The Equestrian Wildcards: Doughnut mess with the baker.

by JitteryDragon

8: The last one.

Sunny Days felt like she was living inside a nightmare. All around her a blue sky passed, clouds above, clouds below. It was just the sort of dream a pegasus would have any other day of the week. Now, however, it felt like she was trapped, buried under invisible sand. Unable to move, she tried to scream out. But, there was no voice, only the one she could only imagine in her head. It didn't even feel like she was thinking in her own brain, but rather that her thoughts were all around her, with the world merely passing by in the background.

She began to panic, all sense of stability shutting down. Or were they? She didn't know. What was going on? What was happening to her! She cried out once again. 'Help! Please!'

A flash of light to the corner of what felt like her eyes, and then an ear piercing crack.

Bakerus, in possession of Sunnys body, turned his head, behind him the whole length of the gingerbread dragon running down to the tail, and right at the end a grey unicorn hung from the spikes that aligned across the creatures back.

'You have to be joking,' the spirit grumbled, mostly to himself, as the wind carried the words away.

Sparky, meanwhile, had lost her mind realizing what she had just done. 'Oh sweet Celestia I can't believe I'm doing this!' She cried. Her eyes were shut so tight that it would probably be easier to open a reinforced safe door.

Bakerus turned to face this mild inconvenience, and slid down the neck of the dragon, hooves extended and wings keeping the body in balance. His connection to his creatures, of which he had been responsible for bringing to full life, allowed him a great degree of control and grace.

'You realize that I am significantly more powerful than you, and not to mention at a greater advantage than you... and yet you still decided to follow me?'

'I'm not here to fight you,' Sparky shouted, eyes still shut, trying everything she could to stay in the moment and not think about the fact she was several hundred paces in the air. Well, except for that moment right then.

'Out of your comfort zone, unicorn? Should have stayed on the ground, because now I have to deal with-'

A loud crack, a pain that Bakerus could barely feel in this strange body he had inhabited. Barely time to refocus before he realized he was tumbling off the side of the dragon and into the clouds.

'I'm just the distraction,' Sparky replied to nothing, with a laugh. Eyes open, Sparky saw Cookie pass by giving a salute, Oracle riding on back.

'That... was incredible, Cookie,' the filly on his back said. It was the same technique she had seen him do before, but now this time she had been given a better view of it. An outstretched hoof had struck the front shoulder and then brushed Bakerus' wing, throwing him sideways and overboard.

'Now what do we do, captain?' Cookie asked.

Oracle thought back to her plan. 'Okay, just like you said we should. We have to get down to Sunny and... Cookie, above us!'

He didn't have enough time to react, for shortly after the words had reached his ears, one of the smaller dragons had struck, and struck hard. He felt the whole weight of the creature smash into him. His mind immediately went to Oracle, and her safety. He spun with wings wide open, trying to expose his front to protect her from the blow, and saw her fly off his back with hooves outstretched.

Trying to grab her with a hoof, he saw the claw of the dragon directly in front of him, and then felt it as it raked across his left shoulder, scarf nearly sliced off. A painful sensation peaked in his left wing, and the air seemed to reach out and pull him out the sky like he had become a rock.

Oracle screamed, her word matching her thoughts. 'Cookie! No!'

A force nearly yanked her foreleg out of its socket, eyes darted upward to see that Sparky had grabbed her. In the thick of it all, she hadn't even realized in which direction she had been going.

'I got ya, champ! Hold on tight!' Oracle was too busy looking down at the fact she was dangling for dear life, even if she was technically safe. She glimpsed something small and disk shaped falling, her hat floating away into the clouds and quickly gone from sight.

'Nice try,' Bakerus shouted from atop his new mount, the dragon that has attacked Cookie. 'I have trouble feeling things in this body, but I know your friend has disabled my wing. Luckily I have plenty of those.' He gestured with hooves to all of his dragons.

Looking down, he laughed. 'Ah, looks like we are on the outskirts of a village. Ponyville, I believe that is what Sunny called it. A center of activity, and a focus of magic. Just what I need. I guess, after all, you will get to see my great spectacle!'

'Not today,' Sparky replied. Her horn glowed, and she fired.

Bakerus pulled at the dragon he now rode, trying to force it backwards. Its wings bat forward of it, and one received the full blast of energy. A thick green flame exploded outwards and across the dragons body, as pieces of wing scattered in all directions.

