//------------------------------// // Girl's Night Out // Story: A New Dimension, A New Threat // by ZeroChill //------------------------------// “Are you sure you want to do this?” Mono asked Lith, who was placing a sachel of bits on a belt around her waist. “Of course I want do this. It’s a good way to develop better bonds with other females of this world. Besides, this is probably the first time I’m doing something like this with other Pokémon as well.” Lith reasoned. “Maybe you should have a Guy’s Night Out with some other male members of H.O.R.S.E.” Mono’s eyes glanced towards the side of his head and a small frown formed on his mouth. “I know, but I don’t really know much of anyone.” “That is more of a reason why you should hang out with other members of H.O.R.S.E. Who knows, you might even make some more guy friends so that you can have others you can trust.” Lith pulled out a black tablet and held it away from her face, displaying a screen that revealed a list of mug shots of various contacts. “So what are your plans for the evening, Lith?” Mono asked. “Nothing much. We’ll all meet in the residential courtyard. From there, we’re going to see a movie, do a bit of shopping and meet over at Spitfire’s place for some Stratego. We’ll gossip and, you know, confide secrets with each other.” Lith responded. “Alright, Lith. I trust you will do well tonight.” Lith walked through the doorway of their room and turned her head back so that her eyes met Mono’s eyes. “I’ll be fine, Mono. Now, I want you to do at least something tonight. I know that Custard’s going to be alone tonight. Maybe you two can do guy stuff?” Lith stepped into an open location nearby the residential buildings. The ground was basted in the moon’s ethereal light. Plants swayed along a gentle breeze, brushing past their petals with a cool temperature. In the center of the area sat a statue depicting five stars, each one spitting out rushing water that plummeted into the basin below. “Everyone should be here by now. It is eight o’clock.” Looking down onto the hologram on her left wrist, Lith said. Spitfire appeared from the northwest, walking her way towards the center. Her mane is more relaxed and her clothing was foregone. Lith smiled, running up towards Spitfire. “Spitfire!” “What are you still doing in your uniform, Lith?” Spitfire asked. “I wanted to look good this evening and make it feel more like my own.” “Fair enough. So… everyone should be getting here soon.” From the nearby residential buildings, Hydrangea and Strawberry Delight hopped off of the balconies and landed on the ground. “Woah, almost lost track of the time.” Strawberry Delight shouted out, giggling afterwards. “Time flies when one is taking a nap it seems.” Hydrangea noted. “You know, this might actually be the first time I don’t see the two of you with that heavy armor on.” Lith stated. “Your strength definitely betrays what I imagined the each of you to look like under there.” “Because you really only see us with our armor on. Didn’t you see Razor Wind and me at the party two days ago? We were in civilian clothing.” Strawberry Delight inferred. Her eyes drifted towards Strawberry Delight’s flank. An image of a group of strawberries covered in golden honey was depicted upon it. “So… who else is supposed to show up?” Hydrangea asked. “From my list of contacts, we have Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Applejack to go. I tried contacting Pinkie Pie, but she doesn’t seem to be picking up. Fluttershy said she won’t be able to come with us because she doesn’t like to go out into Neo Canterlot at night.” Lith explained. “That definitely sounds like Fluttershy. It’s funny because she would rather be out in the field than within Neo Canterlot.” With a keen smile, Spitfire stated. “What about Fluttershy?” Twilight Sparkle stated, walking from the north with Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “I apologize for being three minutes tardy, Lith. But, I was still stuck on deciphering the DNA your brother gave me.” “It took us many tries just to tell her to come here before she freaked out about the time, too.” Applejack argued in. “Eh, we’re all still here right?