A Mercenary's Ending

Gregory walked down the halls of the Crystal Palace next to his three friends, and he did consider Sunset a friend in that moment. She had seemed to undergo some kind of change after the Rainbow of Light did something to her. He didn’t know just what it was, but if the Rainbow was anything like the Elements of Harmony, then perhaps it had a similar effect on her to what happened in Equestria Girls. He thought it was similar because unlike then, Sunset wasn’t in tears. Of course, unlike the movie, this Sunset was in her thirties like him.

In front of the entire group, Cadance, Shining Armor and Spike were leading the group towards another room, this one a meeting/conference room. Celestia and Luna were directly behind the imperial family, the Williams siblings were behind the sisters and the former Elements of Harmony were behind Gregory’s group. Flurry Heart, who had taken an unusual shine to Gregory, was resting on his head. The mood of everyone there was more subdued, but more hopeful. Then again, Gregory didn’t feel any different. When that rainbow light washed over him, he didn’t feel anything, but the mood of the entire group was lifted, and his earlier unusual jocularity had lifted his mood considerably.

He loved teasing Chrysalis. It was incredibly satisfying to see the secret tsundere act embarrassed. She was super cute, almost kawaii. Nah, fuck that! She was kawaii as fuck!

As they walked, Gregory could hear the former Elements talking behind him. “I cannot believe I was acting like such a cad before,” Rarity was saying. “Whatever that Rainbow did to us really opened my eyes. Twilight, do you have any clues as to what that Rainbow of Light is?”

“It could be an ancient predecessor to the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight muttered. “It felt more powerful, though.”

“What do you think it did to us?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” Twilight said, “but whatever it did, I can only think it’s a good thing. I feel…it’s hard to describe, actually.”

“It’s like…that feeling you have after a nice warm bath, you know?” Rainbow Dash said. “Ah! I’m not good with describing this stuff.”

“I feel like something that was buried deep inside me was taken away,” Pinkie said, “something that was inside me my whole life. Something that was holding my old smile back. Like my true smile was unlocked.”

“Those both feel like they’re accurate,” Twilight said.

“Ah don’t know ‘bout y’all,” Applejack said, “but ah feel more refreshed than Big Mac after coffee in the mornin’.”

This seemed to catch the attention of Megan, who snorted and turned back. “Oh, Applejack, you remind me of the Applejack I knew, only without the hat and accent.”

That caught the earth pony’s attention. “Did she own an orchard, too?” she asked.

“Not quite, but she did tend to Dream Castle’s orchard,” Megan said. “She was always pretty clumsy.” She sighed and smiled a bit. “Ah, Applejack, what a silly pony.”

Gregory couldn’t help what he did after that. He smiled slightly and began to sing, “Who’s a silly pony? You’re a silly pony! Who is? You is! Applejack!”

Megan looked at him in shock, but then Daniel beside her did something Gregory didn’t expect. He sang the next verse. “Bumping into gates and knocking over fence. Who is? You is! Applejack!”

Gregory smirked and joined in. “All day long you trot around, looking at the apples on the trees. Dreaming all your pony dreams, licking lips so greedily. Who’s a silly pony?”

Megan and Molly responded with, “You’re a silly pony!”

“Who is?”

“You is!”

“Applejack!” Gregory began snapping his finger as he and the Williams siblings continued singing. “Bumping into posts and falling into trenches. Who is?”

“You is!” The Williams sisters.

“Applejack!” Gregory and Daniel.

Then, to Gregory’s surprise and delight, Tobias joined. “Watching all the rosy apples! Whoops, there goes another fence!”

Gregory smiled wide and put an arm around his friend. “Are you coming? Are you going? Why don’t you use your horse sense? Who’s a silly pony?”

“You’re a silly pony!”

“Who is?”

“You is!”

“Applejack!”

“Bumping into posts, and knocking over fences! Who is?”

”You is!”

“Applejack!”

While everyone was snapping their fingers, Gregory saw that Applejack’s face was, well, as red as an apple. Pinkie was bobbing her head slightly, a bit of fluff back in her mane. Gregory whistles the brief interlude while the Williams sister sang, “Applejack!…Applejack!”

“Soon the wind will blow a whistle, knocking apples to the ground,” Gregory sang.

