Author's Note

Okay so this chapter is darker than the others and does contain dark material. I've marked it all in a spoiler (except for a little bit in between that for the life of me I couldn't cover up) that can be skipped with none of the main story being lost. This Chapter might change but mostly it was to serve simply to introduce the main antagonist, who is an egotistical stalker to say the least, and get the ball rolling in the hunt for Fluttershy. All in all I hope you all enjoy it!

High N' Mighty

Chapter 4: High N’ Mighty

To begin to understand the motives and the backstory behind our antagonist we must travel back in time when he first saw his muse. High N’ Mighty was of royal blood and he ruled over an island near Equestria, more specifically it was far west of Las Pegasus by about 100 leagues or so, called Canisequus. Now the inhabitants of the isle were, for the most part, normal ponies, but by the light of the moon they become something more feral. Their features are unique to only their race, their teeth are somewhere in between fangs and normal pony teeth, their ears were elongated and more sensitive than that of the average pony, their eyes have no visible whites, and lastly their tails had longer bones than normal allowing for more controlled movement. However, for all their differences they still held many similarities namely the ability to gain cutiemarks.

High N’ Mighty’s own cutiemark was a wolf’s paw with a golden crown atop it. He was large, pure white, red-eyed, and a unicorn. It should be abundantly clear by now to the reader that these ponies are a creature somewhere between wolf and pony, or a Werepony if you will. In accordance with the lore of these creatures of the night, they do change form during the full moon. However, being of a different bloodline High can change at will with minimal effort, something that took his family genetics centuries to perfect. Also in accordance with the lore of Wereponies their existence is kept secret from Equestrian society. This notion came from Princess Celestia, who worried that they would be hunted down out of the fear they would bring upon most ponies.

The official explanation for their existence is that they are an entirely different breed of ponies altogether, which allows their culture to mingle with Equestria’s easily. Being in his position of authority High was invited to attend every royally hosted event in Equestria, which he didn’t enjoy and would’ve stopped coming altogether had he not seen the crafty little vixen who stole his affections.

More will be said on that later, for now let’s delve back into High N’ Mighty’s past in an attempt to understand him better. Growing up the heir to the throne, he had anything and everything his heart desired. This didn’t just stop at objects and animals, no, when he became a young stallion whose hormones were running rampant this included his subjects. Indeed, he could have anypony he craved and was told that they should be honored to have his attention. However, there was one limitation to his ‘activities’, he could only have young with the mare he intended to make his queen.

When his consorts inevitably became with child they would be kept in the dungeons where in secret the baby would be birthed and slain to insure nopony knew they were even pregnant. They’d then be sworn to secrecy and should they ever tell a soul their secret the royal guard would personally make sure their immediate family and friend’s would share the same fate as the illegitimate foal. By the time he’d become a grown stallion he no longer desired pleasure of the flesh as it had become tedious. After all, half of his subjects threw themselves at his hooves, and the other didn’t dare go against him. Not to mention he’d grown tired of the way his mares looked, not that they were ugly, just that they were not as fair as the mares of Equestria.

All his life he’d been taught that as the future king he could attain anything and if that meant ponies then they would desire to be his as well, of course, who wouldn’t want to belong to a king of the most prestigious of bloodlines? No matter what was said or done against him, deep down they craved him and worshiped him, and because this was what he was taught since he was a colt he believed it wholeheartedly unable to fathom how things could be any different.

Even though he was tired of attending royal functions he decided to do so purely for appearance sake. A king had to maintain his regal stature and a part of that was attending royal events and the like. So begrudgingly High made sure to be at every single function no matter how dull or tedious. He soon learned why, all in all, this was the best decision he had ever made.

It was at the previous Grand Galloping Gala that he saw a yellow mare in a beautiful dress that complimented her fur color well and fit her just right. High was used to mares throwing themselves at him and had grown tired of them almost to the point of swearing celibacy, but then he saw this mare who had an almost intoxicating aura that pulled him towards her. He decided it was better not to approach her though as a mix matched creature was clearly trying to gain her favor and High had no intentions of competing for attention, such behaviour was beneath a stallion of his stature.

Still he could not get the mare out of his head, he was consumed by thoughts of having her for his own in the most intimate of ways. He could hardly keep his composure as the night went on and he eventually had to leave before he lost control over his more bestial desires entirely. On the way back to his yacht he called one of his servants over to him. “Yes m’lord?” The smaller timid stallion asked.

