"And that was Burn the Body, by the Hierogliffins. It's the first song they've released since their lead guitarist, Feather Cord was killed in that bombing at the Zip-Trot. Feather Cord, you will be sorely missed.

"Now I also bring news that apparently another one of those [Bleep]ing Tatzlwurm riders robbed an UmbralRock train passing between Neo Crystalla and Neo Somnambula. While information is scarce, rumors have it that the rider had the old Outrider logo emblazoned on their jacket and was wearing an old stetson.

"Unfortunately, it would seem that the train was pulled under by the Tatzlwurm as well as some of the track, so it will be some time before another train comes here from Neo Crystalla.

"In other news, it has been confirmed that the Diamond Pyramid in the upper city is nearing completion and should be finished in a month or so.

"Talk about ponies in glass houses. [Bleep]ing snobs!

"Now how about we cheer things with this little tune, Running on Razor Blades by Cyber-Rainbooms."

Pain rippled through Tansha's body as she moved through the pitch black darkness. It was as if there were bugs crawling under her skin or she was being pushed through the jaws of a crocodile, its teeth grating her mind, body and soul. Tansha would be screaming through the agony if she had vocal cords that would allow her to do so, or if she had lungs to expel air.

Right as it seemed that Tansha's mind could bear no more, there was a pop and suddenly Tansha found herself in a cramped space, surrounded by thick, viscous fluid. Struggling to breath, by instinct, Tansha reached up, pushing the lid off the jar.

Tansha gasped as her head breached the surface, coughing as she expelled the foul, pale yellow fluid that had filled her lungs. She barely had any energy to pull herself from the urn, open the closet doors and crawl out into the center of the room. As Tansha lay there, allowing her energy to build up, she could feel her insides aflame within her, a longing desire burning throughout her body.

"Buck!" Tansha wheezed as she pulled herself upward.

For some reason, whether it was due to the pain of her rebirth or some other side effect given by that accursed sphinx, whenever Tansha was reborn her nerves became hypersensitive and her body yearned for companionship. It felt almost as if somepony had turned her womb into a furnace and Tansha hated it.

Mustering what strength she could, Tansha made her way to the bathroom.

"Welcome back ma'am," Maat spoke over the room's speakers. "It would seem that you've met an unfortunate demise. I have prepared the shower according to your specifications."

"Thank you," Tansha groaned.

Stumbling into the shower, Tansha braced herself against a wall as cold water began pouring down upon her. She could feel every droplet as it landed on her body, eliciting the feeling of both pain and pleasure through every fiber of her being. Despite this, Tansha endured and gradually her body adjusted as the shower went on. Eventually even the quivering organs within her calmed, though Tansha knew that she would need to do something about it.

"Maat…" Tansha spoke as she sat down in the shower, resting her body against the wall.

"Yes, ma'am?" The AI inquired.

Tansha breathed heavily. "I need you to schedule my usual appointment."

"Certainly ma'am, I will make the arrangements immediately."

As Maat disappeared from her HUD, Tansha closed her eyes, taking a small nap, as the water rained down from above.

Stepping inside the ByteNBrew, Tansha slowly made her way to the counter, still feeling a little sore and sensitive from her rebirth. Not wanting a breeze or a stray touch to set her nerves ablaze, Tansha wore a comfortable black hoodie.

“Good morning Tansha,” Sweetie Belle greeted.

“Morning…”

“My, you’re not looking so good,” Sweetie said, “did you have a rough night?”

That was an understatement. “Something like that.”

“Were you able to sell that module?”

Tansha shook her head and she sat down and leaned on the counter. “No, I tried selling it but unfortunately I was robbed of it. On top of that, my Ba-Link was broken in the struggle, so I'll need to get a new one from Spike.”

"Oh, no," Sweetie gasped, "are you okay?"

As much as Tansha kind of wanted to tease Sweetie, saying that perhaps a three way with Spike and her might make her feel better, considering the state of her body at this moment, now just wasn’t the time.

“Maybe after a cup of coffee,” Tansha moaned.

Tansha continued to rest her head on the counter even as the bell rang.

“Good morning,” Sweetie Belle greeted, “what can I get you this morning?”

Taking a deep breath, Midnight sat down at the front counter. “I’ll have coffee.”