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Not yet. We’re still waiting for Jasmine and Gnasher to show up.” Lith responded. “Who?” “Oh, that’s right! Ol’ Rainbow Dash never met with Jasmine or Gnasher. Won’t she be in for a surprise when she sees them!” Applejack chided in. From the west, Gnasher and Jasmine walked into the courtyard, not wearing their clothing. Gnasher grimaced and Jasmine shook her head with worried eyes. “I apologize for being late, everyone. I was trying to help Gnasher take her clothing off.” Jasmine explained. “Luckily, Jasmine taught me how to take them off. They look nice, but I had a difficult time taking them off.” Gnasher noted. “Oh dear. I may have made the clothing a bit of a tight snug.” Placing her right front hoof on her face, Rarity stated. “Don’t bother yourself about it, Rarity. Now I know how to take them off, and I shouldn’t have any problems in the nearby future.” Lith looked into Spitfire’s face with a soft smile. “So, what movie did you have in mind to watch?” She asked. “There’s a movie out right now that H.O.R.S.E. lent its defense aid to. It even starred Hydrangea here in a role.” Hydrangea’s neck backed away, her eyes widened to a pool and her teeth clenched hard upon hearing Spitfire’s words. “Please, not that movie! I wasn’t even trying to act!” She pleaded. “It can’t be that bad, Hydrangea. Lots of movies have actors and actresses who couldn’t act. You wouldn’t be anything worse than them.” Lith noted. “Please… just don’t laugh at me when my role comes up on the screen.” Shaking her head with a frown and looking down onto the ground, Hydrangea requested. The group of ten walked down the sidewalk of a street. Cars flashed by them with blurred speeds and lights, creating images of phantasms. The streets were peppered with lights flashing down upon the ground and illuminating the entire area. Colorful advertisements, static and animated, and various Equusians littered the walls of the street. A hologram flashed in the air, displaying symbols of an eagle and of a shimmering shield along with the numbers ‘23’ and ‘32’ underneath them. The group came across a vibrant front of a building with a tall sign flashing and rotating through neon colors. On the sign, it was listed as ‘Neo Canterlot Cinema’. A stream of Equusians migrated into the theather to the front. Lith stood staring at all the colors assaulting her eyes. Her mouth opened at a slug’s pace, taking in the sight before her eyes. “Hey, Lith, are you coming in?” Spitfire asked. “Y-yeah.” The inside of the theater looked several times bigger on the inside than it did outside. The walls were painted in white and posters the size of billboards hung upon the massive walls. Rainbow Dash curled her lips, whistling with delight. “Looks like the whole place is packed tonight!” Lith eyed all of the posters, and a shiver of unfamiliarity rushed down her spine. “So which movie are we watching again?” “This one.” Spitfire responded, pointing to a poster with Hydrangea and a blue stag standing flank to flank in front of a fiery explosion. The poster red in earth-shattering letters ‘A Hoof-full of Pain’. Hydrangea slammed her hoof in her face. “Can we please not watch that? It’s embarrassing.” She requested. “It shouldn’t be that bad. At least it isn’t some action martial arts movie where all the characters are speaking out of sync with their lips.” Lith said with lightheartedness in her tone. “That is… exactly what it is.” Applejack and Rainbow Dash pursed their lips hard, straining her hardest to suppress the giggle rising from their voices. “That settles it, Hydrangea; we have to watch just how bad the movie is just so we can laugh at it.” Rarity announced. “Who knows? You could be much better on the screen than how you were during those filming sessions.” Strawberry Delight teased. “I do find it hilarious to see some cheesy action flick.” Jasmine noted. “I can’t wait to do my own voice-over for the movie!” Gnasher snapped. “Please, Deus, just end me.” Hydrangea uttered under her breath with a furious red rising in her cheeks. Mono lied down upon his bed with his body sprawled out. He sighed with his half-lidded eyes. He sat up on his bed, looking around all the corners in his room. “I guess maybe Lith was right; I could probably use some guyfriends to hang around with. I’ll check to see if any of the male Pokémon are available.” A knocked on his front door echoed from the outside. Mono jumped down from his bed and sprinted down towards the living room. He opened the door, revealing the figure of a smiling Soarin’. “S’up Mono?” “Just a bit lonely without Lith, Soarin’. What are you doing here at my door?” “Nothing much. I just wanted to see if you are up for a small party that me and a bunch of other guys set up. I know you aren’t really the sociable-type of being based on how I saw you act at the party, so it’s gonna be a small gathering.” Soarin’ offered. “Well… Lith did say I should have a Guy’s Night Out and this does sound too convenient to be true. What’s at the party anyways?” Mono asked? “Well, we’ve got a Cinnagog Warriors Fighting Tourney going on with the grand prize being a new Spidercube Gaming Console. Then, we’ll spend the rest of the night seeing movies of intense violence and sexual content if you’re into that sort of thing.” Soarin’ explained. “Are you suggesting a night of debauchery?” “Does it sound like I’m offering some child stuff here? Your buddies Rondo, Stereo and Custard are in the party as well!” A wide-eyed smile appeared on Mono’s face. “Sign me up for whatever is at the party then!” Hydrangea sprinted out of the screening area with a reddened blush on her face. The rest of the group emerged from them with a chorus of laughter bellowing out of their voices. “And now, I shall destroy your face by blowing it up with my open hoof strike!” Standing on her right leg and lifting her two arms into the air, Lith said while moving her lips out of her words’ sync. “Be prepared for the Hi-Ha-Ti-To-Ten!” Rainbow Dash shouted, arching her hind legs and pulling her right front leg behind her shoulder. “Oh! Let’s not forget the part when Hydrangea said ‘My Grandfather died in dishonorabu battur against you! Now I wirr make you commit Sudoku!” Gnasher teased in a higher-pitched voice, bringing another rise of laughter out of the crowd. Hydrangea rolled her eyes. “Okay, that was the director telling me to say the line like that. I honestly thought it was stupid and it should have never made it into the final product.” “You should be lucky, Hydrangea; not many people get to be in movies.” Lith responded with an earnest smile. “Actually, they do.” Spitfire argued. “The film industry is always looking for people on the streets. In fact, some Civilian Requests we get for H.O.R.S.E. involve bringing our agents onto the set to act for a movie. I may give actually give you two a request by the same director when she decides to make another kung-fu flick.” “And then we get to make humor with your lines.” Rarity added, causing Lith and Gnasher to radiate a red blush on their cheeks. “We don’t have to do that… right?” Lith asked. “Who knows? It’s all up in the future.” Spitfire responded, smirking with a sinister air around her. Everyone but Lith and Gnasher chuckled at these words. “That isn’t a funny joke!” Gnasher stated. Mono and Soarin’ ambled through a doorway. The two of them were greeted by a small room with violet lighting and a hologram tv set towards the side of the room. In the room, they saw Rondo, Stereo, Custard, Razor Wind, Big Macintosh and a white unicorn stallion with blue eyes and a blue mane and tail with an image of a blue shield with a pink star in the center. “Hey there, Soarin!” Rondo called out. “I see you brought Mono like we requested.” “You did say he would be alone tonight, and we just can’t let that happen.” Soarin’ responded. Mono walked towards the group, sitting on the floor next to Rondo and Custard. He gazed at the unfamiliar stallion in the room. “Pardon me, but I do not think I have seen you before.” The stallion turned his head towards Mono, his lips pursing into an inviting smile. “My name is Shining Armor. I’m the head of the Heavy Armor and Exo divisions. My sister told me all about you today, Mono.” Shining Armor introduced. “And who is your sister?” “I’m sure that she was the one who gave you a tour of H.O.R.S.E. this morning.” Mono nodded with an open mouth. “I’m in her R&D Division. Also, what’s an exo?” “You’ve been hearing how everyone was calling those machines ‘mechas’ right? Well, they have a name known as exo, but we have gotten used to calling them mechas. Expect the two to be used interchangeably.” Shining Armor explained. “So what’s someone like you doing here?” Mono asked. “Why, I’m here for the Guy’s Night Out. Even married stallions have to hang out with other guys from time to time. I’ll tell you more about my wife later, but I want to get this night started! Bring on the Cinnagog Warriors Tournament!” Shining Armor screamed. “I’m excited too, but it’s nothing worth yelling over.” Custard called out. “Awww you need to lighten up and have some fun, Custard. I’ll thrash you in that tournament! I always beat Stereo when we played video games back home.” Rondo screeched. “Not true! I won forty percent of the time.” Stereo corrected. Soarin’, Big Macintosh and Shining Armor chuckled at the tension between the Pokémon. From a closet, Soarin pulled out two rectangular boxes littered with buttons and having a large stick with eight points on its base to the left. Mono’s eyes widened at the sight of the behemoths, glossing over at the colorful array of buttons on it. “This looks like a fighting stick.” He noted. “And you’re surprised? This is the only way how we Equusians can play at an equal advantage.” Soarin’ interjected. “Now, who wants to start this thing?!” The group of females walked out of a ten-storied building made up of windows with flashing neon lights. In her left paw, Lith carried a brown bag made of paper. Using her magic, Twilight Sparkle levitated several