The Elements' Decision
A tremendous burst of light had erupted from the collision of the powers of the young little Princess of the Night and the hypnotized Sun Princess' ultimate attack.
Discord grinned as he watched the 'show' the attack of his manipulated Celestia created. "Wow, that was almost as good as my fireworks, Tia! Loved it!" He clapped his claw and paw together.
The sun energy blast was boosted, of course, with his own magic, and he did not care that it strained both Celestia and the spell that her mind was under. He rejoiced as he watched the otherwise kind, caring and fair Sun Princess shoot the attack at her own beloved little sister. "Yes... End her!" He laughed once the attack hit its mark.
Celestia groaned and staggered before falling on the ground. She ended up damaged from exhaustion that she was not yet completely aware of. She groaned a bit more, the fatigue and effort from the strain managed to break the spell on her just a slight bit.
"Ngh... Wh-What... Discord...?" She muttered, very confused. The illusion in her hazy mind began to blur, and she gradually caught glimpses of reality. She pushed herself up, but stumbled. "D-Discord..." She could not get very far, for she fell back on the ground. It was all she could do to keep herself awake while she tried to grasp everything that was going on with all speed around her.
Not noticing Celestia's change at all, Discord looked around the desolated battle ground, searching for Luna. He had gotten carried away with his anticipation and chaotic anxiety. He wanted to gain the ultimate upper claw on the stubborn Princess of the Moon once and for all.
To watch her fall would be the most delightful part of the battle, even more so than Celestia's defeat. Because, unlike Celestia, Luna would would not be manipulated by any spell. She was still so young and simple. All she saw in him was a best friend, a brother figure. He could not work with that, it was not strong enough. He would not be able to amusingly drag her under his control with foolish, suppressed emotions. If he could not mess around with her little mind and heart, what was the fun of a hypnotizing spell in the first place?
He snickered and shook his head as he continued search, though he knew there were not many places for the young Night Princess to hide.
No, he would not keep the youngest princess around as a toy. He would do something much more exciting to her. He would have to end Luna, and the idea truly delighted him. He had always found joy in bringing harm to the little filly. He had denied it before, but all those times that he had subjected her to ticklish and teasing torture, he had really rejoiced in her struggles and objections, not in her laughter. He had broken through yet another fake memory that he had developed during his stay in the princesses kingdom! Oh, how genuinely delightful it felt!
"Oh, Luna, are we playing hide and seek?" He grinned wickedly and summoned fire and ice from his claw and paw, ready to use them against her the moment she appeared. "I love that game..."
After the light died down, Luna appeared in front of him. Her eyes glowed light blue, and her body let out magic aura, which was much stronger than before.
"Hm... Wow, Luna. You've been practicing, huh?" Discord chuckled.
She ignored him as she made her magic aura swirl around her body. Once her spell picked up speed, she unleashed it around them in a bright blast of blue light.
Discord was blinded by the blue light. He had to step back and cover his eyes with his paw as he growled lowly. He summoned green shades and placed them over his eyes as he watched Luna.
He chuckled again. "And so enters the mighty knight in shining armor." He looked over at the stunned Celestia. "Ready to save her princess in distress. How heroic."
Celestia fell on the ground again, still very dizzy and confused. What is happening... What... Where am I? Who are they...? She blinked when she saw the blurry shape of Luna. "L-Lun... Luna...?" She whispered as she vaguely started to remember. "Ngh..." Think... Think... Just calm down and think...
Discord put his claw and paw together as he laughed. He shot the blast of fire and ice right at Luna. "Gotcha!"
Luna held her head high as the combined fire and ice approached her. She remained silent as she blocked the attack. Her magic aura rippled through her as the attack vanished. 'Luna' turned out to be a mirage; she had expertly cast an illusion that absorbed the power of Discord's attack.
"Deception! Ooohhh!" Discord raged in frustration. He glared up, his crazed, angry red eyes covered by his white bangs. "Luna, you dirty little trickster! That's MY game! It's MY move!" He searched around for her again. He gritted his teeth and growled as his magic aura sparked around and from his body.
Luna's voice sounded cold as she spoke. "Well. Nothing wrong with taking after a master, ist there." She had allowed some of Nightmare Moon's powers to seep through to her, after all. "How dost it feel to have things turned against thee?"
She cast a spell towards Discord, but the source of it turned out to be just another illusion, while the damage of the attack remained real. "Thou underestimated us, Discord. That shalt be thy fall. Thou did not know the full extent of our power. Thou should have done more studying. We believed thou were well-versed in thy chaotic magic. However... After a while, it can become quite predictable."
