//------------------------------//
// Chapter 19 - Mind Games 
// Story: A Heart of Change 
// by SilentBelle 
//------------------------------//


A Heart of Change – Chapter 19: Mind Games

By: SilentBelle


I'm sorry, Bloom, Sweetie thought, giving the sleeping form of her friend one last anxious look. I think you'll have to wake up to deal with my antics at least one more time.

Using the magic from Scoddri's shard, she lifted her amulet into the air, and fished the shard out of Apple Bloom's bag. Quickly, she pulled an image into her mind. A room with nothing in it save for a single pallet and the form of a sleeping pegasus.

Sweetie Belle knew where Scootaloo was being held. On their way back from Sky's chamber's, she had been sure to note where the room was in relation to her and had already sent out a small scrying spell of her own, just to double-check. With that knowledge firmly in her mind, Sweetie Belle began to form a spell around herself and Scoddri's fragment.

She constructed a three-dimensional pattern and extended it outward through the walls of the palace until it landed inside the room she was certain held her friend. With no small measure of nervousness, she flared the magic into her spell and in a moment, she felt the nauseating sensation of the world shifting around her, and heard a fine popping sound to accompany her quick movement.

In a moment, the swirling of magic patterns dissipated and she landed with a metallic clink upon the floor of Scootaloo's holding chamber. Assessing Scoddri's fragment, she was relieved to see that the teleportation spell hadn't taken all of the built up magic it possessed. I should still have enough to save Scoots, she told herself, although she silently wished she hadn’t expended quite so much with her teleportation.

Scootaloo was quietly squirming and groaning. It was almost as though she was having some sort of seizure. Sweetie Belle wished she could reach out a hoof and comfort her friend, to soothe her spastic motions to ones of peace and serenity. I'll do what I can! she promised.

Scootaloo's eyelids were closed, but beneath those lids, that poisonous magic once again came seeping out. Sweetie Belle closely noted the pattern and began envisioning how she'd craft her own spell. It was a complicated pattern to be sure, a three-dimensional one, much like teleportation, however it was far more subtle and used less magic overall.

Where the teleportation sigil was drawn in the form of pure magic laced betwixt two nodes, creating an elongated tunnel-like pattern, this spell before her was a series of nodes with laces of magic running in a complex snarl, almost crossing each other and threatening to form new nodes, but not quite. It reminded her of a spider web, and it looked almost as though the pattern was attempting to strangle Scootaloo's mind, with the vile magic that dripped forth from her closed eyes merely being the residue squeezed out from the tightening sigil.

The pattern's so complicated that the bracelet couldn't absorb it, Sweetie Belle determined. This might be the most complex spell that I have ever seen. A vision of the other Sweetie Belle, with her book and Twilight’s fragment crossed her mind for a moment. Well, perhaps the second most complex, she amended. If that other me could cast a spell that complex... Well, I'm not about to lose out to some copy of myself!

“Ah, half-heart girl,” the hissing voice called out to her, cutting through her self-imposed bravado. “Have you come to let me steal you away? And you've even brought a gift with you? How very considerate.” Scootaloo's body began to rise from the pallet unevenly.

“Get out of her! Now!” Sweetie demanded as she pulled as much of the magic from Scoddri's shard as she could.

“She's mine girl! While she had certainly struggled before, she has finally been broken and has given up. I'm afraid you will never see your friend, Scootaloo, again.”

“You liar! I'll save her!” Sweetie Belle quickly weaved the magic, half out of instinct, and half based on what she saw. The sigil formed the same pattern as the one already behind Scootaloo's mind, but Sweetie made sure to keep the colour of the spell true to her own emerald luster. This has to work! I'll save her!

“How very amusing. I'll admit, you have skill girl, and much potential. But if you think you can even compare to my talents, then you are beyond deluded.” Magic pooled from Scootaloo's eyes and formed a quick pattern. Sweetie registered it as some form of restrictive spell, similar to a shield spell that Twilight used to protect their surroundings whenever Sweetie had been practicing a new spell. A spell that will block magic in? He's trying to trap me!

Spurred on by panic, Sweetie shot forth her own magic before the other vile magic could finish forming its sigil. Sweetie's spell struck Scootaloo square in the forehead.

At first, she felt a moment of resistance. Then, in the next moment, she felt a sucking sensation as she was drawn in. It wasn't the same nauseating movement of teleportation. No, it was the sense of falling without direction, and being plunged into a deep inky darkness.

She felt her magic slip from her grasp as the darkness settled in. The world disappeared from around her. She couldn't sense the world, she couldn't interact with it. A single thought punctuated the sudden void. Is this... death?


* * *

In inky silence she felt the void,
Neither cold nor warm.
Everywhere,
Yet nowhere.

She could think.
She could be.
But she could not know certainty,
Or see truth.

She could not struggle
Or move.
Nothingness held her simply.

Death...?
Had she failed?
Doubt and wonder,
Her companions.

I'm living... experiencing death?
Nonexistence?

The silence formed a pang of regret.
Which shifted and changed within her,
To a single thought.
A thought of fury.
Anger at herself,
Her situation.
Anger at the world,
Anger at a voice behind it all.

Anger was all she had.
A reason to struggle still,
With no body or magic.
With her mind she flailed,
To continue on.
To persevere through the darkness.

Scootaloo!

* * *


Sweetie Belle blinked as the world came into view once again. It was evening, and she was standing on the outskirts of Ponyville, upon crest of a small hill. Nearby, Sweetie recognized Scootaloo's poorly kept house. I thought I was trapped... How did I...? she thought for a moment then with a gasp she realized where she must be. This is Scootaloo's mind, isn't it?

“The freedom that comes with imagination...” Scoddri's voice chimed in and Sweetie looked down to see a familiar emerald amulet around her neck.

Wait... my neck? Sweetie let loose a laugh and breathed refreshing evening air. “Scoddri! I have my body back!” She jumped around the hilltop and felt the grass beneath her hooves. It tickled more than she remembered, and almost drove her to a series of giggles. Darn, it feels great to have a body again!

“It's but another prison, comfortable and beautiful though it might be. You'll not be able to reach beyond these walls,” Scoddri spoke the words with tone of deep loathing.

“I know it's not real... but it feels so real...”

“Oh, it's real while we're here. But what does that matter? What purpose does being here serve?” The amulet flashed in his displeasure.

