The Unity Pact

by Truthseeker

Chapter 19: Introductions

My entire world revolved around that one huge grapefruit from the time I began peeling it until I finished the last piece. It was pure ambrosia. The tan mare and Doc left at some point while I was eating and I had completely missed their departure. I looked around for a trash can. I knew there was one in the bathroom but I didn't want to put forth the effort of moving that distance. The grapefruit peels piled up on the bed in front of me were sure to be a mess I did not want to sleep on any time soon. Granted the citrus smell was a wonderful alternative to the harsh, overly sterile smell of the hospital, but I didn't want my whole body smelling of it.

I failed to spot a trash can and so resigned myself to limping to the bathroom to deposit the peelings. I slid to the right side of the bed and eased myself off. Rising to my feet was much easier than it had been before. I was sure to have sore muscles tomorrow but I was not going to simply wallow in my own refuse like an animal. I bent over and scooped up the pile of peels with my left hand then limped my way over to the bathroom. Once there I realized I didn't have to prop myself up as much to get there. I dropped the peelings into the trash can and limped back over to the bed.

'I need some clothes or something. I can't keep walking around with my junk at eye-level with the Kavim.' The sound of rattling wheels and clopping hooves brought my attention to the hallway outside my room.

A wooden cart came into view, followed closely by Doc. The cart was covered in vials, syringes, and other medical implements. Doc pushed the cart into the room but the little parade wasn't over yet. The tan mare rounded the corner, flank first, pulling a second wooden cart. My eyes bulged at what was on the surface of the second cart. A big bowl of fruits and vegetables sat on top of a small mountain of papers and what looked exactly like normal number two pencils.

The tan mare pulled her cart up next to Doc's, but I could still hear more hooves clopping against the floor. I didn't pay much attention to the other hoof sounds, my attention rested solely on the bowl of fruit. The cart with the fruit bowl was too far for me to reach so I held the pillow of the bed in front of myself and slid off the bed. A sudden, sharp metallic sound drew my attention away from the food. I had neglected to notice one of the armored Kavim had snuck up on my right. His right wing was extended in front of me, blocking my movement.

Movement from the tan mare drew my attention to her. Her eyes were narrowed angrily, but not at me. She was glaring daggers at the armored Pegasus. She opened her mouth to say something half a second before another presence distracted me.

I felt this presence like a palpable force pushing against me and it drew my attention. I looked to my right and saw a huge Kavim standing at the doorway. The other Kavim in the room instantly fell into a deep bow. I took a moment to examine the new Kavim. I couldn't tell if it was male or female but something told me female. She was tall and thin. Her legs were perhaps a third of the width of that of average Kavim. She was adorned with gold shoes, a gold chest piece with a large gem in the center and a golden crown on her head. Her horn looked to be close to thirteen inches long and razor sharp, she also had a pair of wings folded along her sides. Her mane and tail were hugely long and looked like they were caught in a breeze I wasn't feeling. Both her mane and tail flowed with a bright series of beautiful pastel colors.

I had no idea who she was, but power and energy just seemed to flow out of her. She radiated it like the sun radiates heat. Something about her just screamed 'power incarnate'. I knew instantly that I was to her, like a match was to the sun. I nearly fell to my knees in her presence. The force was an almost physical pressure against me, but I fought against it. I was determined not to bow to her. It wasn't a case of disrespect, but if I was going to bow to anything, I wanted it to be my own choice. I fought against this strange force and looked at her face. My focus seemed to slide away from her eyes without me even thinking about it. I refocused on her eyes. It was almost as if there was a barrier of will set against my vision. For a few moments I figuratively fought against that barrier before it fell. I looked into her eyes and she met my gaze with her own pink orbs.

Oh my dear, sweet, loving, merciful heavenly father. Her eyes carried the weight of ages beyond count. She had experienced things, the likes of which would kill any lesser being just to witness. The weight of her gaze was heavy beyond comprehension and as unmoving as the flow of time itself. In that moment I realized exactly how insignificant I truly was in the grand spectrum of the universe. Whoever, strike that, whatever this being was, could crush me like a bug without effort. Yet there was a softness to her gaze. I saw no malice or greed or cruelty, it was almost as if I was looking into the eyes of a being who saw every one around her like a mother would. I had never been in the presence of God and I knew instinctively that I still wasn't, but she was obviously not average or normal. She had the bearing of an unspeakably powerful Arch Angel. You know, the type which strike so much fear and awe into a person that the first words they speak are, 'fear nor'.

