for their orders, Lyra said, “So, you used to work with Bon Bon.” Gentle Presence and Healing Hooves shared a nervous glance. Healing Hooves said, “Um… exactly what did she tell you we did?” It took Lyra a moment to understand their reaction. Once she realized the reason for it, she looked around the empty diner and lowered her voice. “I know the truth about the monster agency. Don’t blame Bon Bon. She had to tell me – the bugbear she captured was attacking Ponyville.” Lyra wasn’t expecting the look of fear that suddenly appeared on both ponies’ faces. It was similar to the expression that Bon Bon displayed when Lyra had said “bugbear” years ago. She wondered if there was something about the way she said that word. Healing Hooves spoke first. “The bugbear came back?” “What happened?” Gentle Presence asked. “She said it was coming after her. She jumped out of the window in order to go after it. I should have tried to stop her.” “How did she catch it again?” Healing Hooves asked, still slightly in shock. “She wouldn’t have had the equipment.” “She didn’t,” Lyra said. “Twilight – Princess Twilight, she lives here – and her friends finally managed to subdue it. Something to do with three lassos, an emergency baklava stash, and Fluttershy’s stare.” “We owe Bon Bon our lives,” Gentle Presence said. “We were on that bugbear mission. I was hurt. And it was lunging straight toward us. If she hadn’t fired the net when she did, it would have stabbed us.” Healing Hooves nodded solemnly. Lyra was silent for a moment. “Bon Bon never told me that she saved anypony’s life.” “She always said it was a lucky shot,” Healing Hooves said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that she kept the bugbear from killing us.” “She was trying to keep the bugbear away from me, too,” Lyra said. “She thought that because it knew her scent, it was going to…” Tears began to well in her eyes. The couple glanced at each other as Lyra struggled not to cry. Gentle Presence interjected, “Why don’t you tell us about you.” Lyra used her magic to pull a napkin from the dispenser and dab at her eyes. It took her a couple of seconds to regain her composure. “About me…” she said. “Um… I’m a professional lyrist – lyre player. I’m part of a band called Trots of Life, but you haven’t heard of us yet. I was born and grew up in Canterlot. I moved here to Ponyville about four years ago when I met Bon Bon. We started dating a year after that and… and we’ve been together ever since.” Her voice began to break again. To Healing Hooves and Gentle Presence’s relief, that was when the waitress arrived with their food. Lyra pulled another napkin from the dispenser as the plates were placed in front of each pony. Conversation stopped as the three of them focused on their dinners. A famished Healing Hooves tore into his salad with gusto. Gentle Presence ate her meal at a more leisurely rate. Lyra took a couple of bites, but mostly just poked at her macaroni with a fork. After a couple of minutes, Gentle Presence asked her, “Is there something wrong with yours?” Lyra seemed to snap out of a mild daze. “No, it’s fine,” she said. “I’m just not very hungry.” The other two knew exactly what was going on. Struggling for a way to completely change the subject, Gentle Presence tried, “This is a nice little diner.” Lyra looked around. “Oh. Yeah. It is. We’ve been here a bunch of times. Bon Bon introduced it to me when we were—” “What other food is good here?” Healing Hooves asked. Lyra thought for a few moments. Partially because she hadn’t expected the conversation to shift so suddenly. “I don’t know that they have a signature dish or anything like that. It’s a diner. It’s all diner food. You come here because you know what you’re going to get and it won’t be too expensive.” “They make a pretty good salad,” Healing Hooves said. He took another bite. “And they don’t mind if you make a mess. Heh. About a month ago, Bon Bon and I tried to eat from one plate of spaghetti with the idea that we’d both grab the same noodle and meet in the middle for a kiss. It was impossible to actually do. Even when we deliberately dug out the same noodle to work on, we kept sucking it out of each other’s mouth. By the end, we had splattered spaghetti sauce all over the table and our faces. We looked ridiculous.” Lyra chuckled. But before the married couple could think of any new subjects, her chuckles turned to soft sobs. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I just… it was the thought of never getting any more moments like that with her ever again.” She placed her foreleg on the table in front of her and put her head down on it. She cried into her coat. Gentle Presence simply watched Lyra for a few moments. She and her husband shared a sympathetic look. Finally, she said, “It’s late and it’s been a long day. You should get some sleep so we can head back to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning.” As Lyra struggled to pull herself together, Healing Hooves signaled for the check and Gentle Presence finished the remainder of her dinner. They put Lyra’s macaroni and cheese into a to-go container and paid for the entire meal. As they walked out the door, Lyra suddenly stopped. She said, “I just realized you two weren’t planning on being here overnight. I’m sorry. Of course you can stay at our house.” “Oh no… we couldn’t possibly impose,” Gentle Presence said. “Where’s the nearest hotel?” Healing Hooves asked. Lyra said, “Are you sure?” They both nodded. “Absolutely,” Healing Hooves said. Lyra didn’t argue. “That’d be the Feather Down Inn,” she said. “Just follow the street that way and take the first left. You’ll see it on the left side. It isn’t too big, but the sign should be easy to see.” “Thanks,” Gentle Presence said. “Promise me you’ll get some sleep.” Lyra nodded. Healing Hooves said, “We’ll meet you at the hospital at nine a.m.” “Nine a.m.,” Lyra said. She watched as the couple left for the hotel. Lyra walked back to her house. By herself. It was a long night for Lyra. As soon as she got home and put the to-go container in the icebox, she went straight upstairs to bed. But she couldn’t sleep. It had been bad enough, during her band’s recent tour, not having Bon Bon by her side when she was sleeping on the train. But being able to sense the empty spot next to her in her own bed felt so… wrong. And even though Bon Bon didn’t snore, the fact that she simply wasn’t present in the room made everything seem overwhelmingly quiet. The image of Bon Bon in that hospital bed kept Lyra from falling asleep. And even when fatigue would take over and force her to drowse off, she found herself waking up again less than an hour later. It was a cycle she repeated all night. Finally, at 7:30 a.m., with the sun shining directly into the house, she gave up and got out of bed. She deliberately didn’t look at any mirrors – she could feel the bags under her eyes and didn’t want to see what she looked like. She eventually walked downstairs for a languid breakfast of cold macaroni and cheese straight out of the to-go box. She had thrown away the empty box and poured herself a second glass of milk when she heard a light knock at the door. Lyra froze in place. Her heart dropped out of her chest. Slowly, she set the milk down. She couldn’t think of any reason why someone would be at her house so early in the morning. Unless they had come from the hospital to tell her… She walked out into the living room and opened the door. When she did, she saw an unfamiliar, older-looking mare with a two-toned purple mane. The expression on her face was unmistakably one of sadness. A couple of steps behind the mare stood a stallion who was clearly unhappy. “Are you Lyra Heartstrings?” the mare asked. “Yes,” Lyra said, terror leaking into her voice. “I’m Sugar Plum. And this is Straight Lace. What’s happened to our daughter?”