Bruce had been thinking hard on how he should proceed. He heavily suspected his hypothesis about Dimple and his family was correct, all that was left was to confirm it. He could try taking it to the police, but if he was wrong it would mean he had harassed his family for nothing. His current plan involved revealing his knowledge to Dimple and seeing how he reacted, the only problem was location. If he did so inside their house he would be deep in enemy territory.
Thankfully he didn't have to think on it too long, a knock on the door proved to be opportunity in the form of a bouncy pink pony. "Hey there little guy! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'm here to personally invite you to an impromptu town wide carnival I'm throwing celebrating the last day before school gets back in session!"
"But it's not summer vacation, it's just the weekend." said Bruce.
"Exactly! That's why we need to make it so special!" Pinkie Pie's logic escaped Bruce. "Anyway it's gonna be super duper funerific! So bring you family, bring your friends, you can even bring your enemies and we'll make them your friends!" Pinkie gave Bruce a flier with all the attractions listed.
"How did you put all this together in one day?" Bruce asked, only to find the pink one was no longer there. "How can a pony that outlandish sneak away?" Bruce asked to nopony in particular.
"Like this silly!" Pinkie Pie shouted from behind Bruce.
"GAH! What are you doing in my house? How did you get in my house?" Bruce was still getting over the shock.
"It's easy, your attic window was open a smidge! I had to come back cause I totally forgot to mention everything there is free!" Pinkie said, bouncing so high she nearly hit the ceiling.
Bruce looked down at the flyer, "It says so right here."
"*Giggle Snort* Oopsie, guess I didn't have to come back anyhow. Anyway I hope to see everypony at the carnival!" Pinkie Pie left the house in a way only she could, she ran back upstairs, out the attic window and onto the ground thirty feet below.
'Why didn't she just use the door?' Bruce asked in his mind, afraid that if he said it aloud she would return. But he couldn't deny the fortuitous nature of her appearance. This carnival was just the location he needed, a public space but still with isolated locations for Bruce's plan. "Hey dad! Can we go to the carnival?"
*****
Things had gone off without a hitch, Filthy had thought the idea was wonderful and made it a family outing, even Randolph got to come along. Dimple and his family were there too, his parents were off enjoying the tunnel of love ride which left Bruce alone with Dimple. If worse came to worse Bruce felt he could handle himself, and if it turned out he couldn't, he had a special surprise tucked away in his saddle bag.
Still, Bruce was determined to keep an open mind up until the end. "Say Dimple, do you want to ride the Ferris wheel?" suggested Bruce.
"Yeah why not? I still can't believe Pinkie Pie got all this organized overnight!" said Dimple. The carnival truly was a sight to behold, tents everywhere, food stands and clowns. For some reason Bruce really didn't want to be around the clowns. The two boarded the shaky ride, and soon enough they were up top looking over all of Ponyville.
From this scenic spot Bruce prepared himself for his stunning reveal, "Dimple, there's something I've been wanting to-"
"Before you go on Bruce, I have something important I need to talk to you about." Dimple interrupted him, it was a bit like letting the air out of a balloon. "I fully trust you were being truthful with me yesterday, but dead parents still doesn't explain the other oddities in your story. So I've been doing some digging myself, should I tell you what I found?"
"Go ahead, I have nothing to hide." Bruce said smugly.
"Hmm, I seriously doubt that. Because I got curious about your story, about not being from Equestria. So I took a little trip to the courthouse yesterday. You know what I found there?" Dimple asked rhetorically. Panic struck at Bruce, had he found his adoption papers? "I didn't find anything."
"Well yeah I said I wasn't hiding anything." said Bruce.
"I don't think you quite understand, I found nothing. No emigration papers, no proof of citizenship, not a single shred of paper saying Bruce Wayne exists. Nothing, except for a very sketchy adoption form without the approving signatures of the city council. Now this leads me to conclude that you Bruce Wayne aren't quite the pony I thought you were." Now it was Dimple's turn to be smug.
"So I wracked my brain over this and it just couldn't make sense. It's impossible to move about Equestria without generating some paper trail, believe me I know. Compounding this is your behavior which is, odd to say the least. You want to eat food that isn't plants, but that means you'd be a carnivore. And you've also talked about liking being a pony, an innocent if not weird statement on its own. But if I view that in context with everything else I've learned, then I’m led to the conclusion that you are not even a pony at all!"
