Fragments
In mere moments, I was no longer in the castle. I kept my eyes closed, listening carefully to the gentle hum that had replaced the buzzing of bugs and rustle of leaves. The old and damp smell of the castle’s floors and wall, along with the refreshing scent of healthy leaves and flowers in the breeze, all vanished and were replaced by dense, odourless air. I took a gentle breath. It was still alien, like the rest of the world that had been manufactured around me in the span of a few seconds. I could feel my mane falling to my sides and spilling across the gelled floor pushing against me. I could feel the very mood of the space change from that of the wild and ultimately dangerous Everfree Forest to something that had been given physical form inside my own mind by magic.
“Fluttershy?” whispered a gentle voice. A saddened sigh escaped me in response. I didn’t want to talk to her right now.
The humming echoed inside my chest, shaking the weight I had pushed into my gut. I tightened my eyelids shut. Nopony needed to see what was buried, nopony could be hurt if I kept it in control and found a better use for it. But there was nopony to hurt. The pressure rose. Tears started to build.
“I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I know you’re angry,” the mare’s voice apologised. “But it was not without the best intentions.”
You lied to me. I couldn’t speak. If I opened my mouth there would be no stopping it, and I shuddered at the thought, and the temptation, to just let it out – to just scream and scream at the voice until the world around me shattered and swallowed me whole. You told me everypony was okay, but they’re not. They’re all gone.
“I cannot say anything more about it, little one. The risk of worsening your condition by speaking too freely is all but a guarantee now.”
But you led me on. You made me want to remember because of what you assured me. The last two meetings came to mind. The soft words about how the mare was my friend, about how everypony wanted to know what had happened to me in the last few months – even the deliberate use of magic to soothe and calm me – had all been used to make me willing to go through whatever it was that I obviously didn’t want to remember. I don’t want to go through the heartache again. I don’t want to remember any more.
“I know how it feels, Fluttershy-“
With a grunt I clenched my teeth, and tears started to slide down my cheeks. How can I believe you? I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it anymore. My friends, the little fillies and colts, even little Spike… Oh Celestia, why did I have to remember any of that? Why do you want me to relive another second of it?
There was a pause in the space. The dense air somehow felt even heavier; the floor seeming like it was sagging under the stress.
“I can’t answer that.” the voice said.
My breaths became ragged and desperate; the floodgates were threatening to burst. I had never been this angry before. I had never felt this betrayed or used. Each breath I took I held onto for as long as possible. I had to keep my emotions under control.
Please. Leave me alone. I need to be alone.
I thought I heard the voice stumble on her words. “I wish I could, Fluttershy, but the spell allows me to see and hear everything, you know that already.”
Then end the spell, I immediately thought.
“Fluttershy!” she gasped, “Doing that will wipe away not just the memories you’ve recovered, but even things from much further back! The damage it could cause-“
I couldn’t control myself anymore. It was too much. In a split second I was off the floor and airborne – staring through glassy eyes into the vast collage of greys and splotches of colour. “Let me go!” I heard myself beg. “Just let me go!” My wings didn’t wait for an answer. As fast as they could, they whisked me up through the shimmering planes and increasingly cluttered collections of shapes. Through misty eyes I saw blurs of colour and distortion whooshing past, but I tore through without paying any attention; I had to get out. There was nothing that I wanted more than being free.
The voice’s screams pierced through, trying to slow me down, “No, Fluttershy! You mustn’t leave!” A blue strip formed out of the formless sky and lunged out for me. I dived down steeply, narrowly missing its touch. The mare yelled again, but this time she was angry, and more tendrils flew out of the abyss after me. “Do you not realise what you’re doing? Stop this instant! Fluttershy!”
There was no turning back. I couldn’t control myself, I couldn’t do this anymore. I had to get out – I had to get out now. Forgetting everything would set me free; I wouldn’t be a prisoner inside my own memories.
There was a spark off to my right, and from it came an inky darkness spreading through the air and fusing with everything it touched. I turned my head towards it, not slowing down for a heartbeat, and watched it mix into somepony’s face. Wait, it was not a pony, it was a Diamond Dog. He was staring straight at me, his yellow teeth showing through a smug and menacing grin.
“Seize the pony!” he cried. “Take her away to the mines!”