High was the largest of his kind, and rightly so, he was also the only pure white one among them. That aside he looked down upon the cowering stallion and barked out his order. “I’ve found a mare whom I find myself enthralled by. She is a yellow mare with a light pink mane and three butterflies as her cutiemark, the wings of which are pink and the body is blue. After observing her I’ve noticed she has a naturally timid nature but that she can also control it. She seems to be of some importance in Equestria as, judging by the way she carries herself, she isn’t of noble birth. I command you to follow her around until I can get one of my more suitable spies to do so. I want to know everything about her,” High N’ Mighty said in a tone that demanded respect and obedience.

“Yes, of course my liege,” the servant responded remaining low to the ground until he was out of sight.

High N’ Mighty smirked as he looked back towards Canterlot. Soon my precious little temptress I shall answer your siren call and nothing inhabiting this world could ever stop me. You shall be my queen, even if you don’t know you want it I shall convince you of your heart’s desires my love. Not even you yourself can stand in the way of our love.

Several months passed and he’d learned much from his spy. His alluring succubus’s name was Fluttershy, how fitting for her natural demeanor, she lived in a cottage near Everfree Forest where she takes care of a plethora of woodland creatures, she was one of the famed Elements of Harmony, specifically Kindness, and she was in a relationship with the jumbled up mess of being from the Gala, whose name was Discord. The latter bit of information infuriated him, how could his darling little mare love such a grotesque creature? He assumed it was out of pity they were a couple, after all she was the Element of Kindness and this...thing was a charity case if ever there was one.

More months passed on and he finally saw an opportunity to claim his seductress after an agonizingly long absence. There was to be a royal summit at Canterlot Castle and being royalty he was invited to attend. This gave him the perfect reason to be there and it opened up the chance to visit the cottage of his soon to be bride. He spent no time in making arrangements to travel to Equestria and of course gathering several of his best men to silently capture the mare. He would be attending the retrieval himself but he knew nothing about covering tracks and such other minor details.

Finally, the moment had arrived for him to leave the summit and get his mare. Things were made even sweeter by some information given to him by his spies, the messed up creature and his lovely mare had a terribly dreadful argument where she ended up crying in her bed all night. Now he wasn’t thrilled about his love hurting like that by the cause of some sideshow carnival freak, but it did provide a plausible excuse for her disappearance; she had run away because she was so distraught that her special somepony would treat her so badly. All he needed to do was have one of his men forge a note in her writing.

It was easy enough to get out of attending the last day of the summit, stating that he had urgent business to attend to back in his kingdom. Nobody had even given him a second glance as he left the Castle and nobody certainly suspected anything had gone awry. High N’ Mighty gathered up his retrieval team and trotted in the direction of his love’s cottage. In just a mere few minutes we shall be together my sweet. I know that at first you will be terrified and confused, but deep down you’ll see that this is the way things were meant to be.

Meanwhile, at her cottage Fluttershy was still crying having been unable to sleep but maybe a few hours at most due to her raging emotions. She had long since stopped whimpering because her voice was beginning to hurt from the strain, but she was still rocking back and forth. “I-I’m sorry,” she said aloud in the empty room. It was all she could think of saying and it was all she could say. Her heart physically ached and it felt like it was on fire. Her eyes weren’t much better as they had become red and puffy from all of her tears and lack of sleep. Her stomach was churning from the stress, but she couldn’t get up to ‘take care of’ that if she wanted to. She didn’t have the strength to, she hadn’t eaten since the argument with Discord.

Was she in the wrong here? Should she have been at home waiting for him to return? Was it so wrong for her to leave and try and help a friend? If only she’d never taken that blasted apple! All of her problems blossomed from that one simple act and that made it worse. How could something so insignificant as an apple cause so much pain? In truth, she knew that it wasn’t the act of taking the apple, it wasn’t her leaving her cottage, and it wasn’t her fault in any way. The only thing to blame here was misunderstanding.