Bruce was stunned, he hadn't exactly been secretive, but he wasn't being overt about his origins either. "At first I thought perhaps you might have just been some poor Griffon or other carnivorous creature who got turned into a pony using dark magic. But even that wouldn't explain your unexplainable appearance. That is, until I found this!" Dimple pulled out a book from his saddle bag, the title on the cover read, 'An Exploration of Earth.' Behind the text was a tall standing mirror, reflecting in it was what looked like the outside of a high school.
"Wait you know what Earth is?!" asked Bruce, the thought had never occurred to him that these pastel colored horses could have any knowledge of them.
"It's a recounting of Princess Twilight's journey into an alternate universe. During her transit her body shifted into a form more suited for that universe, she describes them as being called 'Humans'. Omnivorous, bipedal and having the same level of intelligence as us. Maybe I’m the craziest pony in the world, but I think that's what you are Bruce. You're no pony at all, you’re a human or at least something like one." Dimple took a deep breath.
Again Bruce was stunned, how on earth had Dimple managed to figure all this out? "I'm very impressed, while the circumstances that brought me here are a mystery even to myself. I cannot deny that all you said was the truth. My name is Bruce Wayne, and I'm a native of Gotham City. And I am not a pony."
Dimple reveled in the confirmation of his crackpot theory, but Bruce didn't let his reveling last. "I have a sneaking suspicion that you aren't a pony either Dimple. I've been doing my own investigation of you and your family, and I’m quite convinced that your none other than a change-" Dimple didn't even wait for Bruce to finish his sentence, he had jumped off the edge of the seat even before his wings were spread.
"DAAAAAAAD!!!" Screamed Dimple, the child desperately searching for his father.
'Well that's about as good as a confession.' Bruce thought to himself. Now he only needed to get off the wheel and alert the authorities. Only he was on the top, and the ride wasn't moving, it seemed the bucktoothed operator was busy hitting on some mares down below. "Damn it! If I don't get off this thing soon then they'll get away!"
Bruce peered over to the nearest car, it was pretty far, "Oh I'm going to regret this!" said Bruce. He then did something incredibly stupid and jumped, five feet, ten feet, fifteen feet, *Thud* Bruce landed on top of the next car, it shook wildly on its hinges. Bruce was now at two o'clock, he steadied himself and jumped again. The wind rushed through Bruce's mane, this whole experience was exhilarating, this time his landing was even smoother.
That didn't mean much to the ponies who were inhabiting the car, "What's happening?" asked a frightened aquamarine unicorn.
"I don't know! Maybe it's an earthquake!" replied the crème colored earth pony mare next to her.
"Hold me!" demanded the unicorn. By now Bruce was ready to make his next jump, instead of heading inward to the next cart he dismounted onto the nearest tent. From the high vantage point Bruce could follow Dimple's movements and evade the crowd bellow. At a high gallop he stalked Dimple all the way to the bathrooms, he carefully remained out of sight waiting to make his move.
"Dad! Dad! We need to go! We need to go right now!" said Dimple, his voice was pure panic.
This immediately set off his father’s danger sense, "Hardnose, what did you do?"
"I didn't do anything, but he knows! I don't know how he knows, but he knows!" Dimple started hyperventilating.
"Alright calm down son, we'll find your mother and then we'll slip through the cracks like we've done before. It'll be fine," Dimple's father said in a soothing voice.
Dimple shook his head, "I'm tired of running every time somepony figure out what we are!"
This seemed like a perfectly dramatic time for Bruce to make his entrance, he dove off the tent and landed on all fours. As he looked up at them he said, "Then stop running!"
Dimple was terrified of the mad look in Bruce's eyes, his father leaned down and asked, "He's the one?" Dimple nodded yes and hid behind his father. Dimple's father craned his neck around to make sure nopony else was around, when he saw they were alone in their little corner he dropped his disguise.
Bruce had to admit, it was terrifying, the pony skin he wore burned away revealing the hard black exoskeleton underneath. The changeling had large razor like teeth, underneath the faux feathers were translucent blue insect wings. With all pretense gone he prepared to strike, his wings were flapping at a high frequency, making an intimidating buzzing noise.
