The Angel of Chaos

by iconicgg

The Dragon's Petal

Spike woke up with a creek in his neck. Rolling his head and stretching his limbs, Spike got off the desk. He looked over to the windows and saw sunlight coming from it. Rubbing his eyes, he looked over the photo and saw tear stains on the glass frame. He whipped it clean and then placed it back on the desk.

Spike stood up and walked to the kitchen. He made himself some eggs and salad and trotted to the table. Spike saw a plate on the side of the table and smiled. As soon as he finished, he picked up the plates and walked to the sink.

He heard a knock at the door as he finished washing the dishes. Spike ran to the door and opened it. Applejack stood there holding a shovel. Spike raised a brow and gestured for her to come in.

She placed the shovel down against the wall and smiled at him “So when is the guard coming?”

Spike shrugged. “I don’t know, but what’s with the shovel?”

“Well, if this Discord feller is going to need some flowers, then I’m going to make sure He can’t find them.”

Spike smiled. “Good idea.”

Applejack examined Spike. “Where are your things?”

“I just woke up. Hold on.” Spike ran up the stairs and into his and Twilight’s room.

He looked around and saw his backpack. He opened it and took out the books he had placed in it. Spike looked around the room and added a med kit and a survival book. He went under the bed and pulled out some pepper spray and a small dagger. Shining armor gave it to Twilight before they came to Ponyville. She stuffed it under the bed after the whole Nightmare Night situation.

Spike placed the dagger in the bag and closed the backpack. He ran downstairs where Applejack was reading a book. He approached her and looked at the book. It had an image of a gold cross in the book titled ‘Pendragon.’ Spike smiled.

“I love those books.” He sat down next to her.

Applejack smiles at him “I just picked it off from the shelf. It good read but I feel like I’m missing something.”

“That’s the pendragon. It’s the 4th book in the series.” Spike approached the bookshelf and pulled out five books.

He walked back to her and set out the books in order. “The series is called the Pendragon Cycle. It’s about a shift in faith and a falling empire, although that's just a backdrop. The story is about King Arthur’s kingdom when it’s under siege by barbarians.”

Applejack whistled. “So I take it Minotaur story.”

“No, it’s a human story.”

“What’s a human?”

Spike thought about the question for a moment. “it’s a fantasy creature that can’t use magic. Instead, they use and make artifacts that can go toe to toe with alicorns?”

Applejack smiled. “Well, that seems interesting. Do you think I can check em out?”

“Sure come on.” He ran to the counter with the books in hand. He scanned them and wrote the time to bring them back. Handing them over to Applejack, he was practically beaming.

“Mom is going”- Spike's flame dimmed- “to be so happy, she wanted to get more ponies into these books.”

Spike looked down at his hands, a tear falling from his eye. He growled and shook his head. Applejack trotted around the counter and placed her hoof on his shoulder. He grabbed her hoof and slid it off his shoulder.

Spike moved over to the work desk and picked up the map. Grabbing a quill and paper, he wrote a quick message and grabbed a thumb tack. He put on his backpack and went over to the shovel. He grabbed it and handed it over to Applejack, who looked at him in concern.

He gestured for her to follow him. Spike opened the door and pinned the paper on the door. Applejack placed the books on the counter and followed him. As they moved through the streets. Applejack noticed the looks Spike was getting. Ponies rather glared or did everything they could to avoid looking at him.

Lowering her head, she whispered into his ear. “Is this normal for you, Spike?”

“Yeah,” he said with an intense glare.

The two moved closer to the train station, only for a familiar pegasus to land in front of them. Rainbow Dash had bags under her eyes. Her wings were poorly maintained, and she had a bandage wrapped around her foreleg.

She pushed Spike to the side and approached Applejack. “I heard you found something on Twilight.”

“I didn’t Spike did, you asking him.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes and turned to Spike, who was glaring at her. “Spit it out.”

Spike fought the urge to blast her with fire. “I have a map where Discord and Twilight will have to go.”

“Give it to me,” Rainbow demanded

Spike glared at her “You forgot to say Please.”

“I’ve been looking for Twi since yesterday. You want her back right well give me the map and I’ll find her.”

Spike turned around and ran off, enraged. A smoke cloud coming from his maw. Rainbow growled and tried to fly after him only to be stopped by Applejack. Rainbow bucked her legs back, trying to get applejack to let go only to be slammed on the ground. Applejack shook her head and galloped after Spike.