'Alright, that was a better try,' Bakerus said, as he and dragon fell from the sky, falling into a spin. Several dragons followed, trying to reach their master.

Sparky looked down at Oracle, still clinging for dear life. 'Don't scream too much, okay?'

'I know!'

Sparky let go, and the two quickly dropped.

Sparky remembered. The fall that had felt like an eternity. Nothing she could have done but think about everything and anything. Her mother and father. Her two brothers and sister. She loved them all. This time was different, she was ready.

A searing light of green formed above them, catching the air in a dome like shape. They continued to fall, and fall... and fall. Oracle could not bear to watch, she hugged the unicorn tightly as she could.

The ground was approaching, though slowing down as it headed for them. The final impact still felt unpleasant, and Sparky tumbled across the grass, rolling several times before finally stopping upside down a few paces short of an earth pony. Oracle found her hooves, but still skidded across the ground... and finally found herself looking up into the sky.

'Oh my goodness,' shouted a pony in the street, 'are you alright?' Her head appeared over Oracle, as others began to gather around to two ponies whom had suddenly fallen from the sky.

Oracle hopped to her feet, brushing herself with a hoof. Her clothing was quite dirty thanks to the controlled crash. Mom would certainly be a little bit unhappy about that, but that was a worry for later. 'I'm okay,' she said quickly in reply, before breaking into a canter over to where Sparky lay.

The unicorn turned her head to Oracle as she lay on the ground. Blood was slowly dripping out of both her nostrils, but still she held a weak smile. 'That was quite possibly the most stupid thing I've ever done.'

'Are... are you okay, Sparky?'

Shortly after, Sparky broke out into a fit of laughter, or at least that is what it seemed to be. Her eyes were full of tears. 'I have no idea!'

The filly detective looked all around the two of them, as ponies that had been going about their lives were now drawn to them. 'Um, nothing to see here?' She blurted out, which probably didn't help. This was also a lie, since Sparky was making a spectacle of herself, babbling constantly.

'I mean, I never ever thought I would have to use that spell for the rest of my life... and... oh my goodness, did I just shoot a dragon out of the sky? Wait till dad hears about this! Ha!'

'Wait here, Sparky, I need to see if Cookie is okay.'

'I'm not going anywhere, champ... I can't use my back legs. Ha ha ha!'

Without a second thought, Oracle shot into the crowd, and backtracked the direction she thought they had traveled. She bumped shoulders with a curious earth pony, and then another as she found herself out of the crowd. 'Cookie!' She yelled as best the little voice she had could carry. 'Cookie, where are you?'

There was no reply, though she didn't expect one so quickly. So, she continued, but deep inside she already started to feel her heart sinking.

A shadow floated across her, and she immediately glanced upwards. Her heart dropped out of her chest as the gingerbread dragon flew over a large building and towards the gathered crowd. Roaring loudly, ponies began to scatter in all directions. Panic had taken them over the moment a dragon shaped creature had landed right in the middle of the street... and certainly only got worse when several others appeared over the horizon of buildings.

The last dragon to fly over carried a green pegasus on top of it, and Oracles heart sank so low it traveled to the other side of the planet. 'Oh...'

'Hello Ponyville,' Bakerus boomed, though his audience was a little too busy running for their lives. 'Such a wonderful place you have here, so full of magic, I can feel it in the wind, thick as cream on a cake.' Patting his draconic partner, he slid off the side and onto the ground.

Only one pony remained to oppose him, and that was because said pony couldn't really go anywhere. Sparky used to her front legs to push herself up, now like a sitting pony.

'You almost had me, I'll admit. You did a very good job for what you had, but it wasn't enough.'

Sparky ignored him, and put all her might and mind into pushing her back legs, until she found herself nearly standing. Under such pressure, they shook terribly, barely able to hold the weight put upon them. She knew it was the best she could do, but anything to look just that little bit braver.

Bakerus continued. 'You are a strange pony, it's a shame I'm going to have my dragon here squash you like a bug.'

'Sunny!' The shout of Oracle echoed across the open street, grabbing his attention.

'Oh, you too? Should have run away like all the others.'

'Stop this madness, you still have a chance!'

'What?