Hearing that it was Midnight who had sat down next to her, Tansha slowly reached up and pulled her hood further over her head.

‘Crap! What’s he doing here?’ Tansha panicked internally.

“Here you go,” Sweetie Belle said as she set a couple cups of coffee before Tansha and Midnight.

Midnight let out a sigh. “Sweetie… I have some bad news.”

Seeing Midnight’s sullen expression, Sweetie gave him her full attention. “I’m listening.”

“It’s Tansha,” Midnight said, “I’m sorry to inform you that she’s… dead.”

Slowly Tansha pulled on the draw strings of her hoodie, making it so that there was only a small peephole, through which her face could be seen. Secretly Tansha hoped that Sweetie Belle would see this and maybe play along.

Sweetie looked over at her hooded friend and with a confused expression turned back to Midnight. “I’m sorry, but I think you’re mistaken.”

“I know it’s hard,” Midnight continued, “but it’s true. I saw it with my eyes.”

While Midnight was clearly serious, seeing Tansha squirming in her seat, Sweetie couldn’t help but giggle.

“I’ll admit that this is a pretty funny joke,” Sweetie giggled.

Midnight furrowed his brow, unaware of what was going on. “It’s the truth!”

Collecting herself, Sweetie motioned to Tansha. “I will admit that you’re very convincing. Just maybe the next time you want to pull a prank like this, you should have Tansha come in later.”

As Sweetie stepped away to clean some cups. Midnight looked over at the pony that Sweetie had pointed at. At first, he wasn’t sure what to make of them, aside from the fact that they were wearing a hoodie with the drawstrings pulled so tight that they were at risk of breaking, until he noticed the hieroglyphic tattoos on her hoof.

“Tansha?” Midnight asked in disbelief.

‘BBUUUCCCKKKK!!!!!’ Tansha’s inner voice screamed.

Well, the gig was up, time to face the music.

After loosening her drawstrings, Tansha pulled off her hood and gave Midnight the warmest smile she could muster. “H-hello.”

Midnight looked at Tansha, hardly believing his eyes. While she did look a little bit younger, there was no doubt about it. “You’re… you’re alive.”

“Y-yeah.”

“B-but how?” Midnight asked, “I saw you die.”

Tansha’s mind went into overdrive in spite of the pain she was in, trying to come up with a clever lie that could get this Horizon Knight off her trail.

Putting on her best smile, Tansha let out a slight chuckle. “Oh, that was just an elaborate teleportation spell. I casted it in an effort to throw off my assailant.”

Midnight looked at Tansha skeptically. “Uh-huh…”

That seemed… pretty farfetched. Midnight’s eyes narrowed. What was Tansha hiding?

The change in Midnight’s mood didn't go unnoticed by Tansha. Clearly he wasn’t buying her story.

It was about that time that the bell to the ByteNBrew rang once more. Looking up from her cleaning, Sweetie Belle smiled as she greeted the new arrivals. “Welcome back mister K. What can I get you this morning?”

Knick Knack entered the store with Whiskey Lullaby in tow, carrying a bundle of white lilies.

“Actually we’re here to pay our-” As Knack was speaking, he noticed Tansha sitting at the counter. While shocked that Tansha appeared to still be alive, Knack quickly regained his composure.

With a cough, Knack continued. “What I meant to say is that Lullaby thought that some flowers might spruce up your lovely establishment and since the program was beyond satisfactory we decided to bring you some.”

Lullaby blinked a couple times, before she recovered from her surprise. “Uh, yes… here.”

Meekly, Lullaby stepped forward and placed the bundle of flowers on the counter.

“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Sweetie Belle said, “thank you.”

As Sweetie admired her new flowers, Knick Knack put on a charming smile and walked over to Tansha.

“I also wanted to thank you for your hard work also,” Knack said as he reached out a hoof to shake.

“Oh, uh, you’re welcome, I guess,” Tansha said as she shook Knack’s hoof. Even as their hooves touched, Tansha could feel her insides light up due to her sensitive nerves.

‘Stupid curse!’

“Is there anything the two of you would like to order?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“My assistant will have some coffee with sugar and cream,” Knick Knack replied, “though if you have any, I would like some black tea.”

“One cup of coffee and one cup of tea coming up,” Sweetie said.

As Sweetie Belle took Knick Knack and Whiskey Lullaby’s orders, Midnight leaned in close to Tansha.