Bruce nimbly dodged the first strike, ducking under as the changeling pounced at him. Bruce pulled out his special surprise from his saddle bag, "I thought something like this might happen, that's why I came equipped with my changeling repellent spray!" Bruce was brandishing an aerosol spray can.
"You expect me to believe that could stop me?" said Dimple's father, his voice had changed considerably. Now it was hallow, with little chirps mixed in. Not at all threatened by Bruce's secret weapon he got ready for another attack.
"Bad choice," said Bruce as he let loose the can, its vaporized contents filling the air. He couldn't place what it was but it was, but it was foul smelling and sticky.
"Gargh! Huegh! Uggh!" Were the vomitus sounds the changeling made any time he neared Bruce and his cloud of spray. "Hardnose go kick his flank!" demanded his father.
"Nopony's kicking anypony's flank!" said an authoritative voice. Dimple's mother rounded the corner, Bruce hadn't really noticed before but she was tall, really tall. She strode up to Bruce yanked the can from his grasp and threw it in the trash. "How dare you spray my husband with mosquito repellent! Don't you know that stuff is toxic?"
Bruce looked down at the ground, he hadn't heard a mother's scolding for so long, he didn't know how to respond. She then turned to her weakened husband, "And you, put your disguise back on! We're in public for ponies sake!" The changeling meekly obeyed the order, in a flash he was once again a Pegasus. "Did either of you even try talking to him before you started fighting?"
Dimple raised an, "But he knew what we are mom! And he-"
"So that's a no then?" Dimple's mother shook her head in shame, "I'm sorry young colt, my family- No we all are very protective of each other. If my husband hurt you in any way, I apologize."
"Wait you’re not going to kill me or stuff me in a cocoon and feed off me?" Bruce asked, genuinely surprised.
Dimple's mother chuckled, "Well I would be lying if I said I've never met a changeling willing to do that. But you’re in little danger of that from me, I'm a pegasus through and through.
"Wait, wha?" was Bruce's justified reaction. Before she could explain further, they all heard a terrifying sound. *Flush* A white unicorn wearing goggles and headphones stepped out of the bathroom.
She looked around and saw the gathering outside, "Whoa, was I holding up the line? Sorry everypony." after apologizing she put back on her headphones and walked away, bobbing her head to the beat.
"Why don't we find a more private spot where we can explain?" suggested Dimple's mother. Bruce wasn't sure why, but he decided to go along and hear their story.
*****
The way in which the family secured a private space was brilliant. Dimple's father manipulated his disguise to make it appear he head a huge gash down one of his legs, both mother and son carried him into the first aid tent. They were weeping and wailing about a criminally unsafe carnival ride that caught him in its machinery. The nurse on hand immediately cleaned and dressed the false wound, and put him on a bed to rest.
As soon as she left he unraveled the bandage, "Praise Celestia, that nurse is a miracle worker. I'm cured!" Dimple's father said jokingly. The whole family shared a laugh at the unsuspecting medic’s expense. Bruce however remained silent, "Right, we were going to explain weren't we?"
"Yes, yes you are." said Bruce.
"My name is Shifty Eyes, and as you already know I'm a changeling. My lovely wife here is Crimson Rain," said Shifty.
"As I said before I'm a Pegasus." said Crimson.
"How do I know you really are a Pegasus? How do I know you're not just lying to me?" asked Bruce.
Crimson rolled her eyes, "Well you could draw some blood and do tests on it. Or you could just take my word, I don't exactly gain anything by lying about my race."
"Oh, I guess you're right. So wait, what does that make Dimple?" asked Bruce.
"Hardnose here doesn't have any shape shifting powers, he's more like his mother than me." said Shifty.
"Well I got the changeling's unbeatable will to survive, right dad?" Dimple asked.
"That you do son, that you do." Shifty said while patting him on the head. "I suppose you'll be wanting to know how this all happened, right?" Bruce nodded yes, "Well it all started when I was sent out by the hive as an advanced scout to Cloudsdale. It was my job to analyze the city for weaknesses, figure out ways in which we could undermine their defenses and overall prepare the city for an invasion."
"So you're a spy then." said Bruce.
"Was a spy, as part of my cover I started dating the most beautiful mare in Cloudsdale I could find." Shifty was making googly eyes at Crimson, Dimple was mock puking. "One day she caught me without my disguise, normally that's when I'd cut and run. But to my surprise she begged me to stay."