The blood drained away from my face, and the pain spurring me on turned into pure terror. With a yelp I turned my head away, flapping my wings as fast they could move to escape. The world around me was no longer grey, it was dark and suffocating. Flame torches dotted the path I flew along, though the light fell on nothing but the forelegs in front of my face. With nowhere else to go, I followed them – they had to lead somewhere, right?
Behind me I could hear the bloodthirsty howls and barks of countless dogs in pursuit, almost drowning out the furious chants of the hunters, “Capture the pony! Tie her down!”
“Why are you doing this?” I screamed over the vicious howls. There were no explanations, only more dogs joining the chase. The chanting grew louder and louder:
“Capture the pony! Tie her down! Send her to work deep underground!”
An iron cage rushed out of the shadows, trapping me inside. The door slammed behind me, announcing what the Diamond Dogs wanted to hear. In seconds the cage was surrounded by dozens of pairs of eyes and sets of grinning teeth. The barks and cries of the hounds rang in my ears, their chant a victory song.
“Capture the pony! Tie her down! Send her to work deep underground!”
My eyes darted from side to side, my hooves hopelessly pushed against the bars. I was trapped. “No, No! Please let me go!” the words barely reached my ears, drowned out by my sobs and the roar of countless dogs peering inside the cage with satisfaction. I hid behind my mane and hooves. This was a nightmare, a horrible nightmare!
I slammed against the walls, again and again, each impact causing the vision to flicker and arc around me. I kicked harder and harder, knocking the breath out of my own lungs. The dogs’ song tried to cut through me, but I wasn’t going to give up. With one final buck, my hind legs broke through, shattering the vision into pieces. I glanced around, catching sight of the dogs fizzling out into nothingness. The sounds died with them, and in moments I was drifting in an endless expanse of bright light and silence, staring at the hole I had opened and been sucked through. Had I escaped? Had I broken free from the spell?
What spell?
My ears twitched, and I spun around to face the source. There were voices, panicked and frightened. I threw my wings down, twisting my body around in the space and propelling me forwards. Gradually the voices became clear enough to understand them.
“What’s going on? Why is this happening?” said a young mare’s voice – or maybe it was not a pony? I couldn’t tell. “She’s in pain. You’ve got to stop!”
Me? Is she talking about me? What was I listening to?
A cold, wet cloth strip was wiped across my forehead, and the shock stirred my senses. I may have been flying in… I don’t know where, but I was aware of another place entirely. I could hear skittish steps scraping on a wooden floor, a number of metallic, shimmering rings in distinct tones, and someone to my far right grunting as if they were lifting something heavy.
“Fluttershy!” another voice rang out, much closer than the last and with a raspy tone fitting for a colt.
He knows my name. How do I know him?
Something gripped my left foreleg, holding on tight and refusing to let go. Four points dug into my leg, and though it hurt, it felt… Welcomed. Everything in my mind went blank, and I brought my gaze to my leg. There was nothing visibly there, but I could feel it. It was as if it were a ghost holding onto me. My wings fell out of sync and left me floating in the light, but I barely noticed. All I could concentrate on was the feeling of another being’s warmth travel up my leg, and the chaos assaulting my ears growing into a crescendo.
“Who let the twerp in here?” A gruff voice called out.
“Let go of her!” another voice joined, falling in with a scuffle of hurried steps. “Waking her would hurt her even more! The spell must not be broken!”
“But she’s struggling!” The boy’s voice snapped back. “She’s already being hurt! Something’s wro-Hey! Let go of me!” There were sounds of struggling, and the grip around my leg tightened. “Just. Let. Me. Sit with her!” he growled. “No!” My leg felt like it burst into flames, the four points digging into my fur before vanishing entirely. I winced and shot a glance at my leg, revealing not a single scratch, but the pain was real. I heard a gasp, and in minutes I felt the wet cloth move from my head to my leg. The coolness of the water mixed with the heat, quickly putting it out.
“Take him outside and calm him down. Everyone else, give us some space.” a mature voice ordered. Sounds of shuffling echoed in the room, all heading to a certain point in the room and fading away. There was a light thud as a door latch fell into place, muffling the voices outside. A steady beat on the floorboards came up to the left side of the bed I was resting on, adding a rhythm to the ringing still playing on the right. My ear twitched and swung around, being tickled by someone’s breath. “Relax, Fluttershy,” the mature, suddenly soft voice cooed. I felt a tiny shock pulse through my veins, occurring in time with a new harmonic tone joining the first. The symphony was not for me to hear though, and was quickly lost entirely under the sudden weight and drowsiness tugging on my muscles. “It’ll be all over soon,” she promised. “Stay where you are.”