“I can save Scootaloo!” Sweetie interjected, prodding the amulet with a hoof. The motion was accompanied by a satisfying clink. “That's why I came here in the first place.”

“And what then? Even if you manage to save her, you'll be lost in this purposeless world.”

“I'll face that problem when I get to it.” Sweetie looked around. In spite of Scoddri's rather dour outlook on the situation, a small smile reflexively reaching her lips. I can actually look around with my own head.

“That is the only real problem here, girl,” Scoddri muttered bitterly. “We're both still bodiless and trapped inside your friend now. If you do manage to get out, where will you go?”

“I said I'll figure it out later, Scoddri. One thing at a time. Besides, saving Scootaloo is more important than not having a body, or even being trapped in here.”

“By whose metric?” Scoddri laughed bitterly.

“By mine, of course!” Sweetie replied dismissively and made her way to Scootaloo's old house. Did it always look this... drab? she wondered as she gently pushed the door open. She paused as she watched it slowly swing inward with a resounding creak.

Behind the open door, was a darkness, as thick as the one she had just been in before she arrived in Scootaloo's mind. Reflexively, she brought forth her magic and formed a light spell. It glowed brightly, illuminating the frame of the door, but the darkness within remained as inky and immutable as ever.

“What is this place exactly?” Sweetie asked as she tried examining the darkness before her. “Is it safe?”

“It's all an illusion. A prison. The mind of another pony. We don't exist in here, we're figments of your friend's imagination. Safety doesn't matter in here. Nothing does.”

“You know, you really don't have a very optimistic attitude about this whole situation,” Sweetie muttered. “Whatever happened to the Scoddri who was always laughing and helpful?”

Scoddri laughed coldly. “Optimism is for times when there's possibility. When struggling will avail to you your dreams. As dreams live and die, so too does optimism. I don't know what twisted your mind so, that you found my actions to be any form of ‘helpful’. There's nothing I've seen that confuses me more than the way you've deluded yourself over the years.”

Sweetie frowned at the amulet around her neck. “Deluded myself?! I just didn't give up! And why would I?”

“Because the result is the same, girl. Whether I struggle or I sit still, I do not change. Nothing changes.”

“That just means you're not trying hard enough!” Sweetie spat and stepped through the open doorway.

In the next second, she was falling through a cloud, and she reflexively cast the cloud-walking spell and coupled it with a feather spell. Her magic flowed readily, and she didn't even feel it diminish her reserves in the slightest. Right, if I'm in Scoots' mind, then the magic isn't even real, is it? So of course it wouldn't drain me. She pulled herself out of the cloud she had sunken into and took a look at her surroundings.

It was a beautiful morning upon the cloudscape, with hundreds of pegasi in distant cloud-sculpted bleachers. The coloured ponies were too far away to see distinctly. They cheered out in unanimous dissonance. She couldn't make out any specific words, just a sort of veil of excited sound. It always sounded like that, didn't it, Scoots? Whenever you'd be preparing for a race-

In the next moment, Sweetie heard a peal, like a thunderclap. She saw an unmistakable orange and purple blur shoot by her.

“Scootaloo!” she shouted after the pegasus, though her words were quickly drowned out as the crowd's cheering turned into jeering.

“What the hay?”

“Fragments of her memories,” Scoddri said with a laugh. “It's her world, not yours, girl.”

“So was that her, then?”

“Undoubtedly a part of her. You are inside her, girl. Your friend is everything you see around you. It's all a big illusion.”

Sweetie Belle considered his words for a moment. She then imagined the clouds before her beginning to extend out in the direction that Scootaloo had flown. As if responding to her intention, the clouds began to form beneath her and outward, as a sort of sky highway. She took off down the new path, hoping to catch sight of Scootaloo once again.

“Chasing a pony through her own mind...?” Scoddri snorted derisively.

“I'll be the one who decides if what I'm doing is fruitless,” Sweetie Belle said firmly to the voice as she cantered down the cloud path. She felt no fatigue at the movement, and her breathing remained even. “If only running were this easy in the real world, I'd-”

Another crack came from behind her, echoing through the air. She turned to see the orange and purple streak of Scootaloo whip past her once again and quickly disappear out of sight behind a bank of clouds. The following wave of booing followed, and it caused Sweetie's hair to bristle. How can they be so disrespectful, she's flying faster than any of them could even hope to fly!

“Try not to get too wrapped up in the illusion,” Scoddri said dismissively. “It only hurts that much more when it is inevitably wrenched from your grasp.”

“She's repeating it to herself. It's like a bad memory that she's brooding over,” Sweetie stated as she stood on the cloud. “Hmm... then perhaps I could...”

Scoddri made a yawning sound. “Do as you will.”

“I will. But Scoddri, I want to know one thing.” Sweetie prodded the amulet around her neck. “If this is all an illusion, can't you just imagine yourself in your actual body? Why are you still a necklace?”

“You really don't get it girl, do you? There's no point in thinking up a body only for it to disappear. I'm not going to delude myself with these senseless visions of grandeur. Change with no actual effect is pointless. This is a dead world, nothing matters here.”

“Except Scootaloo,” Sweetie said and listened for the sound. Sure enough another peal split the air, and Scootaloo barreled through the sky.

Without any reservations, Sweetie shot her magic up and snagged her friend's tail. Scootaloo stopped suddenly and splintered, as though she were a window and a rock had just been thrown through her. The scene all around Sweetie Belle shattered just as suddenly. The clouds cracked, the open air fissured, and the blue sky fragmented. Between all the cracks, a darkness seeped in.

Sweetie stood there as the world disappeared and one thing took its place. Scootaloo lay splayed upon the darkness that formed the ground, sobbing.

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie shouted and ran over to her friend's side.

“No!” Scootaloo screamed. She jumped onto her hooves, and opened tear-stained eyes. They were wide and afraid. “I said you won't control me! Stop using her you bastard!” Scootaloo spread her wings as she shouted and Sweetie felt a sudden pressure from all around her.

Sweetie Belle realized suddenly, that her body was no longer there. What just happened?

“It's all imagination. As I said, it's ultimately fruitless.”

An idea sparked in her mind, and Sweetie Belle focused on the concept of herself. She forced her mind to think that she existed, she knew she existed. But instead of her body appearing, she felt that same immense pressure bearing against her own will to exist. She's knowing that I don't exist, while I know that I do? She would have laughed at how convoluted it seemed, had the situation not been so dire.