I managed to stay standing, still meeting her gaze, despite my first reaction to kneel. She quirked a ghost of a smile and inclined her head toward me by the slightest fraction of an inch. I nodded to her in return, except my nod was much deeper.

She spoke a few brief syllables to the Kavim in the room and they rose from their bows. Doc and the tan mare casually went back to what they were doing, but my focus was still fixed on the tall, white Kavim. That changed when a glowing syringe levitated right in front of me. My eyes were drawn to the syringe like magnets. I have the most severe phobia of needles. I passed out when I tried to overcome my fear of needles and donate blood for the Red Cross and ended up on their 'black list'. Seeing that needle in front of me . . . An instantaneous, overwhelming feeling of vertigo took me. My vision tunneled and I could hear a roaring sound in my ears. I knew I was going to pass out any second.

"Hello Daniel," the tall, white Kavim spoke suddenly, in perfect American, "I've been wondering when we would meet."

* * *

The next thing I knew was that I was lying on my bed again with the huge Kavim standing over me. She had a big goofy grin plastered all over her face. 'Well that's embarrassing.'

I felt a pinching sensation on my left arm and turned just in time to see a syringe needle withdraw from the underside of my elbow. The syringe was filled with blood and it glowed the same color as Doc's horn. It didn't take me long to figure it out; she had taken advantage of my temporary unconsciousness to retrieve a few samples.

I already knew why I had passed out, but it was still embarrassing as hell,
"Oh God, I feel like an idiot." I groaned as I draped my right arm across my eyes.

"Don't feel too bad, Daniel. I know exactly how bad your phobia is." the voice was feminine and soft but somewhat deep in pitch.

I slowly lowered my arm from my eyes and gazed up at her,
"I wasn't imagining what you said then?" I asked in shock.

"Not at all, I'm afraid." she replied.

I took a moment to organize my tumbling thoughts,
"How exactly do you speak American?"

"I have your memories." she said bluntly.

"Oh, o.k. that makes sense." I reflexively, it took a second for me to register what she said, I felt my stomach in my throat, "What? How?"

"The filly who touched her horn to your head effectively downloaded all of your memories. The trauma to her mind was extensive so I had to repair the damage myself. In so doing, I ended up with your memories instead." she said.

She had spoken in a casual tone, but I was afraid for my life. She knew everything I had ever done, everything I had ever seen, everything I had ever experienced. I knew myself and I knew what that entailed. She knew every bad thing I had ever done, that was a very long list. Human beings portray themselves as being good and wholesome but very, very few, if any, are ever honest about who they truly are. Suddenly all my secrets, all my dark deeds, all my wrongs had been exposed to another. It would have been bad enough if it was a normal person who knew, but no, it was a ridiculously powerful Kavim.

My mouth felt dry, I could feel myself shaking,
"A . . . a . . . are you going to . . . kill me?"

The expression on her face was contemplative for a moment before she answered,
"No. No, I'm not. Nor am I going to punish you. In fact, I want to make you an emissary."

I was flabbergasted,
"No offense whoever you are, but I am NOT emissary material."

She laid down on the floor, but she could still look me in the eye,
"I know everything you know, but I don't feel everything you felt. I have witnessed thirty plus years of your life." her tone changed from congenial to deadly serious, "I saw what you did to that blond Nazi boy in your school when you waited for him in the alley, with the baseball bat. I watched from your eyes as you beat him. I heard you yelling at him, while you beat him until you thought he was dead. And I know you only did it because he got off scott-free after beating a Jewish girl to death with a rock. You were afraid of telling anyone what you saw because you thought he would kill you too."

She nodded,
"I know you. I saw you stare at the people around you every day. I heard you curse them quietly because they were born physically attractive and you weren't. I saw through your eyes as you watched your friends in high-school ask out girls and go on dates. I heard the mocking tones through your ears as the girls you asked out laughed at you and told you, you weren't good enough. I saw your disagreement with your brother and when you used hot pepper extract to replace his eye drops. I saw your hands shake when you shot that man who was trying to rob the store with a shotgun. I remember when your brother was angry at you and threw his hand made spear at you, which is how you got that scar on your back. I know you were upset and vented your anger on a depressed friend who called you and I heard the gunshot over the phone line as he killed himself."