“Tansha I need to talk to you.”

“What is it, Moneybags?”

Midnight growled, coming across as a bit more aggressive than he had intended. "I'm not Moneybags."

Seeing Midnight’s stern reaction, Tansha knew that this wasn’t time for jokes. This wasn’t the ignorant stallion that she had met days ago. This was the knight that had watched her die hours ago. Now he was dangerous.

“No, I suppose you’re not,” Tansha said, “so, what do you want to talk about?”

"I know that it wasn't some weird teleportation magic," Midnight said, "I literally felt you die in my hooves and turn to ash! You owe me an explanation for what happened."

For a moment, Tansha was quiet as she pondered what to do with Midnight. He knew her secret or at least part of it and that made him dangerous, not just to her, but to everypony around her.

After a few seconds, Tansha came up with a solution. As much as she hated it, Tansha knew what she must do.

"Very well," Tansha said, "meet me down in the scrapyard in an hour and I'll tell you everything."

After considering her words, Midnight nodded. "Agreed!"

As both of them stepped back into the limousine, Lullaby took on a submissive, shameful posture. Once the doors had closed and the vehicle started moving, Lullaby began to apologize. “I’m sorry master. I was certain that she was dead.”

Knick Knack waved a hoof. “Don’t be sorry, I was convinced as well.”

“Still, I feel that I’ve failed you.”

Looking out the window, Knack stroked his chin. “There is nothing to be ashamed of. Clearly there is more going on here than meets the eye, but we do know that despite what happened, that Tansha is in fact alive.”

There was a moment of silence as Lullaby contemplated what Knack had said, before her eyes lit up with a realization.

“That’s why you went to shake her hoof,” Lullaby said, “to make sure that she wasn’t a hologram or a magical illusion.”

“Correct.”

“So then, is it possible that Tansha faked her death using a hologram?”

Knick Knack shook his head. “No. If it was an illusion spell that it wouldn’t have shown up on the footage and if she was a hologram, both her killer and the knight would have noticed that something was off. Furthermore, we are the only ones with the footage, so we know it wasn’t altered. In conclusion, we can determine that last night, Tansha died and this morning she is both alive and well.”

“What do you suppose this means?” Lullaby asked.

“I’m not sure.” Knack looked back out the window, watching as the buildings moved by and the rain started to pour. “But I have a new assignment for you.”

“What is it KK?”

“I want you to dig up everything you can on Tansha,” Knack said, “I feel that the more we know about her, the better we’ll understand what really happened.”

“Yes, master.”

Looking back at Lullaby, Knack could see that there was still a sullen demeanor to her. No doubt she still felt that she had embarrassed her master, despite his claims to the contrary. Like any good pet, Lullaby wouldn’t feel satisfied until she had received the proper discipline.

“But that can wait until tomorrow,” Knack said, “tonight I will have to… punish you.”

It wasn’t truly necessary, but it would make Lullaby happy.

“What kind of punishment, master?” Lullaby asked.

Judging from the subtle change of Lullaby’s voice as well as the occasional swish of her tail, Knack could tell that she was excited.

Knack looked back out the window. “You’ll have to wait and see. Now when is my next appointment?”

“Your parents have scheduled another date with a prospective bride.”

“Ah, of course.”

Needless to say, Knick Knack had a smile on his lips during his appointment. Not because of anything the droll, rich mare said or did, but because of all the salacious plans he had for Lullaby’s “punishment.”

"Here's your new Ba-link," Spike said as he placed the small device down on the counter.

"Thank you," Tansha picked up the Ba-link and carefully attached it to her right temple.

"I also finished this." Spike reached under the counter before placing Tansha's old mask on the counter.

The mask was made of black metal, designed to cover a pony's muzzle. It had a long round snout and sharp, golden teeth like those of a jackal, the entire mask carrying a foreboding presence.

"You fixed it," Tansha said as she examined it.

Spike nodded. "Of course."

Picking up the mask, Tansha placed it into her satchel. "Thank you."

"Is everything alright?" Spike asked. Perhaps it was the apprehensive manner that Tansha talked, but Spike could tell that something was off.

"Yeah." Tansha took a deep breath. "I just have something really difficult that I must do."