“Call for Bow Tie, she will help you spread her ribbons on the ground,” Daniel and Tobias sang.

“Who’s a silly pony?”

“You’re a silly pony!”

“Who is?”

“You is!”

“Applejack!”

“Falling over logs and bumping into fences!”

“Who is?”

“You is!”

“Applejack!”

With that, the snapping stopped. Gregory looked at the small impromptu choir. Tobias and the Williams siblings all had smiles on their faces. Gregory had a small one on his face as well. Everyone else was looking at them with confused expressions on their faces. Applejack was the first one to speak. “Ah’m a…clumsy pony?”

That made the Williams siblings along with Tobias break up laughing. Gregory smirked at the earth pony mare. “The Applejack they knew a couple thousand years ago,” he clarified, “although you’ve also been a bit clumsy in your past, little miss Pear.”

She bristled at that. “Ah’m an Apple, not a Pear,” she said.

“Guess you never found your family roots, then,” Gregory replied.

That caught Applejack’s attention. “What?”

“Ask Granny Smith about it,” Gregory said, “because it’s not my place to say.”

Before anyone could reply, someone called out, “Your majesty! Your majesty!” Everyone turned to see a crystal pony mare running towards the group, eyes wide.

“What is it?” Cadance asked, and Gregory could sense that she was instantly on alert. So was he.

The pony stopped, trying to catch her breath, then she looked up at Cadance. “There’s an…emergency…broadcast in the communication room…it’s for the Equestrian Princesses!”

“What happened?” Celestia asked as they began rushing after the guard.

“Canterlot…the castle…it’s been destroyed!”

“I cannot believe it…” Luna said. “This cannot be happening. This has to be a nightmare…that’s it. I am still asleep in my bed in the Crystal Empire, and when I pinch myself I will wake.” She reached out with her magic and pinched her leg. “Ah! Okay…never mind…”

Everyone in the room watched as the emergency broadcast displayed a live view of Canterlot from the air. Gregory had never visited Canterlot, but he had seen it in the distance when he had escorted the Apple family from Ponyville’s remains. Even from such a great distance, it was majestic, especially the castle. He would even describe it as opulent. Now? While the city itself was intact, the part of the cliff where the castle had sat was now completely destroyed. Nothing remained of the castle in its former location.

The images showed that the former castle was sitting on the valley floor far below, a pile of white, purple and gold rubble. Nothing of its shape remained. Gregory could also see that the castle could never be rebuilt in the same way. Its foundations were completely gone as the cliff on which it stood had fallen away.

“Wow, Majesty really went big with this one,” Sunset said. Unlike many of her blunt statements, this one was not filled with any sarcasm. Instead, she was subdued and somber.

Gregory put a hand on her head and ran it through her mane. Sunset leaned into it. He could understand her current mood. Sunset may have left Canterlot Castle years ago, but she still spent a portion of her formative years there. Seeing it gone was certainly bringing up some emotions. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

She leaned her head against him. “It-It’s okay,” she said.

He leaned down next to Sunset and put an arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder. On the other side of her, Dengal leaned down and rubbed Sunset’s back. “No, it’s not,” she whispered to the mare. “You don’t need to hold anything in.”

Sunset closed her eyes, then brought up a hoof to wipe a tear away. “I-I don’t have time to mourn…” she whispered.

Behind, Tobias approached and stood in solidarity with the group as Sunset mourned. A voice from the broadcast began speaking. The voice was unusually calm, probably still in shock. “Attention, this is an emergency broadcast on the Erda Emergency Network. Canterlot Castle has been attacked. The one responsible is a rogue alicorn by the name of Majesty. She teleported everypony out of the castle before she destroyed it, but Majesty is on the loose and considered dangerous.”

An image of Majesty standing in a courtyard surrounded by ponies and a few no ponies appeared. “If anycreature spots this alicorn, do not antagonize her. She is incredibly powerful and dangerous. Equestria has entered a state of emergency. To repeat: attention, this is an emergency broadcaston the Erda Emergency network-”

A blast of magic shot out and there was an explosion of sparks and crystal shards that went everywhere. Acting instinctively, Gregory grabbed Flurry from off of his head and turned away, shielding her from the shards and sparks. She clung to him, whimpering in fear as Cadance and Shining came rushing up to take her from Gregory, who handed her to her parents before turning to stare at the source of the magic blast while Cadance and Shining ushered Flurry out of the room.

