A Filly's Tale

by Deathsia

Friendship conqures all

FRIENDSHIP CONQURES ALL

“Fl-Fluttershy?! Don't you do this to us! Not now, not ever!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a panicked tone.

“What's wrong?!” Twilight asked in a worried tone.

“Fluttershy's not breathing!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a panicked tone.

Upon hearing these words the world around Twilight froze as if it had turned a cold dark blue color, voices and sounds around here were rendered to a dull murmur, and everypony moved as if in slow motion. Twilight looked on at Rainbow Dash who continued to shake her friend seemingly in slow motion then to her friends who seemed to turn around and gasp in horror in slow motion.

“Fluttershy's dead? No, it's not possible. It can't be! Her of all ponies, the kindest of us all,gone?” Twilight thought to herself in a stunned yet disbelieving tone.

“Rainbow! Move!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed and moved the cyan blue Pegasus to the side with her magic and placed a hoof on Fluttershy's chest. For a few moments nothing seemed to happen, then Sweetie Belle's horn began to glow.

“What is she doing?” Rainbow Dash asked in a worried tone.

Rarity however knew exactly what her little sister was doing. It was the exact same thing she did to bring her back...

-------------------------------------

Sweetie Belle stood in a blank white room staring at two large doors with a single mare standing in front of them, but it wasn't Fluttershy.

Again you stand before me Selena.

A voice echoed throughout the area yet the mare's lips didn't move. “You know why I am here.” Sweetie Belle said in a calm tone, however she was not a young filly here. No, in this world she stood as her previous form, as Selena.

What do you plan on giving up this time? You know that magic such as this is based on equivalent exchange. The last time you came before me, you gave me a great deal of your magic in exchange for Rarity's soul. What could you possibly have to offer me now?

The mare's voice echoed throughout the area again.

“My memories...every single of of them of me as Selena, but I have one condition.” Sweetie Belle replied in a calm tone.

Which is?

“You can have them only after we have defeated Discord.” Sweetie Belle replied in the same calm tone.

And what guarantee do I have that you will survive this battle? Will this Pegasus make any difference at all? You are after all up against the god of chaos and Disharmony, the odds are against you.

“Perhaps the odds are against us, maybe we won't win, but I ask that you have faith in our friendship.” Sweetie Belle replied with a warm smile.

Ahaha! Friendship?! You should know better than to try and play such a card against the guardian of souls! You will have to give me something better than, “faith in your friendship” for me to accept these terms Selena.

“Then how about this, the daughter of the princess of the moon can defeat him, but she needs the element of kindness's power in order to unlock her true potential.” Sweetie Belle replied at which point the mare's eyes narrowed at the her.

How can you be sure she will unlock her element's true power? Not even the regal sisters could fully tap into their magic and it was I who granted them the power in the first place! They did not even know about the seventh hidden element that was discovered by that filly due to her being in close contact with the elements of harmony when she displayed it's element!

“She has the potential. As the keeper of souls, I’m sure you see this within Twilight Sparkle. And with the seventh element, you know it's fully possible.” Sweetie Belle replied in the same calm tone.

Even if I were to believe such a statement, there's no telling if she could tap into it.

“Then lets make a bet. If Twilight taps into the true power of the elements of harmony, you still get my memories, but if she doesn't then you get the rest of my magic in exchange as well. You win either way.” Sweetie Belle replied with a grin.

At this point the mare's expression turned into one of amusement.

HA! ha,ha,ha! You aren't very good at gambling are you? Very well, I’ll accept this little wager of yours.

The voice echoed at which point the huge doors behind her gave a thunderous creaking sound as they opened, moments later Fluttershy walked through them, and the doors gave yet another thunderous creaking sound followed by a loud thud as they closed behind her.

“Wh-where am I?” Fluttershy asked in a curious tone as she looked around the blank white room then gasped at the sight of Sweetie Belle.

“Fluttershy! Come on! Lets get you back to the land of the living!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed with a wide smile as she ran past the dark black mare.

“Land of the living? Wait, am I dead?” Fluttershy asked in a scared tone.

“Not for long! Now come on!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed and took her by the hoof.

In the next moment the two vanished from sight.

