Chapters The Unicorn Trap Exchange:
I had it all figured out, the silver ring is cleverly forged, and the set of rubber boots are molded, ready to wear. I have several sets created for my purpose. I had even tried on every last set of boots, and have had them tried out by several of my closest friends. Ponies I dare expose to what I had in mind.
The process is fairly simple, I wear a set of these boots, then I convince the Unicorn of choice to put the ring on his, or her horn. Then the enchantment of the ring will take over, fusing to the horn of said Unicorn, before a set of boots will slowly develop on the Unicorns' hooves, growing up the legs, while the horn will fade away, while a new will grow on my forehead.
The joy of the thing is, the process can't be reverted while it is going. You'd have to wait until it is completed, then the target, or former Unicorn can try to take the boots off, as long and tight as they are.
In my defence, I can remove my boots, and my end would revert, in order for me to start anew.
I may as well confess, my friends did enjoy wearing the boots I had offered them to try on, just as I had enjoyed wearing them. I'm enjoying them, even if I just wear the set of boots, without the connection to a Unicorn, tricked into giving up his, or her power in the process. As a matter of fact, I haven't tried to convince as much as a single Unicorn into trying the ring on yet. Maybe it is just as well.
If it is to be for any good, I'd still have to go through with it. If I only wear the boots, they are simply rubber boots, as comfortable as they may be. I had found them comfortable wearing all of their own, just as they do give me the right grip, when I'm going out in a cold winter's night, or I'm on a newly polished floor. I never do slip, just as it never makes me stick unreasonably on any floor I've been on, this far.
Somepony may ask, why do I even bother doing this. They would be thinking I did it for the common selfish reasons of a villain. In most cases, such reasoning on their part just may be right and motivated. I know this could be used for ill.
In my defence, I have no interest in the power of any such schemes. To a part, it is merely scientific research, which you'd point out to be hollow, wouldn't you? I would ofhorse point out, it could be used for more serious purposes, for one, it could be a means to control criminals, as well as ponies who are not in full control of their magic.
Now, I had another interesting plan for this as well, what if I could help a pony with something, just by borrowing someponies' help.
Author's Note
If you find anything I've typed incorrectly, please point it out to me.
The Unicorn Trap Exchange:
My old friend Lunar Grazer had agreed to try it out, after I had explained my idea. I could only tell her what I knew of what was to happen, which I had explained in no uncertain terms. She still had emphatically expressed she would like to help me with the experiment.
Then I had convinced her to write a contract, signed by both of us, both for safety, and for the sake of documentation, in case something did not go according to plan, as it were, in cases like these, one never knew what was to happen, before it had been fully tried out and tested.
Once the contract had been written in clear, crisp detail, I had signed it with her. It stipulated that she had voluntarily agreed to take part in a specific experiment, along the lines of transferring the magic powers, with the means of a specific enchanted silver ring. The ring had been described, and a general drawing is on the page, under the lines for the signatures. I had even collected three witnesses for the accuracy, one for each, and a neutral witness.
“Would you try the ring on your horn Grazer, just for the record?” I had instructed her, wearing none of the boots linked to the experiments.
“Okey!” Lunar Grazer had stated before the witnesses, before she lifted the ring up, placing it on her horn, then allowing it to slide down as far as it would go.
“Note that nothing happened, using the ring alone!” I pronounced.
The ring had merely gone as far as it could, stopping a mere inch from her forehead. If this was part of the failure, or just a sign of it, I could not say. Not at this point. Maybe it is irrelevant, or it means the world.
“For the record, it is noted that the ring alone had no effect on the target Unicorn that could be detected!” the Neutral, third witness stated.
“Could you please try to perform your magic as you used to?” the witness continued.
“Knowing the horn is said to be the focus of my magic, this should be no problem!” Grazer agreed, before she makes the first test, lifting a small object from the table.
The small coin was seen by all in the room, slowly lifting from the table, making pirouettes and other increasingly complicated moves, before she put it back where it had been resting.
“This far, it is according to plan. Would you please take the ring off, and gently place it on the top of the table, beside the coin?” I continued.
“Okay!” she then responded, just before she lifted the ring off of her horn with the same ease as she had used, as she managed the coin, a moment before.
“Now it is time for you to try the boots on, to see how this will affect the result!” the third witness, nominally the leader spoke.
