My eyes darted around wildly. Of the group of guys around me, a handful of them stepped forward, malintent all too obvious, and the rest of them disappeared into the crowds. Bodies blocked the walls from my vision, meaning I couldn't see any adults, and they couldn't see me. Any sudden movements, any attempts to catch anyone's attention, and there was no telling what all these guys could do to me or, worse, Rarity. I draped her arm over my neck to better carry her, hoping her legs would stabilize eventually.

I sighed. I'm definitely getting jumped next week.

"Help!" With my other arm, I gesticulated wildly, leading Rarity backwards and intentionally bumping into as many people as I could. I watched the rest of the boys slip into the crowd, and in their place, hundreds of eyes stared at me in shock. Several adults ran over to my side, taking the unconscious girl from my arms.

"What happened?" one of them asked.

"I don't know! Some guys kept giving her punch and then she..."

The adult nodded, pulling out her walkie talkie. "Can we get someone to confiscate all the drinks? We've got a girl here with potential alcohol poisoning."

Hearing those words, I felt bile crawl up my throat, but I swallowed it down quickly. They gently shook her, and very slowly, she stirred, mumbling a few words. At her response, two supervisors sat her up, and the crowd surrounding us parted, revealing an adult carrying a wheelchair.

"We're gonna take her to the nurse's office until the ambulance gets here," one ordered.

"Someone already called?"

A nod.

"Good." The first woman turned to me. "We'll take it from here, son. Thank you for saving her."

"Do you... Can I come with?"

She paused.

"No, there shouldn't be too many people in the way when the EMTs get here." She gave a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. She'll be fine."

Again, the crowd parted, and Rarity was escorted out of the auditorium. I watched as the mass of students swallowed them up before scanning the immediate spectators.

They stared... with condemnation.

Sophomore year. As the final bell announced the final class of the day, I dropped my backpack by my desk, lazily plopping into the seat. The teacher usually took her time starting the lecture, so we had at least a couple minutes to get settled. Peeking over my left shoulder, I spotted all my other friends sitting together, laughing at something on a phone. Normally, I would be with them until the teacher yelled at us to return to our seats, but the stress of fifth period's chemistry quiz had drained me.

I summoned the strength to pull my phone out of my pocket, electing to spend my brief free time to scroll through MyStable. I anticipated swiping through various status updates, memes, and the like, but I noticed a notification in my feed. Someone had tagged my account in a text post, so I checked what they had said, thumb ready to return to the home feed and look at posts that were likely much more interesting.

"just heard @SSpirit tried getting a girl drunk at a party LOL can we get this guy arrested already"

I frowned, rereading the words over and over, but I wasn't mistaken.

Sunset Shimmer had just accused me of trying to force a girl to drink. Yeah, I had been a party, the past weekend, but all I remembered was sticking to the walls with a cup of water while pretending it was vodka. I searched deeper. Yeah, there was a girl who passed out while I was in the kitchen with her, but I didn't talk to her or anything. I didn't even know her name. I hadn't had any alcohol; I hadn't interacted with the girl who passed out; there was no way in hell they'd accuse me of giving any to her, right?

My eyes flickered around the room, checking everyone as they browsed on their devices. One by one, group by group, their glares turned to me. I looked at my friends for support, but they were no longer my friends. Everyone had already drawn their own conclusions.

They were the judge, jury, and executioner, and in their eyes, I was guilty.

Gradually, the pounding in my eyes subsided, allowing music to replace it, and in the distance, people continued partying at the other corners of the room. However, the air remained tense, eyes peering down at me, and most students opted to gossip amongst their groups rather than continue with the festivities. Still, I steeled myself, standing up and returning over the Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who ran towards me.

"Oh my God, are you alright? What happened to Rarity?" Rainbow's hardened demeanor had cracked, and immense concern seeped through. To my left, Applejack and Pinkie Pie also raced over.

"I... she got sick, I think. They said it was alcohol poisoning."

"What?!" Pinkie gulped, looking over towards the exit. "Where are they taking her?"

"Nurse's office."

Rainbow stared at the ground, arms crossed. "I'm going over there, then."

I shook my head. "They wouldn't let me."

"So what? That's you. They aren't gonna stop me."