I will watch your battle with utmost interest Selena...

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Fluttershy's eyes snapped wide with a shocked expression as she took a sudden sharp breath and began to breath normally after a few moments.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed joyfully as she hugged the yellow Pegasus tightly.

Fluttershy then looked at Sweetie Belle with a curious glance. Was it all a dream? Or was she actually dead? The current circumstances however shot her mind from these thoughts.

“Sweetie Belle...what did you offer this time?” Rarity asked knowing all to well what she had done.

“Nothing I will miss, but now is not the time to discuss this. Twilight, it's time to tap into the true power of the elements of harmony!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed in a fierce tone.

“We couldn't fully tap into their true power last time without putting Rainbow's life in danger! What makes you think we could this time.” Twilight replied skeptically, walked over to Fluttershy, and hugged her tightly. “It's good to have you back.” Twilight said in a soft tone as a single tear streaked down her right cheek.

The dark flow of magic then ceased without warning which left the ponies in a room seemingly with Discord no where to be found.

“Did the varmint up and run off?” Applejack asked aloud looking about herself.

“No, he has us right where he wants us.” Scootaloo said in a worried tone.

“How can you be so sure?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

“I know him, don't ask me how, but somehow I know he's got us right where he wants us.” Scootaloo replied in a fearful tone.

Without warning Discord appeared behind Applejack in a flash of magic and attempted to strike at her with his claw hand “Consarn it all! Can't you bucking fight from the front?!” Applejack exclaimed in an aggravated tone as she blocked his strike by swiftly bucking his claw hand to the side at which point he vanished in another flash of magic.

Discord then reappeared in another flash of magic and struck at Twilight from her flank. “No chance!” Twilight exclaimed as she channeled magic into her wings, blocked his strike, and countered with her wings by flinging them outward which struck the draconequus hard causing him to stumble slightly.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy used this moment to flank the draconequus from the side “Strike at his flank!” Rainbow Dash shouted as the two Pegasus struck him simultaneously which knocked him back.

“You're all through!” Discord roared, disappeared in a flash of magic, reappeared above the group, rose his lions paw and claw hand above his head, channeled magic into them which formed into a ball of magical fire, threw the ball of magical fire up, disappeared in a flash of magic, reappeared above the ball of magical fire, and spiked it down at them.

“From above?!” Rarity exclaimed in shock as she looked up, and dodged the ball of magical fire along with the others who followed suit.

“Ha,ha!” Applejack exclaimed in a jeering tone as the ball of magical fire hit the ground having evaded it along with the others.

“Applejack sure is getting into this isn't she?” Twilight remarked to Pinkie Pie.

“She's a war pony Twilight, though she won't admit it, she loves the thrill of battle.” Pinkie Pie replied as she recalled how Applejack behaved during the war.

“Hey, tone it down a notch AJ! This isn't the war you know!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a slightly annoyed tone.

“Might sorreh thar Rainbow. Got lost in the moment ya see.” Applejack replied with a sheepish grin.

“You all think this is a game?! I stopped playing games with you foals over twenty minuets ago!” Discord exclaimed as he channeled magic into his lions paw and fired a beam of magic at Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

“Not good!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a panicked tone as the beam of magic sailed at the three.

Fluttershy then stood on her hind hooves, took a deep breath, and roundhouse kicked the beam of magic which deflected it to the side with a loud explosion. “Rainbow, I’m disappointed in you. After all master Ace's teachings taught us how to use the magic within us to deflect such spells.” Fluttershy said in an annoyed tone.

“Um, Fluttershy, you taught me, not master Ace, remember?” Rainbow Dash replied at which point Fluttershy gave a sweat drop gesture as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

“Oh yeah, I forgot.” Fluttershy replied with a nervous giggle.

“Sweetie Belle...can't you sense it?” Scootaloo said in a quivering tone.

“Somethin is a might off here. Why is everypony actin like nothin is wrong here?” Applebloom chimed in with a whispering tone to Sweetie Belle as well having noticed a sudden change in behavior from the six ponies.