She got to the train station only to hear Spike yelling at the train attendant. “I just need a ticket to Rainbow Falls!”

The stallion was shaking, keeping his head under the counter. “I-I’m sorry b-but you n-need an adult i-if you're under the age of e-eighteen.”

Applejack approached the counter and gently moved Spike to the side “He’s with me, Sorry just were kinda in a hurry.”

Spike threw twenty bits on the table, and the stallion gave them two tickets. They grabbed their tickets, Applejack gave the stallion a quick thanks, and got on the train. Spike took a sit with Applejack sitting next to him.

The train’s engines roared to life, and the conductor yelled for the remaining passengers to get aboard. The train moved along the tracks after a few minutes. Applejack turned to Spike. He was looking over the map-marking area. No doubt he wanted to search.

“Spike, what was that back there?”

“I have to find Mom. Rainbow won’t hear me out. None of you ever do.”

Applejack gained an annoyed expression but quickly let it go having dealt with Applebloom when she got like this. “Well, I’m listening now and Rainbow would have heard me out.”

“I doubt that. All she wanted was the map.”

“We still could have talked her down.”

“If it worked, it would have taken too long.”

“Maybe, but remember she’s trying to find Twi, too.”

Spike's eyes drooped as he acknowledged the point. He looked over to Applejack, who wrapped him up in a hug. Spike looked out the window. The moving trees and grass were a soothing sight to see.

He looked up to Applejack and spoke in a low voice. “We're going to find her. We have to.”

Applejack gave him a sad smile. “Of course we will, Discord wouldn’t know what hit him.”

Spike smiled. “yeah, we’ll show him take was a big mistake.”

“Take a nap. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

Spike sighed and laid down on her. “I’m not tired.”

Applejack chuckled and placed her hat on his head. “That is for the light. Now take a nap”

Spike let out an amused sigh, closing his eyes. As the train moved through the countryside, a rainbow trail followed close behind.

---

Twilight opened her eyes, seeing a wall of soft brown fur. She nuzzled into the fur and let out a content sigh. Twilight heard a gentle thumping, and she leaned her head into the fur. She heard a chuckle coming from above her.

She looked up only to see a creature she had become very familiar with. Discord had a sly grin on his face. She jumped out of his arms and fell to the ground. Discord approached her offering a claw.

Twilight blushed in embarrassment. Taking the claw, she stood up and examined her surroundings. The trees were devoid of snow. The ground was darker and slightly wet. Twilight looked up and saw an early morning sun through the trees.

“Where are we?!”

“Close to the rainbow spring.”

“Rainbow Spring?”

Discord rolled his eyes. “You know, the rainbow river that falls down a mountain.”

Twilight eyes widen. She had always wanted to visit with Spike and her friends. She never expected this. “Okay, what are we here for? We're not going to mutilate another animal, are we?”

“No, my dear, we're going after a flower today.”

What do we need a flower for?”

You ask a lot of questions. Tell you what I answer this one and you get one more.”

“W-” Twilight cut herself off, she didn’t know if he was serious or no so she had to be careful.- “Okay then answer”

Discord smiled. He cleared his throat. “The flower is a blue rose. We need it for the ritual. There is one more item that we need for the ritual. You get that one for free”

Twilight wanted to ask about the last item but held her tongue. She turned around and trotted into the forest. She was about to move when she was stopped by Discord. he grabbed her by her tail. Turning around, she glared at him.

“What do you think you go, my dear?”

“I was going to look for the rose”

“Kind of you to offer, but I think we should go together.” he enthused it by spinning her around and bowing her head.

She shook her head and looked back at him. He smiled at her with a red rose in his mouth. Twilight eyes widen. She opens her mouth to speak but then closes it, not wanting to waste her question.

Discord placed her back on her hoof. He pulled the rose out of his teeth and then placed it behind her ear. He smiled at her, causing her to blush. She was too easy for him. Twilight cleared her throat.

“Let's get moving. You want to get this done quickly, right?”

Discord shrugged his shoulders and floated toward the mountain. Twilight trotted behind him. What is she going to ask him? Will he even tell her the truth? But She knows she needs a paper and writing tool.