Applejack put a hand on her shoulder. "Rainbow, I think we should leave it to the adults."

Clenching her fists, she looked at me, then at Applejack.

"Fuck!" She angrily shook her friend's hand off and walked away.

I started after her, but Applejack held an arm out.

"Don't. She needs to walk it off, and then she'll be fine." She glanced at me. "How about you, sugarcube? I can't imagine watchin' it unfold right in front of you." She sighed. "If only we'd been there, too."

"I'm fine. Way better than Rarity is, at least. Remember those guys that were hanging around her?" She nodded. "They gave her spiked punch. Kept giving her cups of the stuff."

Applejack's face flashed with anger. "They did what?! Damn cowards, the lot! Where are they now?"

I scanned the crowd. "They disappeared when I started screaming."

"Do you know who they were?"

Disheartened, I dropped my head. "No."

"Damn. Damn, damn, damn." Applejack put a hand on my arm. "Listen, sugarcube, you did the right thing, alright? All that matters is that Rarity's safe, y'hear? We can deal with them later." We locked eyes, and staring deeply into those green eyes, I could feel her genuine concern for me.

"Thanks."

"Anytime, partner."

"I think I'm gonna go step outside for a bit." I rubbed the back of my neck, looking out at the crowd. "All the staring makes me nervous."

"Alrighty then. Just don't go chasin' after Rainbow. That girl needs to walk it off on her own, y'hear?"

"Crystal clear."

"That's a lie." She smiled. "I can barely hear a damn thing with this music, and I doubt you're any different."

I returned it. "Guilty as charged." Waving at the three girls, I made my way out of the auditorium, focusing on the doorway. My willpower could only do so much, though, as the whispers resonated in my ears, and the disapproving looks burned holes into my body. As I stepped out into the hallway, though, I ran into Principal Celestia.

"Greetings, my little student. May I speak with you for a moment?"

"Sure."

"Great. Let's find a quieter place."

We stepped over the stanchions and made our way up to her office. She flipped the lights on and walked over to her desk, beckoning me to sit in the chair across from her.

"Now, I want to be clear. Rarity will be fine. Alcohol poisoning can be a very serious situation, but it's because you acted so quickly that paramedics were able to take her to the hospital immediately. Worst case scenario is they give her an IV for dehydration, but she'll probably be home by the end of tomorrow. Thank you for looking out for one of your peers."

I swallowed back stress. "Of course. Just the right thing to do."

"Agreed, though some may still not act. That brings me to my next point." She folded her hands on the desk. "The spiked punch. I'd like hear everything you know. I understand how important the Fall Formal is to students, and I pray that this is an isolated issue, but if it turns out that there are perpetrators out loose, I will need to shut everything down as soon as possible. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Good." She held a hand out. "Please, tell me everything."

I started from the beginning, explaining how I saw the group of guys giving Rarity cup after cup of the spiked drink, and Principal Celestia recorded it all onto a notepad. I couldn't provide her any names, but I could still vaguely remember a couple appearances. She suggested a few individuals given the descriptions, but I didn't feel comfortable pinning the blame off a guess. Still, she scribbled the names onto the notepad.

"Do you think those boys were the ones to spike the punch?"

"Maybe," I shrugged.

"And they're still out there."

I nodded. "Possibly."

"Hmm. Even if it's just a hunch, I can't risk anything." She picked up the walkie talkie, turning the volume knob and clicking the input button. "Celestia here, perps are potentially still out there, so let's just wrap it up now."

I sighed, a tinge of regret seeping in. My thoughts went to Sunset, whose final formal would be cut short, among the other issues that had occurred. My mind retraced tonight's events leading up to my current predicament. Suddenly, I recalled standing out in the parking lot with Flash. I was reminded of the group of girls following Big Mac... and Snips and Snails trailing behind. "I, uh... I think there's other people who could've done that."

"Who?" I hesitated, but she calmly caught my gaze. "They don't have to be right. We're both guessing here, right? Whatever suggestions you might have will help me immensely. If you're wrong, no harm no foul. In fact," she rubbed her chin, smiling, "you'd be bailing them out of class."