“Yeah, the others have no idea. Let's waiting for the real Discord to show his ugly face before we let him know we're not affected by this illusion. As long as Discord is unaware of us three being unaffected by his illusion, we have the element of surprise on our side, when I give the signal, be ready to hit him hard.” Sweetie Belle replied in a whisper.

“That dark magic wasn't an attack, it was an illusion he was casting on us. He's put everypony here in their own safe zone within their memories from the war, but me, Applebloom, and Scootaloo are unaffected due to being close to Applebloom when she was using her element of harmony as a shield, just what opportunity is he waiting for to strike? It's been well over a half an hour now.” Sweetie Belle thought to herself nervously as she looked about herself.

The filly was always good at detecting illusions, after all, she was the brigadier general in the war as Selena. She wasn't sure what three fillies could do against the god of chaos and disharmony, but she knew they had to do something or they were sitting ducks.

“You all are through!” Discord roared as he disappeared and reappeared above them in a flash of magic, channeled magic into his hands forming a ball of magical fire again and prepared to throw the magical ball of fire at them. However, instead of of the magical ball of fire glowing bright red as it did before, this one radiated with a eerie black aura.

Sweetie Belle looked up and gasped in shock and realization as the world seemed to zoom in on her. “That's the real deal! Applebloom, use your element of harmony as a shield! Scootaloo, pick up Applebloom and blitz him!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed dramatically to which her two friends did as they were told while Sweetie Belle channeled magic into her horn and froze time for everyone except the three of them.

Applebloom placed a hoof on her element of harmony as she closed her eyes which began to glow brightly as she was lifted from ground by Scootaloo whom took off strait at Discord. “Any bright ideas honeh?” Applebloom asked as they neared him.

“Yeah, smash his face in!” Scootaloo exclaimed with a grin which Applebloom caught on to what she was talking about immediately as she arched her lower body into bucking position and a few moments later Scootaloo stopped abruptly and in the same moment chucked the farm pony at the draconequus.

Using the sheer velocity from Scootaloo's throw along with her on brute strength she had obtained from applebucking, the farm pony gave the draconequus a mighty buck to the face with both hooves. At the exact moment Applebloom's hooves collided with Discord's face Sweetie Belle unfroze time at which point Discord was taken completely by surprise and knocked away mid-air leaving the ball of magical fire to fall on Applebloom which was dispelled by her element of harmony she was using as a shield.

A few moments later Scootaloo caught her mid-air and set her gently on the ground then looked at each other each thinking the same thing.

Cutie mark crusaders, Discord face crushers! YEAAAH!

The three fillies exclaimed enthusiastically as they high-five'd each other simultaneously.

“It's been far too long since we had a shout like that!” Scootaloo exclaimed with a wide grin.

“Ah know, we sure as hay need to go crusadin again after we kick this varmint's flank.” Applebloom replied with a wide smile.

“I wouldn't be celebrating so soon!” Discord exclaimed as he appeared in a flash of magic at which point Scootaloo knocked Applebloom to the side and was lifted up by the throat gagging her as he held her.

“Scootaloo!” Applebloom exclaimed and attempted to rescue her fillyfriend only to be knocked back by a burst of magic from the draconequus.

“You truly thought you had escaped my control? How foalish of you to think! You are mine, forever!” Discord exclaimed as the orange Pegasus gagged and choked.

Despite being choked at the present time, Scootaloo gave the best laugh she could muster between gags at she grinned at him. “You-ack, lost me-ack, the day-ack, you attacked-ack, my friends.” Scootaloo said between gags still grinning despite her beginning to lose consciousness due to lack of oxygen.

“With your death, I will resurrect you as my minion for all time, with no will of your own, you will do my bidding without question, so who's laughing now? Ha,ha,ha...” Discord said with a malicious grin.

“That-ack..would be-ack..me! Heh,heh...” Scootaloo said with a weak laugh as she looked past the draconequus to the pony who was now upon him and moments later Rainbow Dash's hoof came colliding with his skull which knocked his grip from around the filly's neck.

“Scoots, are you okay?! Speak to me!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a panicked tone as she held the filly who did nothing for a few moments then began to cough loudly.

“I knew if anything could break you from under his illusion, it was my life being in danger.” Scootaloo said in a horse tone as she rubbed her throat at which point she was knocked upside the back of the head by Applebloom.