Fluttershy wasn’t upset with Discord, she knew his emotions were raw and open at the best of times, she could only imagine how betrayed and hurt he felt when he saw that image of her and Big Mac, and rightly so. Had the tables been turned she would have felt the same way, the only difference was Discord wasn’t the type to forgive and forget especially in the heat of the moment. The only thing she could hope for now is that come tomorrow at the end of the summit he will come back and at least things could continue, even if not on the steadiest of roads. Keeping him was enough for her, just so long as they didn’t separate.

Suddenly, there was a pounding on the door. It wasn’t like a friendly knock to inform the home owner of somepony’s presence, it was more like an officer pounding on a criminal’s door to let them know they know they are in there. Fluttershy stopped crying her sadness almost instantly replaced by fear for whatever could be at the door. She looked around her room for somewhere to hide, not wanting to be found home by the thing at the door. Finally, she shimmed under the bed just as she heard the door open. I know I locked it! They must’ve found a way to pick it, oh Celestia I hope they don’t find me.

Fluttershy slowed her breathing trying to sound as quiet as possible. She could hear several hooves pounding on the floor below. She began to tremble in fear and had to use all her willpower just to keep herself from screaming or trying to run for it. Just then the hooves below her stopped and she could only hear the sound of one pony coming up the stairs. Her fur became damp with sweat and her eyes grew ever wider in terror of what was to come. She held her breath as the pony entered her bedroom.

The pony’s legs were white, which at this angle was all she could see, and from the size of his hooves he must be bigger than Big Macintosh. She felt her heart jump up into her throat as the pony began searching the room for her. After a few failed attempts the pony began to walk toward the bed, Fluttershy’s blood turned ice cold as she saw his knees bend. In a few moments she was face to face with an odd looking pony whose eyes were a blood red where they should be white. Her heart all but stopped when he smiled at her and she saw his sharp teeth.

“Well it seems that this lovely mare likes to play hide and seek. As much as I’d love to play with you I’m afraid we haven’t the time my dearest,” the pony said in a deep and rich tone. “Now we can do this reasonably, like civilized ponies, or we can do this the more painful way. Your choices are do as I say and remain unharmed or you can be difficult, which as arousing as I find feistiness wouldn’t be advised, and be forced into submission. That said I command you to withdraw from beneath your bed.”

Fluttershy took in every word and so far knew two things; 1.) this stallion had feelings for her, though more lust than anything she was sure, and 2.) she should do what he says. So without a word she came out of her hiding place. The stallion smiled at her with approval and now that she could see him she saw he was white all over, a unicorn, and he was carrying something in a saddlebag. “Good now since you’ve been very respondent to my wishes I’ll give you something to calm you,” he said as he dug out some tied cloth from his saddlebag.

As he unwrapped it she saw several white disks similar to pills in total there were three. “Take these and then lay down on your bed. I’ll take care of everything else my dearest,” he said trying to sound sweet, but only further scaring her. Fluttershy obeyed even though every atom of her was telling her not to, she was too frightened of what he might do to defy him.

As she lay on her bed she felt his body next to hers. “I’ve been admiring you from afar for quite some time now my lamb,” he cooed voice still deeper than what it should be. “I’m High N’ Mighty,King of the Isle of Canisequus. I first saw you at the Grand Galloping Gala and from that brief glance I knew you were meant to be mine. Whether you know it now or not you soon will my pet.”

Fluttershy’s terror steadily grew until she started feeling strange. Her head was fuzzy and she was so tired she couldn’t keep her eyes open or even register what was going on around her. “Mmmm sleep precious, you’ll need all the rest you can get before tomorrow,” he said gently with a kiss to her forehead.

Discord had become very distant and unresponsive during the days after his argument with Fluttershy. He barely managed to make himself attend those stupid meetings and immediately after he would go into his bedchambers and lay on his bed tears flowing silently over his cheeks. He had never felt such pain before, it was like there was a pitchfork stuck in him twisting and turning his insides relentlessly. He hadn’t eaten, drank, or slept since the argument either, being the Spirit of Chaos he had a higher tolerance for things such as dehydration, though that didn’t mean he didn’t feel that he could drink an entire ocean. Despite his intense hunger and thirst the emotional pain was too strong for him to even think about such little things as food and water.

The only thing on his mind and in his shattered heart was Fluttershy. He didn’t believe she would have done what he accused her of, but then again his pride would neither let him admit he was wrong nor would it allow him to see past the scenario of what if it was true. He had been replaying everything over and over in his head wondering if things could ever go back to the way they were or even if she would want them to. He hadn’t stopped thinking about what would happen now when the summit ended. He didn’t know what to say or do unwilling to be fooled should it be true but afraid of losing the one thing that had made his entire world come alive.