"I had been afraid to admit it, but I couldn't stand to live without my Shifty. It didn't matter what he looked like, to me he was handsome." said Crimson.
"I soon found that I couldn't live without her in my life either, so we were married. The hive was all for it, after all it's rare that somepony wants to give a changeling their love willingly. A year later and Hardnose was born, we were content, our growing little family in Cloudsdale. It didn't last though, to this day we don't know who tipped off the authorities but somehow they figured out what I was." said Shifty.
"What happened?" asked Bruce.
"We just barely escaped with our lives, they tore down our home and put up signs saying 'Bug Lover' and other slurs." Crimson said with spite. Bruce was sickened, he knew things like this happened in the world he came from. But it was almost unthinkable that it could happen in this world.
"Cloudsdale is a small city so we knew we couldn't hide there forever. So we fled, and it's been this way for eight long years. We move in, start fresh, then somepony catches on and we narrowly escape."
"That's awful!" sympathized Bruce.
"Last year things changed, I got a new mission from Queen Chrysalis no less. She was planning the largest takeover in changeling history, Canterlot, the seat of power for all Equestria. I was to take my family and move into Canterlot, and look for an opportunity to kidnap Princess Cadence." explained Shifty.
"Dad didn't kidnap her, he only told the other agents when to grab her." Dimple said, trying to justify his father's actions.
"Queen Chrysalis promised us we would have a home in Canterlot that nopony would ever be able to take away from us. She promised allot of things." The Shifty said with anger.
Crimson took her stand beside her husband, "The plan was a colossal failure. The wave of magic that Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armour created sent my Shifty, Chrysalis and every changeling in the city flying off into the badlands."
"It took seven whole days of searching that desert to find him, daddy's exoskeleton was cracked and he was too weak to carry himself." His eyes were filling with tears just remembering it, "That B*#@% almost killed my daddy! I'll never forgive her!" Dimple said with fury.
Crimson looked at Dimple sternly, "Dimple watch your profanity."
"Your right I'm sorry." said Dimple.
"After I was recovered I cut all ties with the hive. Now even among changelings were outcasts." said Shifty.
"Since then we've been hiding out here in Ponyville, trying to keep as low a profile as we can. I hope you can understand Bruce, but we don't mean anypony any harm. We only want to be a family, nothing more." said Crimson.
Wild thoughts raced through Bruce's mind, thoughts on justice, what true justice meant. These ponies were admitted spies and traitors, but they had been through so much injustice. Did they deserve what they got? Did they deserve the full punishment of the law? 'They are criminals, they should be arrested!' screamed a voice in Bruce's head.
But Bruce defied that voice, it would be anything but justice to bring more hardship to a family that had already faced so much. "Alright, you have my word that this will never reach the authorities." All three of them gave a relieved sigh, "But there is somepony I do need to tell."
Shifty cautiously asked, "Who?"
*****
"Father, can I ask you a question?" asked Bruce.
"Go on ahead m'boy!" said Filthy, he was busy enjoying some cotton candy from one of the vendors.
"Well it's about my friend Dimple and his family. They have a... delicate situation, and they need help." Bruce said, not sure how to bridge the issue.
"Aw, you’re wondering if we can lend some charitable assistance? You don't know how proud that makes me son! Are they here at the carnival? I'd like to meet them if I could." said Filthy.
"They are hanging out in the first aid tent, but there's something I should tell you first. Dimple's father he's-" Bruce motioned for Filthy to come in close, "-"-He's a changeling."" Bruce whispered.
"Oh is that all?" asked Filthy, not acting surprised in the slightest.
"Wait, your not surprised or angry?" asked Bruce.
Filthy chuckled, "Bruce m'boy have you ever looked out in a crowd of ponies, only to see five or six of the same pony? Changelings are very talented, but they’re not exactly the smartest. It truly is a shame, their situation now. There has always been bigots and ponies afraid of changelings, but they royally screwed themselves with that botched invasion."
"Is there a war going on?" asked Bruce.
Filthy looked around at the town he so dearly loved, "On paper Equestria isn't at war, but after what they did to the captain of the guard, if a lone guardsman came across a changeling. I reckon they'd kill them sooner than talk with them. It's trying times we live in son."