I chuckled. "True." Closing my eyes, I deeply sighed. "It's kinda weird to explain, but basically I saw Snips and Snails trailing some girls as they were entering the school. Not to be mean, but I didn't think they'd be able to charm any of them. Wow, that sounds really mean. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Presuppositions are inevitable. Continue." Celestia brought her folded hands up to her mouth, but based on the glint in her eye, I figured she was trying to hide her amusement.

"Anyway, in the back of my head, I considered that they might try... something else, y'know? Considering what they did last year and the fact that they haven't really done anything to make up for it, it was something I thought was a possibility."

She nodded, writing on the notepad again. "I see. That's very observant of you, and quite reasonable, too. I appreciate you having the courage to disclose that to me, truly." Ripping the paper off the rings, she placed it in one of the drawers. "Well, I think that's enough information I need. Of course, if you remember anything, please don't hesitate to come to me. My inbox is always open, or you can visit in-between my meetings."

"Thank you." I took a deep breath, but it faltered midway. I tried once more, but it came out shaky.

"Are you alright? Do you need a moment?"

I chuckled sadly. "Maybe more than that."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Can I vent to you?"

"Absolutely." Like her sister, she rolled her chair around the desk and over to me, clearly a tactic to make people feel more comfortable without a table in the way.

It was effective.

"It's... There's a lot of things going on tonight. I thought I was fine, but I think it's all finally starting to settle in." I took another shaky breath. "There was already the issue of Sunset. There's the chaperone thing, but beyond that, there's just the worry of people being reminded of what happened last year. I don't mean to insult any of the adult volunteers, but her chaperone... You could see it easily."

Celestia simply nodded, giving me the space to continue once comfortable.

"She hates Sunset, and I bet most of the parents there still do. It made me so... angry that she was judging Sunset so harshly despite all she's done to improve herself." I clenched my fist. "I know it, you know it, yet she didn't, and it was almost like she did but didn't care."

"It sounds like you care deeply for Sunset."

"Very... but don't tell her that." I chuckled again, and she gave me a sympathetic smile.

"But do the parents bother Sunset?"

"I don't know. Maybe? When we first posed the idea of the chaperone, Sunset was upset about it, but I told her to reframe her goal to just live as a good person rather than trying to please everyone."

"That's a wise perspective."

"Yeah, well, it hasn't really played out the way I want." I stared at the floor. "When Rarity got wheeled out, everyone was just looking at me - judging me. It reminded me of... when Sunset spread the rumor that I got a girl drunk. God, I thought I was over it, but the circumstances were so similar, it..." I shut my eyes, holding in tears with all my might. "And I'm the lucky one, too. Sunset publicly admitted to lying about everything and took the blame, so my reputation was saved. She doesn't have that luxury. There's no one out there spreading how she's changed. You live your best life, hoping to convince the people you're around, but you don't get forgiven for admitting your own mistakes. I can't imagine how she's been able to handle all the gossip and sideways glances, and I can't believe how naïve I was to think 'just putting your mind to it' would fix everything."

The principal put a hand on mine. I realized how tightly I'd been gripping the armrests and relaxed. Slowly, I opened my eyes, tilting my head back in order to keep the flood gates from flowing freely. Celestia met my gaze.

"I don't think that was naïve at all. You're just trying to support her by suggesting an alternative. Whether or not she chooses to take it is out of your control, so don't beat yourself up over it. As for her reputation," she sighed, squeezing my hand, "you're right. You and I both know how unfair it is for her to be treated so poorly, but we also know that not everyone can be swayed so soon, if at all."

I nodded.

"I swear, my sister and I will do everything within our power to make her outstanding character known, and we will protect her from backlash if necessary. You all attend school for growth, whether it be academic or otherwise, and you should be recognized for it. Sunset is no different." Another squeeze. "If there's anything that we can do to help, please reach out. We want nothing more than for her to be successful, and protecting her reputation and wellbeing is an important part of that."

I could no longer lean back, so I embraced my emotions, letting the tears slowly dribble out the edges of my eyes before flowing down my face. I tried wiping them with my hands, but they refused to disappear. Through my blurry vision, I saw Celestia stand up, holding out her arms, and I accepted the embrace. Like she was my own mother, she quietly comforted me until I could no longer cry anymore.

"You're all my little students," she whispered, "and you'll always be my little students."

"Thank you," I croaked. "This means a lot."