But she didn't disappear entirely. Sweetie felt something at her core, a pattern that she recognized. Scoddri.

Instinctively, she acted against the force that had attempted to erase her. I do exist! She reached down into her will. A will that had been tempered over the years by the imaginings of thousands of magical patterns and crafting them into reality. A will that had carried her through the toughest of spells. She poured her entire focus into knowing that she existed.

She felt the oppressive force being pushed back, inch by inch, and slowly she felt her body beginning to exist once again. A tingling sensation flowed through her as she stepped forward, her form ethereal, yet solidifying with every step she made toward her friend.

“Scoots!” she shouted, as she approached.

“N-no! Don't call me that! Stay back! You aren't real!” There were tears in the mare's eyes. “You can't use her! She's not real!”

She felt the pegasus' will crash down upon her, but she resisted it this time. “Oh, Scoots.” She stared at her friend for a second then rushed over to her.

As she closed the distance, Sweetie Belle leaped, and Scootaloo's eyes dilated in terror. “No! Stay away!” she shouted.

But Sweetie wouldn't let the rebuke diminish her efforts, as the wave of Scootaloo's will crashed against her. She harnessed her will and shaped it until it was a sharp arrow, and she rent through her friend's outburst.

“I-I can't,” Scootaloo's voice cracked harshly as she collapsed to the ground sobbing. “I can't!”

Sweetie landed beside her friend and scooped her into a firm hug. “It's me, Scoots, I'm here to help you.”

“That's what they all said,” Scootaloo cried out feebly as she sobbed into Sweetie's shoulder. “They never leave. They keep coming back. You keep coming back! Striking from the darkness! I can't stop it!”

“Scoots, it really is me! I entered your mind to help you! I'll get that bastard out of your mind if it's the last thing I-”

She was cut off as she felt two stabs of pain blossom on her backside, and two shoot through her belly, and with a sickening snap, she was wrenched from her embrace with Scootaloo. An involuntary scream escaped her mouth as she turned her head to see an enormous snake, with its fangs firmly piercing her body.

“No!” Scootaloo shouted, clamping her forehooves tightly over her ears, and closing her eyes tightly. “No! Not again! You can't die again!”

“It's all so pointless.” Scoddri's bored words shot through her mind, past the sound of her own scream.

It's all in Scoots' head! she managed to remember through the onslaught of pain that wracked her body. I'm not bitten! I'm whole and beside Scootaloo!

In the next instant the pain was gone, a mere memory in her mind, and she was standing next to Scootaloo, looking at the dark serpent who hissed and slithered back into the surrounding darkness.

“Scoots, I'm fine,” she assured her friend and rested a hoof on her shoulder. “He's not going to win. I won't ever back down, not with you at stake. We need to get rid of him.”

“But I've tried,” the broken pegasus said, not looking up to her. “I've hunted him, but I can't push him out. He's too strong. I can't do anything.”

“We can overcome him!” Sweetie shouted. “We have two minds now, it'll be enough to push him out. I have a plan Scootaloo, but it won't work if we don't work together!”

“But you could be a fake.” Scootaloo's body shook. “It might all be a trap.”

“It's your mind, Scootaloo. He can't do anything to you if you don't want him to. You can push him out if you want to.”

“But he always comes back!”

“We'll get rid of him, Scoots!” Sweetie promised. “You know I'd never lie to you! I'll never give up on you, so don't you ever give up on me!”

“I-” Scootaloo blinked and looked up at Sweetie Belle. After a second, she got to hooves shakily. “I won't ever give up on you! You're all I have left!”

“Then let's hunt this snake down and oust him once and for all!” Sweetie moved forward and willed the darkness to reveal the parasitic snake. She knew he was out there and with a wave, the darkness around them turned to a brilliant sky blue, save for a cloud of purest black, fifty feet away. “There!” Sweetie shouted. She sharpened her will until it was like an arrow and shot it forth into the inky patch. The darkness resisted for a second, then it shattered, revealing a blue sky, upon which the snake was undulating.

The snake was first to act and lunged toward them. Sweetie felt a thick pressure press down against her, and her body began to lose its solidity. “You think you can stop me half-heart girl? You can't hope to face a master in his domain!” A thousand poisonous darts shot forth from the snake's open maw, but Sweetie deflected the projectiles easily enough.

She countered the slithering beast with a restricting force from all sides and wove the sigil for an bolt of magical energy. It shot forth with a brighter flash than any lightning storm. And just as she had predicted, the snake vanished before he could be consumed by it. If I were a snake... Sweetie grinned and spun around, lashing out with the knowledge that the snake did not exist even as it approached her.

She was met with an equal force as they tried to erase each others existence. It slipped into a hoof-wrestle of the mind, and it took every fiber of her being to match his will with her own. She couldn't allow her thoughts to stray from that one thought. He doesn't exist!

An eternity could have passed for all Sweetie knew, but she eventually felt her own force beginning to waver.

“I won't give up!” Scootaloo's voice shouted out.

Suddenly, she felt it, like another hoof from behind her own, pushing down on her opponent. The snake began to dissipate, and the force she was fighting suddenly vanished, but Sweetie was expecting it, like a pony letting go of the rope in a game of tug-o-war. She willed the snake back to where he had just been.

She saw the serpent blink stupidly for a second before he was hit by the brunt of Scootaloo's will. “Damn you!” were the final words he managed to hiss out before he disappeared completely.

Scootaloo looked around nervously. “Is he-?”

“He's gone,” Sweetie said adamantly. “Never doubt it!”

Scootaloo nodded firmly, understanding the implications of her words. She paused for a moment as her eyes welled up with tears of relief. “Sweetie, you really saved me! I should have trusted it was you from the start,” she said as she tackled Sweetie to the sky blue floor. “I almost erased you! I'm so sorry!”

“No, don't be sorry,” Sweetie said. “Your doubt kept you safe long enough for me to help you. You saved yourself, Scoots! Anypony else would have given up by the time I got here. You're the strongest pony I know, or ever will know.” Sweetie pulled the pegasus into a tight hug. “You know you're my best friend, and I know you would have done the same for me, anytime. Remember Scoots, you can always count on me to help you when you're in trouble. I'll always be there for you.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah. And I'll be there for you too. I promise!”

The held each other firmly for a while, and Sweetie was content to share in a silence.