The two moved through the path, Discord noticing the hoofprints on the ground. He hummed to himself, snapping his claws, his eyes slit, and he examined the mountainside a mile ahead of them. There was a group of five stallions wearing golden armor. Behind them was a group of blue roses.

He floated beside Twilight and held her hoof. “Why don’t we go over here?”

Twilight was dragged over into a different direction of the forest. Twilight saw nothing but a blur all around her. When he stopped, Twilight coughed as Discord glared at, to her, a tree in the distance.

Discord glared at a white dragon. He lifted a talon and snapped to him. Nothing happened. Twilight looked around, confused. He snapped once more and words appeared in front of her. ‘I have some business to deal with. Be a dear and stay put.’

Twilight growled and blasted the letters. Discord wanted to chuckle but one look at the dragon he lost his mirth. Discord floated to him. The dragon looked at him, unamused. Next to the dragon was an antler.

“Stop this, brother,” Michael stated

“Stop what?” Discord asked innocently.

“This plan to tear her away from her world, to break the protections that were placed here.”

“Well, I could use some company, if not you. Why not her?”

Michael snarled, “I won’t let you do this.”

“So you going to fight me? Is that it?”

Michael glared. “I don’t want to. Please don’t make me.”

“Come with me and I’ll release her from our deal.”

“Give me time to approve of this with Father, then you and I can go to Midgard together”

“You always want to check in with dear old dad. Why can’t you just for once do something by yourself for once?”

Michael let out a sigh. “Give me time, brother. we can spare your ponies and my dragons from the other dimensions.”

Discord's eyes drooped, then he glared. “There tough they can survive can yours.”

“I would never do this to you nor them. Please give me time to send the mare home.”

Discord rolled his eyes. “Fine, you have a day, and I’ll send her home when you get back.”

Michael sighed “Thank you, brother”

Discord eased down to a scowl. “Best get back to the pearly gates. You have twenty-six hours.”

When a nod, Michael unfurled his wings and flew off. Discord took in a massive inhale, then let it out. He snapped his talon and turned around. He looked at the stop where Twilight should have been waiting.

“Mortals never listen,” he grumbled to himself. Discord blinked his eyes, and he saw the mana stream.

---

Twilight trotted through the forest, keeping her eyes on the ground. She had to find that rose along with something to write about. She moved further into the forest and then came across a river.

The river took on a multi-hue of colors. Despite the situation, she couldn’t help but smile as she saw her reflection. She stood there for a few moments before feeling a tap on her shoulder. Twilight let out a sigh and steeled herself. She turned around and her face instantly lit up.

In front of her was a guard stallion who had his eyes widened. “Your Twilight Sparkle!”

“Yes, It’s me Hi I’m Twilight!” She stated enthused.

The stallion regained his composure and cleared his throat. “follow me”

Twilight nodded, and the two went off. Twilight felt both excited and quite nervous. She looked over her shoulder, expecting Discord to show up and do something horrible to the guard. The guard noticed this and looked around.

“So what happened?”

Twilight looked at the stallion with a confused look. “What but don’t you know?”

“I only know that if I find you alone, I should take you to the highest authority.”

“Okay, who's-” a train whistle cut off Twilight.

---

Applejack nudged Spike awake. He sat up and looked around. The traincart was packed with guards. Most wore gold armor with the occasional blue. He looked up to Applejack question in his eyes.

“They got on when the train stopped in Canterlot,” Applejack said, taking off her hat from Spike’s head.

Spike stretched his neck and popped his joints. When the doors opened, he joined the wave of guards leaving the train. Stepping onto the platform, He noticed two things immediately. Princess Luna was standing to the side of the plate form with elegant blue armor on. In her magic was a war scythe.

The other thing he noticed was Shining Armor beside her, checking off a list. Applejack came to Spike’s side. The two jumped off the platform and next to the other two ponies. Princess Luna looked at the two and nodded.

“Young Spark, miss Applejack”

“Spike,” he grumbled

Shining Armor looked up and then just as quickly looked down. Spike noticed this and walked over to him. He grabbed the checklist and pulled it out of Shining’s magic. Shining glared at him.

Spike looked back toward Luna. “So you guys covered a lot of ground”

“Yes, we have young, Spike. We have been searching since we had left for the castle.”