On the last day he didn’t even care the High and whatever his face was leaving, if anything hopefully that’d make the meeting shorter. He had decided to go back to Fluttershy’s cottage today, although he still didn’t know what to say or do he hoped she still want his company. He wouldn’t bring up their argument that was for sure, today he just wanted to enjoy being with Fluttershy and forget about the rest. When the meeting finally ended he immediately teleported to his chambers snapped his luggage into place and teleported to Fluttershy’s cottage his heart longing to see her again.

Upon arriving things were a bit...off. For starters, her house was spotless and it looked as if the draconequus hadn’t rampaged through it at all. Then, when he went up to Fluttershy’s room he saw everything neatly put back into place and that the broken things had been fixed almost as if they were intact. Had she not cared so much about him that she could simply move on with her life as if nothing happened? At that moment he saw the mirror and the note on it.

Removing the note with a quick jerk he read it’s contents curiously. “To anypony who finds this note, I’m leaving Ponyville!” He shouted in surprise before continuing. “I cannot live in a town that holds so many painful memories. I need to get away from everything that reminds me of what happened, most of all I need to get away from the draconequus I once called my special somepony. Goodbye signed Fluttershy.”

Discord stood stone still for a moment unable to process what he’d just read. She didn’t even say his name in the note, as if it were some kind of taboo. He wanted to think that this wasn’t written by her but it looked exactly like hers. So that’s how it is Fluttershy, I’m so distraught I can barely function, but you, oh, you go off on a trip to pretend this never happened! No, no, no I’m not about to let you go like this! I deserve at least some closure! This draconequus will not take this lying down, even if I have to scour all of the world, I will find you. This isn’t over my dear.

He ripped the note into tiny pieces before teleporting back to Canterlot Castle. He had a plan in mind to help him find Fluttershy, and it involved the lunar sibling. He entered the throne room despite the royal guards threats should he do so. “Celestia, I require a word with your sister privately,” he said in a tone that wasn’t asking permission but telling an order.

“All right Discord, we shall leave you two in here for a few minutes, but be warned you will be watched by the guards,” Celestia stated as she motioned for everypony to follow her out.

When the doors shut Discord looked up at Luna and began to explain everything that happened. He didn’t care what she thought about any of it, he just wanted to give the best chance of finding Fluttershy. He started from the very beginning up until the note he found. “And that is the just of it,” he said softly. “I want your help to find Fluttershy. You can travel through ponies dreams is that not so?”

“Yes we can but thou does not know how long it would take to find one specific pony. When we find her it may be for naught, as we cannot locate where the dreamer is. Should she give us information on her whereabouts we shall tell thee,” Luna replied in her Canterlot voice.

“That’s all I ask Princess of the Night. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to begin my search for Fluttershy,” Discord replied as he snapped out of Canterlot.

The day passed with him finding no further clues in her cottage, and he bitterly accepted that as night approached it was Luna’s turn to search. Dejectedly he snapped to his pocket dimension and began coming up with ideas on where to look next. Luna looked through over a hundred dreams and came up with nothing. She relented and began to rest herself knowing she would need all her energy for tomorrow’s hunt.

Fluttershy woke up with a start as she found her neck chained to a stone floor in front of an expansive fireplace. She tried to buck and struggle only to find that her back legs were put into a wooden spacer bar restricting movement in either direction. Her front legs were forced to bend to accommodate the shortness of the chain attached to the heavy metal collar around her neck. She heard a low chuckle from behind her, “It seems Sleeping Beauty is finally awake. I was worried you might sleep all day and miss the fun.”

Fluttershy tried to struggle again only to be laughed at by her tormentor. She knew this was the white unicorn from before and she was terrified by him, but she still didn’t want to resign to her fate and allow him to win. “My dear, why won’t you speak to me? Is that anyway to treat your king?” He taunted as he went around her to the fireplace.

“You’re not my king! A-And don’t think for a second I’ll ever call you that!” Fluttershy yelled defiantly through her fear.