Some time passed before Sweetie Belle let a smile blossom on her face and she disengaged from their hug. Then looking down at her body she sighed lightly. “Remember though, this is all in your mind, so I have to go too... I will miss having my body though...”

“We'll find it!” Scootaloo assured her. “We can't give up on that!”

“You're right,” Sweetie said with a nod. “And there's no time like the present. If you'd be so kind, Scoots, I'd like to get back to the real world.”

“You can't leave on your own?” Scootaloo questioned.

Sweetie chuckled slightly. “Well, you see... I may have brought my entire being into your mind, instead of just a spell that I'm controlling. See, that's what that snake was: just a large amount of magic that coiled around your mind poisoning you until you gave up. If he had entered your mind in full... well, I'd be scared to think of how powerful he'd be. He had slightly more strength than even me, and that was just through a spell.”

“You entered in full?” Scootaloo looked aghast. “But you could have been lost in here forever. Nopony is supposed to enter in full.”

“Oh? You know a surprising amount about this, Scoots.” Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “I'm curious, where'd you learn about that.”

Scootaloo shook her head. “It's not that I'm well-versed in this, it's just my mind... this dreamscape...” Scootaloo gestured with her hoof, and the blue void quickly melted and swirled into a many-hued myriad before reforming into an sun-set Ponyville. “It's all in my subconscious, and I'm aware of it. I can control it. Luna once said it was a rare gift, she called me a 'lucid dreamer', whatever that's supposed to mean. And she also taught me all about this place and how it works.”

“So Luna said that nopony should enter another pony's subconscious in their entirety...” Sweetie reasoned. “Hmm, it said a similar thing in that book I just read.”

“Yeah, it supposedly allows you more control over the dream, almost as if it were your dream in the first place, but ponies that do it are no longer part of the world... Of course, it didn't stop you from doing it,” Scootaloo said with a small chuckle.

“Of course not. Rules are made to be overstepped sometimes. And how was I supposed to anchor myself for the spell if I don't have a body? All I am at the moment is a pile of magic, Scoots. I did intend to enter only on a magical level to fight off his mind magic, but I was sucked in here before I could figure out that I wasn't solidly anchored to the amulet.” Sweetie paused for a moment and shrugged. “It caught me by surprise when I entered. And now...” Sweetie chuckled at her own folly. “I can't actually get out of here. I don't have a way to navigate back, but you should be able to let me out, Scoots.”

The pegasus nodded and then frowned for a moment. The scenery shifted slightly. Sweetie suddenly realized that they were standing outside her parents' house. “If you go through that door, it will take you back to the amulet. I know it will.” Scootaloo sighed. “Thank you Sweetie, you really saved me.”

“What are friends for if we don't help out when we can? You saved me back there as well.” Sweetie Belle gave her one last smile before pushing open the door. “I'll see you on the other side.”

“Friends...” Scootaloo muttered, almost with a hint of melancholy.

Sweetie Belle turned around to ask Scootaloo what was wrong, but a pure white light took hold of her from the other side of the door. With only a moment of hesitation, she resolved to ask the pegasus about it later.

In a moment, she felt her body cease to be. Her breathing stopped, her sight disappeared, and there was no longer an airy echo all around her. She submitted to the feeling with no small amount of loathing, although the thought that she had managed to help Scootaloo save herself gave her a great deal of comfort.

I'll find my body again! Sweetie Belle promised herself.

“So you actually managed to escape the prison of a mind,” Scoddri mused with a bitter laugh.

I told you, Scoddri, I'll never give up struggling, because I have dreams, that are worth pursuing, Sweetie Belle thought defiantly. Scoddri, can you still recall the sun? Can you still remember the colours of an autumn day? And can you still see magic? I remember a wise pony once told me, 'As large as any obstacle seems at the beginning, if you choose to persevere then you will overcome it'. Just sit back in that necklace and watch. I'm going to break out of this prison.

“But what will you find beyond those bars, but another, larger prison?” Scoddri laughed at his own words. “It is endless. Oh, but I will watch, girl. What choice do I have?”

The light swirled around Sweetie Belle, flooding her entire being and she left Scootaloo's mind behind.


* * *



Within a cocoon of shadows
She stirred.
Pale moonlight silvered the shadows of her form.

Her breathing, once rushed and sporadic,
Now a calm stream of dissonance.
Clenched, she had been in form and mind.
Relaxing, the tension leaves.

The pain of moving limbs,
Tired from actions unremembered.
She let out a wince
And smiled at how it felt to finally be free.



* * *


“She's waking up!” a harsh stallion's voice said.

“What are you doing, Captain? Lower your weapons.”

“My Prince, but she could-”

“I told you before, you dolt! Scootaloo's not going to hurt anypony!” Sweetie Belle's voice rang true and clear in Scootaloo's ears.

Scootaloo opened her eyes with a groan. Blearily, she looked around her. Two unicorns had lit horns, golden and purple glows. Aside from them, moonlight was the only other source of illumination.

“Hey, Scootaloo. Are you okay?” she heard Apple Bloom ask.

Squinting, Scootaloo sat up and tried to discern the scene before her. Sweetie's amulet was floating in front of her, almost as if she were keeping all the other ponies at bay. A small emerald fragment orbited around the amulet regularly. Past her, Scootaloo quickly spotted Apple Bloom, her mane and tail were not even braided, and she wore a look of worry on her tired face.

Beside her were a half-dozen ponies that she couldn't put names to, although one of them, a white unicorn stallion, his cutie mark looked familiar, a shield with a star in it. She couldn't recall where she had seen it before, it seemed recent, but it was as if a fog bank clouded her memories.

“I'm...” Scootaloo trailed off as she stretched out her wings. It felt like every muscle in her body had been hit with a mallet. “Well, I've been better...” She raised a forehoof to her face and rubbed at the sleep in her eyes then stopped in surprise. It's gone. The burning... the snake... It was Sweetie. The memories from her sleep were not the most lucid, but she still remembered most of what had happened. She couldn't help grateful tears from welling up in her eyes. “It's gone...”

“It?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Him. That damned unicorn's magic. It's finally gone,” Scootaloo clarified.

“See? I told you she's not going to hurt anypony. She's better now.” After she spoke, Sweetie Belle's amulet moved backward and gently settled around Scootaloo's neck, and the fragment of Discord hovered in place beside Scootaloo. “You don't have to keep her locked up anymore. You shouldn't even have locked her up in the first place!”