I stepped away from her arms, and she handed me a tissue box to clean myself up. As I made myself presentable, I noticed the wet spots on her shirt.

"I'm, uh, sorry about the..."

She gave a soft smile. "It's no problem at all. Your wellbeing far outweighs a simple piece of clothing." She paused before holding a finger up. "Actually, do me one thing."

I cocked an eyebrow.

"Tell Lulu you like me better." She gave me a sly smile, and I returned it.

"It's the truth anyway."

"You flatter me."

Feeling refreshed and significantly less stressed, I followed Celestia back to the auditorium. At the doorway, Vice Principal Luna greeted us, and we all stepped inside. It looked nothing like when I had first arrived. The party lights and disco ball were gone, and the main lights were on, illuminating the trashed appearance of the room. A variety of decorations were littered across the floor, and there were noticeable marks on the floor from where people had spilled drinks and snacks. Most of the students had already left, but the supervisors were still trying to get the stragglers to leave. The tables were already gone, and both the photo and music booths were being dismantled by their respective operators. Among the remaining students, I spotted Sunset and Flash waiting in front of the stage by the DJ booth.

The principal turned to me. "Take your time. Talk to your friends. You'll all need to rely on one another to get through this."

Nodding, I left her and Luna to talk with the other adults. Approaching Sunset and Flash, their faces lit up, and they quickly walked up to me. I opened my mouth to greet them, but Sunset pulled me into a hug.

"Oh my Celestia!" She increased her grip, and I felt a slight discomfort in my ribs. "When Flash and I were still waiting by the tables, we heard your voice, but we couldn't go over to see what was wrong! Then, we saw the parents pushing Rarity out on a wheelchair! And then, we heard rumors about the punch being spiked and then they announced that they were shutting down the rest of the formal!" She leaned back to look at me. "What the hay happened?"

Sighing, I stepped back. "Some guys got her wasted and tried to take her home. I caught them when I was sitting with Rainbow and Fluttershy, but she passed out once I got there." I almost mentioned the stares that came after, but I bit my tongue. It didn't feel right to remind her, too. "Speaking of which, where'd the girls go?"

"Applejack went home with Big Mac and the Crusaders, and Rainbow ordered a ride for herself, Fluttershy, and Pinkie."

I turned to Flash with a small smile. "So, how were the cupcakes?"

"Great. Wish I could've saved you one."

I waved dismissively. "There's always time to stop by the Sweet Shoppe." My attention switched back to Sunset. "How're you holding up, by the way? How was Daisy?"

"Stayed out of my way at least," she shrugged.

"How about the formal as a whole? After all this hard work to get you into the formal, it gets shut down no more than halfway through."

She looked away. "Rarity's more important than one single dance."

"Doesn't mean you can't be upset."

A sigh. "Fine. Yeah, it sucks."

"You can say that again." The barista strolled over, leaving her sound system only partially dismantled. "An hour of setup and then another hour of aimlessly 'DJing' only for my break to be for the rest of the day. Unbelievable." She frowned at me. "Did they catch the assholes that spiked the punch and got this shit shut down?"

"Not yet."

"Damn. And what about Rarity?"

"She should be fine by tomorrow."

"Good." The barista nodded, and behind her, Sunset gave a relaxed smile.

I looked over my shoulder to scan the room. All the other students had already left, the photo booth was fully removed, and the supervisors had paused their cleanup efforts to convene with Principal Celestia. She was still talking with the chaperones, but occasionally, she glanced over to us. Eventually, her sister whispered something into her ear, and a smile formed on her face. She mentioned something to the other adults, and with collective nods, they all started exiting the auditorium.

"We'll be back!" The administrator shouted across to us. "Don't destroy the place until we get back!"

As the doors closed, turning back to my group, we all shrugged. I reentered their conversation, which had strayed far from the formal."

"Why would I drive all the way across town just for a discount Sweet Shoppe?" Flash crossed his arms defensively. The girls stood together, glaring at him.

"Uh, 'cause I work there?" The barista made an explosion gesture at her head.

"Sorry, but you're not worth the gas."

"What did you say?!" The barista got up to Flash's face, and Sunset had to pull her back. "I'll have you know that I make a bomb ass latte! Besides, we sell pumpkin cupcakes, too, and they're way better than the Sweet Shoppe."