“Good, now we have to check them again. Anything could have happened after you guys left.”

“Sure commander.” Shining Armor said sarcastically.

“The young drake has a point. Discord might not have arrived here till now.” Luna stated.

“Alright then, but why are we listening to a little boy.” Shining Armor

“Because this little boy has done more to help this search than anyone else.”

The group of four moved away from the train station and walked to the center of the village. Spike looked around and saw ponies giving them a wide breath. He noticed their eyes were on him. He growled to himself when Applejack placed her hoof on his shoulder.

She smiled at him, and Spike felt a sense of comfort. A large cart full of blue roses came by them. A stallion who was pulling the cart muttered to himself. Princess Luna trotted over to the stallion.

“Where do you want them, princess?”

“Take them to the town hall for incineration”

These flowers have been here for generations, princess. ponies won’t like them being burnt.”

This must happen for the security of Equestria.”

The stallion looked at her, annoyed, then moved to the town hall. Applejack looked around, seeing Pony sending death glares at them. She trotted over to the princess and tapped her on her flank.

“That stallion has a point. These ponies don’t seem to like you.” She whispered

“Most ponies do not, I do not lose sleep over it,” Luna said coldly.

Spike and Shining rolled their eyes, knowing better than most that wasn’t true. W
Spike walked over to Shining. The two looked at each other for a moment before Spike spoke.

“So we're going to tell Princess Celestia that Luna’s ruining her reputation,” Spike said with a slight smirk.

Shining looked at Spike with disinterest. “What do you want, Spike?”

“How long will it take to get a search party together?”

“Let me focus on finding Twilight. You worry about that mare.” Shining pointed to Applejack.

“AJ can handle herself and Mom is out there. I’m not sitting around while she’s out there.”

“Twilight is my sister, not yours.”

Spike gritted his teeth “She, my mom”

“They dumped you on us. That’s it Twilight just had more time to look after you.”

Spike glared at him. “Why do you hate me so much?”

“I don’t hate you just-” Shining trailed off

Spike snarled when he felt a pink aura envelop him. He was pulled away from shining and wrapped up in an embrace. His eyes widened as he recognized the pony holding him. He wrapped his hands around Twilight as his tears fell.

Twilight sat down and quietly shushed him, comforting him. Twilight tears fell from her eyes as she held her son. The guard that was escorting her trotted to Princess Luna and boud. Luna dismissed the guard and was about to go to Twilight when a hoof blocked her.

“Let's give them a moment.” Applejack smiled warmly.

The two held each other, their tears subsiding. A menacing laugh that made everypony freeze. Pink clouds rolled in, making Luna’s blood run cold. Twilight held Spike tightly to her chest sense of dread building in her chest.

Applejack looked around, confused and slightly fearful. Shining armor pulled out his sword and got in front of the defense stance. Spike, however, felt the same dread Twilight did as the creature appeared.

In a flash of lightning, Discord appeared next to Twilight. “There you are. I got to say if you play a game, you could have just asked.”

He smiled, only to notice her trembling. Discord backed up slightly and floated in front of her. He reaches out, only to be blocked by a white stallion. He held a sword to Discord’s throat and focused a glare.

Discord rolled his eyes. “I love the sentiment, but I need you out of my way.”

Discord raised a claw but before he could snap Shining brought the blade to his claw. The sword shattered as it met the talon. Shining tossed the sword to the side and tried to tackle him. All he did was end up wrapped around him.

Discord chuckled- “Well, I didn’t know you cared that much”- Discord wrapped his arms around Shining and, with a whip of his tail, made a large cage appear.

Discord tossed him into it and then held his lion's paw up. A massive explosion of rainbow light came from above them faster than any pony could blink. Rainbow came down fast on Discord. He grabbed her leg before anyone could see. Her leg shattered as all her speed came to a sudden stop.

Rainbow Dash fell on a pink cloud and yelled in pain as she held her leg. Applejack galloped to Rainbow's side. He snapped his talon, and both mares ended up in a cage. Rainbow stood up, her leg fully healed.

Discord looked around, waiting to see anyone to show up. His eyes locked with Luna, who was shivering in fear. A pang of guilt ran through him as he saw the fear. He hated that look. He turned around and looked down at Twilight, who held onto a little dragon.