Celestia’s horn was actually smoking. Her eyes had become reptilian slits, her clenched teeth were showing signs of morphing into incisors. Her mane and tail were still the same color, but were also moving like flames. Intense heat was pouring off of her, and Gregory had to put his hand up to block the sudden burst of light that emanated from the ancient alicorn. “I WiLl EnD HeR PaThEtIc ExIsTeNcE!” a distorted voice, but one that was clearly Celestia’s, emanated from the morphing alicorn’s muzzle.

“Sister, please calm down!” Luna shouted in terror. “You’re letting the dark emotions take hold of you!”

“I HaVe BeEn CaLm FoR ToO LoNg!” Celestia, who looked like she was becoming either Daybreaker or Nightmare Star, replied, turning to hiss at Luna with a forked tongue. “ThAt CuNt WiLl DiE By My OwN HoOvEs!”

Gregory slowly reached down to put one hand on a pistol and another on his lightsaber, but before he could draw them to defend himself, another magical blast filled the room, forcing Gregory to look away. This magic blast came from the most unlikely of sources. Looking down, he spotted Sunset Shimmer’s horn was now also glowing. Celestia had been caught off guard and was thrown against the nearby wall, cracking the wall, but immediately causing the crystals there to begin melting. Sunset faced her former teacher, tears in her eyes, but with a determined look on her face. “Don’t you ever dare say that again!” she snapped angrily. “Killing anyone is NOT something you can come back from! It will change you permanently! Trust me! I KNOW!”

Celestia stood, rage practically billowing from her. “I HaVe KiLlEd BeFoRe,” she growled. “I CaN KiLl AgAiN!”

Celestia glared at everyone, fire in her eyes. However, before anyone else could act, a bright rainbow colored light filled the air, enveloping Celestia. She made a piercing screeching sound. Gregory turned away, shielding his eyes from the brightness. He thought he heard a kind of sizzling sound, like water being poured onto a hot iron skillet. “Calm down, Celestia,” Megan’s voice said in a serene tone. “You are letting your emotions get the better of you.” There was a click, and the sound of the Rainbow of Light vanished.

“Like they did for me over a thousand years ago,” Luna said as she boldly approached Celestia. Gregory turned to see Celestia getting to her feet, now looking normal. She was trembling, but not in rage this time. Instead, there were tears streaming down her cheeks as Luna reached her side and helped her stand. “It was my home too, sister,” Luna reminded the now weeping Celestia. “What’s important is that nopony seems to have been hurt or…lost their lives.”

As Gregory stood, he watched Celestia bury her face into her sister’s chest. In that moment, Luna looked like the older sister while Celestia looked like the younger. Sunset slowly and hesitantly stepped forward. “I grew up in that castle, pretty much,” she said, “and I have good memories from there. I had a few things there that, unless you threw them away, I won’t see again.”

Celestia shook her head slowly. “I-I put them into my personal vault…and that-that’s probably been destroyed.”

Sunset’s ears flattened, but she nodded. “I see,” she said.

Cadance, having returned with Shining but not Flurry Heart, also stepped forward, raising a hoof in a placating gesture. “I know you two are mourning the loss of your home,” she said, “but we can’t just go in and let our anger out. Acting first and thinking second is what got Jason Wright killed.”

The Mane Six lowered their heads in shame, but Twilight was the next to step forward. “C-Celestia…I grew up in the castle, too. You are not the only one who’s upset.” Tears were forming in her own eyes now as she slowly approached. “Ca-Cadance is right.”

Gregory exchanged a look with his party, the Williams siblings, and the rest of the Mane Six before he gestured to the door. This wasn’t something they had any say in, so they all slowly and quietly filed out of the room. When the door closed, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Cadance all were hugging each other and crying. He looked down at Sunset, who was still holding back tears of her own. “Not going to join them in there?” he asked softly as Shining Armor began leading them down the hall.

She shook her head. “It’s too early for that kind of furship,” she said somberly, wiping her eyes.

Tobias joined the two, then pulled out a handkerchief and passed it down to her. “Here you go,” he said with a sympathetic tone.