I felt like I could die,
"And I also know you." she continued, "I know you worked with your friend's father on drug interventions with his street ministry. I know you had an angry drug dealer shove his pistol in your face and you used words to talk him down. I know you cry every time you hear about a case of human trafficking. I know that you comforted your friend when his mother died. I know you stayed with your wife when she was diagnosed with a severe form of bipolar. I know how hard you cried when she confessed to sleeping with four other men after you had saved yourself for her. I know you have never even kissed any other woman except her. I know you took up security work to protect others even though you could have made more money somewhere else."

"I know you inside and out and I deem you worthy. Do you wish to debate that?" she asked calmly.

"No." I said bluntly.

I was flabbergasted. Not only was she offering me a position, but she was willing to do it even after she knew me as only I knew myself. Words failed me. I could not vocalize my feelings, no matter how much I wanted to. The situation had gone from nightmarish to humbling in just a few minutes and I was struggling to catch up, both mentally and emotionally.

I lay there on the bed, thinking. I wasn't paying attention to Doc puttering around to my left. She was doing odd and random things to me but they weren't invasive so I ignored them. I turned my face toward the ceiling and my eyes followed. I scrutinized the porous stone ceiling for the most fine details while my mind continued to turn.

I realized, after a few minutes, that I was getting nowhere and turned my head back toward the tall Kavim to my right,
"Who are you?" it was the only question that came to mind.

She cracked a small smile,
"I am Celestia, Princess of Equestria. Please, don't let the title get to you, I'd prefer if you were very honest with me. I have been completely honest with you."

I quirked an eyebrow at the statement, something seemed very off,
"Let me get this straight. You're royalty and you're asking me to be bare-balls-blunt with you?"

Celestia snickered behind her hoof,
"I would prefer the term, 'candidly direct'. I know you always edited your feelings when you spoke with anyone, please don't feel the need to do so around me. I know everything about you. In any case, welcome to Equestria."

"Equestria?" I asked without thinking, "Ah, you know what I do about Latin. I take it there's no particularly good translation between your native language and American?"

"Actually the translation is very close. The literal translation would be, 'The Land In Which The Kavim Dwell', so it's not far off." she explained.

"Huh, nice coincidence." a question suddenly sprung into my mind, "Wait a second, if you speak American, why don't any of your Kavim speak it too? Does it take that long to teach?"

"No, I loathe using magic to solve every problem, besides, if I used magic to 'implant' the language, my Ponies would also have some knowledge about things I would rather not have them know." Celestia said.

"Magic?" I thought about the title for their strange power, it seemed a reasonable enough name, "So what happened to my people?"

Celestia's face fell somewhat, which put me on edge,
"Most of them are fine, but some of them didn't make it. They are living in an abandoned town to the North-West." a mischievous glint shone in her eyes briefly before she smothered it, "A number of my Ponies should be arriving today to help your people build."

"You keep saying Ponies, I thought your species were called Kavim." I said curiously.

Celestia quirked a smile at my question,
"We ARE called Kavim, but that is our own word for ourselves. I chose the American word 'Pony' because it doesn't sound as threatening as Kavim. Besides it's a word that Humans associate with things that are cute and it's a familiar word, so it makes us seem less foreign and alien to Humans."

"O.K. I'll give you that, very clever. So what do you need me for? You seem to have everything well in hand . . . hoof, whatever. Actually that brings another question to mind. What do you want me to call the hoof-like structures Kavim walk on?" I asked.

"Hooves will work just fine. As for what I need you for, the answer is simple. My sister and I already have more than enough to deal with, ruling our nation. I want you to act as a 'go-between' for our two species. Don't worry, I have no intention of asking you to rule your people, that would end poorly as you have neither the desire nor the organizational skills or patience required to do so. No, what I want from you is, as I said, for you to execute the position and duties of an Emissary. I also need you to work with one of my Ponies on a translation of our languages." Celestia pointed with her lips at the tan mare on the far left side of the room, "Her name translates into Razor Wit. She's a linguistics specialist and she requested to work with you on this translation."

"Sound's logical enough." I said with a shrug, but not liking the implications, "When do we leave?"