Where was I, anyway? Wait… How did I get here?
I turned around in the vast space, and saw a thin blue strip snaking over to me. It was emerging from a hole that had been made in the seemingly endless field of light. Did… Did I come through there? Did I make that hole? The strip reached for me and took a hold of my foreleg – in the exact same place as it was held before. It hooked itself around and tugged gently, pulling me back to the hole it had come from. I didn’t know where I was going, but I didn’t want to go yet, I wanted to know who the voices were.
“No, wait!” I called out, I tried to move my wings and resist, but they didn’t move at all. I peered out into the distance - the awareness I once had already missing – and reached out for something to grab hold of. It was no use. I was going where the strange strip of colour wanted me.
I passed through the broken wall, straight into an unusual, but really familiar, collage of grey and splotches of colour. The hole closed up after me, and quickly disappeared among the clutter of shapes and glimmering strips and flat planes. I remembered this place, I had been here before; but when?
A sharp breath shot into my lungs and stayed there. I felt my head fill with a rush of memories. I nearly forgot everything! The memory spell, what had happened to Equestria, Canterlot, the dragons and dogs, Zecora – everything!
“And you are very, very lucky I managed to bring you back before it was lost for good, Fluttershy,” the unseen mare’s voice said breathlessly. “I hope you have changed your mind after all of that.”
I nodded at the vast nothingness. I had.
“Did you find something enlightening?”
I gazed at my foreleg, at the blue strip that was still guiding me down to the platform below. Minutes ago I had felt someone hold onto me tighter than a newborn critter, but why couldn’t I remember who it was? I swallowed a lump in my throat. What would’ve happened if I awoke as clueless as I am now –or much worse? I didn’t want to begin to imagine.
“Hmph, I should’ve guessed,” the voice said flatly as I touched down on the conforming, transparent floor. “After all, it’s unlike you to be selfish.”
Those words stung more than they should’ve, and in a second my heart felt heavy chains wrapping around it. The blue strip released me and drifted back in the mishmash of desaturated colours, vanishing from sight.
“Now,” the unseen mare said. “Shall we go on? There is so much I want to ask you about.”
I lay myself on the floor, sighing. I felt horrible for losing my temper, but at the same time, I was thankful I had. I had found a new reason to keep remembering what I had gone through, and this time it was something I knew that was real and true. What do you want to talk about? I asked silently.
There was no hesitation in the listener’s voice. “What you discovered in the Freelands – hundreds of miles away from Equestria. Before you remembered everything from your first visit to Canterlot, you remembered being led into the Freelands region by your own Element; the Element of Kindness. You do remember that, correct?”
I did. I remembered the depression I felt, but only now did I understand why I felt that way; I remembered watching countless dragons fly over me, heading in the direction I came from; and I remembered being guided underneath an ancient ruin, deep underground into a dark and dank corridor. What about it in particular? I thought, knowing that the listener would hear me.
“What was behind that stone door? What did you find inside? What were you looking for?” The questions were coming too quickly for me to answer.
“I… I don’t think I knew what I was looking for. I was just following where my Element wanted me to go.”
The listening mare was not convinced. “Hmph, so you followed phenomena that nopony had ever seen before, crossed the border into The Fang, and travelled to The Free Lands region without ever knowing what it was you were being led to?”
I nodded. As far as I knew, that was the truth.
“Did you at least leave the ruin feeling like it was worth your time?” the listener quizzed.
I don’t know. I shook my head, trying to find anything that would jog my memory. I can’t remember right now.
“Well then…” the listener trailed off. I looked up into the grey sky above me, searching for an answer that she was looking for. Hues of pinks and deep blues gently bubbled to the surface, before mixing away and being lost in the grey fog.
“Perhaps there was something to read; a mural or a book,” the mare’s voice piped up. “Or maybe there was somepony there?”