Slowly I picked up the first of the red boots, slipping it onto my right hind hoof, looking as it made for a fairly good fit. Then I picked up the next, slipping it onto my left hoof. Now I stopped for a moment, before I continued with the third boot, slipping it onto my right forehoof. Finally picking the fourth and final boot, slipping it onto my left forehoof.
This is when the first change came about, making the boots look as if they had fused to my hooves, as they tightened up considerably. I had experienced it, as I tried them on, all by myself. My friends had experienced the same effect, guessing as it was a part of the enchantment used in the original process.
“Is this how it is supposed to work?” the witness enquired with a curiosity-laced voice.
“Yes, it is how the boots have always been!” I informed the witnesses.
“Please continue, pick up the ring, place it on your horn!” the witness proceeded.
“Yes” she spoke with quivering voice, as this was the first time something was actually supposed to happen, and thus uncertainty and anxiety gripped her momentarily as she lifted up the small silver ring, before she placed it onto her horn.
Only this time, the ring slide all the way down, without any hesitation, stopping flatly against her forehead without any noise.
“How does it feel?” I asked.
“Aside from the fact that the ring slipped all the way, it feels normal. I can't feel any difference yet!” she spoke.
“Could you move the coin?” the witness spoke.
“Yes, I think so!” she pronounced as she slowly lifted the coin, making it move.
For a moment, she managed the coin, and seemingly nothing had changed. Now her hooves turned a glistering red, matching my boots, a pair of new boots developing over hers, looking as tight as mine are, and the change moved up her legs. At the point, halfway up, her horn started to shrink, the ring had apparently fused to it. As the rubber had moved all the way up her legs, her horn were no longer to be seen. At this point, she had lost her magic entirely, and the coin had fallen to the top of the table.
While her horn vanished, I had grown one of my own, as if to replace the horn she had just lost.
“Could you pick up the coin?” the witness asked, indicating I was to take over, where she had just dropped the coin.
“Yes!” I said, slowly picking it up from the table, moving it around, just not quite as well as she had.
I'm after all new to this. I had expected it.
The Unicorn Trap Exchange:
I had seen her putting the boots on, before I made the second attempt with the same silver ring. Only this time the ring apparently fit, and thus slipped all the way down.
The strange thing is what came after the ring had reached my forehead. Boots developing right on my hooves, growing upwards, all the way up all four of my legs, I guess that's magic. This was the least of my problems, though. Since my horn slowly started to shrink and I lost all control of magic. I lost the very feel of it, and that's about when my horn had vanished entirely.
The tight restricting boots feel strange, but it is the least of my problems right now. I can't feel magic, nothing, it's disorienting to me. I feel strange and out of contact. If not for the boots, I may have fallen to the floor. I guess they are steadying me.
It's not as if I had merely become an earth pony. Even earth ponies have some connection to magic, just in a very different manner, and I have no experience or knowledge of it. Maybe it is just impossible to express how it feels, or how it acts. There seems to be nothing to direct such research to.
I can easily express how magic feels, since you can see the actions. You saw the coin leaving the table, and I feel the flow of magic through my horn, simple as that. Now I don't feel it, I feel numb, I guess would be the word.
I guess the boots, long as thigh stockings wasn't bothering me, though they are as tight as I could imagine them, without actually being painful. I'm not sure if I'm imagining, but I think they are pretty stiff, as if they had been actual boots of the kind you may wear on your hooves, not stockings, of the kind they look like. Though they are a particular high gloss.
Maybe the gloss of the stockings is distracting me, and possibly in all the wrong ways. I'm not quite sure I enjoy either the looks, or the feel of them, but if they help me, not to fall.
Without the horn, I can't pull the stockings off, no point even asking me to. In part, it is because they're as long as they are, and in part it is because they are as tight as they are. It is apparently part of the process, it is at least how it happened to me, and I had no idea if they had tried this out before. In a way I would have liked them to have, but on the other hoof, I hope they had not tried it out on any unicorn before. I can't quite explain why, it is merely one of these strange and irrational feelings one may have.
I know I am not quite my rational self right now, not in the state I had just found myself in. I'm usually priding myself as rational, but this isn't one of my moments. What am I do do, or do about it. I could ask for help to have the stockings off, but that was hoping the effect would reverse, if they came off. What if it is her boots, or it could as easily have required a second ring in order to reverse. In my state, I didn't feel like slipping the stockings off.