"You don't, at least not yet. You're far too thin to return to the other Humans yet. They would think we were starving you. I'd like you to put on some weight and have a working copy of the translation in the form of a book before you go join your people. I cannot have you walking around Canterlot either . . . "

"Canterlot?" I asked in a deadpan tone, "Like Camelot but with canter in there because it pertains to Ponies?"

Celestia nodded with a trollish grin,
"Oh yes, I'm having quite a lot of fun with puns. Las Pegasus, Flankfurt, Trottingham, Stalliongrad, Manehattin . . . "

"Oh dead GOD, stop!" I said emphatically.

Celestia chuckled while I groaned,
"Oi. No more puns, please, I already don't trust you, don't make it worse."

Celestia's chuckling ceased immediately,
"What? Why?"

"Let's see here," I said holding out my skeletal right hand, I tipped the index finger,
"You have all of my memories so you know all my secrets." I tipped my middle finger, "You are clever and super powerful, which is never a good thing." I tipped my ring finger, "You are capable of manipulating me like a puppet on a string." I tipped my pinkie, "You're saddling me with a position I never asked for nor consented to." I tipped my thumb, "And you know my language yet you're unwilling to share it. It would make the process much faster and much more easy but you don't want to. Am I missing anything? Oh, and I don't trust you. Don't get me wrong, I am eternally grateful for what you did for my people, but I don't trust anyone with as much power as you seem to have."

Celestia seemed taken aback,
"I told you about the position so I could get your input. I never intended to force you into it."

"Alright, thank you for that, but I still haven't accepted the position. You assumed I would take it, and I may, but I need some time to think about it." I said.

Celestia's face was blankly neutral for several seconds before she grinned,
"Ah," she said in recognition, "You're testing me, just like I was testing you. I believe the term is 'feeling each other up'?"

"Out. Feeling each other out. To feel someone up is to attempt to garner a sexual arousal response." I said.

Celestia's troll grin was huge,
"I know." she tapped a hoof against her head, "Your memories, remember?"

"This is gonna be hell, isn't it?" I said morosely.

Celestia smiled hugely and rose to her hooves,
"Only if you make it so. I'm several thousand years old and, as you noted, rather powerful. Believe me Daniel, if I wanted to manipulate you, you would never know it. In time you will come to understand that my sister and I are benevolent. We look out for the greater good of all beings, including Humans." she slowly strode over to the door and looked over her shoulder, "If you really don't want to work on the translation guide, I won't force you to. Take your time. Was there anything you needed?"

"I could use some clothes and a set of weights." I looked at my stickly arms, "I'm impersonating Skeletor here. Oh, and if you're serious about me not being a prisoner you can get rid of the soldiers too."

Celestia shook her head,
"The Guards stay, I'm afraid. The vast majority of my Ponies aren't aware of Humans yet and I'd like to keep it that way until our species share a language." she sighed, "I was expecting some resistance from you, but not with such venom. Can you not trust me to do what is best?"

"I apologize if I came across as rude, but the answer is 'no'. Power corrupts . . . " I began.

"And absolute power corrupts absolutely. I know the saying." Celestia finished.

"Well, here's one more: there is no knowledge that is not power." I said crossly, "You literally have absolute power over me and I can't trust anyone who has that. I'll cooperate if something seems like a good idea, but I'm always and forever going to be wondering if you have an ulterior motive."

Celestia seemed to ponder my statement before she nodded sadly,
"Very well. I'll make the arrangements to have you taken back to your people."

"I'll do the translation then." I said suddenly, "Furthermore I'll do it here while I'm recuperating. I needed to see you were willing to actually do what you said. I'm nowhere near sold on the whole Emissary idea, but I'll play ball for now."

Celestia smiled and nodded politely,
"You're going to make me regret asking you to be candid, aren't you?"

I shook my head,
"Nope, just don't expect me to jump through hoops only because you think it's a good idea. You know me, so you know that if I say I'll help, I'm going to do the best job I can. I may not be a lap dog, but if I agree to something, you're going to get a spectacular effort from me. Just remember, you have my memories, so I'm not going to trust you easily. You asked me for honest, you got it, your majesty."

"Razor Wit is clearly going to have her hooves full. Good luck. If you need anything, just say my name to one of the Guards. They'll come get me." Celestia finished and left the room.

