Blood soaked Tails's gloved hands as he tried pushing himself up from the ground. He had to push himself up, and get back up on his feet to fight on, but he was afraid to look up. The once glorious landscape of Mobius was shrouded in dust and brown after its transformation into desolation, without a living plant or breathing soul in vision's reach. It wasn't what he expected, especially for what was taking place only hours prior.
The Brotherhood of Darkness had done it after years of failed attempts. No more were their games of victory played, but instead Galvatron lead them to a full-blown assault with all the dark forces he recruited throughout the years. Their combined power was too great for the unprepared heroes of Mobius and Team JAG, especially with their resources scattered thin across the dimensions. Even the power of Chaos Emeralds and several warriors' Super Saiyan abilities had failed them. Sonic, Shadow, the Master Four, the Phantoms, and so many others were nowhere to be seen, nor could their energy be sensed.
"Oh, what do we have here? Still trying to stand a fight against me?"
Galvatron, the towering giant standing over the wounded fox, looked down at him amused. The sight of Tails broken and beaten down was one of glory and triumph for him and all he worked for, after he managed to defeat his longest adversary of his own dimension. No one could repair the damage that he had accomplished in such a quick time, not for many decades if there was anyone left to stop the Brotherhood. Even with all that in mind, his greatest trophy still remained clutched in his giant mechanical fist.
"All you fought to defend, all you wanted to protect, washed away in a sea of genocide," taunted the Decepticon. "Your world now a hollow shell of its former glory as Dark Oak has turned the Planet Egg into his own power source. To think it was all he needed to decapitate those hedgehogs and shut down your dimensional gates, leaving you alone and helpless from everyone else."
"I... I'm not done yet..." Tails's words struggled to be spoken as he climbed himself as high standing as his body would allow. "I will... save her.... from- AHHH!" Unable to finish speaking, he found himself crushed underneath Galvatron's foot.
"I don't think you'll live to see that chance."
"You didn't get to ask me..."
"After all the embarrassing failures my armada has had because of you, I'm going to make sure you pay."
"Why didn't you ask me sooner? Were you afraid of..."
"Your world is gone, your friends are gone, and I will take your last strand of hope and stretch it out until it breaks."
"Please... don't be afraid. You have nothing to be afraid of. Ask and have your answer..."
The shuffling between voices rang in Tails's mind like an overpowered bell. Through one ear was the voice of his greatest threat, and through the other was the voice of his life's greatest gift. One was his fears, and the other his conscious. He kept fighting harder and harder to get back up, but to no avail. The giant mechanical foot pushing him into the Mobian earth made it impossible to rise again as Galvatron snarled.
"That's enough out of you!" he yelled at his captive. "He had his chance and failed, and now he will fail to save you again."
The Decepticon lifted his foot just enough to reveal the fox's head, keeping the rest of the body trapped. He lowered his clenched hand, stopping just close enough to give a good view of his next intentions. When Tails focused his vision, he saw the mechanical hand that trapped Cosmo in its grasp, squeezing her just enough to not crush her, but still have her suffer. His grip squeezed her a little more, getting another cry of pain out of her, and Tails was helpless to save her.
"Cosmo-AHHHH!" Tails cried out as the pressure on his body increased as Galvatron's weight leaned down on him more.
Galvatron laughed, taking in the pain and suffering as a greedy and evil pleasure. "That's it, suffer! Let me hear your agony!"
The fox growled furiously, fighting with all his might to free himself and his broken body. The pain inside him was too much to work for him, even as he channeled all his energy throughout himself, so much so that he swore he saw the energy flash around him. It had a black aura unlike his usual power, but it's immense and beyond what he thought was his own energy. This power spike, however, did not stay and disappeared faster than he could sense it, so he remained trapped.
"Tails... please..." Cosmo tried to speak through her own pain inflicted by Galvatron. "Your question... what you wanted to ask... ask before-"
"Yes, the question," Galvatron said, interrupting Cosmo. "Go on, ask it. Ask it before you lose her for the last time."
"C-Cosmo," tried the struggling fox. "I... I-"
"Go on! Say it! Say it now or never say it at all!"
"W... wi..."
"Tails, please... save me..."
"ASK IT!"