'Sunny Days, I know you can hear me in there... you have to be able to hear me! You still have a chance to make this right!'

'Stupid little one, I am in control of this body now. You bore me with your attempts to win, when you have lost... now please excuse me.' He raised a hoof into the air and shouted so loud the voice seemed to come from the sky. 'Begin, my champions!'

The dragons all acted in perfect unison, as if they had been practicing many times. They flew into a circle, so that each head met the tail of another. Oracle opened her mouth to continue, but her eyes were drawn to a large flash of red and white that grew out of nothing. Slowly but surely a large mass of energy formed inside the circle, until it formed what seemed like a watercolor painting. A painting of another world.

Sparky fell upon her rump, gazing upwards. 'Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Oracle?'

The countless creatures that stared downwards from the other side of this portal above them, all some sort of twisted bakery creation. 'Yeah, yeah I do.'

A portal to another world.

'And now you see my confidence come to fruition. Not even your petty princesses and heroes could hope to stop the entire army of Diabolus Bakerus!'

Her mind felt like it had lost control for a brief second, as Oracle realized just what she had gotten herself into. A far cry from find lost pairs of glasses, or solving a case of missing peanuts. Now, she stood as the first pony to witness to invasion of her home by an evil spirit of baked goods.

There was certainly no turning back now, might as well try.

'Sunny Days,' she shouted as loud as she could, 'I know you can hear me! Please! You still have a chance to make this right!'

'Not again! Stop yelling or you'll be the first to get eaten!'

'I know this was all a mistake! I know that in your grief you let yourself be consumed by this evil creature. You had no choice but to obey him until the end. You can still make this right, you can still be forgiven! You have hurt no pony, done no true damage that can not be fixed. But, but you must do this now! You have to hear me, you have to break free!'

Sunny Days realized something at that very moment. She knew her father was lying in a bed right now, sick. What would he think of all this? What would he say when he saw that his daughter had helped bring the end of Equestria, all over a stupid little bakery. Was there still a chance to make things right? Did it really matter to her anymore? No, no it did not matter. They could take her, and throw her in a cell, and she wouldn't care... it was the least she deserved.

But she would not let it be some ugly excuses for baked goods be the one to do it. She screamed, and threw herself at nothing. She felt something, a sensation. She could feel her own body, the mist was clearing. She kept trying to throw herself, imagining it like trying to break open a door... a brittle, rotten door.

'Break, Darn it! BREAK!'

And when it broke, there was a white light... and finally Ponyville in all its glory.

Sunny cried out in agony as the binding was cut like a silver cord. Sunny shot forward, and the spirit of Bakerus flew backwards, unshaped and chaotic. A massive tooth filled mouth opened up in the body, screaming loudly. 'Impossible! Kill them, kill them all now my dragons!'

The large dragon that had carried his master roared, and now taking action. Sunny Days found her head, vision clearing and senses restored. The first thing she finally saw clear headed was the claws of the baked dragon falling upon her.

She closed her eyes, and accepted her fate. That is, she would have, but it never seemed to come. There was another a roar, and what sounded like stumbling.

Oracle cried out in shock and relief. 'Cookie!'

He held tight to the creatures neck, kicking furiously with rear legs at its face. 'I got this fella! Some pony get Bakerus!'

Bakerus had formed arms, long slender arms with large claws the size of a whole pony. 'Come forth, my army! Turn this world inside out! The time is now!'

From the portal, they spilled out in waves, shooting out in all directions, shrieking as they did.

Bakerus gave his biggest, strongest shout of victory. 'It is done! At last I have- ARGH!'

Sparky focused with all the strength she had left, a beam of green flying across the street straight into the red spirit. It wrapped around him, washing over like a river of water.

'No, I think not!' More arms flew out of the body, dividing and throwing aside the beam. It flew in all directions, taking out windows and blowing small holes in walls. A tree in the far distance exploded in a flurry of wooded shards.

'Yes!' Sparky fired again, yelling with exertion. This time, the beam was met with a red one, as Bakerus' many arms coiled together a formed one massive cannon. The force of the two beams meeting shook the grass around them like a strong breeze. Windows shook violently, and a streak of light flashed all across Ponyville.

'You can not win! I am the god of a whole realm, and you are nothing but a miserable little PONY!' The last word boomed across what might have been half the continent, and at the same time his red beam tore into Sparkys, pushing it back towards the unicorn.