My mouth opened to say ‘no’, but the words never made it to my throat. My hooves felt clammy in their soles, and my ears drooped down under the weight of the icy chill that shot up the back of my neck. My wings jittered, unsure of the swirling feeling in the pit of my stomach. Was I supposed to flee or rush forward? The vast space around me wasted no time in constructing itself into a dark, damp tunnel while I trembled in place.
“Ah, it seems I triggered something,” the listening mare’s voice echoed somewhere distant. I stared ahead, straining my eyes to see inside the dark space the memory had constructed around me. A stone door appeared at the end of the tunnel, and cautiously I walked up to it, certain that I had seen this door before. There were six depressions worn into the pale rock, each with a different symbol emerging from it. Together, they orbited around a carved spiral shape with two stars slightly off from its center. One of the orbiting markings glowed with an arc of magic jittering and jumping between it and me. I looked down, and as I did I felt the soft, long locks of my mane fall away and leave behind a shortened, dirty mop. Around my neck was the source of energy; the Element of Kindness.
The listener’s voice tickled my ears, and I tried to listen out for her, foolishly hoping I could escape this fragment I didn’t feel ready to re-live. My saddlebags swung down over my sides, tucking my wings underneath them, and the coarse, dirty bandage I had around my leg rubbed into my skin. In moments I was completely absorbed in the vision, and planted firmly inside my memories.
Almost too quickly, the magic flowing between my Element and the stone door in front of me ceased. And once again I was plunged into darkness. A whimper escaped into the corridor, and I shuffled to the side and leant against the cold wall. Seconds later, a low, guttural rumble shook the room, and the stone door dropped down an inch, letting through a brilliant golden light. Ancient gears groaned, and the door lowered into the floor, falling flush with the slabs. Before me was a golden barrier, dancing and shimmering like sunlight over a pond, that quickly dispelled and revealed a large room inside.
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I cautiously ambled through the doorway. As soon as my hoof graced the first slab in the room, dozens of torches flared up on the walls and bathed the entire space in light. I shrank back into the shadows of the corridor, whimpering. Hesitantly, I peeked back inside the secret hall. The room didn’t look like a burial chamber filled with mummies and traps like in those nerve-wracking Daring Do books, if anything, it looked like a library. A dozen bookshelves flanked a torn blue carpet going straight down the center of room. Cylindrical columns wider than the average pony towered up to the ceiling, interconnected at the top by strong stone arches criss-crossing among the supports. In however long they had been there, they had kept the ceiling up, but were losing to cracks dripping with water and very stubborn moss. At the far end of the hall, beyond the other end of the blue rug, stood what looked like a stone table - to which a thin beam of light from my necklace shone.
Trusting the amulet more than my gut feeling, I carefully trotted down the middle of the room, glancing down the rows of stocked bookshelves. The room was thick with dust motes and the smell of old parchment, something that I knew would make Twilight excited to explore the countless tomes and scrolls bursting from the shelves. If only she was here to see this…
I quickly dried my eye and blew the dust away from my face. Bowing my head, I hurried along and avoided looking at the books any more.
The tattered rug fanned out in ripped tails, and I stopped a few feet away from the stone table, I glanced over to the left, spotting a pristine wooden table resting close to the floor, with a few dusty cushions placed around it. On the opposite side of the room was a clearer space; a woven rug covered most of the hard floor, and a long work bench up against the wall stood dutifully, carrying kinds of writing and restoration supplies on its dusty surface.
My gaze fell to the stone table, framed by two banners on each side; one depicting a majestic styling of a Unicorn’s head on a faded purple background, and the other showing a green banner with a combination of crests united under a crescent moon and full sun. Finally, my gaze fell to the table in front of me, and nervous shudder coursed through me.
In an instant the room was again a burial chamber and not a library. Maybe this place was just a teeny bit like Rainbow’s books – but there weren’t traps. I hoped. What I was looking at was a grave; a pale sarcophagus sealed by chiselled lid. I closed my eyes, and took a moment to soothe the skittish butterflies panicking in my stomach. Exhaling gently, I took a few steps closer, looking over the symbol engraved on the cold stone. I blew away some of the dust in crevices, revealing the same insignia of a spiral with two stars off from its centre – minus the six orbiting symbols.