Bruce was shocked to hear this. Was his father exaggerating, or was that truly the state Equestria was in? "So are we going to help them?"
"Like I said, I would like to meet them first." Filthy saw the anxiety on Bruce's face. "But as long as there not plotting the downfall of Ponyville, it would be wrong not to help them. Why don't we head over there and you can introduce me, eh?" This seemed to put Bruce at ease.
The son led his father to the tent, Dimple and his family were still there, waiting patiently for him to return. "Shifty, Crimson, Dimple, I'd like you to meet my father."
"The names Mr. Rich, charmed to meet you all." Filthy said with genteel manor. "My son says you're a family in need of our aide, is that true?"
Shifty was unsure how much Filthy knew already, so he played it close to his chest. "Yes, because of our... circumstances, we live in poverty."
"Dimple, I believe your name was. Would you mind sitting outside with Bruce for a few minutes? Your daddy and mommy need to have some grown up talk with me." asked Filthy.
The two foals exited the tent and waited on a bench nearby, there was an awkward silence between the two of them. Both had done things to the other they now regretted. Dimple was the first to break the speech embargo, "Bruce, I want to apologize for digging into your personal business. It was wrong of me, especially since you had been a friend."
"I'm sorry I forced you into the situation that I did, I never even considered what kinds of trials you and your family had faced. I just blindly pushed ahead, not thinking about the consequences." said Bruce.
"Do you want to try being friends again? I'll understand if you don't." said Dimple.
"No I do, I like being around you Dimple, your clever and you understand me." Bruce said with a warm smile.
"Same here, except your like ten times smarter than I ever was!" Dimple said with enthusiasm, "So I guess that leaves us with our profile projects. What are we going to put down, obviously we can't be truthful."
"Yeah even if we weren't arrested immediately, I doubt we'd even get a good grade. I guess I should come up with a cover story for where I come from, where's a city full of crime?" asked Bruce.
"Fillydalphia has some really nasty neighborhoods, believe me I had to live there." Dimple suggested.
"Alright so you put down it happened in the mean streets of Fillydalphia. What about your back story?" asked Bruce.
Dimple raised a hoof to his chin, "Well everypony already knows I've lived in tons of different places. How about, we had to move for my dad's work? That's a plausible story."
Both colts memorized each other's covers for use in their projects, "Bruce?"
"Yes Dimple?"
"Do you mind if I ask about where you actually come from?"
"No I don't mind, there's not that much I remember though. Gotham was huge, no matter what time of day it always seemed dark. Evil seemed to thrive in that darkness, it was choking the city."
"Huh, sure sounds like Fillydalphia to me."
"Jeez you really hate that city don't you?"
"Yes I do, that place was a S@*# hole."
From inside the first aid tent Crimson's voice was heard, "Dimple! What did I say about profanity?"
"Sorry mom!"
That interjection put a bit of a damper on the conversation, so they just went back to sitting in silence. After a few more minutes of waiting the three adults emerged, all wearing happy smiles. "Are we going to help them dad?" asked Bruce.
"Why don't you tell him Shifty?" said Filthy.
"Mr. Rich has kindly offered me a job at Barnyard Bargains. Starting tomorrow I'll be working as a bag colt." said Shifty, he wasn't ungrateful, but it was a bit of a waste of his skills.
"Hey, if you do a good job, I'll see to it you get promoted to bag stallion." said Filthy with a prance accent. "But more importantly, should it come to pass that their cover gets blown, I can use my influence in the city council to make any documentation get misfiled into the shredder."
It was an odd feeling, this was the same kind of edge of the line behavior as before. But Bruce's conscience wasn't bothered this time, but he wondered if it was because it was being done on the behalf of ponies in unfortunate circumstances or if it was because his morals were being dulled from being around his new family. He had a feeling these thoughts would be occupying his mind tonight, either way right now he was happy.
*****
The next day at school was a glad one. Bruce and Dimple gave their presentations to the class, both of them receiving praise for a well put together and well delivered report. And to their surprise they also enjoyed listening to the other student's reports as well, it was like a little snapshot of everypony's hopes and dreams.
Dinky wanted to become a mailmare, Snips wanted to be a puppeteer, Berry ... well she had some interesting goals to say the least. Finally it came time for Diamond, she took center stage if front of the class and spoke up. "Today I'll be telling you all about our fellow student Apple Bloom, a pony who I have not seen eye to eye with in the past. But that doesn't mean she has nothing interesting about her."