Above them, creatures were pulling themselves out of the portal, like ponies pulling themselves out of a swimming pool... an upside down swimming pool. Some had begun to crash into buildings, others trying to chase fleeing ponies. Others, they headed for the four ponies underneath them.

Sparky screamed. 'ORACLE, COOKIE! ANY PONY, DO SOMETHING NOW!'

Oracle then did something stupid. Utterly stupid and completely out of character. She would wonder what she was thinking at that moment, and all she could remember was that she would not let her friends suffer. Anything but sit back and watch.

So she charged at Bakerus, jumped into the air and lunged out with a rear leg. It struck the spirit in what could have been called a head, right until it shattered like thin glass. The god of baked goods reared backwards, and his beam of energy rebounded, resulting in a violent explosion, that sent the ponies flying in all directions. The shock wave climbed upwards, and struck the circle of gingerbread dragons. They didn't just get knocked away, they broke apart like a delicious flaky pastry.

Bakerus didn't even have time to speak his final words. The portal imploded as the connection was severed, and as it did everything that was even a little bit related to the pastry family was sucked towards it, including the spirit himself. The remains of the gingerbread dragons were dragged screaming, and so were the creatures that had just crawled out. A pegasus in the distance was shocked to see his croissant fly from his hoof, while cake impacted with the wall inside the nearby bakery. Puff Pastry barely dodged a baguette that speared past her head and through the front window of her shop.

The god of baked good let out a final shout, but his words were lost as they too were drawn into the collapsing portal. With one final flash, the void closed, and a crackling echo sounded through Ponyville.

And then, silence.

Sparky fell to her side with a sigh. Her head throbbed horribly, and her entire body felt fuzzy.

A head appeared in her vision, though not the one she expected to see. Sunny Days looked down upon her, shock written all over her face. 'Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?'

'Had better days, but I'll be fine. Where's Oracle, is she okay?'

'I'm okay, Sparky!' Shouted Oracle. She stood a few paces from the other two, though very shaky in the legs, deciding to not mention the fact she felt sick in the tummy. Her concern fell to the other pony in their little party of three. 'Cookie, where are you?'

'Right here,' Cookie replied, from right behind Oracle, which made her jump into the air.

She faced him, anger in her eyes. 'Don't do that, you... oh my goodness, Cookie, you're hurt!'

Cookie looked down at his shoulder, where a claw shaped gash ran across from just below the neck right across the wing joint. He held his front left hoof close to his chest, blood running down his side and staining his fur. He returned back to Oracle, and gave his best happy face. 'Had worse, it doesn't really hurt that much.' He grinned, trying to look as positive as possible, and failing. 'Okay, it hurts a lot.'

'Join the club,' Sparky said, having sat up once again. 'Is it over, is that crazy spirit thing gone?'

Sunny sat beside her, looking down at the ground. 'I... hope so.'

'It is over,' Oracle said. 'He's gone.'

'There's ponies staring at us, guys,' Cookie said, limping over to where the others were. Said others were inclined to look, and indeed there were many ponies looking at them as they sat casually in the middle of the street with bits of pastry raining all around them. The occasional large chunk struck with a large wet thud, breaking apart.

More ponies were exiting their homes, and others who had hidden in corners, or behind anything in sight, were finally emerging.

'Mom is so going to kill me when she finds out about this,' Oracle said.

'On the bright side, you can tell her you flying kicked a god so hard it sent him back to his own dimension.'

'Do you think she'd believe that?'

'Not one bit, but that doesn't stop the fact that you saved Ponyville.'

'We... we saved Ponyville, Sparky. Cookie too.'

'Just doing my duty, I think,' Cookie chirped.

Oracle turned to Sunny Days. 'And you too, Sunny. Thank you.'

She looked up at the little filly, and simply smiled weakly.

Sparky laughed heartily, at least a little more honestly than she did before... and certainly less loopy. 'I'm just glad that's finally over with, now I can go home and sleep for several days. Also, uh, I need to pee.'

- - -

'Oh, good morning Oracle,' Puff Pastry said, with head appearing just above the counter, having just heard the bell ring. 'What can I do for you?'

'The usual, please.'

'Of course, dear. One butter biscuit, one peanut butter roll, and one sweet roll coming up.' Being the worker bee she was, Puff had already disappeared into the cabinet as she spoke.