The size of the resting place meant that a pony was buried here, and the markings and magical lock meant that they had something to do with the Elements of Harmony in the past. But what did my Element want to show me? It would take decades to read just the books that haven’t been destroyed by water. There had to be something specific to search for, either that or the Element of Kindness brought me here for sanctuary from the dragons, dogs, and the pain of watching my home crumble under vicious claws.
My head drooped down, and a pair of tears fell and disturbed the dust on the floor. The Element of Kindness was still twinkling, and my sight followed the thin strand of light as it bounced around the room. I blinked, and blinked again, making sure it was really landing on where to go next. A silver strand sparked over the room, tracing the crack between the sarcophagus and the stone lid sealing it.
I tripped backwards as if I saw a ghost, stumbling over my hooves and falling onto my back. My eyes stayed glued to the grave, and the thin strand of light from my Element continued to flicker and seek a tiny gap to get inside.
It can’t be, begged my mind. There had to be some mistake, there had to be something else it wanted! The beam momentarily grew brighter, bathing the grave in its glow. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Images of skeletons coming to life and haunting ghosts appeared under my eyelids, making my heart race and my legs quiver and itch to get up and flee. I couldn’t disturb a body. I couldn’t steal from a grave – I could barely convince myself that looting needed supplies was okay.
Slowly I stood back up, and looked away from the pale stone. There had to be some explanation; a reason for all of this. The ruins up top, the banners and architecture in this chamber, and the location of the secret room told of the countless years that had passed since anypony set hoof in this place, yet they offered nothing to explain why I had to come here. It also didn’t explain what it was in the sarcophagus that I had to get to. Why had I been led here? How could I be expected to open somepony’s grave and rifle through it – by the Element of Kindness?
My head drooped down to the tatty rug, tears staining it into a darker shade. I dried my eyes with the bandage on my leg, and looked at how filthy it had become since I had last changed it. With a light grasp and flick of my head, I pulled the wrappings loose, revealing a faint scar peeking through my fur. I sat down on my haunches, and traced the mark with my hoof. I looked at my fringe, frowning at how dirty it had become, too. Quickly I checked myself over, looking at my tail and scuffed saddlebags. How long had I been living like this already? Had it been a few weeks perhaps, maybe a month? Time had marched on without me, the world had changed from what I held onto.
A dirty clump of my fringe fell in front of my eye, and I blew it aside and adjusted my headband to keep it back. I knew I had changed too - but I had to! I couldn’t survive if I hadn’t. I couldn’t keep my promise to my friends and myself if I wasn’t willing to do what it took to stay safe. But was it a good thing? My mind questioned. Would I still be who my friends loved when I eventually saw them again – this life or the next? Or would they only see a far cry of the friend they once had? A thief… I looked up at the sarcophagus. …A grave robber?
My wings twitched uncomfortably. The Element was asking this of me, it wouldn’t lead me astray in a time like this would it? But if I turned back I wouldn’t be a bad pony. Would it be worth the risk of ignoring my own amulet? Could it cost me my own wish to reunite my friends – cost me bringing peace to them and myself?
I stashed the old bandage back into my saddlebags and stood back up. My hooves pattered back to the stone bed, and I swallowed down the same sickly taste I had before. I shot a glance at my Element and saw that it was dull and lifeless – not taking any joy or pleasure from what I was about to do. I hoped it was right about this, and I hoped that all of the ghost stories and assurances of being sent to Tartarus were not going to turn out to be true. I had to trust my Element; I had to trust that it was in the best interest of Kindness – as wrong as it seemed to be.
My sweaty hooves pressed against the side of the slab. With a hurried whisper I begged for understanding, and that my friends wouldn’t hate me for trying to do the right thing for them.
A grunt escaped me as I pushed against the heavy stone. My rear hooves skidded along the floor, but I kept on pushing, quickly wedging my rear hooves in front of an uneven slab for support. The stone seal growled and slid aside, and suddenly leapt to the other side of the enclosure – slamming into the floor and wall with a grating crunch. I slipped and half-fell into the cold container, bringing my gaze to the ancient bones of a Unicorn stallion curled up inside.
Before I could think, I made the mistake of looking up the pony’s skull, and locking my bewildered stare with one of the eye sockets. The ceiling felt like it had fallen on my back, the air had snapped into a harsh chill in an instant. It was me who had done this; I had invaded and violated a dead creature’s right to peace. The skull didn’t move, silently burning its scorn into my soul, staining it with something that would never ever be cleansed.