This made the unicorn smile and, unknown to Fluttershy, furthered his want for the little mare. He didn’t respond to her outburst but he tied a muzzle around her mouth to prevent her from speaking any further. “We shall see about that precious. For now I’ll just have to continue the claiming process without your verbal consent, though I didn’t expect it anyway,” said the unicorn with a sneer.

Fluttershy barely had time to wonder what he meant before she noticed a white magic aura surrounding a hot iron brand in the fire. She knew what brands were for, but thought that their use and practice had long since been banned. She tried to yell for help but only made loud muffled cries as the unicorn walked to her left side and hovered the branding iron over her cutie mark. She barely had a second to prepare herself before he pushed the brand on her cutie mark burning the fur and singing the flesh. Her eyes were filled with tears and she screamed as her flank was racked in pain.

Worse still is the fact that for the brand to be ‘good’ it must be applied several times, and yes the times were short but that hardly mattered to the poor mare. High N’ Mighty grinned in arousal as he heard muffled cries of pain from his soon to be queen, his kingly scepter beginning to emerge from his sheath. He wasted no time in giving the other side the same mark making the mare cry out even louder. After the branding was complete he replaced the iron brand back into it’s proper place and looked upon his work.
Her cutie marks had been covered by his own which was burnt into her flesh. The mark was still an inflamed pink color and the smell of burning flesh and fur still lingered in the air. He looked upon his pet and saw tears flowing over her face as she whimpered in pain. All this was enough for his magnificent sword to unsheath fully and his arousal to peak. He had planned on waiting to take her in his chambers, but her delicious anguish had fueled his flame to a point where it could not be denied.

“Oh darling your sweet whimpers and tears of pain push me to my limits. I can no longer satiate my hunger for your body, your agony has aroused me so that I must take you here and now,” he cooed into her ears. “Don’t fret my pet, I shall save your proper entrance for my bedchambers. This will simply be to control my arousal until then.”

Fluttershy tried to squirm but found the pain in her flanks to great to move much at all. She began to try and scream again only to silence herself as she felt something slick enter her rectum. It was a small lubed toy which was to ease his entrance later on. After several twists, turns, and pushes into her tight opening High withdrew the toy and applied lubrication to his own scepter. He position himself above her tight ring as he mounted his mare. Fluttershy’s mouth opened unable to scream as the large stallion forced himself past her entrance and into her rectum. He pushed further and further in until he was hilted at the base.

“Mmm, oh my darling the way you tighten around me is simply divine,” he moaned as he began to pull out to his flared tip.

Fluttershy was glad he wasn’t as long as Discord but his stallionhood was considerably wider. That coupled with the fact she was an anal virgin made this more painful than it should have been. When he was almost out of her tight passage he shoved back in with such force his regal orbs slapped against her moistening marehood. He used his magic to undo her muzzle and allow her to speak, longing to hear her cries and pleads.

Fluttershy made herself be quiet to spite the nasty stallion who was violating her innermost sanctum. Displeased by the silence High N’ Mighty bit the back of her neck hard and increased his speed. Fluttershy screamed in pain as she felt like she would be ripped in half from his rough treatment. Laughing in triumph he let go of her neck. “Oh my dear, your back passage is so tight it’s almost painful. You must be a virgin in this hole for it to be this delightful. So tell me how do you like being taken from this entrance?” He asked tauntingly as he continued to thrust.

Fluttershy bit back her cries of pain and tried to squirm once again, but barely managed to even slow him down. “Your struggling only makes you hug me tighter dearest,” he said in her ear mockingly as he continued to pump in and out of her abused plothole. “Now I shall ask you once more, how does it feel?”

Fluttershy didn’t want to answer that, how could he think this was anything but painful to her? He was only wanting her to tell him how bad it was so he could get his rocks off. High growled at her silence, she was a bit of a fighter which would make it all the sweeter when she surrendered to her most basic of desires, but right now he what he wanted more than anything were her anguished cries. “I. Said. How. Does. It. FEEL!” He roared forcing himself in as hard as he could with each word causing his orbs to make a wet smacking sound against her slit.

Fluttershy screamed in pain as she felt something within her tear, if she wanted this to end she’d have to play along. She began to cry heavily as she made herself answer his question. “It h-hurts!” She yelled in reply her voice clearly portraying the way she felt. “I hate it! Yo-You're cruel and uncaring!”