'Hello, you,' said Sunny Days from around the counter.

'Ah, hello Sunny,' replied Oracle, giving a little bow. 'How's work?'

'Pretty good. A bit quiet, but it pays the bills, you know?'

'Yeah, it's always like that down here in Ponyville, save for special occasions. But, it's good to hear you're enjoying it. How is your dad, by the way?'

'Getting better.' She looked away for a moment, pondering, but returned back to Oracle still looking cheerful. 'I think hearing that I got another job eased his heart quite a bit, and I suppose that's one thing less to worry about.' She sighed. 'Still...'

'I know, you have a lot of work ahead of you to get your business back, but you're doing well.'

Sunny gave a nod of appreciation. 'The Canterlot bank is willing to give me a loan if I can maintain this job for a bit longer. That will be a huge boost to my progress. I would be able, and to buy it all back in a few months. I must admit,' she continued, leaning over the counter and closer to Oracle, 'I'm a little excited, but I'll be sad to leave this place. Puff and her husband have been very helpful.'

'I'm glad to hear it, and also that you're so positive.'

Puff Pastry finally returned. 'Here you go, Oracle.'

'Thanks, Puff,' she replied, passing the bits over the counter whilst standing on the stool in the corner. She sunk her teeth into the bags, and carried them out the door, trotting almost like a skip.

'She's a strange filly,' Puff said.

'Strange,' Sunny replied, 'but sincere. She'll go far.'

- - -

Sparky was too busy stuffing her face with peanut butter roll to speak, which was the norm. Cookie had better manners. Slightly better, that is, as he took timely bites from his sweet roll, sitting up in his hospital bed, glasses lying on the table next to him.

'The pony in the funny suit said I could be out in a few days,' he managed between bites, covering the other two in crumbs.

'That's the doctor, sweetie,' Sparky finally said, though slightly muffled with all the food in her mouth, rolling her eyes as she spoke.

'Well, he's really nice.'

'That's why he's a doctor.'

'It's about time you got out, Cookie,' Oracle said. 'It's too quiet without you around.'

Cookie stared at her with a smile on his face.

'That's a compliment.'

'Ooooh.'

Sparky had been taking the occasional glance at the clock on the opposite wall of the room. Sparse, what with the other bed unoccupied, but the patient had been insistent over moving to another room after Cookie had shown up. Something about talking too much. 'I think I best be going soon. Fellas up in the observatory have a lot of patience for me being late, but not a whole hour late.'

'That's okay,' Cookie chirped. 'Thanks for coming to visit, miss Sparkster.'

'You're welcome, ya weirdo,' she replied with a chuckle.

'See you around, Sparky,' Oracle said.

'Tomorrow morning, champ. Remember you're still grounded, and working for me.'

Oracle pursed her lip. 'Ah yes, right.'

'Heh. See ya around, my little slave. Mwa ha ha.' She wheeled out the room, continuing her mock evil laugh all the way down the hall.

'She so nice,' Cookie said.

'Yeah, she is a good friend. I can't wait till you get out, Cookie. She's got tons of video games at her house. We opened one of her storage boxes, and they just spilled out.'

'What's a video game?'

'You'll love them, trust me on that one.'

'Okay, I trust you.'

The conversation went quiet for awhile, Cookie returning back to his lunch.

'Cookie...'

He looked at Oracle, mouth full and chewing.

'Can I ask you a personal question?'

He seemed confused by this, for a second, but then gave a nod as he continued to chew his food.

'Are... are you going to stay here?'

He tilted his head. 'Huh?'

She looked away. 'You said you were a wandering pony. That means, you wander places, never really staying in one place... which means-'

'Nope.'

It was Oracles turn to say, 'huh?'

'I'm staying here.'

The young filly became still. 'R... really?'

Cookie nodded playfully. 'Yep, sure am.'

He almost had the wind knocked out of him when Oracle launched up and wrapped her arms around him. 'Yes! Yes! YES!' She cried cheerfully. 'I'm so happy to hear that. You're a good friend, Cookie. I really didn't want you to leave.'

'But... I wasn't going to.'

There was a sign of tears forming in the fillies eyes. 'You're... well, um... you're kinda my first true friend, you know.'

'I... am?'