Gratefully, she took it and wiped her eyes before giving it back to Tobias. Gregory put a hand on Sunset’s head and rubbed gently. “You going to be okay?” Dengal asked as she joined the four.

Sunset sniffed, but nodded after a while. “I should be okay in a bit,” she said.

“Do you want to lie down and rest?” Gregory asked.

She shook her head vehemently. “I’ll be okay, I promise,” she reiterated, “I just need to sit down.”

“I think we all need that,” Shining said. “Come with me. There’s a sitting room nearby where we can all recover.”

A few minutes later, everyone was in a massive room full of large and plush looking couches, chairs, and ceiling to floor windows that overlooked the city. Gregory sat between Dengal and Tobias, with Sunset claiming a spot in his lap, something he made no objections to. In fact, it felt nice to have a heavy weight there. He ran his hand through her mane, helping the silently sobbing mare to calm down. Dengal was leaning against Gregory, eyes closed, and Tobias seemed to be keeping watch in an almost protective manner. Gregory almost smirked. Tobias’ feline nature was more prominent in certain highly emotional times.

He closed his eyes and put his free hand around Dengal’s shoulders, pulling her in closer. He couldn’t really deny that Dengal was important to him, just as important as Tobias was and how important Sunset was becoming to him. Her presence, to quote a movie, was soothing to him. She was tough as nails, competent, and very willing to help him, but this new tender side he saw from her was stirring feelings inside him that he was afraid to let out, at least in the beginning. He still bore some emotional scars from his last relationship, an abusive relationship he’d had back on Earth.

However, this felt different. Unlike what he thought was love for his ex, the feelings he had for Dengal felt…more pure. Almost raw. Simple, but powerful. He relaxed even more when she put her free hand on his chest, which made his heart skip a beat. Closing his eyes, he exhaled slowly, the rush of adrenaline from Celestia’s near transformation into Daybreaker or Nightmare Star wearing off, leaving him trembling slightly. He had almost pulled out his pistol or one of his lightsabers to try and get her to stand down. Thankfully, Megan thought faster.

He opened one eye and looked over at a nearby couch. Megan and her siblings were sitting there, looking equally as exhausted as he felt. He and Megan locked eyes. He had to admit, the woman in her mid twenties was very beautiful, with an inner strength that could barely be rivaled. There was also something in her eyes that he felt he was lacking: hope. Same went for Daniel and Molly. They also had some hope in their eyes, something he saw briefly before they closed their eyes to lean back. Molly leaned against Megan and Daniel put his hands behind his head, looking at the ceiling.

He looked away and at the rest of the room. The rest of the Mane Six were sitting together for a change, talking quietly. Pinkie Pie’s mane was now wavy instead of completely straight. There were quiet sobs from their corner. Shining and Spike sat next to each other, the older stallion comforting his adopted son who himself was crying slightly. Flurry Heart wasn’t there because she had been taken away by a maid when they were notified of the emergency transmission.

Gregory let his mind wander as he closed his eyes again. Only they always wandered back to Majesty. He could only guess what her plans were. Did she want to become the new ruler of Equestria? Maybe. What he knew for certain was that she wanted ponies to be better than they were. A sick version of reformation.

He paused. The group calling themselves Shadowfall…were they behind the True Harmonist movement? The same group who had hired a band of mercenaries to attack the Apple family? That didn’t seem like anything that Majesty would do. IF anything, the True Harmonists felt like something Majesty would do. Assassination didn’t feel like her MO. Besides, Applejack was no longer an Element of Harmony. Why would she be a threat to Majesty?

He felt Dengal squeezing his arm. Looking over, he looked into her lovely red eyes. “You’re tensing up,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

“Something doesn’t make sense,” he said. “It’s something I should have considered earlier.”

“What is it?” Tobias asked softly.

“Shadowfall uses the same tagline that Majesty does, Shadows Will Fall,” he explained, “but why would they try to assassinate Applejack and her family? Tobias, you still have that letter?”

The abyssinian nodded and pulled it from his jacket, giving it to Gregory who opened it and gave it to Dengal to read. She frowned as she read it then gave it back. “You think we’re dealing with two enemies?”

“It’s possible, because their attempt on Applejack’s family doesn’t make sense if Majesty was involved,” Gregory said. “Unless…”

“Unless what?” Dengal asked.

Gregory took a deep breath. “Unless…it’s some sort of splinter group.”