Doc seemed to be finished with me, as evidenced by her quick departure on Celestia's heels . . . hooves, whatever. I flopped my right arm over my face, it was bony and kind of uncomfortable. I sighed heavily and pulled my arm away from my face. A sheet of paper floated in front of my face, about a foot away, I turned my head and saw the smiling face of . . . what had Celestia called her . . . Sharp Mind no . . . Razor Wit. She looked happy and excited, 'Wish I felt the same way.' I silently groused.

I sat up slowly and the paper settled down on my lap. I picked it up and looked it over. There was a list of full-color drawings of various fruits and vegetables. The pictures were about one inch square each and arranged vertically, from top to bottom. There were words written above each drawing and a blank space below each one, I assumed, for me to write the American translation for it. Just to the right of every picture was a pair of boxes. At the top of the page was a smiling Kavim face and a frowning one, right above the two vertical rows of boxes. 'Very nice. It makes identification easy, it denotes whether or not each food is good or not, and it provides a reference point for the pronunciation of each word with corresponding letters. Damn, teachers on Earth could learn a thing or two from these Kavim.' I shuddered at the word Celestia had used, 'Ponies! Ugh! I'm never calling them Ponies.'

* * *

A gray Unicorn stallion with a royal purple mane and tail slowly cracked open his eyes, 'Am I dead?' he drew a deep breath and let it out. He was lying on his back, facing a stone ceiling.

"You are finally awake I see." said a silky smooth feminine voice.

The stallion turned his head to his right, following the voice,
"P . . . Princess Luna!?" he instantly slammed his lips shut.

The indigo Alicorn mare nodded,
"It is I." she was lying on the floor next to the stallion's bed while two Royal Guards stood a silent vigil by the closed door, "What am I to do with you? Can you not keep yourself out of trouble for two months?"

The stallion said nothing, Luna continued,
"Your case is an interesting one." she levitated a clipboard in front of her, "Very interesting indeed."

She tapped her right fore hoof against the parchment on the clipboard,
"No punctured lungs, no injuries to the heart, no injuries to any internal organs," she pulled up the paper, "Not even any major arteries or veins punctured or even damaged." she levitated the clipboard back onto the peg at the hoof of the stallion's bed, "Nearly a Fathom of steel in your body and not a single life-threatening injury?" she shook her head, "You are the second Pony to be the recipient of an Act Of Magic in less than a year. Normally my sister and I only see one per generation, and even that, not always." she looked at the stallion lying on the bed, "You may speak."

The stallion licked his lips,
"I'm going to live?" he asked.

Princess Luna blinked in surprise,
"Is that not what I just said? Thou . . . You are going to be fine."

To say the stallion was surprised would have been a gross understatement,
"I don't understand, your Majesty. I was certain I had seen my death."

Luna nodded and rose to her hooves,
"By all rights, you should be dead. Your wound should have been as fatal as incineration, yet do you draw breath." she leaned over the side of the bed and looked down at the stallion, "Do you comprehend the depth of meaning here?"

The stallion shook his head,
"I've heard of Acts Of Magic, but I never thought I would ever see one. I'm afraid I have no idea what it means."

"It means that the natural, normally latent magic of the world intervened and changed a situation, your situation. Any time that occurs, the recipient always has an important part left to play in the world." Luna sighed and began a slow circuit around the bed, "My sister and I learned long ago that an Act Of Magic is never to be ignored. They are singularly pivotal events and Celestia and I have also learned to read signs that go along with them. You have already seen these signs, but you couldn't recognize them." she stopped, now on the stallion's left and finished her statement, "What is the last thing you remember before losing consciousness, Beacon?"

"I remember the Human stabbing me in the chest looked horrified and I remember looking down and seeing my initial symbol carved into the pommel." he said.

Princess Luna nodded,
"That confirms what we thought." she say down next to the bed, "Allow me to clarify the signs for you. One, you were where you were supposed to be. That means you stay in Equestria. Two, the one who injured you was horrified. That means you have a connection to that being. Three, they were out for revenge, just like you were. That means absolution for you. Four, the sword that pierced you was your own. That means your time wielding that sword is not over. And Five, you were protecting a former enemy when it happened. That means your place is with them, protecting them."

Beacon's face lit up with excitement,
"Does that mean I'll be accepted back into the Royal Guard!?"