“Hmm,” one of the unicorns said. Out of all the ponies present, he seemed the least shocked at having to talk to a piece of jewelry. He was a blue stallion with a silvery gray mane, and the brightest yellow robe that Scootaloo had ever laid her eyes upon. Scootaloo was quite certain that his light spell was unnecessary with an outfit that gaudy. She vaguely remembered seeing the stallion's outfit right before she had let the guards escort her back to the palace. “I do wonder how you managed to break such an intricate spell, Sweetie Belle,” the stallion continued.

“I'm more curious as to how she got past two of my best guards!” The bulky, blue-armoured, white crystal pony said, as if expecting an answer. “You do realize that you broke the law by entering this room without permission.”

“I wasn't going to sit by while Scootaloo was being attacked,” the amulet around her neck pulsated in time with Sweetie's speech. “If I didn't come when I did, my best friend could have been broken forever.”

“And that is a very noble deed to have done. I am sorry that we locked Scootaloo up. She will be relinquished from our custody.” Shining Armor stepped forward and nodded to Scootaloo.. “We were only acting in the best interests of our nation. Had we known how perilous our decision was, I am certain we would have chosen differently.”

“My Prince?” the guard captain asked hesitantly. “She broke the law.”

“She did,” Shining Armor agreed. “But she broke it for the right reasons. And she will face some repercussions for that action. But we can deal with that later.”

“Hmm…” the flamboyant unicorn hummed to bring some attention to himself. “How, I do wonder, good Sweetie Belle, did you manage to save your friend? It seems entirely a mystery to me.” His tone carried a bit of an acidic hint to it, which reminded Scootaloo all too much of that very snake that had been haunting her. “I dare say, your actions have rather effectively and thoroughly decimated my plans.”

“Oh?” Sweetie asked back. “You were going to use Scootaloo to try and track down that mysterious unicorn, weren't you, Lord Sky?”

Lord Sky laughed heartily. “Your friend is quite perceptive, isn't she?” The unicorn looked to Apple Bloom with a raised eyebrow. She responded with a rolling of her eyes.

“You were going to use me?” Scootaloo asked, and spread her wings out defensively. She felt an anger kindling inside of her. A stray thought burned in her mind for a second. He wanted to use me, just like that snake!

“We were also looking for a way to isolate that nasty spell that had gotten lodged within you, and to save you from it,” Sky added. “It was never our intent to hurt you in any way. You have to understand that while you were being manipulated, as you were, it did make sense to lock you up while we searched for an answer.”

“But you were going to use me,” Scootaloo repeated.

“Well, you were a... unique resource,” Sky offered with a stilted smile. It was a smile whose teeth Scootaloo was all too tempted to buck in. “You would have been the prime focal point for a scrying spell. We could have tracked the spell right back to its owner. But alas, it would seem that the magic spell is no longer within you, making it a rather moot point.”

“Perhaps that point is moot,” Sweetie argued back. “But you still intended to use Scootaloo without her permission.”

“Use without permission?” Sky countered slyly. “Should we really get into a discussion about 'use without permission'?”

Apple Bloom gave both Sky Chaser and the amulet a nervous glance. “Ah think we should focus on what good we can do from here on in,” she interjected. “There's no sense in arguin' 'bout theoreticals and such.”

“Yes,” Shining Armor said quickly, attempting to defuse another argument before they could continue. “We have to focus on what can be done now.”

“Very well,” Sky Chaser shrugged, though he kept a smile upon his face. “I do think it might be necessary to point out that if our good friend, Scootaloo, here, was inflicted by such... malicious magics, then I do believe it stands to reason that there may be many others.”

“That is very... concerning,” Shining Armor muttered. “And I trust that you have some way of finding out whether this merely conjecture or an actual threat?”

“Your trust is well-placed, my Prince.” Lord Sky performed deep bow. “I am your Scrymaster. If anypony knows how to find something, it is I.”

Shining Armor nodded then turned to his Captain of the Guard. “Captian Snowfall, I know that Sweetie Belle has broken the law here, and we will find a suitable punishment for such an action.”

“The act of saving a friend is punishable now?” Sweetie asked with a snort. “See, this is why I don't live near castles.”

“You watch your tone when talking to the Prince,” Snowfall scowled at the amulet. “He has been nothing but overly kind to you whelps.”

“Yeah, quit it Sweetie. You really shouldn't sass royalty.” Apple Bloom sighed. Then gave Lord Sky a measuring gaze. “So, how are you going to find out if there were others afflicted like Scootaloo was?”

“Oh, I have a plan.” The unicorn grinned and looked directly at the amulet. “A plan that I'm certain your friend might be able to figure out.”

If Sweetie Belle knew what Lord Sky had planned, she certainly wasn't sharing.

“So, that's it?" Scootaloo asked. “What about the pony behind all this, we have to find him and stop him!”

“Would that it were so easy, my brash friend,” Sky said locking eyes with the pegasus. “Such an endeavor is beyond our capabilities at the moment, I am afraid.”

“But if we wait, the snake is going to strike again. We have to hunt it down before it does!” Scootaloo protested. “If we do that, and if he has other ponies...” Scootaloo shivered at the memory of those burning eyes. “If we stop him, he won't be able to do any more harm to anypony else.”

“Indeed.” Sky nodded. “That does outline our plan quite effectively. The trick, however, is finding this pony. And as great as my considerable talent is... I do need a bit more information before I could hope to pinpoint his location so that we might deal with him.”

“And striking him is something we must do with great care. I'm certain my own sister was caught off guard when she and her friends went to investigate.” Shining Armor offered. “This is a threat that we cannot afford to underestimate.”

Scootaloo frowned. “But every second we wait-”

“His influence spreads, yes?” Sky Chaser laughed. “Please, don't fret too much. We have considered all these concerns, my dear. For with every action he takes, that's another plan we shall foil. It's all a matter of out-thinking and out-acting him long enough for us to find him. Then we shall strike him quickly and suddenly, before he can react.”

Scootaloo cut her protests short. What right did she even have to talk about their plan? It's not like I am even part of the Crystal Empire. My opinion is pretty much worthless at this point.

“Alright,” Shining Armor announced, “it's far too late, and we have a busy day ahead of us. Lord Sky, I'd like for you to begin your search first thing in the morning.”