It was no use. Tails couldn't take in another breath to speak anymore. At that point, he struggled to breathe and it turned to panic. He had to find it within him, the last push he needed to ask her before he could never have the chance. He fought to save her for years, to keep her safe and live their lives together, and he wouldn't live with himself if he couldn't ask just one question.
Galvatron squeezed Cosmo again, and caused her to screech in agony one more time. "YOU HAVE FAILED AGAIN! YOUR TIME IS UP!!!" Before another word was spoken by anyone, a new voice lent its sound out.
"NAY, VILLAIN! THOU'S TIME IS DONE!!!!!"
Without warning, Galvatron started to show cracks across his face. They started small, but grew rapidly and opening up as a bright light shined out from each new crack. It began to spread across its body, cracks of lights opening up around his entire frame. This put him in a panic, unsure of what was going on with his body as it continued to split apart. "No... NO..." A last few cracks split him apart right around his chest, revealing his Spark about to burst. Fight as he could try, it was too late as the bright light glowed brighter.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
A flash of white shrouded everything and everyone around it. All Tails could do was shut his eyes to prevent his eyes from suffering the light's intensity as it engulfed him. He kept them shut for a minute before he found the will to open them again, a will spawned from no longer feeling the intense pain from his body. When his eyes opened, he was still in the desolate Mobius, but there was nothing else. Galvatron was gone, Cosmo was nowhere to be seen, and to a big surprise, he jumped up on his feet in prime condition.
"Wha... what the heck?" he asked himself, checking his body and his surrounding another two times. "What the hell happened?!"
"Your fearful conscious has taken control of you tonight," replied a voice. Tails's ears pricked up at the familiarity of the voice, and looked around for any signs of its source. It wasn't until his eyes focused upwards, noticing the exchange of the sun with the moon, but the latter covering the former as it rose. The moon began to shine brightly as the silhouette of somebody - more specifically, somepony - was presented in the casted light. The light faded to reveal the being to be Princess Luna, who flapped her wings to hover herself to where the fox was standing.
"Princess Luna, why are you here? What just happened to Galvatron and Cosmo?" Tails asked in confusion. "How did you get here if the dimensions are blocked off? Only Twilight knows the spell to open portals by magic..."
"Take yourself to ease, young Miles," Luna answered, "for this place is not as real as it seems. I am here because your distress called out to me through your nightmare."
"Nightmare? You call this a nightmare?" Tails responded back, motioning his hand to the land around them. "This is an actual Hell for me, not a nightmare!"
Luna kept her calm and content form, but showed a firmer tone in her voice. "It may be that to you, but it is still a nightmare, a dream conjured by your fear-fueled imaginations. All that you see is that and nothing more."
"A dream?" he became even more confused, looking around him. "All of this, it's just a dream?"
"Tis the truth. Allow me to prove thyself," she told him. "Try to reach out for my crest." Her hoof lifted and tapped her moon-crest regalia on her chest. The fox answered her request and began to reach his hand out for it. He took not even a step forward when his hand hit something, some form of invisible barrier that sent a strange wave out around the two and distorting everything in view for a few seconds. The shocked expression was all she needed to confirm him seeing the truth. "Now, onto your nightmare..."
Tails arched an eyebrow at Luna and asked "Have you been watching my dream this entire time?"
She answered with a shake of her head, and then said "I only began to watch when your dream became restless and disturbed, only until the point I saw to intervene. You have a fear inside you, Miles Prower, a fear that made you have such a troubling dream. I am here to help you find conquer of it, but only after you explain what has you in fright."
"It's something private, Your Highness," Tails replied, crossing his arms and turning his eyes away from her direction. "I'd like to keep it to myself."
"Does it involve what lady Cosmo was saying about you asking her something? I heard her pushing you about it," Luna said, trying not to pry too hard in order to help the fox.
Tails's stubbornness grew as he responded "Like I said, it's private, and for my own reasons. It's not something a lot of my friends know about."
"I understand," consented the Princess of the Night, "but there's no help I can offer to prevent more nightmares such as that unless you are willing to let yourself open up to free your troubles. Whatever this private matter is, you have my word as an Equestrian Princess that it doesn't leave this realm."
It took him a minute to consider it, but Tails took a deep breath when he decided what to do. "Alright, I'll tell you," he said, and reached his hand around his back and into his furry tails. In a few seconds, he pulled out a small box from earlier in his dream, before it all turned into a nightmare, holding it up for both him and the alicorn to view.