The hooded pony was thrown to the ground harshly by two large dragon males. The pony, a unicorn mare by the looks of things, glared through the hood at her captor. She was a dark purple mare with a silvery white mane with a light blue streak through it. Her eyes, a deep ocean color, were filled with hatred as she stared up at the alicorn before her. How had Majesty found her out?

The ancient alicorn sat at a desk in what had once been the mercenary guild master’s office. She was looking at various papers that were scattered on the desk. There were also piles of gold coins on the desk as well. One of the dragons who had captured her spoke. “Your majesty, we have brought her in as you requested.”

“Very good job, you two,” she said as she looked up and grabbed a sack. Some of the gold coins floated into the sack and she floated it over to them. “Split this among the two of you. A reward for a job well done. Now, leave us.” One dragon grabbed the sack, then both bowed and walked out of the former office, closing the door behind them and leaving the mare alone with Majesty. The instant that they were alone, Majesty put down the papers and stood. “Take that ridiculous cloak off. There’s no sense in lying to me. I already know.”

The mare raised an innocent looking eyebrow. “Know what?” she asked.

Majesty rolled her eyes in exasperation as she fired a magical blast at the cloak, burning it away and revealing the flowing mane and tail of the mare, along with the wings. “I know who you really are, Skyfire, or should I say Opaline Arcana?”

Opaline, now exposed, glared at Majesty. “How did you know?” she snarled.

“Many ponies seem to forget that I am the first alicorn,” Majesty said as she stood and walked around the desk to look down at Opaline. “I was the first to ascend before any of you were born in Skyros. I was there long before you were a twinkle in your father’s eye. You ask me how I know? I have centuries of experience. I knew what you were long ago, and I decided to give you a chance. The Shadow Chapter was under your leadership because I thought there was potential within you. I was mistaken. You are nothing more than a supremacist who believes all alicorns should be worshipped as deities.”

Opaline stood and glared up at her fellow alicorn. “And why shouldn’t we be?!” she demanded to know. “Our lifetime is eternal! Our magic is superior! We possess all the gifts of deities! Isn’t that what you want? Isn’t what you want to give all ponies your wisdom and rule over them?”

Majesty regarded Opaline with an infuriatingly disappointed gaze. “Why do you think I would have wanted the former Element of Honesty to be killed?” she asked in return.

Opaline felt a chill run down her spine. “I have no idea what-”

“Do not lie to me, scum,” Majesty snapped angrily. “Applejack Apple was no threat to any of us! She lost her Element after Jason Wright’s suicide! They all did!”

Opaline flinched. She had not seen or even heard of Majesty being this angry before. She hadn’t interacted with Majesty much, but she always struck Opaline as being a calm leader of this movement. One that Opaline hoped to take control over. Of course, that was now out of the window. Opaline began to light her horn, glaring at Majesty. “They were obstacles,” the fire alicorn growled, “and needed to be gotten out of-hnk!”

Majesty had grabbed Opaline by the throat, but not with her magic. Majesty had moved with speed that belied her age and shoved a hoof against Opaline’s throat, shoving the fire alicorn against the wall. The lack of ability to breathe caused Opaline to stop casting the spell. There was a fire in Majesty’s eyes. “I gave you a perfectly good chance despite your actions in Skyros because I believed you could become a better pony with the right guidance. However, it would seem as if you need a stern lesson.”

Opaline tried to speak, but with Majesty’s hoof to her throat, she couldn’t. She tried to move, but Majesty’s greater strength was holding her in place. A wave of fear washed over her as she struggled. She tried casting her signature fire, but something was holding her back. Something was keeping her from using magic. Majesty’s horn began to glow brighter, and Opaline felt her stomach drop. When Majesty began to rhyme, she knew it was over, but she still struggled. However, she couldn’t have anticipated what would happen next.

“You think you stand above the rest,
“but all of us are one.
“Now you, a mare incredibly blessed
“will have the blessings none.”

Opaline felt herself begin to twist unnaturally. She heard the cracking of bones, but strangely felt no pain. Majesty let Opaline go and the latter fell to all four knees, paralyzed as her body glowed and cracked. She couldn’t feel anything, which she guessed was a mercy granted by Majesty. Her body seemed to grow bigger, her features elongating. Parts of her felt constricted and others felt like they had disappeared.