“What hay were ya thinkin?! Discord could of killed ya! Then ah would be all alone in this here world! My element of harmony is the ultimate shield against his consarned buckin flank!” Applebloom exclaimed in a pissed off tone before she hugged her tightly.

“Exactly, he was going for your element of harmony.” Scootaloo replied in a less horse tone which made Applebloom's jaw drop in shock.

“How did you know he was going for her element of harmony?” Sweetie Belle asked as Discord regained his composure from the sudden blow unknown to them.

“I told you already, I know him. When he discorded me, we formed a link. Though we aren't linked anymore, I know how he thinks.” Scootaloo replied in an serious tone.

“He's targetin our weakness now.” Applebloom replied in a affirming tone.

“Yeah, we need to break the other five free of this illusion, his magic is weakening, I can feel it. This battle has dragged on for far too long. He may call himself a god, but even his magic has it's limits.” Scootaloo said as she turned to look at Discord who's eyes widened into a glare as she said this.

“So that's why he's resortin to petty psychical attacks and illusions!” Applebloom exclaimed in realization.

“And why he's targeting our elements of harmony directly now. It appears he was hoping to take us our by sheer magical brute force at first, but now, he's nearing his limit so he's taking the more strategic route. Without the elements of harmony, we would have done lost by now. I'm nearing my limit as well speaking as I don't have one.” Sweetie Belle chimed in and looked at Discord as well.

Discord gave a low growl as he continued to stare at them. “They may have caught on to my plan, but it doesn't mean they can stop me!” Discord remarked in a low tone as he looked from the three fillies to the other five and disappeared in a flash of magic.

“Sweetie Belle, work on dispelling the illusion around the other five, me and Applebloom will protect the other five!” Scootaloo exclaimed to which Applebloom nodded only for the cyan blue Pegasus to stand in front of them.

“Leave Discord to me, I’ve got a score to settle with him. He took you away from me, turned you against me, and just tried to kill you. He's mine!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she placed a hoof on her element of harmony which began to glow brightly and enveloped her in a flash of magic.

(Play “Breath” now)

When the magic faded Rainbow was covered in a suit of armor brazen with rainbows,clouds, and lightning. The cloud design was on her helmet which she now wore which had rainbows extending from the front of her helmet and down her back to the base of her rump. On each side of her flank were two lightning bolts which resembled the one on her cutie mark. Once again time seemed to slow down for the cyan blue Pegasus as she surveyed her surrounded and saw a spark of magic slowly appearing next to Twilight which could belong to none other than Discord.

In a flash the cyan blue Pegasus darted in front of Twilight, and blocked the incoming strike much to Discord's shock. It was at this point and time Discord realized exactly how Rainbow Dash had achieved this feat and growled at which point he stopped moving slowly to Rainbow Dash's sight having used his own magic to counter the cyan blue Pegasus's magic.

“You took my daughter from me, turned her against, and you think I’ll let you get away with this?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she began to strike at him at incredible speeds thanks to her element of harmony's magic putting the draconequus on a full defensive.

“You nearly killed my fillyhood friend, you've killed countless ponies, converted one of my friends into a mindless slave, I WILL BUCKING END YOU!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed at the top of her lungs as she roundhouse kicked the draconequus sending him flying a crossed the castle room, land on the ground, skid with an uncontrolled backward tumble several times, and hit the wall with a thud only for the cyan blue Pegasus to be upon him a split second later and strike again to which Discord projected a barrier which blocked Rainbow Dash's strike.

“Humph, not nearly as strong as Fluttershy are you? You have her speed, but lack her strength.” Discord said with a sneer from behind his barrier.

“Fluttershy's not the only Pegasus who can tap into her inner strength!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed and gave a might scream as she struck the barrier once again this time cracking it much to the draconequus shock.

“You can't tap into it like she can.” Discord replied as he reenforced his barrier effectively repairing it.

Upon hearing this the cyan blue Pegasus narrowed her eyes at the draconequus and jumped away. “I was hoping you would say that...” Rainbow Dash said in a low tone as she dispelled the magical armor on her revealing her normal appearance.