Only then something struck me, the test wasn't done yet. With hope, I will have my horn back, in order to return to my regular rational self, and regain my connection to the magic I had been born with.
“You can't even feel the ring?!” the witness spoke.
“No, it vanished with my horn!” I pointed out, in a somewhat shaky and weak voice.
“Could you express how you feel, right now, in general terms? Just for the record!” my witness enquired.
“Yes. Aside from the fact that I lost all contact with magic. I feel confused and very unsteady. As if something, something very important was missing!” I responded, in the same voice as just before.
All three witnesses looking at me with strange eyes. Making me feel all queasy.
“Would you please take off your boots?” they then asked her.
“Certainly!” she responded, as she lifted her right forehoof, and made the boot come off, then continued with her left, before moving on with her right and left hindhooves.
As the last of her four boots came off, the horn on her forehead slowly reverted and vanished entirely, but mine did not come back, and I did not regain my connection to the magic either. To me, nothing actually changed.
“Could either of you move the coin?” the witness spoke.
“No!” she pronounced, just as expected.
“No, still not a chance!” I responded with my still weak voice.
Apparently she had shown no sign of reaction on taking the boots off of herself.
“Could you slip the boots on?” the witness asked me.
“No!” I responded with a more shaky voice, after failing miserably, several times, it is as if they were repelling my hooves, I can't get close to them.
“Remains to have a second try, a second pony to try them on!” the witness spoke up.
“I can't!” my witness responded, after a failure, similar to mine.
“Wow, I never knew magic could feel quite like this!” her witness spoke up, after she had managed to slip the boots on.
“Could you remove the boots?” our witness responded.
“Yes!” she responded, after she had slipped out of all the four boots, in the same manner, boot by boot.
Once the boots were off, the horn reverted again, just as on each and every prior occasion. It was an established fact, once the boots came off, the horn and the connection reverted.
“If you try them on for a final time, before we can conclude this?” the witness called out.
“Yes!” she responded, and slipped the boots on, for the very last time of our experiment.
“If you help our assistant to slip out of her boots?” the witness stated.
“Yes, certainly!” she merely responded, before she elevated me several inches above the floor, before she slips the stockings off of my legs and hooves, one by one, right and left, front and hind legs.
I felt her slipping be back onto the floor, just as the final stocking came off of me, piling them on a small table. Then I felt jubilant, as my horn slowly grew back as hers reverted. The magic came back to me. I knew I was still fully myself.
“How do you feel?” the witness enquired, nodding towards me.
“Overwhelmed. My magic is back. I'm slowly regaining my composure!” I responded.
“Would you then lift the coin?” the witness enquired.
“Yes!” I responded, as I shakily lifted the coin, but soon gained confidence, and the coin finally under full control, as if nothing had happened.
“I guess this would conclude the experiment, and I'll extend my thanks and gratitude to you, for assisting in the experiment. Your payment will be delivered by tomorrow, as per the agreement!” the witness spoke as the left together with both of the witnesses.
Then I noticed the stockings evaporating, almost as if they had never existed. Her boots still where she had left them. They did hold the original enchantment.
I slip the ring off of my horn, before I left.
The Unicorn Trap Exchange:
I had taken part in an experiment, dealing with a magical transfer from a Unicron and an Earth Pony. Apparently, the experiment had worked out as expected, just the way it had been intended to work.
What I had not expected, is how the effects of losing my horn and magic was to affect me. I wasn't worried about getting the bits, or the credits for partaking in the experiments. Some worries about how other Ponies would view me may be more to the point. Just that right now, my foremost concern is in how I'm going to cope with the effects it had had on me.
This had looked like a fairly small and simple test. As such, it would be very easy bits to come by. As a Unicorn, I'm not opposed to serve science, that part never crossed my mind, why should it.
Exactly what was actually taking place, I have no idea. I guess you could say that it was way over my head. Now I feel drained, in the way you may feel if you had been overextending yourself. In my case, using far too much magic for my own good. I barely have enough magic to lift a coin at this point. Maybe this is what caused my disorientation?
I had managed to walk out onto the street and call a cab. After that, I had just taken the ride home. I had not noticed it, but I had apparently appeared as if I was sleeping when the cab arrived at my home, so the driver had carried me to the door and helped me in to my bed.