He flashed over a blue rose and placed it behind her other ear. Twilight lifted her head up and shifted her body to make sure Spike was safely behind her. Tears ran down her face, silently begging for him to stop.

He whipped a tear off her cheek and snapped his talon. The three disrepair along with all the items he had conjured. Tears ran down Luna’s face as she realized what she had done. Rainbow, Applejack, and shining armor galloped to her.

---

Discord and his now two companions appeared next to the ritual sight. He looked over to Twilight, who was weeping. Spike was holding her and glaring at him. Discord floated over to them only for the Spike to let out a jet of fire at him.

“Stay away from her!” Spike growled

‘I only want to make sure she’s okay.”

“I doubt that.”

He rolled his eyes. “And why is that?”

“If you cared, you wouldn’t have foal napped her.”

“Me and her have a deal, boy. I’m and I always keep my word.”

With a glare, Spike asked, “What deal?”

Twilight whipped her eyes. “I agreed to go with him as long as I can go home after this.”

“What?!”

Twilight shot a glare at Discord. “another condition was to leave you out of this!”

“Correction, my Dear the agreement was to leave him out of any future plans. Also, we're lucky you didn’t go too far, my dear.”

“What does that mean?” Twilight asked nervously

“Well, to make my deals go smoothly, I place a spell of compliance, to break the conditions of the spell and it zaps you till you pass out. Well, it would do that to me to you will.”- Discord gains a rather disgusted look.- “Well let's just the one less on the census let leave it at that.”

Twilight's jaw dropped, horror etched on her face. Anger boiled in Spike, He ran over to Discord a spat the hottest fire Discord’s ever felt on him. After a few minutes, the fire subsided.

Discord’s eyes widen. "The Dragon Spark”

Spike backed up, confused. “The what.”

“Noting not but-” Yellow lightning shocked him, cutting him off.

Twilight lit her horn up and scanned the lightning. She gasped at how much energy it gave out. The lightning was putting out the energy of thirty universes. Scanning the magic made the energy output of the lightning look miniscule. She couldn’t calculate beyond infinite, but she knew it was beyond that by several metrics.

The lightning stopped, Discord fell to the ground, smoke flying off of him. He ground and slowly picked himself up. “Well, that was painful so… I did a bad.”

“Yo-you, how do you have so much magic?” Twilight asked in shock.

“You scanned the magic or the lightning?” Discord asked, dusting himself off.

“Both,” she said

Oh, well, um, hopefully you didn’t scan too much.” he gave her a nervous smile.

Twilight giggled madly, then promptly collapsed. Before she hit the ground Discord zoomed to her side faster than Spike could blink. He held her and gently placed her on the ground.

Spike ran over and tried to push Discord away from her only for him to fall to the ground. He rubbed his head, glaring at Discord. Standing up and‌ dusting himself off, he got in between Twilight and Discord.

“What did you do to her?”

Discord rolled his eyes. "Nothing honestly. The power read was probably too much for her.”

“Nothing is too powerful for her. You had to have done something.”

Discord rolled his eyes. “Sure, because I normally hurt ponies.”

“Luna, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash.” Spike listed off.

Discord gained a guilty expression for a moment before replacing it was a scowl "Say the dragon trying to roast me alive.”

Spike paused for a moment. He shook his head and let out a puff of smoke "It didn’t hurt you.”

“Oh, please, like you knew that wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I-I-Shut up.”

And here’s thinking you differed from the rest.”

Spike stops “What do mean by that”

“You dragons are so great, so high and mighty, yet one little push from Lucy and you all fall flat.” Discord laughed.

Spike raised his claw, ready to strike at him. He stopped when he saw the devilish grin plastered on Discord's features. Spike lowered his claw and himself to the ground. He wrapped Twilight in a protective hug.

“If you hurt her, I don’t know how I’m going to do it but I will make you pay.”

Discord rolled his eyes out of his skull with empty sockets. He said, “ah don’t you just love the classic.”

Spike shivered as he saw the eyeballs roll into the woods. The sun was setting. Spike yawned, suddenly tired. He curled up into twilight and closed his eyes. Discord slowed his claw as he heard quiet snoring coming from the young drake.

Discord approached Spike and ripped off one of his scales. The dragon flinched as it came off. He looked up at the sky. “Well Michael, you got thirteen hours done waste them.”