“What are you plotting?” Discord said as he stared at the cyan blue Pegasus as if trying to read her mind.

“You're the third creature to ever see this side of me...” Rainbow Dash said in the same low tone as her mane and tail began to flail slowly now.

“It can't be...” Discord said incredulously in a shocked tone.

“You see, I figured how how she did it, How she became so powerful...” Rainbow Dash said as her mane and tail began to flail a little faster now. “Wanna know the difference between me and her though?” Rainbow Dash said allowing a cocky smile to wash over her face.

I can control it!!!

The cyan blue Pegasus's words echoed throughout the room as she screamed them at which point her mane and tail flailed wildly now along with streaks of magic that jetted a crossed her body at random intervals.

(play “Hero-by skillet” now)

“All my rage, all the pain you've caused me, the lives you've taken, I WILL ERASE YOUR BUCKING FLANK FROM EXISTANCE!!!” Rainbow Dash roared at the top of her lungs, disappeared in a blur and reappeared next to Discord and struck him upside the head despite him using his lions block to absorb most of the blow.

Unknown to the draconequus however, the cyan blue Pegasus gave a pained grunt. True as it was she was capable of it, she avoided doing this for this key reason. She realized far to quickly from the first time she was able to achieve this feat that it was a strain on her body.

Because Fluttershy loses all sense of reality when she unlocks her inner power she she could not feel the strain it had on the Pegasus's body. This fact is also how Rainbow Dash figured out why she suddenly and without warning would pass out. Though she couldn't feel the strain, her body does have a limit and when she hit it, she would pass out on the spot.

This is both an advantage and a weakness Fluttershy has over her, but now wasn't the time to thinking about such things, she needed to hold him off long enough for Sweetie Belle to break his illusion over her friends. She had thought her element of harmony would be enough to hold him off at first, but when she realized it wasn't enough she decided it was now or never.

Truth be told though, she was edging for an excuse to do this from the moment she broke free of the illusion by seeing her daughter being choked nearly to death by Discord.

“Why would you wait till now to use such power?!” Discord exclaimed in a shocked tone as he barely dodged a strike from the cyan blue Pegasus whom gave a pained grunt.

“Blast it! I can't afford to miss! Each and every strike strains my body whether the strike lands or not! Not to mention it gives Discord an opportunity to catch on to my weakness in this state.” Rainbow Dash thought to herself dramatically as she quickly followed up with another strike at the draconequus which landed and sent him flying once again only to recover mid-air and land on one knee looking up at her.

“Your attacks are weakening with each strike...” Discord remarked with a sneer as the cyan blue Pegasus charged at him again.

Upon hearing this, Rainbow Dash's expression flashed with a shocked yet worried expression if only for a split second before it reverted back to one of fury. “He's starting to catch on...hurry up Sweetie Belle! I can't hold this state for much longer!” Rainbow Dash thought to herself dramatically as she flashed a glance over to the white unicorn who was channeling magic into her horn at the moment then back to Discord in the next moment, disappeared in a blur and reappeared in another blur and roundhouse kicked at the draconequus only for him to block the strike with both his claw and lion's paw.

Moments before the cyan blue Pegasus broke through the draconequus's defense he noticed a pained expression appear on Rainbow Dash's face if only for a moment then was sent into a backwards roll which he recovered from mid-roll and stood up. “Heh,heh,heh...true as it may be that you can tap into your inner power like she can, it puts a great deal of strain on your body, doesn't it?” Discord remarked with a grin as the cyan blue Pegasus landed a short few feet from him clearly sweating profusely now and panting loudly.

“You wish!” Rainbow Dash shouted and charged at the draconequus only for him to block her strike and counter which knocked back into the air and onto the floor with a thud before she stood back to all four hooves wearily.

“You're at your limit Rainbow Dash.” Discord said with a sneer before he disappeared in a flash of magic and before the Pegasus could react stuck her hard which sent her flying. Within the next ten seconds, Discord then reappeared in another flash of magic right behind the cyan blue Pegasus and stuck her again from under her which sent her flying upward, appeared again from above her, struck her once again which sent her downward, appeared next to her and stuck her mid-fall which sent the cyan blue Pegasus flying horizontally away from her, appeared in yet another flash of magic a short distance away from her still flying towards her and began to focus magic into his lions paw.