"After our trip to Equestria, I was certain about one thing about my life with Cosmo. I never know where we may end up sometimes, but we're lost when we're not together, and I never want to lose her again. I want to see her every single day for the rest of my life, so I got this."
He opened the box and showed its content to Princess Luna. She took a good gaze and the dazzling item and quickly recognized what it was supposed to be, and grinned contently. "I see what you intend to ask her. Is that what fears you, the nervousness to ask for such a thing?"
"No... well, not the entire reason," Tails hesitated. "I know what's going to happen when... if I ask her, so it's just asking it the right way that makes me nervous about it."
"Then it's about if you ask her." She watched him bow his head, his eyes focused on the box in his hand.
"Yes..." His words were quiet at first, but the volume picked back up as he kept explaining himself. "I shouldn't be thinking if, but I'm afraid of what can happen. I'm going to ask her in two days, on the Anniversary Concert date, but I have no idea what can happen between now and then. Will there be another attack? Will the Brotherhood go after her again? Anything is possible, and I don't want anything to happen that costs me to forever lose the chance to ask."
Luna frowned for him, but not all for his sympathy. With the fraction of information she knew of all his past adventures and challenges, she understood what and who fuels his fears, but why they do so had to be addressed. She stepped forward and placed a hoof under his chin, picking his head up to speak face to face.
"Sometimes we fear of what can happen, but a lot tend to forget about focusing on what time will tell us," she told him. "Do not allow yourself to stress over what is not most important to you. Focus on what you plan to do for Cosmo the Seedrian, and earn your reward."
"I know that," Tails said, "but what if I don't get the chance?"
"Is focusing on the worst case scenario better than focusing for the best? You have told of how fortunate life has been for you, even in your darkest days, and for all that you've been through you are given this chance in the first place. To put it simply, Miles-
"Don't blow it."
Tails's initial response was surprise, to hear Luna be so forward and blunt with her ending advice. When that subsided, he laughed. Sonic was usually the one to tell anyone that for whatever encouragement he felt the need for, and more times than not it helped. It helped to have that kind of push from time to time, and it still held its worth coming from Princess Luna. After he was done laughing, he took another look at the box and its content, wearing a much more optimistic smile on his lips.
"You make a good point, Luna," he mused, and then closed the box and had it disappear from his hand. "I don't plan to mess up, and I plan to pull things off in ways Cosmo will never forget," he said with determination.
Luna looked down at him with a pleased expression. "That you should, and I have no doubt you will. My sister and I look forward to seeing what you do at your home world. Now get your rest for tomorrow. There will be much to do when the press conference starts," she said, catching him off guard.
"Press conference?"
"Yes. It seems many reporters and publications have a thirst for information from your band. Several ponies tried to get this from Celestia and Twilight Sparkle during and after your performance, so my sister had taken it upon herself to schedule a conference before we leave the Crystal Empire. It is set to take place near the Crystal Heart at noon."
Luna's explanation did not ease Tails's newfound confusion enough. "But what about our plans for our day tomorrow? Do the others know yet?" Little did he notice that the landscape around them began to shift, like an earthquake and hurricane taking place at the same time.
"Do not begin to fear again, Miles. I have already entered the Master Four's dreams to inform, saving one that is not asleep at this moment. I was on my way to speak with him when I sensed your nightmare. So far they have all agreed to this and have requested only they handle the conference to not burden the rest of the Team JAG Band. You are all welcome to do as you wish during that time," the alicorn explained. Looking around her, it had worked to settle the fox's nerves as the potential disaster within his dreamscape settled back to the quiet and desolate Mobius.
When her explanation sank, Tails immediately found calmness again. He should've known the Master Four would do that kind of thing for everybody, but he did desire one last calm time in Equestria before going back home. "Sounds good. I owed the Cutie Mark Crusaders a small show of my fighting abilities. They practically got on their knees and begged for it earlier," he said. "Then again..."
A pondering look crossed his face. Now that he knew where he was and what was going on, he wanted to see if there was enough control for him to try something new. "Several warriors of Team JAG had begun to discover a new level of power, one that could really give us an edge in fighting the Brotherhood of Darkness. I haven't practiced it awake, but maybe I can simulate it here," he pondered aloud, and then immediately changed his form to Super Saiyan. "Luna, could you stay for another few minutes? An outside perspective would be helpful."