bags over her head. “Wow, what kind of stuff did you buy?” Lith asked. “Nothing much. I just bought some materials I could use for personal research.” Twilight Sparkle responded in a rush, flashing a sheepish smile. Lith stomped her way to a white bag littered with pink polka dots. She lifted a magazine out of it, which depicted an ivory-coated unicorn stallion with deep green eyes, a rough and wet mane and tail hued in a light and dark yellow and a small but seductive grin. The stallion had beads of sweat dripping down his chiseled face, chest and legs. ‘Playfilly’ was written out in pink and elegant lettering. “Playfilly? Is this what I think it is?” Lith asked. Twilight Sparkle snatched the magazine from Lith’s paws and hid it behind her body. “Yes it is. I kind of get lonely sometimes when I’m researching, so I have to keep myself occupied with other-” She began saying, clearing her throat with a loud-enough sound. “-activities to stimulate my brain and body.” “Wait! They have the new issue of Playfilly already?!” Strawberry Delight shouted, galloping over towards Twilight Sparkle. “Yeah! This month’s issue stars Blissful Aura on the cover, some interesting articles depicting society and best of all, several images of the hottest males in Neo Canterlot!” “You have got to invite me over your home so that we can look over that magazine!” Rarity and Rainbow Dash giggled underneath their breaths at the sight of the two unicorns fawning over the magazine. “Rainbow Dash, please remind me to never succumb to such temptations to where I sound like a giggling schoolfilly.” “Will do, Rares.” Gnasher and Jasmine scratched the tops of their heads which were tilted. Their eyes flashed a glint of confusion. “Playfilly?” Jasmine asked. “It’s our world’s equivalent to Playgirl, which is an adult magazine meant for the enjoyment of women.” Lith responded. “Ah. Everything makes sense now. So what did you buy, Lith?” Gnasher asked. Lith opened her brown bag, pulling out an iron-cast figurine of a sitting cat with big eyes. “It’s nothing much, but this object kind of reminds me of my parents. May Arceus keep their souls at rest…” She looked down onto the ground, ignorant on her surroundings. “Equus to Lith; are you here?” Spitfire asked. Lith jumped back into life, looking at Spitfire’s face and smiling. “I’m alright, Spitfire. Now, I think it’s time we all head over to your place for some talking and Stratego.” Mono’s eyes strained and his teeth were clenched. His right paw tapped at the buttons underneath at light speed while he throttled the stick at a furious pace. On the screen, a violet-coated earth pony stallion with an oversized sword that is curved to a vicious maw followed all the movements of Mono’s controller commands. The character slashed apart a white pegasus stallion in blue robes with a series of slashes, all of which are done within milliseconds from each other. Soarin’s face dripped with sweat while he tilted his stick away from the area where his character was. He tapped a myriad of buttons with a whine of desperation rising in his voice. Mono imputed a down-quarter circle motion on his stick and pressed the crossroads of four buttons with his right paw. On the screen, the sword belonging to the violet character grew several times its own size, filling the battlefield. The character slashed the other character, leaving behind a series of shockwaves. What remained of the green within that character’s bar depleted into red. Soarin’s character lay on the ground. A large chorus of cheers erupted from the audience. Rondo, however, pouted and looked away. “Mono! Mono! Mono!” Everyone cheered. Soarin’ sat by his controller with his jaw dropped to the ground. “Since when did you learn to do all that?!” He asked. “I’m pretty good at 2-D fighters. It’s one of the genres my family and I invested my time in after all.” “I still can’t believe I got knocked out in the very first round by Custard of all contestants!” Rondo complained. “That was actually kind of surprising. You usually never played video games with us.” Stereo noted. “I normally prefer playing 3-D platformers, but I do indulge a bit in some other technical types of gaming.” Custard responded, flashing a shy smile. “But, there was no way I could have beaten Soarin’.” “Well, that was exhilarating to watch. Now it’s time we move onto the other fun stuff!” Shining Armor stated. Big Macintosh blinked his eyes, and his body shuddered with anticipation. Soarin’ held his front left hoof’s ankle out, tapping on the center of the watch. The hologram of the game disappeared, revealing a blacked-out hologram. Spitfire’s living quarters were brilliant with lighting. Everyone gathered around a table, waiting with anticipation as Spitfire and Rainbow Dash moved their pieces. Rainbow Dash smirked, moving one piece over to Spitfire’s piece. “My Marshal takes out your General. What will you do now without your General in the game, Spitfire?” She asked with an ego-inflated tone. “Always narrow-sighted to tactics, Rainbow Dash.” Saying these words, Spitfire moved her piece towards Rainbow Dash’s General and flipped it over. Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped. “A spy?! You had that hidden next to your General all this time?!” “Of course! I knew you would go after my General once you got rid of my Marshal. It is simple tactics like that which make me the commander of H.O.R.S.E. after all.” “I don’t know about you, but it looks like you’ve also left your Flag Piece unguarded and Spitfire is ready to take it with two of her scouts.” Rarity noted. “What?! No way! I’ve been beaten like that?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “It seems like it. Even if you take out one, the other one will still give me victory.” Spitfire explained. Rainbow Dash groaned, slamming her face on the table. Spitfire took all the pieces on the table and placed the red ones in one zipping bag and the blue ones in the other. She folded the board and placed it into the box. “So, now that we’re done with the games, it’s time to get into the juicy topic of this night; gossip and sharing secrets.” Lith stated, sitting down on the floor. “Now, let’s talk about what members of the opposite gender and otherwise have sparked our attention. Gnasher will go first.” She said, pointing towards Gnasher. Gnasher hopped back from her position, tilting her head towards all directions of everyone in the room. “Exactly where are you going with this, Lith? You know that I don’t care about that sort of thing.” “Really now? Then why do I always see you blushing madly whenever Custard approaches you?” The entire room filled with a clamor of gasps in bated breath, followed by a ring of ‘ooohhh’s. “I absolutely have no possible idea on what you are getting on about, Lith.” “Oh don’t I? Then why was it that you enjoyed dancing with Custard two days ago to that song?” Lith teased. “Look, Custard and I have agreed to keep it as just friends.” Gnasher then tilted her eyes to the left and right. “But… maybe a part of me wishes that we were more than just friends. I mean, he’s very sweet and has one of the gentlest spirits I have ever seen. In all honesty, I find those traits extremely hot in a Pokémon. But, that’s enough about me; what about you and Fei?” Lith giggled with a nervous smile on her face. “F-Fei… and I? D-don’t be ridiculous, Gnasher!” “I have read your e-Diary without your permission before, Lith. One of the major themes in there was your entries dedicated to Fei. You used some very colorful language that should not be said around children, too.” With a devilish smirk, Gnasher responded. “Y-you read my e-Diary, Gnasher?!” Lith shouted, her white-furred face turning beat-red in color. “What else was I supposed to do when I was bored and didn’t feel like playing with the others?” “Who is this ‘Fei’ fellow Gnasher keeps talking about?” Applejack asked. “We want all the juicy details. Don’t hold back now, darling.” Rarity egged on. “Fine. Fei is a fellow scientist that worked in the Opelucid Laboratory with us.” Lith began, clasping her paws together. “He is such a cute guy who always went out of his way to tend to Pokémon in need. He had great skin and a brilliant head of brown hair. He always called out some of the most adorkable things ever and wore the nicest glasses that had a cute lens flare to them.” “Wow, he does sound amazing! But, that can’t be all to him can it?” Hydrangea asked. “Nope. Like Miss Blabbermouth here said, I have entire entries of my diary dedicated to him. During the times we interacted, he always made it clear that he does not like fighting or using any sort of machinery for violence. Ironically, he’s very gifted in martial arts. But, there is a nasty rumor going around that Fei might actually have romantic feelings for his Sylveon, Sophia.” “And that is a problem why?