“You're through!” Discord exclaimed and fired a beam of magic three feet tall and four feet wide at the cyan blue Pegasus.

Rainbow Dash could do nothing as the beam sailed at her too stunned from the multiple blows against her that had just happened in rapid succession over the course of a mere fifteen seconds. However mere moments before the beam connected a blur of yellow streaked past and grabbed the cyan blue Pegasus and lay her on the ground safely.

“Fl-Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked in a dazed tone as the yellow Pegasus helped her to all four hooves.

“Makes the second time I saved your flank like this.” Fluttershy remarked with a smile.

“Yeah, you really gotta stop making a habit of waiting till the last moment to save me.” Rainbow Dash replied with a smile.

“What?! They broke free of my illusion?!” Discord exclaimed in a shocked tone then looked down at Sweetie Belle whom was hard at work casting magic over Applejack, growled in anger, disappeared in a flash of magic, and reappeared next to Sweetie Belle much to Applebloom and Scootaloo's horror.

“Look out!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she darted forward and struck the draconequus hard. This strike however did not have much effect on him, though it did give Sweetie Belle the time she needed to free Applejack from the illusion.

“What the hay is goin on here?!” Applejack exclaimed in shock and confusion until she saw Discord strike Scootaloo to the ground.

“You little foal!” Discord exclaimed in a pissed off tone as he barreled down on the filly preparing to stab her on the ground with his claw hand.

“Ah don't think so!” Applebloom exclaimed as she charged at the draconequus before he could impale the orange Pegasus followed up by Applejack. “You ain't harmin a feather on her! Not if ah have any say in it!” Applebloom exclaimed as she jumped up and performed a mid-air buck at the draconequus who dodged her attack only to get bucked by Applejack who was up on him before he could react.

“He's not usin flashy magic anymore, ah reckon we got the varmint on the ropes.” Applejack said to Applebloom as the two charged at Discord.

Discord looked over to see that two more of the ponies had been freed from his illusion between blocks and counters from the apple sisters and realized he was at a disadvantage as Sweetie Belle freed the last of them from his illusion.

“It's over Merrick! Accept defeat and release your spell over Celestia and we'll spare your life! Once again, you underestimated the power of friendship!” Twilight exclaimed as the nine ponies cornered the draconequus whom was clearly unable to use much more magic against them.

Discord growled to himself as he looked about himself then without warning a cruel grin appeared on his face. “Hmph, you may have won the battle, but the war is far from over!” Discord exclaimed and disappeared in a flash of magic then appeared above them. “At least I get a swell consolation prize! A young foal, who's just dying to meet me!” Discord exclaimed and disappeared in a flash of magic.

“Roseheart!” Applebloom exclaimed in a fearful tone.

“Where would he go though? Other than Celestia's castle, I can't think of any other place he'd be.” Twilight said in a worried tone.

“I think I do.” Scootaloo said in a soft tone at which point everypony looked at her curiously...

Comments

[Cylos]

Awesome Chapter as always!

But Im confused, is the sweetie ressurection part of the next chapter of "Nightmare Moon Returns" ?
A lot of it feels like there is some backstory missing. Did I miss a 4th story?

[Deathsia]

448169

Filly dash didn't practice either yet she did it.

[Deathsia]

447307

it's a plot device i put plan on using in nightmare moon returns when i pick it up again. so don't worry, you'll get the full picture so to speak when i begin it again.

[TheMyth]

I'm guessing you got your inspiration from "Past Sins" here... seeing all the references in this story

[Paladin Redflare]

448586 Sure... she was in flight school, and somehow never practiced? ALMIGHTY PUSH!

[SCOOTALOOxDAAWW]

you have no idea how long it took me to find this i was reading up to the chapter befor this but forgot to watch it and it sprung to my mind yesterday after a couple of months or so and i had to try and find it. this is to good a story to miss.

[mrmayortheiv]

Yay, discord is a draconequus now not a hydrocephalus

[Rakdar]

direct quote from the animated Hercules movie. nah it couldnt be

[Fluttershyisacutegal]

I enjoy this story, quite interesting