Discord looked over at Twilight. Despite how she fell unconscious, Discord couldn’t help but smile as rested. Flying over to her, he petted her, and she nuzzled his paw. Looking at the two, he snapped his saw and yellow magic enveloped the Dragon and Mare. the two let out a sigh of contentment as the wind pick up.

---

Princess Luna sighed as she chipped away at Discord's lock. She was in the dream realm at Twilight's dream door. Celestia has tossed herself in her room and has not left since she heard about what had happened in Rainbow Falls.

The lock opened unexpectedly. Examining the door Luna noticed the door was a mix of purple and green. Twilight's cutie mark was similar to the door, pink and green. Luna looked at her surroundings and then entered.

Twilight and Spike sat on a hill reading a book. The sky was a mix of blues, purples, and oranges. Luna landed next to them. Spike looked over to her and gestured for her to sit with them. She sat and looked over to the book.

The book was full of nonsensical scribbles. Luna looked at the two then she cleared her throat. “ Young Sparkle, what are you reading?”

“It's about a stallion who falls in love with a mare who helps him become a better pony”

Spike looked up at Twilight, confused. “I thought it was about a boy trying to save a princess from an evil, bloodthirsty monster.”

The two stared at each other for a moment before turning to Luna- “We’re In a dream aren't we.”-they both said in unison.

“Yes, does thou know your location?”

“No” Twilight shook her head.

“This will not do.”

“We're in a cold Greenland,” Spike stated.

Luna looked over to him with a smile, “that will help.”

Twilight eyes widened. “Discord and I walked about four miles before we entered the frozen forest.”

Spike and Luna smile, but Twilight's face gains a pensive expression. “Make sure Spike gets home.”

Luna raised a brow, while Spike looked at her, confused. “What do you mean, Mom?”

“Me and Discord made a deal. A deal that was bound by magic. I can’t break it.”

“But he broke it and he was fine.”

“He shouldn't have. The energy going through him would rip me into atoms in less than a second.”

Luna's eyes widened. While tears welled up in his eyes. “No, no I just got you back.”

I know Spike but there's nothing we can do. I have to hold up my end.”

Luna let out a sigh “Thou made a deal with the devil.”

Twilight lowered her head “I know”

“We’ll free you, young Twilight”

“We will mobilize any tropes we have in the area and restrain him.”

Twilight shook her head “You can’t restrain him”

“We might be able to delay him”

Spike looked at Luna, concerned. “You saw how he fought Rainbow and Shining. I don’t think a battalion won't matter to him.”

Luna shivered as she remembered her combat against Discord. She sighed, not realizing tears were streaming down her face. Twilight and Spike rushed over to her. Luna finally noticed her tears and quickly whipped them away.

“We know, but we maybe able to buy time”

“Would it even be worth it?” Twilight asked grimly

“Yes, Princess Luna. How long will it take for you to find a spell to break the spell?” Spike asked.

“Few weeks a least.”

Spike nodded- “Alright then, I got a plan.”-Twilight and Luna looked at him at the ladder with interest, the former in worry. Gesturing for him to continue.

“So I think can say we failed in stopping Discord. He has all the pieces he needs to break the protection spell”

“What protection spell?” Twilight asked.

“A few dragons cast a protection spell to prevent another dimension from coming into ours,” Luna explained

“Moving on, if we can get into contact with Luna from the other side, she can give the spell to de-couple Twilight from her deal. Then all we have to do is get back here and engage the protections again, leaving Discord in that other world.”

“I agree,” Luna immediately stated

“Wait, we can’t just leave him in another of dimension. What about the being of that world? And what do you mean ‘we?’ Spike”

“I’m coming with you.”

What no Spike, it’s too dangerous.”

“It’s too late for that. I’m already with you.”

“I agree, we have no other action”

"Princess!!” Twilight yelled.

“We do not enjoy this outcome either, but it is what we have.”

“But-”

“No, young Twilight, I will tell my sister your plan, Spike. I am impressed.” Luna lit her horn and left the dream.

Twilight let out a sigh and picked up the book. She sat down and read with a displeased expression on her face. Spike approached her when a transparent wall blocked him from approaching her. He let out a sigh and lay down on the hill. The sky above was blue with thunderclouds rolling in.

Comments

[ShiroEvergarden]

great when the next chapter