“Good evening everypony and welcome back to the D-Nile network. It is I, DJ Pon-3, bringing you some breaking news. A crazed Altered was seen rampaging through the east side of the lower city. If I was you, ladies and studs, I’d lock up everything and stay inside until the knights deal with it.

"Lock up your daughters. Lock up your wives. Lock up your back doors and pray that thing doesn't [Bleep]ing try to break in.

“On a side note, do you guys remember those cybernetic wings I was talking about the other day. Well, guess what, one of them went up in flames today, so guess who’s now fifty five Bit-Cheques richer?

“Now’s time for the new hot single by Markless, ‘Welcome to the Friendship Zone.’”

Midnight stood at the scrapyard, waiting for Tansha's arrival. The rain was coming down harder now, creating large puddles in the numerous pits littered around the various scrap heaps.

He felt a little bit anxious as he pondered what was about to happen. What words would Tansha provide him in regards to her death and would they be the truth? Or could this be some sort of trick? Admittedly a place like this, wasn't the safest place to meet, and while his trust in Tansha was questionable at the moment, if he didn't go along with her demands then she might do something drastic. So, it was best to play it by ear for now.

As he pondered the matter, the sound of hoofsteps grabbed his attention. Turning around Midnight saw Tansha standing there, looking back at him. For a moment she seemed a little shocked before her expression became that of determination.

"You came," Midnight said.

Tansha nodded slowly. "So did you."

"You said you were going to explain everything."

Another nod. "Yes, I did…"

A pregnant pause filled the air, the only sound being the pitter patter of the pouring rain.

"Follow me," Tansha said, walking past Midnight further into the scrapyard. Without hesitation, Midnight followed.

They had been walking for maybe about five minutes, weaving through the monuments of metal and rust, when Tansha stopped at a yellow shipping container that was covered with graffiti and mud.

Tansha motioned with her horn toward the container. "Inside you will find the answer you seek."

"What's inside?"

"I'm not telling you," Tansha replied, "you'll have to see for yourself."

The hairs on the back of Midnight's neck stood on end. He didn't like this, yet it was clear that Tansha had no intention of telling him the truth unless he opened the shipping crate.

Walking over to the container, Midnight reached out with his wings and pulled open the two metal doors, his lips turning into a frown as he beheld what was inside.

"It's empty," As he said this, Midnight noticed a turquoise glow on the doors. Turning around he saw Tansha looking at him, her eyes filled with ill intent, a black sphere surrounded by turquoise energy held above her horn. Apparently she must have somehow managed to illegally uninstall or bypassed her Spell-checker.

"Why did you have to pry?" Tansha asked, "you could have just played along and I wouldn't have had to do this!"

"I-I don't understand."

Tansha chuckled and while it sounded cruel, Midnight could catch a bit of sadness intermingled into its tone. "Nopony does. But they want to know. They always want to know why I can't die and they pick! They prod! They bite! They rip! They tear! They do EVERYTHING they can to find out what makes me tick, because THEY want it!!!"

While Midnight wasn't too sure what was going on, he knew that if he didn't defuse this situation he'd be just like the corpse of that Joy-ripper that his comrades had found. He needed to keep her talking.

"What are you saying?" Midnight said, keeping his voice as calm as possible. If he died here, Lightning Spark would have to fend for herself without her brother and Midnight wasn't ready to let that happen.

"I'm saying I can't give you what you want!" Tansha barked.

Maintaining his calm demeanor, Midnight stretched out his wings. "I'm just trying to understand what happened. Ponies don't just turn to ash and pop up again out of nowhere."

A part of Tansha just wanted to let loose her magic, to put Midnight down and to go about her life as usual. Yet could she really do that? Would killing this Horizon Knight really solve anything? Then there was another part of her that wanted to trust Midnight, a part of her that wanted to end the cycle of killing and running.

Squinting her eyes, Tansha peered at Midnight suspiciously, the aura of her magical death sphere glowing slightly brighter. "How do I know that I can trust you?"

Midnight smiled and shrugged. "Well, for starters I could have reported to my colleagues that you and your friends had the Lunar Core Module and had them confiscate it, but I didn't. On top of that I followed your instructions and came out here to this secluded place without any reinforcements. Furthermore, I did try to save you, so I think that's a start."