Sunset nodded. "She's right. The stuff at The Coffee Shop taste way better in my opinion."

Flash raised an eyebrow. "I doubt that."

"You won't know until you try," I chimed in.

"We'll see."

Suddenly, the main lights dimmed. With a loud click, the strobe lights and disco ball activated once more, returning the auditorium to what it had once looked like earlier in the night. We heard the crackle of the intercom, turning to the speakers above the doorway.

"My little students, it seems we're all very preoccupied at the moment, and we'll need someone to watch the auditorium until we can come back to dismantle everything else. Lulu and I- Ow!" Celestia yelped as an audible thump was transmitted over the microphone, and in the background, I heard quiet laughter from others in the room. "Luna and I believe we can trust you four to look the place over for a bit. Enjoy."

As the intercom crackled once more, we all turned to one another, eyes flickering between to see who would break into a smile first. The barista would be the one to do so, whooping loudly.

"Awww yeaaah! Finally!" Within seconds, the parts of the sound system that had been dismantled were set up once more, and the girl gave a turntable a test spin. "Sorry, you guys, but I gotta do this."

I reeled back, anticipating a "wub attack," but she resumed the original playlist of songs. This time, though, she was more liberal with her remixing, recording samples of the music and chopping them live. Her additions to the tracks not only made it more unique but also more enjoyable.

Unsure of whether to break into dance, I let the music flow through me, gradually bobbing my head to the beat. The barista gave a few turntable scratches and switched to a breakbeat, eliciting a couple cheers from the rest of us. For a few more songs, we wordless enjoyed the barista's music magic. She even played a few original beats of her own, which really amazed Flash. Eventually, though, she turned the music down to talk to us.

"How'd'ya like that?"

"That was... exhilarating," Sunset sighed. Flash and I nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now, I've got something you'll all really enjoy!" After clicking a few times on her laptop, the music switched to... a slow romantic song. Sunset and Flash gasped, and I turned away from everyone, feeling a slight heat at my cheeks. Meanwhile, the barista jumped over her sound system, laughing. She ran up the stage and disappeared behind the curtains.

As the curtains closed behind her, another woman squeaked in surprise.

"Hi, Vice Principal Luna!"

"I- Vinyl!"

"May I?"

Moments later, the strobe lights stopped blinking, and the disco ball slowed down. The barista pushed the curtains apart and slipped back out onto the stage, hopping back to her booth. Adjusting the mix to the acoustic playlist, she smiled over to us as we stood around awkwardly.

"What?" The barista shrugged. "I like romantic music, remember?" She gestured to Sunset, reminding us of the gossip she had spread.

Sunset, on the other hand, shuffled uncomfortably. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that."

"Well," the barista walked over to us, "if you wanna make it up to me, dance." She held a hand out to me. "May I, monsieur?"

I rolled my eyes. "Very funny." I stared at her hand for a moment, contemplating the circumstances.

Is this just a dance, or does she want something more?

You dumbass. It's the barista we're talking about. It's just a dance to make everyone feel uncomfortable.

It's certainly working already.

Just grab the hand already and-

"Let's get this over with," I grumbled accepting her offer. Seeing her smile, though, I couldn't help myself from beaming back. Pulling her closer to me, I moved my hands to her back, just above her hips, and she wrapped hers around my neck. The blush of my face deepened, so my eyes darted everywhere except at the girl in front of me.

Wait.

While looking around, I spotted Flash leaning over to Sunset's ear, whispering something. She visibly gulped before turning to him and nodding. Like us, they began to slow dance, much to my subconscious disdain.

"Hey, Googly Eyes, over here." The barista gave my neck a firm squeeze, shocking me back to her. "It's rude to be looking at other girls when you're dancing with one." Noticing my discomfort, she laughed, and she upped the ante, leaning closer to me until she was almost under my chin. We continued dancing until we had drifted a significant distance away from Sunset and Flash.

"So... what'd'ya think?"

I stared blankly. "What do you mean by that?"

She shrugged. "Anything I guess: the formal itself, the music... my outfit?" As she teased, I glanced down, finally taking in her dress. It was very similar to her everyday outfit; in fact, it was largely identical with the same blue sneakers and purple leggings. However, her usual jacket and skirt were replaced with a white button-up with rolled-up sleeves and a long, white pleated skirt.