The alicorn looked at him curiously. "I'm afraid I'm not aware of what you seek to obtain here. Perhaps you need another that's better suited to assist you," she suggested. Her horn began to glow, her magic casting a bright white strand out between the two of them. It opened a portal between Tails's dreamscape and another's, but whose dreamscape on the other side wasn't entirely known. "Someone from home would be better assistance for you."
It took him a few seconds to think about the idea, but Tails's decision was not what she was expecting. "No, I don't want to bother their rest," he told her. "All I'd need would be about five minutes of your time with this, because I could use an outside look on how I handle this. Please, Luna, just five minutes."
"Are you sure?" she asked him, and he gave her a reassuring nod. Closing the portal, she agreed to help him, and watched as the fox began to focus on his dreamscape, revitalizing the once desolate Mobius with its lush, grassy landscape and bright sunlit day. That transformation was only the beginning.
He imagined himself taking on a new form of power, one that only a selected few had managed to accomplish for real. His power and energy escalated enormously as his body turned a fiery shade of red, but he didn't stop there. With another focused effort, he unleashed a wave of energy that further heightened his power level, and changed his red color to a coating of blue, in both his fur and his aura. Below Luna knew it, he began to race around the surrounding landscape to test and theorize what this new power could mean if ever achieved.
/)∞(\
Not all ponies were able to sleep that night. The Equestria Games had ended and everypony had put out their last amounts of energy in the closing ceremonies. The former bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and all the guests invited by Twilight Sparkle could attest to that if they weren't already, for the most part, enjoying peaceful slumber. It was supposed to be the last night of vacationing to the Crystal Empire before next week's formal events for the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia.
Princess Celestia was still wide awake.
Following the end of the concert, she had gone to retire to her private chambers provided by Cadance and Shining Armor. Unfortunately, she found herself unable to place herself under the covers of her bed and drift off to sleep, and instead kept herself on her hooves. She paced around in circles or in straight lines numerous times, she let her eyes gaze around at her surroundings, and she stopped by a large window to view the Crystal Empire under her sister's glorious night. It was a beautiful sight as the crystalline landscape and buildings shined a low glow that disturbed nopony's sleep. It wasn't enough to calm Celestia enough to go to sleep herself.
She couldn't blame herself for feeling uneasy stress. It had been a weekend with a lot more complications than what was necessary. A competitor caught cheating, a shortage of souvenirs or snacks, misplaced medals that were awarded to the winners, those issues and more could have been handled with some ease and, with a calm demeanor, little haste. It was very different when the burden of trying to build bridges between different lands involves unwanted situations and negative consequences. She did all that she could, but Celestia's guilt kept telling her more action could've been taken.
The return trip to the castle was not to what Celestia was expecting.
"Your former protégé does not show the same best interests for Equestria as you do. Her focus remains on that filly and her friends."
"I assure you, Twilight Sparkle has only the best intentions for anypony. She is our newest princess after all, no excuse mind you, and still has time to come to her own stature."
"I have to agree with my husband. Princess Twilight does not demonstrate the same attributes like yourself and your sister and niece. How can we put our trust in a nation where all their royalty does not know how to keep their bias aside?"
"She is both a royal alicorn and a mother. Ask her yourself and she will defend her friends as the very foundation of her title is earned from. She knows how to put her bias aside when needed, but her role as a mother-"
"Clouds her judgment too greatly. I am sorry, Celestia, but Twilight does not assure our trust to open Maretonia's borders with Equestria."
"Fair Duke, please do not let what troubles my nephew stirred to make an absolute judgment of a pony I have put my entire trust in. Twilight Sparkle has saved Equestria more times than I could have, more times than even she deserved to. Even Tartarus itself does not contain a danger she cannot handle."
"Yes, because the reincarnation of your sister's darker side is her adopted child, and she associates with those with abilities that can turn our very existence into-"
"ENOUGH!"
"Princess Celestia, as the representatives of Maretonia, my husband, the Duke, and myself, the Duchess, do not wish to associate with Twilight Sparkle until she has earned our trust. She is too young, too naive, and too protective of her own life for us to believe she can serve Equestria to standards similar to your own."