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “Well, in my world, Poképhilia was a bit of a hot button issue. It is banned in the world and is punishable through imprisonment or worse. I personally don’t have any problem with it, but I cannot accept the fact that someone other than me has Fei-Fei all to herself like that!” Lith explained, her voice rising to anger near the end. “Fei-Fei?” Rainbow Dash asked, giggling at the nickname. “That is also in her e-Diary. I’ve also talked with Sophia about these rumors and she claims that they are just rumors. But she also said some interesting things about your brother, Lith.” Gnasher claimed. “I don’t want to hear those things between my brother and Sophia, Gnasher! Before this conversation gets any more awkward, are there any Equusians that got your attention, Twilight?” Lith asked. “Just one. He’s a pegasus in the Exo Division who goes by the name of Flash Sentry.” Twilight Sparkle revealed. “Hah! I knew it!” Rainbow Dash called out. “Can you help me, though? He’s multi-talented and is always willing to do community service. Plus, he knows his way around an Exo. I just wish he knew his way around me.” With a slight blush in her cheeks, Twilight Sparkle revealed. “I guess it is my turn to reveal who I like.” Rarity asked. “That Keldeo fellow, right?” Strawberry Delight asked. “Wait a moment, did you just say ‘Keldeo’?” Lith asked in a voice escalating into shock. “Yes, do you know him by any chance?” “Not really, but he’s actually one of the legendary Pokémon in my world.” “That is a strange coincidence, Lith. But, as I was about to say, I’ve had my eyes set on that unicorn for a while now. He appeared on the outskirts of Neo Canterlot about eight years ago, seemingly orphaned. I was actually the first to be his friend, mainly because he was very shy around others like your brother is. Now that we’ve grown older, I find that he has such an air of nobility and is always willing to protect those that cannot protect themselves.” Rarity stated in a calm tone. “It’s not really a surprise to us that she likes him, though. He’s always been a bit weird, but she was practically his first friend. If you want to, he’s usually in the Magic Division or in the Interceptor Division.” Hydrangea said. “I’ll take that as a note.” Lith stated. “So Applejack, do you have anyone you like?” “Can’t say I do. I’ll let you know when I find someone I like.” “I don’t really like anyone either.” Rainbow Dash responded. “It seems like I am also on that ship of females who are not infatuated by anyone in particular or are not in a relationship. All I know is that Spitfire is dating Soarin’ and Strawberry Delight is dating our teammate Razor Wind.” Hydrangea stated. “I’m also with you on that, Hydrangea. I’m just happy being a wonderful friend to others.” Jasmine responded. Lith checked the watch on her wrist, which timed at twelve o’clock. “Have we really been out this late? I got to get to bed!” “Well would you look at that? Time flies when you’re having fun it seems.” Spitfire stated. “Now, I expect all of you to report to the headquarters before nine tomorrow.” With these words, everyone began disbursing out of the apartment. Mono, Rondo, Stereo and Custard up the stairs to the higher tier of the apartment complex, all grinning with joy. “That night was better than I thought it was.” Mono said. “Did you see how Razor Wind acted when those scenes of gore and carnage came up? It looked like he wanted a piece of the action.” Stereo added. “I don’t know why, but I really enjoyed hanging out with my fellow males. Perhaps we should do it again some other time.” Custard said. “Alright then.” Mono split from the group and walked towards the door. A light shined from underneath the crevice of the door. He hummed to himself, pulling out a card from a bag on his waist and sliding it through the slot. The door opened. “Seems like you had a good time tonight, Mono.” From within the hallway, Lith appeared without her clothing. “It was nice. How did your night out go, Lith?” “Better than I thought. I also learned more about Neo Canterlot than before. For example, did you know that everyone here has been involved in stardom at least once?” “No I have not. That is a very interesting fact.” Mono responded. “So, what did you do with your night?” “Played some video games and watched some films of extreme violence and sexuality. You should have seen the look on Rondo’s face when he lost to Custard. It was priceless.” Lith’s face contorted, holding back a force of laughter in her mouth. Her lips burst open and her chest contorted back and forth. She slapped her knee with her left paw. “I could already imagine the look on his face. You should have saved a video on your watch, Mono.” “I already did that. I will make sure Rondo never lives it down.” “Oh, speaking of secrets, I’ve heard from Gnasher that Sophia has said some interesting things about you. Is there anything you have to say in that regard?” Mono’s muscles froze upon hearing Lith’s words. “In what context?” He uttered out. “I’m not exactly sure, but it’s implied to be a romantic one.” Mono held his mouth shut. He stomped his way straight into the hallway. He glanced back at Lith with a stone-frosted expression in his eyes. “We will not speak of this again, Lith.” Lith took a step back with her face’s nerves paralyzed in surprise. Her tails slumped down. “Mono…?”