After a while, the glow and cracking stopped. Weakly, she stood up, looking down at herself. Horror filled her mind as she saw that her beautiful magenta fur was gone, replaced by a chestnut colored. Her legs, once slender, were now lanky. She looked back and saw, to her further horror, that her cutie mark was gone from her flank. Her wings were gone, and so was her horn. Her eyes were brown, and her mane was a pure black as was her tail.

She had somehow been turned into a common earth pony!

Turning to Majesty, she found that somehow she was slightly taller than the placid looking alicorn. Opaline opened her mouth to say something, but instead of words, she neighed. She actually neighed! Pausing, she tried saying something else, but nothing came out but equine noises. Looking around, she spotted a large mirror in the room. Rushing up to it, she saw that her face was unrecognizable. In a panic, she reared up, neighing in terror. Turning to Majesty, she tried to demand an explanation, but nothing came out but various equine noises.

“You know,” Majesty said, “on the human world, their science has advanced more than ours. They have learned so much more about their world than we have ours. Still, modern day ponies have learned much since I ruled over Ponyland. Did you know that millions of years ago ponies as we know them didn’t exist? There were equines, of course, but they were simply animals. Dumb beasts who could not think or reason like we can now. Have you ever heard of the creature known as a horse? What am I saying? Of course you have. It’s a modern day fairy tale. Horses are thought to only be a myth, but I can assure you that they are, or rather were, real. They were real in my time, at least. The humans and elves of my time had them as companions, beasts of burden, and the like. Humans and elves loved their horses and treated them well. Sure, there were some who mistreated them, but the majority of the two races loved their horses. Humans would use them to help farm, or would ride them to send messages by courier, or to pull carriages. Elves would care for them in their forest glades, and they too would ride them when need arose or simply as a way to enjoy themselves. My point is, both races had their own way of bonding with horses. My late husband owned a horse he was proud of and who he loved like a beloved member of the family.”

Majesty paused, seeming to be lost in a memory. Opaline began having a sneaking suspicion as to what had happened to her, and it was confirmed with what Majesty said next. “Sadly, the horse population went extinct when the demons invaded. The demons left none of them alive, and as far as I know, there are none left. At least, not until now.” Majesty looked up at Opaline, but even though Opaline was now taller, she felt like Majesty was looking at her from a great height, one more metaphorical than physical. “You can no longer use your magic, can no longer fly, and can no longer even speak. Your intelligence is intact, of course. I am not cruel. You are, however, no longer superior like you believe. I do hope you learn from this experience, but I have little hope of that. Not none, just little. Take a walk in the feet of another. Perhaps you will see the error of your thinking.”

Opaline couldn’t take it anymore. She rushed towards the door, bursting through it before running downstairs into the former guild hall. Several of the new residents and a couple of old residents of Thornfall jumped out of the way of the panicking new horse. She was scared. She was angry. She had to escape Majesty, no matter what! She turned and began running north.

Majesty watched from the window of the former guild master’s office as the brand new horse mare galloped down the streets of Thornfall heading north. She lowered her head and shook it sadly. Perhaps she had been a bit too naïve to think that Opaline, an alicorn as old as Celestia and Luna, could see the bigger picture. Still, Opaline Arcana was stuck on something petty, whereas Majesty was focused on the future of her dear ponies and their relationship with the world around them.

She loved them dearly, and wanted them to be the best versions of themselves that they could be. Still, it seemed as if the current generation needed the harsh lessons. She turned away, a single tear falling from her right eye. She focused on the feeling she had sensed earlier. She sensed something. A presence she hadn’t felt since…

Her thoughts trailed off, then refocused onto the here and now, where it belonged. It was likely just wishful thinking on her part. They were long dead, after all.

Walking out of the office and down the stairs, she went to the main hall to grab a bite to eat. She waved at the creatures eating and talking there with a warm smile on her face. One that she didn’t quite feel at the moment.

She sat at a table with several creatures after grabbing some food, joining in on the conversation but not really paying attention. Her mind was elsewhere. Sure, she thought she had sensed the presence of old friends, but that was impossible. So what was happening? What was she sensing?

She pushed it down for the moment. She needed to focus on the others around the table. Her smile widened and she locked into the conversation.