Screwing my eyes shut, I tore myself away from the grave, retching and dry-heaving to the side, trying desperately to think of something else. I thought of my friends, but all I could see were their skulls staring through me with the same lifeless view. I thought of the Princesses, but all I could see were their skeletal forms towering over me. My lungs were closed off, and I choked and suffocated among the feeling of hateful stares coming from thousands of disturbed souls. Why couldn’t you have just left us in peace? They asked.
I pulled my ears down and covered my head, but their accusing voices still pierced through. How could you disrespect our wishes? The voices demanded.
The chamber was plunged into darkness, and the chilling sight of white skulls and empty eye sockets surrounded me. The skeletal forms of everypony I knew joined the countless judging gazes. I gasped for air, still being smothered by the guilt of the crime I had committed. The voices all spoke harshly and in unison. Why couldn’t you respect the permanent nature of death?
“Because none of you are dead!” I screamed, slamming my hooves into the floor. The grip around my neck vanished, leaving my breaths ragged and curt. The phantoms dissolved and fell to the floor, seeping into the cracks in the burial chamber’s floor. Blindly I stared ahead, ignoring the streams of tears pouring down my cheeks, and listened. The dead silence of the room strained under each breath I took, but thankfully no more angry voices could be heard . The weight of the moment pushed me down, squeezing the anger out of my shaking body and letting it evaporate into the cold, stale air.
I wiped the tears away from my face, and gradually counted to ten. Carefully, I pulled myself onto my hooves once more and turned back to the grave. Avoiding the empty gaze of the skull, I scanned over the body, my eyes falling upon a leather-bound book tucked inside the skeleton’s grasp. A tiny shimmer confirmed that it was what I was looking for, and slowly I leant down to pick it up – whispering a painful apology to the once-at-peace pony. I held my breath, feeling the cold claws of death brush down my cheeks. Delicately I bit the edge of the cover and tugged, and surprisingly the book came away with ease. Without a moment’s hesitation I pulled away from the sarcophagus, and balanced the book on my wing. Without a second glance at the skeleton, I walked over to the large table, and slid the old tome onto the surface. A moment later I pushed a stiff cushion over and carefully sat down, paying no attention to the dust and bugs that had been disturbed.
The book, aside from looking old, appeared to be nothing particularly special. The leather had faded to grey, and the edges of the pages had turned into the colour of rust. I opened the book carefully, revealing pages and pages of hoof-written notes and carefully-drawn diagrams. I looked to my amulet for a clue for which page to read, but it didn’t even shine. Its job was done, and it had become dormant once more.
I began to skim through the book, searching for words or topics that would seemed important. A lot of the notes were regarding weather-changing magic and agriculture and how the author’s findings either supported or invalidated their theories. Other notes talked about a “growing problem with Windigos” and an “importance of pulling together” that the author particularly scoffed at – citing that it took more than just standing together to deal with such dangerous creatures.
I turned a few more pages, and suddenly the tone changed. “No more is my apprentice a mere apprentice,” it said. “Today she and five others are more than that – perhaps blessed by divinity.
“Normally this is not the place for my personal musings, but it is hard to work in spite of the news that the so-called ‘First Friends of Equestria’ wielded power beyond even my own. Normally I would assume that everypony was fabricating a lie to tease the old wizard of House Platinum, but the chestplates they’re wearing now are far too intricate to be a useless prop – and the gemstone embedded in each piece is enchanted with an energy I have never before encountered.
“Details are dubious, however, as to how those six mares came to be wielders of such power. Some self-described witnesses claim a variety of things from rainbows exploding from the ground and bestowing these pieces to their owners, to the mere declaration between the six ponies that their ‘friendship is what will preserve this new republic’. Bah! It’s all flowery nonsense! Comradeship keeps Unicorns (and I suppose other ponies) together, yes, but it is magical prowess – or in the case of those Pegasi, military might – that ensures the defence of a state.
“Even so, I must learn more about those artefacts. Perhaps I could acquire permission to study them from Lady Platinum, or call a favour from curious little Clover. “
Wait. I flicked through a few more pages, and turned towards the open coffin, recalling the symbol on the lid and on the door sealing this place away. This is… Oh my. Oh goodness! I stared back down at the page I had landed on, and carried on reading.