This is where I had found myself, countless hours later and in the dark. At least now I am strong enough to stand up, so I had walked into my kitchen and pulled a salad out of my fridge. I had enjoyed it.
Once I had eaten, my head had apparently cleared up considerably. First now I'm capable of doing anything worth the while. It feels as if I had had a very bad cold, or a flue. Maybe that is a comparison I could use, if I was to explain how I felt.
I wasn't exactly about to go out, but I had to do something. Maybe I could make myself a cup of tea, that usually helped when I felt down or out. At least, moving around wasn't any real problem anymore.
Finding the tea was fairly easy, just as pouring up a kettle full of water. Then I placed it on the stove, and allowed the water to boil, before I poured myself a cup of the hot brew. Just the scent alone made me feel better. Maybe I was just a little bit shaky, but I didn't drop the cup and managed to sip the tea.
Just sitting down in my favourite chair alone calmed me down some. It was the first few sips of tea that made the real difference, as small as the sips had been. Feeling the hot brew flow down my throat made it all feel real. I know I am feeling something.
I had heated only a very small amount of water, in part due to how weak I had felt, but also because I wanted he tea as soon as I could possibly have it. A small amount of water was to heat faster, after all. At least I had gotten that right.
Sip by sip, I felt the fuzzy haze wash away. I can't come up with a better way to put it, it's how it felt like. Good thing I'm not writing a paper on the experience. I sure would have failed, had I been trying to write it.
The little water I had dared to heat soon run out on me. I had expected it. You know how long the water would last, when you had for only a few small cups. This is where I am. I'm out of water for a new brew.
With that, I returned to the kitchen with my kettle. Slowly walking back. The brew may have worked wonders, but I don't dare rush it. I still got back to the stove soon enough. Why worry, I had known that before I even rose from my chair in the first place.
Filling the kettle, now half the way up, before I saw it start to heat up. Now worries or hurry, I'm after all starting to feel better. Once the water had reached the boiling point, I lift it off of the stove, before walking back to the chair.
Once back, I can enjoy my tea just a bit more, since I had cleared my head with the first few cups.
Just as I had finished preparing the brew, I hear a knock on the door. Unsure I slowly move to the door, listening careful to see if I felt like opening. Then it hit me, apparently my friend was worried about me and wanted to check in on how I was doing. With that, I soon opened the door and let her in.
The Unicorn Trap Exchange:
”Hi, Tinker!” I merely greeted my old friend as I stepped aside and allowed her to enter my home.
“Hiya, Grazer. Good to see you're not too badly affected by the experiment you partook in for me earlier!” Arcane Tinker enquired.
“Yeah, I'm still recuperating. Speaking of which, how about a cup of tea?” I offered.
“Sounds just about right. I've been dying for a cup since the test!” she merely accepted.
“Right this way!” I pronounced as I slowly moved into the kitchen, pointing her towards the table where I had been having my tea earlier, on my way to the kitchen where I was to prepare the tea for the two of us.
“Thanks, Grazer. Seems as if it is too long since I was visiting you. You've always been such a gracious hostess when I come over!” Tinker pointed out.
“By the looks, you will enjoy the tea greatly!” I responded.
“Since it is you who said it, I'm hard pressed to agree!” she responded, with a weak smile on her lips.
“Thanks for the confidence!” I pointed out as I started to heat up a full kettle of water.
Minutes went by while the water heated up and I prepared a small salad, just like what I had enjoyed earlier. If she liked it or not, but it had done me some good, so it was following me to the table.
“Yay, tea time. Smells divine right now!” she exclaimed as I returned.
“While we're at it, how do you feel now, after the test?” I enquired quietly.
“Not too bad, but I have been better, thanks for asking!” Tinker responded.
“If it is what I think it is, you're going to love the tea, going by my own experience!” I suggested gently, serving myself a portion of the salad, as I had poured a cup of hot tea for each of us.
“By the sound of it, I think it is. It started, as we were pulling the experiment. It feels safe to assume there is a connection, until proven otherwise. We just had a short test, so it could have been the short intervals between switching, or it is something about the switches themselves? I'll just have to run more tests on this to see how and what affected us in this way!” she responded.