Captain Snowfall looked to Shining Armor in concern. “My Prince, must we place so much of our plan on him? He'll just goof around. Surely the guard can be utilized to help-”

“Captain, the guard is doing a fine job. The ponies feel safe, and the streets are free from panic. If we took them away from rebuilding, the citizens would get worried. We all have pivotal roles to play in overcoming this. While the Empire's guard's may not be as flashy as Lord Sky's role, it is certainly no less important.” Shining Armor sighed. “We must remain united in overcoming this task. Please do understand this, Captain.”

“Of course my Prince. I only wish to help.”

“Ah, I shall so miss our morning get-together. Have a fun meeting without me.” Sky tossed the captain a smile.

“Go choke on a stone, you charlatan!”

Sky laughed at the rebuke, but then nodded to Shining Armor. “Very well, my Prince, I shall get to work on it, first thing in the morning. However...” he paused for a bit. “I must ask that Sweetie Belle assists me in this particular task.”

“You would, wouldn't you?” Sweetie Belle muttered.

Shining frowned at the request. “I am apprehensive to agree to that,” he admitted. “Sweetie Belle is not a citizen of the Crystal Empire. They have asylum while they are here. As royal guests, it would not be right to ask them of such a task. They hold no obligation to us. And rightfully so.”

Lord Sky smiled slyly. “Ah, but correct me if I am wrong. You did say that Sweetie Belle was to receive apt punishment for breaking the law. Why not let that punishment be of the beneficial sort? Have her serve our efforts for three days as a penance of sorts. During which time, she'll agree to aid us.”

“That's...” Shining shook his head. “She's barely more than a filly.”

“Hey!” Sweetie rebuked. “I'll do it on one condition.”

“Oh?” Sky quirked his eyebrows mockingly. “And what might this condition be?”

“I want Lord Sky to assist me in finding something.”

Shining frowned at the request. Scootaloo could tell he was weighing the options. Finally he spoke, “What do you need his help finding? I do not wish to take away from what little time we already have.”

“Well, with my help, you'll be better off for time, even with my request.” The amulet flashed once for punctuation. “I want him to help me find my body. Regardless of whether you accept or not, that's what I am going to be doing tomorrow. If you want my help, then I want yours as well.”

Sky spun his staff around idly in the air. “Are you certain we’ll be able to find it? It might be as fruitless a search as scrying for our evasive unicorn friend.”

“She'll find it,” Scootaloo said, certainty clear in her voice. “We'll find it!”

“Hmm... confidence without reason?” Sky laughed. “How amusing.”

Shining Armor sighed, an action that turned into a stifled yawn. “Alright,” he said. “Sky, you are to assist Sweetie Belle with finding her body, and then you're to figure out whether or not this unicorn's threat runs as deeply as you have guessed.”

“My Lord,” the flamboyant unicorn bowed.

With a nod in return, Shining Armor left the room, with three guards and the captain at his heel.

Sky watched them depart, then shrugged and made for the door himself. “I'll swing by to pick Sweetie Belle up in the morning. Oh, and Apple Bloom, you can join us as well, if you so choose.”

Apple Bloom gave him an annoyed glare.

“I'll take that as a yes.” He laughed and made his way down the corridor, leaving the two mares and the amulet to themselves.

Apple Bloom sighed. Shaking her head, she walked over to Scootaloo. “Darn it, Sweetie. Why'd ya have ta go and break the rules like that?”

“Because Scoots needed help. I wasn't going to let her stay in here suffering alone.”

“You know, I'm right here...” Scootaloo deadpanned, although she couldn't keep fatigue from colouring her voice.

“Yeah, sorry.” Apple Bloom moved forward and gave her a small hug. “Ah'm glad you're alright, Scootaloo. Ah really should have listened ta Sweetie and found us a way ta visit ya that wasn't so... illegal.”

“It's okay. I'm fine now.” Scootaloo moved out of the hug and toward the door. “But I sure could use a good night's rest, with no nightmares this time. That's all I really want right now.”

“I imagine, what with how you were squirming while you were sleeping,” Sweetie mentioned. “I'm actually surprised you can even walk.”

“Wait! How long were you watching me?!” Scootaloo scowled at the amulet around her neck, as a light blush of embarrassment filled her cheeks.

“Well I had to make sure the spell pattern was right, and I had to memorize the sigil so I could use it properly.” Sweetie Belle paused. “So I guess I was watching for a good five minutes at least. Honestly... it looked kind of painful, like convulsions or something. Ah geez, if I had my body right now, I'd shiver at memory.”

“Oh.” Scootaloo's blush quickly subsided. “Sorry you had to see that.”

“And I'm more sorry that you had to go through that.” Sweetie's voice made a sound as though she were clearing her throat. “In any case, I think we should head back to our room.”


* * *


They had made it back to their room without incident, whereupon Scootaloo slipped into bed and almost instantly fell asleep.

Apple Bloom had led them back while Scootaloo and Sweetie seemed content to just whisper back and forth to one another as they followed. The earth pony had let her mind wander for a while as she considered Lord Sky, and wondered just what sort of plan that joker had up his flamboyant, yellow sleeves. What worried her most about him was the interest with which he seemed to have placed upon her.

It still doesn't make any sense after the dinner last night... Apple Bloom thought as she sat down upon her bed. For a moment, she considered the possibility of the unicorn being a genuine fellow. If he actually had my own well-being as integral to his intentions... then it wouldn't be so bad. She thought a moment longer. He's smart, quick, sharp and humorous... But he's also a huge jerk! Ugh! She shook her head. He's bound to give me headaches quicker than Sweetie.

“Thinking about your colt-friend?” Sweetie whispered as she floated next to Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom swatted the amulet out of the air in irritation. “He's not my colt-friend!” she whispered back acidly.

“Ah, but you were thinking of him,” Sweetie replied in a quiet saccharine tone.

“Yeah, but only because he's such a jerk.” Apple Bloom shook her head. “So... care ta tell me what went down after ya teleported away like that?”

“Oh, changing the subject, huh? Well fine... You know, I didn't plan on waking you up with that teleportation spell.”

“Well, it wasn't exactly the most subtle of spells you've ever cast,” Apple Bloom pointed out. “The pop nearly gave me a heart-attack. So Ah imagine ya teleported next ta Scoots. What happened then? Ah mean after ya had fun watching her sleep.”

“Fun?” Sweetie said in mock-exasperation. “Do you know how hard it is to memorize a spell sigil when the pony that the spell is in is spazzing out like that? Seriously, if I had messed that up, it could have been really bad for Scoots.”