Tears welled in Tansha's eyes. She wanted to trust him. She had bore this secret for SO long, she wished she could share it with somepony, anypony. Maybe, just maybe, Midnight was that pony. Still he would need to prove himself to her.

After pondering this, Tansha relented. The magical sphere she was concentrating on flickering before completely vanishing.

"Fine, I will give you a chance to prove yourself," Tansha said, "disable the firewall on your Ba-Link."

Hearing Tansha's demand, Midnight gulped. By disabling his Ba-Link's firewall, it would be completely vulnerable to hacking and viruses. However if he didn't follow her instructions, chances were that it wouldn't matter. Taking a deep breath, Midnight quickly activated his HUD and after hitting the confirmation key, disabled the firewall.

With Midnight's firewall down, Tansha was quick to start uploading a special file into Midnight's Ba-Link. While she had initially intended to give the file to Spike and Sweetie Belle in the situation that they found out, Tansha was sure that it could work in this situation as well.

"I am uploading a treasure map into your Ba-Link," Tansha explained, "you must not open it until the next time you see me die. After that you will have until midnight of that day to find the treasure."

"What happens if I can't find it?"

"Then one of us is going to disappear. Understand?"

Midnight watched as the bar on his HUD filled up, showing the progression of the files download. "And until then both of us are to remain silent on the matter, correct?"

"That would be correct," Tansha answered. More of the bar filled up.

With a sigh, Midnight nodded. "I understand."

The bar finished filling as the file finished downloading.

An alabaster unicorn mare lay in bed, city lights bleeding through the massive windows, illuminating her form. Rain tapped against the glass.

Next to her beneath the silken sheets was a stallion who had long since finished using her to his heart’s content and had fallen fast asleep. While he was satisfied, she simply felt like a doll, used for the pleasure of her customer.

As she rested there, the mare pondered what was to become of her. Tonight was the last night she would be serving this client and soon she would be serving another. Judging from the information her handler had given her, the next client was a young stallion who was serving as an ambassador. Apparently his parents had thought she could solve a little… problem for them.

While she wasn’t too fond of the idea, the fact was that she was in debt and while it was gradually diminishing, she could use all the funds she could muster. So, she would go along with it or at least make it appear as she was.

Perhaps things would be different with this new patron, or perhaps it would be the same repetitive cycle of entertaining him at the expense of her own desires.

‘That’s the way it is I suppose,’ the mare thought, ‘no rest for the wicked.’

"Is everything alright?" Lightning asked, pulling Midnight from his thoughts as he gazed out the window.

“Oh, yeah I was just thinking about something,” Midnight answered.

Lightning was standing by the table. “Well, It's almost dinner, so come over when you’re ready.”

“Okay.”

Looking back out the window into the rainy city, Midnight considered what had happened with Tansha in the scrapyard. Not only had his life nearly come to a tragic end, but he had learned something about Tansha. Whatever it was that had allowed Tansha to cheat death, it was something that must have caused her so much pain in the past that she was willing to kill to keep it a secret.

Peering through his messages, Midnight saw the one that Tansha had left him with, it simultaneously held hints to that secret while serving as a looming cloud of a delayed demise.

Seeing the image of commander Spitfire appear on the corner of his HUD, Midnight patched in the call.

"This is Midnight speaking," Midnight said, answering the call.

"Midnight, this is Spitfire. I have some details I must go over with you pertaining to your last mission, do you have a moment?"

"Yes, I'm available for the moment," Midnight replied, "what would you like to discuss?"

"I thought you might want to know what happened to the stallion that killed Tansha."

It was then that Midnight recalled that he hadn't shared with his commander that Tansha was still alive. However, considering what had happened at the scrapyard, Midnight decided to keep that little detail close to the chest for now.

"Were you able to find her assailant?"

"We found him," Spitfire answered, "however he managed to escape."

That was unfortunate.

There was a brief pause before Spitfire answered. "He was… magically altered."

Hearing this, Midnight's blood ran cold. It had been nearly four years since somepony had been magically altered. For a brief moment, Midnight glanced over to his sister who was still preparing the table. A twinge of anger boiled in his blood as Midnight turned back to the window.

"I take it that I don't need to tell you what that means," Spitfire said in Midnight's ear.

Midnight nodded, even though Spitfire couldn't see him. "The Gleaming Eye is back in town."

"Correct, which means that I'll be needing you to maintain your status in the lower city for now."