She sniffed, wiping away the tear with a hoof. 'Yeah. Funny, huh?'

He chuckled in reply. 'That is pretty funny, I think.'

'Oh, I better get going too. Mother worries about me so much, though I'm not really surprised at all about that.' Though, she still hadn't told her parents the full story of what had happened. Then again, word had been rather confused. No pony other than the four that had been there in the moment really knew what happened, the rest was speculation on the part of gossiping ponies. Dragons made of bread had shown up from the sky, and disappeared shortly after, no pony really knowing why. Word was confused on who had defeated them, if they had been defeated at all. Some said Celestia had appeared, others the elements of harmony. Some even boasted they had done something, like try and hit a dragon with a chair, which is why they disappeared.

And then, there was a handful of ponies that knew who really were responsible, the ones who had seen it with their very eyes. But, even though they knew who did, it was hard for many to believe a filly and a unicorn in a wheelchair were the heroes. Thus, this version of the story began to fade. Oracle liked it that way.

There had been an investigation by the Canterlot guard, but that was mostly related to Sunny Days and the flour she had stolen. In the end, she was forgiven by Puff Pastry and her husband. She was even offered a job as a sort of way to repay for what she did, with a few extra benefits.

As for Bakerus and his dragons, well... Oracle was unsure. She thought she had seen some ponies around the location where it happened. Ponies that really didn't look like they were in the guard, or belonged in Ponyville. They took some samples of the bread pieces, some grass, and were gone a few days later. Considering how often something like this happened in Ponyville, no other pony really payed attention. Princess Celestia showed up at least once, and reassured every pony that things were okay, and they moved on.

Oracle felt a little uneasy about the whole matter. She wanted to do more research about this Bakerus fellow, but could not find any books in the library about him, and the book she had acquired on baking and summoning spirits was of no help. One day, she took the book to a river, and threw it in. Good riddance.

She worried this wouldn't be the last she saw of him, especially since it was her who delivered the final blow.

Worse still, she worried that some ponies from Canterot might appear at her doorstep, wanting to ask questions. Sparky and Cookie had both told her that they had yet to see any Canterlot or really any ponies of that type come to them. A little mysterious, but at the same time she was glad she could go back to being a normal little filly again. Having found herself in such a crazy situation had showed just how tough the real deal could be. Maybe finding mundane objects for other fillies was the best way to go.

For now.

She left Cookie with a wave goodbye, still happy that he wasn't leaving. She had so many questions to ask him, and all the time in the world now. Why did he want to stay here? For her? Because he had found some friends? Or, did he have another reason?

And, that scar on his chest. He wore a white gown that covered it up right now, but she had caught a brief glimpse of it. He was a strange fellow to say the least.

Cookie thought the same of Oracle. Funny little filly, always wearing that hat and jacket, and so smart, too. At least he took comfort in the fact he would be getting to know her better over the next few months.

And that funny unicorn in the wheelchair. What a strange contraption that thing was, he wondered why she needed it. Maybe he'd ask her. If he remembered to, that is.

Cookie leaned back in the bed, sliding back into the sheets. After so many months of traveling, he had finally found Ponyville.

He felt kinda bad for lying about the fact he was a wandering pony. He really wasn't, well, not as much as he had been telling. Only those few months, until he finally arrived here. He had promised not to tell any pony about the cloud temple, and so far so good... at least he thought so.

It was a nice place, Ponyville. Quiet, friendly ponies, tasty food. Just like Butterscotch had described. If only he was here, too.

There was a knock at his door, that nice doctor fellow was there. 'Oh, hello mister doctor pony.'

'Hello Cookie. I just arrived back from getting some more scans on that injury of yours.' He trotted into a room, bag attached his side by belt.

'Oh, cool. What's the news?'

The doctor was quiet for a moment. 'I'm afraid it's not all good news.'

- - -

Serenity watched the filly detective canter happily down the road, leaving a clean cut path through the snow behind as she did. His good eye watched her until she had reached the house she lived in, and went through the door. He scratched an itch next to his eye patch, sniffing slightly as he did.

'This weather is unpleasant,' the changeling muttered to himself, with a sniff. 'Still, I guess catching a cold is a good trade for finally finding the diviners daughter.'

To Be Continued.

Comments

[Shadowshame]

This was a nice little story that has been fun to read thank you for sharing it