“Running a few tests to see where the problem is, this does sound like a good idea. Just that right now, it is the tea I'm most interested in. Have a sip? Besides, I'll have some salad too!” I pointed out, as I take the first sip of my tea.
I intermittently stab vegetables with the fork and chew, in between sipping more tea. Looking at Tinker as she sips her tea as well. Only she isn't quite as good at the salad, since she can't use magic to hold the fork.
If I had merely been hungry and thirsty, but I start to feel considerably better as I enjoy my tea and salad. I had also noticed that she was responding the same way, as she consumes her tea and salad. Maybe it wasn't all that strange.
“This tea is good. Besides, I could have some more of the salad. Might have been exactly what I needed? She suggested.
“I had the feeling you would say that. It is part of why I had offered it. Though I did enjoy the tea and salad myself. I had the feeling it was exactly what I needed earlier, so I had the impression it would do the trick. I've enjoyed this tea for years, if only I knew what went into it, as it were!” I responded.
“Now I will have to extend my tests towards proving the effects of your tea and salad. I never heard of a situation, where either tea or salad could help Unicorns or other Ponies with magic. Maybe this is the chance to prove if they have any significant effect on the matter? She pointed out.
“That certainly would be interesting. Maybe your investigation opened up a portal towards something more than merely the notion you had in mind? I doubt you had expected this line of questions in the first place!” I responded.
“We're not associating us Earth Ponies with any type of magic in terms, even less so than the Pegasi. This does indeed open up a very interesting line of enquiries. You just pointed at a blank spot in magic, from what I know. I may not have seen the Starswirl wing at the Royal library, but I pride myself to be one of the most foremost researchers in the Arcane fields!” she stated, with some of the mentioned pride momentarily gleaming in her eyes as she said it.
“To my knowledge, no Ponies associate Earth Ponies with Magic, not that the Pegasi are either. I just stumbled upon the idea after I had a cup of tea. Yet, the way Science work, I guess it would be appropriate for you to mention this in your works, I wouldn't argue against it. Me neither, but would I want to, I'm not up to the level to need to see it. On the other hoof, they may build a new wing in the library, based on your work? I teased with a small smile on my face.
“Incidents and momentary genius does count for a good portion of scientific results. I may have to consult with colleges and make some enquiries at the library, based on your suggestions. That would be a great honour, if I can in face create anything that make me worthy of it!” she merely responded.
“I would suspect as much. I'll look into the library on this matter too, and ask around to see what I can turn up. You're not merely trying out new spells to see what works, you're creating something more!” I suggested.
“Then we can see the librarian tomorrow. I like more tea first, anyway. The experiments will have to wait until tomorrow as well. Besides, I need to find someone to partake, even if you'd agree to help me out, I need several other Unicorns in order to verify the effects. You know, the scientific process. If I can prove anything with this, maybe, if not, it wouldn't count for naught!” she concluded.
“Yes, we'd see the librarians tomorrow. Till then, I'll have another cup of tea, how about you? I enquired.
“I'd go for some more tea and salad, please? She responded.
“Certainly!” I responded, just as I poured up another cup of tea for her and then one for me, before I was serving her a portion of salad, then a portion for me.
“You know, looking at you, I just realised something. I had been told all Ponies have magic. Only you never really see it with us Earth Ponies. Not until you can see us run dry, but that just can't happen. At least it doesn't happen naturally, the way it does with Unicorns like you!” she pondered.
“That is a well-known and common problem for us Unicorns. Actively practising magic is draining in a way that could feel very physical. You'd know how that feels!” I suggested.
“Physical exhaustion, that's something I can relate to. Even as an academic Pony, I have my fair share of this experience of exhaustion, alright!” she responded with a grin spreading all over her face.
The Unicorn Trap Exchange:
We had been told we were to be offered tea and salad after the test was concluded. It wasn't what convinced me into taking part, as nice as the gesture sounded at the time. A gesture, that is all I had seen as I accepted to take part. How could I have seen anything more?
This test will take considerably more time than the previous and original one. The first test had after all merely proven the concept. What I had learned from the test itself and the evaluation is that the equipment had worked perfectly, I had only missed a detail, as small as it may seem.
A Pony absorb magic constantly, even when unconscious. At least up to the level of what said Pony can handle. Even if this may be exceeded, under specific circumstances, even if it may be at some risk for the Pony. Otherwise, the other limiting factor is the amount of available magic, and how many Ponies are sharing the space at the time in question.