“So ya used mind magic, huh?” Apple Bloom sighed. “That is illegal, ya know.”

“Uh, yeah. I was the one that kind of pointed that out to you in the first place. But I didn't have a choice. I wasn't going to let Scoots lose her mind. I'd readily do illegal things if it meant saving either of you.

“Well, I'd prefer it, if you had the choice, to not do illegal things to save my life.” Apple Bloom chuckled lightly, but then she let her expression turn more serious. “So what was it like?”

“It was... different from what the book said it was going to be like. And it was very different from any sort of spell I ever cast before. Instead of just feeling emotions and reacting to them with my own emotions and magic, like the book claimed would have happened, I was actually drawn in much deeper than I had thought possible. It was far deeper than a simple magic spell. But I think part of that is because Scoots is kind of special,” Sweetie explained.

“Special? How?”

“Well, that's kind of not your business, Bloom.” Sweetie replied. “I can't just go sharing other ponies' secrets all the time. Everypony has secrets, you know."

“And you meddling with your friend's mind isn't really your business,” Apple Bloom pointed out. “Don't leave me in the dark like this. I hate it when you two do that. I swear it's been like that for the last three years. You two have all these inside jokes and memories. The way you two are together, it just seems so damn natural... Sometimes it seems like the two of ya have gone on without me.”

“Well...” Apple Bloom could tell that Sweetie felt a little guilty as she spoke. “I don't think she'll mind too much if you find out... Honestly, I didn't know about it until I found out when she explained it in her mind,” Sweetie reasoned. “Turns out that Scootaloo met up with Princess Luna a few times in the past. She said Luna called her a 'lucid dreamer' or something like that. Scootaloo has a pretty large amount of control over her dreams. I hadn't ever heard of ponies doing that before. It was really weird. When I cast the spell, it was like I was sucked into a dream. And in that dream, that dark magic was there in the form of a snake.”

Apple Bloom was more than a little stunned at the information. Scootaloo had been in contact with Princess Luna? Why in the hay wouldn't she mention something as awesome as that? She paused the thought to consider for a moment. Oh, right, this is Scootaloo we're talkin' about. She's not really the most open pony in the world. She was probably feeling sufficiently awkward by being the only pony she'd ever heard of talking to Princess Luna in her sleep. Apple Bloom hummed to herself. Yup, she'd definitely think it was weird... Which means that Scootaloo would probably never tell either of us until the days we died...

“That's... well... weird. So, how did ya get rid o' that magic then?” Apple Bloom asked, to get her mind back on topic.

“How else?” Sweetie asked. “By working together with Scootaloo, of course! It took a while to figure it all out, but eventually I got to her and convinced her to help me out. But really, I was just the distracting change that Scoots needed to purge that magic with her own.”

“Oh? So you didn't actually banish the magic?” Apple Bloom wondered at her friend.

“Nah... actually, I wasn't strong enough. I tried facing the magic snake, but it was stronger than me. Without Scoots, I'd have been destroyed before too long.” The amulet swung like a pendulum for a moment before continuing. “The one behind those spells... He's strong Bloom. If Scoots didn't pull herself together as quickly as she did, I think you'd have two fewer friends right now.” Sweetie let out an awkward laugh. “It just seems so strange to think of it like that. I was seconds away from never seeing you again. Minutes away from Scootaloo never being the same. That bastard almost had her. I'm going to make him pay for that!”

“So it was that close, huh?” Apple Bloom shook her head. “What the hay are we even doing here, Sweetie? This stuff is so crazy. Golems, dragons, mind magic... This isn't something that we were supposed to come across. We aren't heroes. We don't have Elements of Harmony. We aren't the Princesses. Can't we just leave it in the hooves of the bigger ponies? Like the Princesses, or Shining Armor?”

“Hah, Bloom, I didn't expect you'd be the one to start spouting out nonsense like that. You know, as well as I, or even better, that we can't just step out of this now. If everypony doesn't do their best to struggle against this, we'll lose everything.”

“Yeah… you’re right,” Apple Bloom agreed. “It's more than just our problems. Our sisters, this whole kingdom... we have to do what we can."

“And when we can,” Sweetie added. “You should get some sleep, Bloom. Maybe dream about your finely-dressed coltfriend.”

“Oh, not this again!”

“So... you never did tell me what happened on your little date with him. Did he make a move?” Sweetie questioned.

“Oh, by the Princesses! Stop being such a jerk, Sweetie! Nothin' excitin' happened!”

“So, I tell you about my riveting adventure of jumping into Scootaloo's mind, and you just tell me that nothing happened?”

“We had a good meal and shared some drinks.” Apple Bloom shook her head. “That's it.”

“And I'm a half-wit.”

“That's debatable,” Apple Bloom said with a small chuckle.

“Hah! We both know that the whole reason of that dinner was to share some conversation.”

“We did. We talked. He's smart, efficient, and a huge jerk.” Apple Bloom shook her head and scowled slightly at the amulet. “Why do you keep pretending that he's my colt-friend? It's not funny.”

“Look, you know I don't mean it. I'm just joking with you.” Sweetie Belle chuckled lightly. “Hmm, he's a tricky one though, that Sky Chaser. He knows the value of secrets alright, and it seems he's not opposed to blackmail either. Though, perhaps because of that, I can't tell if helping the Empire is really his prime concern. I can't bring myself to like him. You heard what he said. He was going to use Scoots to try and catch the bad guy, when he should have been focusing on helping her instead. He needs to get his priorities straight.”

Apple Bloom grimaced inwardly, but she didn't let it show on her face. That's the thing that scares me 'bout this, Sweetie... If Ah was in the same place as him... Ah'd have probably tried that as well. Two birds with one stone, it was a logical move. It's not that he didn't care what happened ta Scootaloo. No, he wanted ta help Scootaloo. Heck we both know that he was looking up mind magic just for that purpose. Apple Bloom shook her head. Though Ah have no idea why he'd do it. He's not the type o' pony who'd help another without aimin' ta gain somethin', is he?

“Hah,” Sweetie laughed at her conflicted expression. “The only thing you can do with guys like him is to not trust 'em until they give you a real reason to. You shouldn't lose sleep over a pony like him. He's not worth it.”

“Ah guess you're right about that,” Apple Bloom said, yawning. She settled down in her bed. “Ah think a few more hours of sleep is just what Ah need. Good night, Sweetie Belle.”