Still, the compliments struggled to form in my head.

"You make great coffee?"

A groan, and she pulled on one of my ears, resulting in a yelp. Sunset and Flash peeked over at us, but I just gave a sheepish smile.

"Oh my fucking God, dude. Is that really all you've got?"

"Sorry. The compliments don't come out easily."

Her eyes flickered to the others. "For everyone?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She frowned silently.

"Yeah, yeah, alright," I grumbled. "I can't help it, okay?"

"Pretty much everyone knows."

I cocked an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Seriously? You've been stuck to her ever since she started hanging out with you. You're usually hanging out with her at school... or even off-campus at The Coffee Shop and stuff."

"That doesn't really-"

"Does anyone else hang it with her like you do?"

She posed a good question, and it took a bit to mull that over.

"Maybe?"

"How often does she hang out with Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow?"

"At least about as much as me, I'd guess."

She shook her head. "Whenever I'm around town or working, and I see them, she's almost never with them." Spotting my confusion, she continued. "That might've been the case before, but she obviously prefers being with you."

What? I don't... I don't believe it.

"What?"

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?"

I shouldn't get my hopes up.

"I don't wanna mess anything up."

She squeezed my ear, hard. "Are you stupid? You're gonna mess things up if you keep waiting. A girl doesn't agree to midnight coffee with just anyone."

"Yeah, we're friends."

"Just friends?"

"Just friends."

Her frown deepened. We continued dancing quietly for a few more minutes until she looked over to the others.

"Hey, Sunset! Wanna switch?" the barista called out.

Surprised, Sunset broke eye contact with Flash, whipping her head to us. "Uh..." Flash and I looked at each other, shrugging. Seeing our indifference, she nodded. "Sure."

Slowly, we worked out way towards the center, and once we converged, the barista dropped her arms from around my neck.

"Thanks, big guy. I appreciate it." She glanced over to the others. "Flash?"

He and Sunset dropped their arms, and Sunset and the barista swapped places. By now, I'd turned into a tomato, and beads of sweat began to form. I quickly placed my hands at her sides, hoping she wouldn't notice how clammy they had gotten. Sunset wrapped her arms around my neck, and I became reacquainted with her familiar lavender smell.

"We meet again."

She giggled. "That we have."

We kept quiet for a moment, letting the soft guitar melodies carry our dance. Gradually, though, I became aware that Sunset was getting closer and closer to me, retreating into my chest as if we were in a tight embrace. I did little to protest, resting my head against hers. She seized up initially but eased into my arms shortly thereafter, and everything faded away. There was no music, no Flash and VInyl, no Fall Formal. There was only Sunset. I felt so warm, feeling the slow expansion of her diaphragm as she relaxed on me. Playfully, I exhaled sharply out of my nose onto her face, earning a faint giggle.

"This feels nice," she finally whispered.

"You can say that again."

She tightened her embrace. "Less talking, more hugging."

Chuckling, I obliged, pulling her closer. Her fiery curls tickled my face, but I couldn't help myself from burying myself in them. After a couple more minutes, I felt Sunset push herself off my chest to look at me. We gazed into each others eyes, and I felt my breath leave me.

She was so beautiful.

Sunset put a hand up to my cheek, tracing my face, smiling. A ray of light from the disco ball passed her face, and her teal eyes shone with affection.

Our feet stopped moving.

Slowly, she pulled my head to hers, closing her eyes.

My heart started racing. I started to close my eyes, too, allowing her to pull me into a kiss.

Fireworks.

Author's Note

All that talk about word count consistency, yet here we are. Whoever this kuyakevs guy is, he's a real idiot, I tell ya!

I don't know how I feel about including a flashback when the story itself is a flashback, but I wanted to provide enough context without having to create an entirely separate chapter.

Also, I'm taking a course on the history of hip hop, so I couldn't help myself from including DJing in my writing. Sure, Vinyl's more of a dubstep person, but the fundamentals of DJing and DJ equipment have hip hop and pre-hip hop roots. Still, it would be hilarious to imagine her playing a disco mix.

Anyways, all feedback is encouraged, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.