What had happened during the test is that I had lost all steam, it apparently is what happen during the process. I had not noticed it as I sprouted the horn and it hadn't bothered me as I dropped it either. The problem was great, only for the Unicorn, an Earth Pony wouldn't be directly affected immediately. Yet, the problem struck home hard on the Unicorn, since she is directly focused on her magic at all time on a more conscious level.
This test is designed in order to follow up on this effect of losing the steam. How best to get magic up to a comfortable and working level after the original test had been performed. Since I had been told that Tea and Salad could help, I had to verify this effect scientifically. For this, I am required to test the effect with several Unicorns and Earth Ponies.
I don't know exactly what in the tea respectively salad that supposedly was beneficial, so I had to test for this as well. I had chosen several different salads and pastries for comparison and confirmation. Then I had chosen several blends of tea, comparing them with juice from Apple, Orange, Carrot, Grapes and Cherry, and finally Cider.
Unless the effect had merely been in my head, or the fact that I had had a good meal, the effects should be distinctively different from the various alternatives.
Using academicians to oversee the tests may be convenient. With that, I had to contact the local University, no big deal, they would most likely love to see the tests through. The one small detail, I had to explain why and what I was hoping to achieve.
I chose a more personal and direct approach, calling the dean. I would have to go through the operator, but that should offer no real challenge to me. I know what I am looking for, just don't have the name or number of the individual. The operator would know these things and forward my call directly.
“Operator!” I pronounced quietly, just as I had dialled the number to the University, and the connecting cone changed to the received tone.
“Whom would you like me to connect you with?” the voice came back, a mere moment later.
“The Dean of the Magical Faculty, if it is possible?” I responded.
“Just a moment, I'll forward you to the Dean, Dr. Stark Eclipse. She is apparently in right now.
“Thank you. Please, transfer me!” I responded.
“Dean Stark Eclipse of the Magical faculty, to whom do I have the pleasure of talking to?” came the dean.
“I am Arcane Tinker!” I responded.
“Arcane? I heard of your project. How is it coming? Looks promising by what they told me!” she put forth.
“Ah, you did. The first stage went very well, at least this far. I just had a slight hitch, requiring further enquiries, which is exactly why I called you!” I responded.
“A hitch, how serious it is and what is the nature of the problem?” Dr. Stark enquired with some interest.
“This far, it is mainly bothersome, the subjects are experiencing fatigue and exhaustion, while all the intended effects did manifest exactly as intended. I would require more resources than a single private Pony could readily provide for validation and securing the value of the find!” I responded directly to the point.
“If your point is valid enough, my University is the place to go for what you need!” Dr. Stark responded.
“Part of what I would need assistance with is in following up on a lead, something the original test subject pointed out for me on the matter. She happens to be a personal friend. I noticed that tea and salad had a positive effect on her, after the effect!” I pointed out.
“If these questions could be answered, my findings could have a great value and be used in a productive manner in numerous instances. It is at least what it looks like on my end!” I pondered.
“I'll assign a lab for your project, with a small staff. Depending on how this is panning out, I would either cancel or expand on your project. Then your work would be accredited according to what your findings will produce in the line of your inquiries!” she put forth.
“Then I will have to move all my current findings and equipment to the office you are setting aside for me and see the assistants you assign to the project. I am looking forwards to see solid work put into it!” I pondered.
“That would be correct, a most prudent line of action. I am most certainly looking forwards to seeing you there and the results I am expecting from you!” she responded.
“How soon can I start to move the equipment and files over? I am packing and preparing for the move first thing in order to set up shop at the instant the lab is available. No time to waste here!” I pointed out.
“Since I am merely promising a small lab, it could be open within a week, I just need to go over the details in order to clear your lab and assign your staff. If I have not said anything else before that, the lab is ready first thing next week. I'll see you there by then!” she pointed out.
“Thanks, I'm looking forwards to stepping this up in order to be able to finish the project with positive and applicable result in reasonable time!” I responded.
“I'll see you first thing in the lab. If I can get it any earlier I will let you know!” she emphasised as she hung up.
Then I hung up as well, thrilled with the happy news I had just managed to acquire. Aside from the fact that my small project had even caught the attention and interest from the dean of the corresponding faculty herself. That in and of itself was no small feat.