Diamond pulled out her notes and began reading from them, "Apple Bloom is quite lucky to have a large extended family all over Equestria. You could travel to any farming town in Equestria and find an Apple Family member. She has a talent for construction and engineering, and even rebuilt the abandoned tree house on their property."
"She also enjoys trying out new activities with her friends, searching for her cutie mark, caring for farm animals, learning about her family history and meeting new ponies." Diamond finished that page and looked out to see how she was doing.
Apple Bloom's jaw was on the floor, The other crusaders were stunned as well. "This can't be Diamond Tiara, right? Some really nice body snatcher crawled inside her skin to give her school report. It's the only way this makes sense!" said Scootaloo.
Diamond turned over to the dislike page, "While Apple Bloom neglected to give me a full list of her dislikes, I feel I know her well enough to list them for her." Diamond turned to Ms. Cheerilee, "I hope that's alright?"
"By all means, it was on Apple Bloom to give you what she wanted in the report." Ms. Cheerilee turned to Apple Bloom, "Please follow the instructions next time."
"Thank you Ms. Cheerilee, Anyway Apple Bloom dislikes being called a blank flank, she's very impatient and thus hates having to wait, she is more than fond of her sister and does not appreciate ponies making fun of them, and the same goes for her club. Most of all Apple Bloom hates me and Silver Spoon, perhaps it's justified hatred but I'm willing to be the bigger pony and offer my sincerest apologies. I'm holding out the olive branch, will you accept?" Diamond smiled a cunning smile, even in making peace she would have the upper hoof.
If Apple Bloom accepted her offer then Diamond would be praised for her selfless behavior. If she refused then it would only reflect badly on Apple Bloom. The crusaders all looked to one another for answers, "Well, what do we do girls?" "I don't know, how am I supposed to know?" "Diamond's our mortal enemy, why is she doing this?" "Ah don't like it, it smells rotten." "Yeah more rotten than... what's something that's really rotten?" "The breakfast I tried making for Rarity!" "Yeah it's more rotten than your cooking Sweetie Belle!" "Hay! I've gotten better." "But if we take her up on her offer, then maybe she'll stop bullying us!" "That would be nice!" "Alright let's try it, Cutie Mark Crusaders Peace Makers YAY!!!"
"*Ahem* Ah accept your apology." Apple Bloom said with tact.
The whole class erupted into applause, even Ms. Cheerilee could be seen wiping a tear from her eye. "Very good Diamond Tiara, very very good! I'm so proud of you!"
"Why thank you, and I hope in time me and the Cutie Mark Crusader can become the best of friends." Diamond had to turn away and gag out of reflex, "Sorry, frog in my throat."
After class Bruce, Silver Spoon Dimple and Diamond Tiara were all walking to the crossroad together. Bruce couldn't help but contain the joy he was feeling. "I just gotta say that was great sis! And I'm so glad you’re putting the past behind you."
"It was a calculated move, after you went to bed last night Silver Spoon and I kept working on the project. We realized if my report was going to work we needed something huge to end on." said Diamond.
"Wait that was just a con?" asked Dimple.
"What can I say, these ponies are suckers for a happy ending. As long as it's sunshine and roses at the end you can get away with pretty much anything before then." said Diamond, she saw how shook Bruce was by her callus statement. "But I did mean what I said, we'll leave the 'Lamesader's be as long as they don't piss us off."
This put Bruce's mind somewhat at ease, "So what did everypony get for a grade? I got a B-, needed more detail."
"A+, like I said brother, sunshine and roses." Diamond said while waving her paper around, the big red A and gold star stickers were glistening in the sunset. "I gotta say though, that was really fun. You think if I try harder in everything else I could get grades like yours Bruce?"
"I know you can! Anytime you need help with your homework just let me know." said Bruce.
Silver Spoon added, "Me too, were like besties so I'll be there."
"Yeah just give me a call and I'll be there to help." said Dimple.
"I don't even know you!" said Diamond, "But thanks anyway."
Pretty soon they all hit the fork in the road, Dimple walked off to his family, Silver Spoon to hers. In the fading light Bruce Wayne and his beloved sister walked home to Rich Manor. It had been a long day.