“Goodnight, Bloom.” The amulet floated away and settled down upon the nightstand next to Scootaloo.

Not trust him...? But that look that Shining Armor gave him... wasn't that trust? I wonder why...


* * *


Both of her friends were fast asleep, and Sweetie remained there on the nightstand with the fragment of Scoddri nearby. She picked it up in her magic and idly studied the pattern within it. Strange... It holds as much magic as about two high quality gems, yet the crystal doesn't dissipate when I use that energy. What's more, is that the energy comes back in minutes.

A certain recollection of the word 'matrices' hit her mind. Perhaps it's siphoning off nearby natural magics, like those matrices that the other Sweetie talked about... Well, however it works, I'm glad it does. It's the only thing really keeping me alive.

“Without it, you'd be as dead as me,” Scoddri laughed bitterly. “You cling to it, yet it's a shackle. A collar. A bar to the prison cell.

I'm not dead, and neither are you! she rebuked the voice.

“Not for lack of trying. Hah! Perhaps it is the more impossible your dream is, the more cruelly fate treats you. For what could be a fate worse than not being allowed to die when your time has come and passed.”

Scoddri, Sweetie thought earnestly, I've always wanted to know... Why did you want to give up? Why did you leave me all alone back in Canterlot?

“If you spent over a thousand years as you are now, except without this fragment to draw upon. Could you last it? Could you bear remaining in a state that is unmoving, unchanging, and with no purpose?”

I... wouldn't give up. The thought sounded almost doubtful in her own mind. I wouldn't give up! I know what I want, and I'll reach it! One step at a time, one bit of magic at a time. She thought it more forcefully this time. And I'll never change my mind on that!

“I too shared that same gusto, that naivety... But now I know... it'll never end. It never has and it never will.”

Well, that's a challenge that I'll take on, just to prove you wrong, Scoddri.

“How I wish those words weren't lies.” His laughter filled her mind. “Oh, how I wish!”


* * *


Scootaloo sat upon a soft cloud. The dream was hers, and she knew it. There was no insidious voice calling out to her, no nightmare to run from. It was just a peaceful night sky filled with stars, and the soft call of the crickets echoing up to her.

She lay back and relaxed. She actually came into my dream. Scootaloo still couldn't believe it. Her heart beat faster as she remembered how the scene had unfolded. 

“Remember Scoots, you can always count on me to help you when you're in trouble. I'll always be there for you.”

Her heart settled back down and she considered the words. “She'll always be there for me, huh? Do I dare ask her?”

“Scootaloo,” a voice called out across the night sky in a deep, yet calming tone.

Scootaloo looked upward and watched as a crescent moon popped into existence. She smiled as the Lunar princess descended to the cloud that she rested upon.

“Princess Luna,” Scootaloo said happily. But her smile quickly flattened into a frown as she saw numerous scrapes and scratches upon the princess. It almost looked as though she had been traveling through the Everfree Forest for a while, or some equally perilous trek.

Instinctively, Scootaloo pushed out with her will and imagined that Luna wasn't as weary and she wasn't covered in scrapes and nicks. As she thought those thoughts, the Princess regained her usual splendor. But only for a second.

Luna shook her head, and the blemishes returned to her body. “It is best that I do not forget what state my actual body is in,” Luna explained.

“But what happened?” Scootaloo asked. “How'd you get so... worn?”

“A lack of sleep, and some troubles in Canterlot. But I was more worried about you, Scootaloo. I could not see your dreams for nearly a week. It was most troubling... I am most glad to see that are present once again, and not lost as so many others.”

“Wait, you couldn't enter my dream?” Scootaloo asked in confusion. “But... then he must have hidden my dreams from you? I didn't think that was possible.”

“Of whom are you speaking, Scootaloo? Do you know who is responsible for all the missing dreams?”

“Missing dreams...? But then that must mean-!” Scootaloo gasped. “How many are missing?”

Luna let out a desperate sigh. “Perhaps a hundred by now. It's spreading like a disease. Children, mares, stallions, or anypony else, it seems not to matter who. Child, please, if you know who is behind this, do speak.”

“We don't know who,” Scootaloo admitted and got up to pace around the cloud. “But whoever he is, he tried to take out the Crystal Empire. He even managed to poison my dreams with his foul magic. I was almost overtaken.” She shook her head. “If it weren't for Sweetie Belle, I would have been lost inside my own mind forever, being stalked, hunted and haunted.”

“So you were one of the lost, but you came back?” Luna asked as she watched the pegasus pace about the cloud. “Pray tell, how did you manage to do so?”

“It was Sweetie Belle, she used a certain magic to enter my mind. I think it might even have been based off the spell that that damned snake used. She was in here, as strongly as I was. Together we overcame the snake, and I banished it from my mind.”

“So then, you and your friends are in the Crystal Empire? I should like to hear about what has transpired.”

“Yeah, we're trying to find the guy behind this and stop him. But if he's doing this in Canterlot as well... he really could be anywhere. This might be worse than anypony would have guessed.” Scootaloo concluded.

“It might very well be.” Luna stared off into the distant stars as if she could make out some pattern that existed amongst their lights. “I shall inform my sister and leave her to deal with the crisis in Canterlot, and I shall fly north as quick as I can. Come morn, I shall arrive. Thank you, Scootaloo. I shall see you soon.”

“A crisis? Wait, you're going already? Can't you tell me about what's happening back home?”

“I will explain when I arrive. Every moment counts now. I must depart.” Luna said curtly and she bowed her head.

With a flash of light from the moon, Luna was engulfed in the silvery beams, and in the next moment, she disappeared from Scootaloo's dream.

A crisis in Canterlot? I don't like where this is going... Scootaloo was tempted to just wake up and tell Sweetie Belle about the news, but she could tell that her body still needed more rest. As Luna had once instructed her, years before, she decided to listen to those words of advice. Do not rush from your dreams child. Wake when your body is ready, lest you ruin the entirety of the day with thine own hasty actions.

Instead, she took to the skies of her dream world and let the winds sooth her wings for a while. She made sure to check on her body's state every so often. She loved being in a dream like this one. Here, she could fly free, even as her body rested in the gentle embrace of sleep. Scootaloo chuckled to herself lightly as she flew upon the cool winds. “I guess the princess isn't all that great at taking her own advice. She sure looked like she could use a good night's sleep.”


End of Chapter 19