That might be a bit difficult as Tansha was aware that Midnight was a Horizon Knight, however seeing as he was keeping her secret, whatever it was, hopefully she would do the same.

"Understood."

As the elevator ascended, Tansha contemplated her interaction with Midnight. Had she been too harsh with him? Should she have tried taking a gentler approach? Or was she being too trusting and should she have just blasted his remains to the farthest reaches of the scrapyard while she still had a chance?

Trust was a difficult thing with Tansha, after all it was somepony breaking her trust that had ultimately led her down the path that resulted in her cruel immortality.

As Tansha pondered these things, the elevator's bell rang, signaling that she had reached her assigned floor. As the doors pulled back, it unveiled a hallway that appeared to be that of an old rundown apartment complex or at least it would have if it weren't for the neon hexagonal signs above each door with a glowing green number inside. The scent of various spices and honey filled the air.

Stepping out of the elevator, Tansha pulled a card from her satchel and looked at the room number on it. Room 79. After putting the card away, Tansha began looking for her room.

'If he's really somepony you trust, you can apologize to him later,' Tansha thought, ‘tonight, you're just going to enjoy yourself and blow off some steam.'

Upon finding room seventy nine, Tansha used the keycard on the door lock, which opened without issue, and stepped inside.

While most rooms were box shaped, in the Love Nest, they were instead sideways hexagons, kind of like a honeycomb. The room was itself split in half, with the side closest to the door having a couple lockers for the customer’s belongings as well as a small walkin bathroom and shower. On the ceiling there were a couple panels that gave off light that fluctuated between green and a pale blue, the colors shifting like water. The walls were made of a dark, porous rock.

The other half of the room was separated by a magical field as the opposing wall transitioned into a “floor” due to some gravitational magic runes built into the wall. The “floor” was completely covered with bedsheets with pillows and cushions along the perimeter. In one of the corners was a chest which had some special… "toys" inside.

Peering past the magical barrier, Tansha couldn't help but smile as she saw the Pupa twins sitting, patiently waiting for her arrival. As Tansha walked over to the locker, to store her satchel and stockings, she could feel the two changelings gazing upon her with lascivious eyes.

"Welcome mistress," Pristine greeted.

"We are honored by your presence," Prosperous said.

Tansha couldn't help but smile as she pulled her stockings off, deliberately moving in a slow, sensual manner.

"And I appreciate you having me," Tansha said, "It has been a stressful few days and I am looking forward to your attention."

Quickly Tansha pulled up the Love Nest Peal app and turned it on. While she doubted that it would be needed, it was required by Love Nest staff for the application to be active for the safety of anypony using their services.

"And we appreciate your love, mistress," Pristine replied.

This was a simple exchange, they helped her relieve her tension, she gave them her love, plain and simple. For the next few hours, there was to be no stress, no fear, no worries and no Midnight. Just a simple, blissful transaction.

Once she finished storing away her belongings, Tansha closed the locker and walked to the barrier. Now all that she was wearing was her collar and piercings. Walking through the magical energy field felt almost like walking into a wall of water. Upon passing through, Tansha's body drifted so that she was now sitting on the "floor." The silken sheets felt soft against her flesh.

Now that she was fully "submerged," Tansha walked to the center and lay down between the twins. Pristine reached out and gently caressed her right shoulder, while Prosperous massaged her left thigh.

“Now for this evening,” Prosperous spoke, “would you like for us to mirror somepony else?”

Immediately, Prosperous’s body changed to that of a unicorn stallion, his blue mane cascading down his white neck in a regal fashion. Those blue eyes matching the changeling’s hunger.

“Or…” Pristine leaned in close, his mouth maybe an inch away from Tansha’s ear. “Would you like for us to remain as is?”

With a smile, Tansha turned and kissed Pristine on the forehead, just below his porous horn. "This evening, your mistress would like for you both to be yourselves, your wonderful…"

Turning Tansha then kissed Prosperous on the head as well. "...Virile selves."

Author's Note

So what do you think of Tansha's secret? Immortality at the cost of still having to experience both death and a painful, soul rending rebirth.

Even with those stipulations, I had still felt weary of Tansha and had like I've said in the past and had considered restarting with a different character. If you've ready my other Neo Somnambula story, Desert Lotus, you could probably guess who?