High could feel his apex within reach and his siren’s reply was enough to push him past the point of no return. Redoubling his efforts he made each thrust with as much force and speed as he could manage causing the mare beneath him to shriek from the torment. “G-Get ready my little pony, your king is about to fill you with his love,” High said with one final thrust plunging as deep as he could before finally climaxing inside her.

Fluttershy continued to cry as he came inside her bowels. She felt.. dirty and violated, as if this somehow tarnished her. When he finished he pulled out allowing the excess amount of his seed to spill onto the floor which had become somewhat pink as it mixed with her blood. “I promise that this will get easier my precious. Eventually, you’ll accept what your body wants and succumb to me more than willingly,” he cooed to her as he went around to her face and looked her in the eyes.

She spat in his face in a mixture of defiance and disgust. How could he possibly think any part of her wanted this? “I don’t know what has possessed you to think that any part of me would ever want you,” she said with as much spite as she could muster.

High wiped off her spit calmly and smiled at her as he chuckled. “Oh, is that so?” He asked as he went around to her plot. “What’s this then?” He touched her wet slit with a hoof and to emphasize his point he rubbed all around her opening covering his hoof with her slick juices.

“Seems to me that this part of you wants me,” he said as he gently pushed the tip of his hoof in her slick entrance. Fluttershy hated how her own body betrayed her, she didn’t want this yet here she was wet and aching at this fiend’s touch.

“No, it’s not that,” she defended. “I don’t want you, it’s just a reaction to stimulation.”

He tsked and stopped messing with her marehood. “My dearest pet you must realize how you are lying to yourself. I hadn’t even touched you yet when I started mounting I already saw you wet with longing. Those lips up there may lie, but the lips down here aren’t capable of it,” He said as he gave a tentative lick to her slit.

Fluttershy remained silent unable to deny the truth in what he said. Why had she become aroused by his advances? It wasn’t what she wanted, but that didn’t stop her from feeling like a whorse. She whimpered at his touch and hung her head down in shame. High N’ Mighty smiled in his triumph as he walked around to her face, “Shh, don’t cry anymore my pet. Soon you’ll accept what you crave and I’ll be more than happy to give it to you. Save your energy for tonight love,” he cooed gently.

Fluttershy felt him remove the chain from her collar and she lifted herself up. High released her hind legs from the spacer and then motioned for her to follow him. Tired and in pain she did as she was told without argument. They walked on the stone floor until they came to a spiral staircase leading up. It took some time to traverse as Fluttershy’s legs were sore and stiff. Finally, they made it to a door at the top of the staircase. High opened it with a push and Fluttershy could see that this must be his bedroom.

There was but a single large bed in the middle of the room that had silk curtains tied back to the posts. The bed itself looked soft and it had a blood red blanket on top of white sheets. “You get comfortable on the bed. I’ll draw the curtains and join you shortly,” he told her. Dejectedly Fluttershy obeyed and climbed on top of the bed laying down on her side legs tucked in close. Had circumstances been different she would’ve enjoyed the lavishness of the bed and it’s sheets. She rested her head on the softest pillow she’d ever felt and waited for her tormentor to join her.

High attached another chain to her collar before releasing the curtains so that they surrounded the bed on all sides, offering privacy for its occupants. After the last curtain had been drawn shut he joined his mare on the bed. As he expected she had her back turned towards him, this didn’t discourage him though as he saddled up next to her and wrapped a large forehoof around her tiny body. She quivered at his touch and could only just stop herself from whimpering or shivering in fear.

High N’ Mighty pulled her as close as physically possible placing her head against his chest. He had never felt quite so complete, he finally had the one thing he’d sought after for so long. As he felt her warmth against his he vowed never to let her go. He smirked silently as she began to cry, soon she would be crying in joy, but for now her suffering brought him great pleasure. He felt his scepter begin to reemerge as she continued to fuel his fire. “You’re mine now my precious little one, and you always will be. I will never let anything take you away from me,” he whispered in her ear and positively beamed when her tears began to flow more heavily.

You will give yourself to me, it is inevitable my sweet, but until then I’ll let your fire fuel mine. I promise you that within a week you shall obey my every command, and within another week you will want to obey and please me. It’ll be so delectable to see your eyes fill with want and your mouth begging me to mount you and rut you like a wild beast. I’ll please you far better than that miserable excuse for a creature ever could.