"No." she crushed his rising hope with a single word, "Your time in the Royal Guard is over, now and forever. What that means is that you will be granted a Royal Permission to wear and wield your sword. You will join the Humans in their new home and help them build. You will attach yourself to the Humans and you will spend the rest of your life among them. Beyond that, your life is yours once more. I have taken the liberty of bringing your possessions here for you. Your family has already been informed of where you will be, but not who you will be with. If they write you, you cannot say anything about the Humans and tell them if they visit you, they will have to remain until Celestia and I reveal the Humans to all of Equestria publicly. Do you understand, Beacon?"

Beacon's ears wilted,
"I do Princess."

Luna nodded soberly,
"Good. You are well enough to walk. You will ride in the carriage with me. Come."

Beacon scrambled to get out of bed. His stitches weren't completely sealed yet but he powered through the discomfort. He had been given a second chance and he wasn't about to squander it.

Comments

[trooper7051]

damn this chapter was a deep reveal....

this seems to be turning into a more interesting story than before

[ViktornovaMk2]

Beacon and Ron'del are going to have a very long and interesting conversation.
Once they have a working traslation.

[Truthseeker]

Not as much as Beacon is going to have with the Human who stabbed him.

[The Slending Angel]

Hot diggety-damn, shit's gonna go down. With the stereotype I have seen not only in your stories, but others as well, there will be the battle of a lifetime somewhere close to the end. Also, have you ever thought about writing Grim-Dark? I don't like the subject myself, but you have an uncanny ability to describe bloody, gory, or situations full of death quite clearly.

[Bobbin]

I wanna see Truthseeker draw those 'smiling and frowning Kavim faces'. What does a Pony Smiley Face look like?

[Truthseeker]

5332021 Like this.

[gamer4COD]

5927843 Oh oh, I got something to point out.

just say my name to one of the Guards. They'll come get me." Celestia

Her name is in English, her name is derived from the word celestial.
How is a strange word in a foreign tongue going to tell them he wants to talk to her?

FIX IT

[No I Will Not]

The expression on her face was contemplative for a moment before she answered,
"No. No, I'm not. Nor am I going to punish you. In fact, I want to make you an emissary."

Her god complex. Lol.

[batran]

Isn't it called English? Or is it intentional?

[BigBossAlmighty]

6334306 Actually she can, her country, her rules.

This ain't America anymore.

[StandbyForTitanfall]

"Hello Daniel," the tall, white Kavim spoke suddenly, in perfect American, "I've been wondering when we would meet."

Well, the fact its called AMERICAN already means it cannot be perfect.

Seriously though.... seriously?

Please change American to English when referencing the language, the number of cringes I got from this is huge.

[Toobert]

It's ENGLISH! You FUCKING TARD!

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Wow, that was riveting!
Also, greetings Slending Angel!

[IPlayCardsNShit]

6660403 Or if you want to be retarded Sorry, I mean politically correct ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) You can always call it American English to keep the American pseudo-pride semi intact.

[Silentwoodfire]

6660403

Agreed. It's always been acknowledged as 'English' due to its origins, any other way of referencing such is a glaring error that requires correction.

[Kusac]

I like how Celestia purposefully translated names of cities into puns in English.

[thetinybrony]

7300522
I don't believe so. My reasoning is that there was mention of Princess Twilight in the earlier chapters.

[ToobertSawk]

"Hello Daniel," the tall, white Kavim spoke suddenly, in perfect American"

UM, WUT

[ToobertSawk]

6713640
So angry, Jesus

[CanadianFluttershy]

Didn't know American was a language....

[Truthseeker]

8958418 It's an offshoot of English, a sub-language.

[Wir sind verloren]

"Hello Daniel," the tall, white Kavim spoke suddenly, in perfect American, "I've been wondering when we would meet."

Correction: It's English not American.

[Wir sind verloren]

We look out for the greater good of all beings, including Humans."

Exclamation: F#CKING TAU!

[Kevin Lee]

So when will the humans start learning about the other species on Equus?
Griffons, dragons, kirin, etc?

[Kevin Lee]

8958463

It's an offshoot of English, a sub-language.

True, but only an uneducated buffoon would ever seriously call American English "American" rather than just plain "English".

[Truthseeker]

10130400 It will happen.