"In time she will..."
"But until then, we request that there is a minimum of who we may directly negotiate with and assure both our lands' best interests. Yourself, Princess Luna, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Nopony else."
"Until then, until she knows her own worth for all of Equestria, until her adoptive daughter and her adoptive title are not her full attention, Princess Twilight Sparkle will remain an outside party. Your friends from Team JAG, they will have to prove themselves more on their own actions."
"We hope you will accept these terms, as we do see a long-lasting benefit for opening our lands between each other. Good night, Celestia."
How couldn't they see it? How couldn't the Duke and Duchess see in Twilight what those from Saddle Arabia said they would embrace whole-heartedly? Everypony is different in their own ways, but this was not what Celestia was looking for. This was what she tried to avoid, but with a helpful hoof from Blueblood, Maretonia had no trust in Twilight Sparkle, the prized student turned alicorn princess. It sickened Celestia, but she could not show it, nor her depression.
Celestia just stared out the window, unsure of what to think or what to do. All that she thought of was trying to explain what the Duke and Duchess had requested before they would tell Twilight themselves. Everything that did happen, she couldn't deny the bias display Twilight had for her friends and Nyx, but even Luna's decision to have Nyx earn her own royal title didn't fix the problem. Twilight was young and, argumentively, had the naiveté youth can provide, but her reasons were just enough for understanding when it came to a mother defending her daughter.
After all, Celestia faced that herself before having her own fears to cause one of her greatest mistakes result in the treachery by the Children of Nightmare.
But then again, she did remember something another pony had told her. Spell Nexus, the headmaster of her school and former betrayer under Nightmare Moon's Blessing, was told of the intentions of bringing dignitaries to the Games. His trust was restored rather quickly, especially after Nexus reshaped himself to return to his position after the last time he came in contact with Nyx, for Celestia to share her plans with him. His response echoed in her mind with earlier's quarrel.
"Those Maretonians are as stubborn to convince as an Earth Pony trying to cast a Rule 63 spell. And I mean a legitimate spell. They could just put on different clothes and be just as convincing. Maretonians, on the other hoof... I wish you luck, my faithful Princess."
She wished he was exaggerating his opinion. Then again, he wasn't too far off with how he put it, and always carried himself with a serious and collected manner. Nonetheless, what has happened had happened, and she was nopony to tell anypony what to think or believe. Celestia needed to inform Twilight in some way or form, any form that can keep her former student from entering a rage shift powerful enough to require fire extinguishing spells. How she'll pull that off is an idea beyond her imagination.
In an effort to relax herself, she opened the window in front of her to allow some night air in the room. Perhaps the breath of fresh air could clear her mind, if not for just a minute. The night air that made its way inside felt like an instant wave of calm, just at the right temperature to make it a cooling welcome. As she tried to clear her own mind, a faint sound caught her ears' attention.
*pop*
What the popping sound was from sounded familiar, and it was close. Celestia wondered if it came from behind her, inside the castle, but that pop wouldn't have echoed how it did indoors. Such an occurrence wasn't something she would usually worry about, but the small distraction could be warranted for personal investigation. That was her argument and she was sticking to it.
She decided to investigate, opening her grand wings and took flight out the window, going left towards the direction of the sound. Her flight was short as only a few seconds later, she found an open window to one of the other rooms. As she got to the window's front, she was met to the presence of Jason, one of the Master Four, pouring a drink from a glass bottle. Judging by the red liquid being poured in his glass, it looked to be wine.
"H-hello, Your Majesty," Jason said, a little surprised to see the white alicorn just flying by.
"My apologies," she replied, "I did not mean to startle you. I heard a sound from my suite and decided to find its source."
"No, no, it's fine. I just opened a bottle of merlot to enjoy." The warrior of Darkness could tell that she was more distracted than she would willing to admit. "May I interest you in a glass? I'm not sure if you enjoy a good red wine, but I have a merlot from my home that's just delicious."
Celestia raised a hoof to politely wave it side to side. "That's quite alright, but thank you. I wouldn't want to be a bother to you if you're wishing to be alone. I honestly assumed you would be asleep after your performance tonight."
"You are no bother, Princess. I don't think sleep is going to happen anytime soon anyway. Please, do come in."
Seeing that there was no other way to deny the invitation, Celestia welcomed the gesture and used her magic to teleport from outside the window to inside Jason's room. When she appeared, she found him handing her his already poured glass of wine. She kindly accepted the offer and grabbed it with a levitation spell, allowing him to pour another glass for himself.
"I can see I'm not the only one who won't sleep tonight. That's not a bad thing if you ask me, considering I thought those fillies would be live-wired all night," he mused, then taking a sip of his wine.
"Yes," Celestia replied, "Twilight has written me several letters about their activities when she was still my student." She took a drink of the wine, allowing the taste to stay in her mouth for a few seconds to get the full flavor before swallowing. "Hmmm, that's a very tasteful wine. You said you brought this from your world?"
"Thank you," Jason answered, "and yes, from my favorite local winery. It's one of their reserved merlots, aged a few years longer than their standard blend."
"My compliments to their craft, but if I may say, if you wished to have a stronger drink than Crystal Empire Nectar, all you needed to do was ask."
"I know, Your Majesty, but I have bottle of my own drink after some shows if I'm left with an afterglow of our fun work in the Band," he told her.
The two took a couple more sips from their respective glasses, an awkward silence falling between them. It was only broken when Jason's curiosity got the better of him. Most of his face was hidden behind a full beard and his head under hair and reached down to his mid back, but the latter was held together into a long ponytail by several headbands. His eyes, although looking as solid black as how he was first introduced, could see that something was bothering his surprise drinking company. She looked uneased, and he wanted to see what the problem was and hopefully help.
"Pardon my asking, Princess, but why are you still awake? Assuming because of all the activity the Equestria Games had today, and the last few days for that matter, some rest would be the only thing on your mind."
Celestia frowned at how readable she apparently looked. A grand pony as poise and stoic as her wasn't always in such a state, but even a complete stranger could read her. "I'm only... well, contemplating over near future events."
"Such as what?"
"I don't wish to go in finer detail about it, but there are certain arrangements regarding our foreign guests invited by myself and my sister and Twilight Sparkle that need handling, and I'm not sure how to explain this to my prized pupil."
"I see," Jason said. He could put two and two together in his head and guess it fairly good, but he refrained from prying. Instead he focused more on the issue in order to help provide what advice he could offer. "Twilight seems to be the understanding type... when no one's pushing her buttons. Have you considered making it a private conversation and just speak the truth as it is?"
"We have already had one of those during the Games," Celestia said solemnly. "I don't wish to add another to it. I would like her to leave the Crystal Empire for a few days happily without any extra baggage, so to speak."
"Of course, Your Majesty, but I'm sure I have no need to explain that what must be done needs to be done. From our understand of Equestria's history, you have experienced that yourself firsthand- forgive me, hoof."
Celestia nodded to confirm his knowledge true. "Yes, I have been placed in such positions multiple times over. But it never eases when dealing with more personal issues, especially to those who don't ask for their troubles."
"I can understand that completely," said the dark warrior. He then dared himself to ask a question that may push the white alicorn's limits. It was one that was obvious to answer, but sometimes the best words should come straight from the horse's mouth. "Princess Celestia, how badly has Team JAG made things for you since Tails and Cosmo came to Equestria?"
Celestia looked at him with a glare. She knew the truth as the answer, and she knew he knew the truth himself. However, without going into finer details, she explained herself. "Since your friends' first appearance, I saw nothing but good in them. They are a couple that, according to Twilight, bring nothing but shared happiness and a sense of family to my little ponies. The only exception to that was the first day of their arrival as they were lost in what was once a strange new world to them.
"Then when those dragons attacked the fillies in Ponyville, how the combined efforts of my prized student and Miles reopened the connection between our world with yours, was Equestria introduced to the rest of you. You've shown the same amount of respect to everypony since you first arrived, but I'm afraid to say not all ponies share a same sense of welcome to you all."
"Including yourself?"
"Only at first, when I was still in the dark of who I was meeting and what their capabilities were. It is thanks to the Elements of Harmony that my perspective opened up to, knowing what you're capable of, nothing less than understanding and willing to open our borders with the many other beings that share your beliefs and actions. You have shown me who you are as kind acquaintances and friends, and I think I can safely say the ponies of Equestria think the same of you.
"But it's sad for me to say that not everypony has expressed the same open minds as most others have..."