"Why, you...!" Discord summoned a storm, surrounding the mountains and the whole area where they stood. He pulled a long, sharp diamond stake out from his throat and threw it at the clouds above them.
He became intangible to protect himself from the cutting rain, then glared at Luna. "Oh, I've been studying, alright. I learned that unlike my magic, YOURS has limits! Let's see your shields resist THIS!" He laughed as razor-sharp diamond fragments rained down.
A different voice spoke as the fragments were deflected. "You are wrong. Chaos is not the only unrestricted power in this world." Discord received another hit, from light magic this time. Celestia was back to normal, looking quite upset to say the least. Like Luna, she too was glowing as she walked forward to confront Discord. "And that power is the magic of Harmony!"
Discord gasped and stared at Celestia with surprise. "Ce-Celestia. How... How did you...?!"
Celestia stopped. Her glare on him was as intense as ever. "How did I escape? That is easy to answer. Remember I told you that you cared about nopony? Not even me? Well, that truth soon backfired at you, didn't it, Discord? You put so much strain on me with your spells that it all eventually snapped me back to my senses. It was your carelessness and rashness that allowed me to break through."
Discord frowned. "Ah, I should've known that you-ungh!" He grunted as Celestia unleashed a light beam at him. It actually hurt him a bit as her body glowed from the strong magic. He looked at her, rubbing his face. "Celestia! But I didn't-"
"Silence, Discord!" She stepped forward as her horn glowed again and threatened to shoot another attack. "I knew you were ruthless, but this... Manipulating me like that..."
Discord gave her a look. "Tia, it wasn't as much manipulation as it was-" He dodged another blast of her magic and quickly countered. "Knock it off!"
"I do not want to hear anything you have to say, Discord! How dare you..." Celestia's voice was full of anger as she narrowed her eyes at him. They did not have a single tear in them this time. "How dare you?!"
Discord floated closer to her. "Celestia, I only wanted-" He stopped in his tracks when Celestia's next spell nearly missed him. "Hey!"
"How dare you you put me under a spell like that?! And... And make me attack my own sister, no less..." She lowered her head, her mane covered her eyes in a shadow. "Discord... Your cowardice really knows no limits. You are truly lost to us..." White energy sparkled from her body as she spoke.
"What are you talking about?! Don't you get it, you fool?! This was all... It was..." He growled as he tried to stammer the words out. His growing anger wouldn't let him. He glared at her this time. "It was all so that we could live just the way we wanted in a chaotic world! With nopony to boss us around and reject us! If you had just accepted chaos, if you hadn't been so foolish and-and stayed hypnotized like you were supposed to... Ohh, we would've remained friends! Argh, everything would've been just right, why'd you have to ruin it, Tia?! For a silly little filly that doesn't even like you?! She's worth it?!"
"Sister, what ist he talking about?" Luna looked at Celestia. She blinked with surprise as she saw that Celestia remained serious and cold, even with his incomplete confession.
"...Indeed... I was so, so foolish, Discord... I am ashamed of myself for being so..."
Discord blinked and stared at her.
Celestia closed her eyes. "I was foolish enough to believe... That some part of the friend that I cherished perhaps was still in there. Perhaps, if I lowered my guard, I could save him. My naivety cost me my mind, my power. It enslaved me to you. It nearly cost me my sister, who would have been injured by my own hoof and magic. It was not for long, but... I will never forgive the consequences of my mistakes. However..."
She looked up, her violet eyes fiery with determination. "I will not make that mistake again. Say what you will, Discord... You will not manipulate me, ever again! You are just a stranger to me. An enemy. A bitter enemy that I have to defeat. The one I loved was Wilder, and he is now gone. All you are is Discord, Master of Chaos and Disharmony, natural enemy to Harmony and my kingdom."
Discord gasped as he stared at Celestia's fiery, but otherwise unfeeling eyes. Had she really just said that? You're... You're wrong, Celestia... I... Unfortunately, I'm the same... I'm that facade that you called 'Wilder', all I did... All I did was finally be true to you... He growled and clenched his fists. You were supposed to accept that. I thought you were the one who accepted and liked me the way I was. Wasn't it you who always told me to be myself?! This IS me! And now... Now you...
Celestia looked at him as he started to shake from anger.
You're the liar, Celestia... Claiming you loved me... That was just... It was my stupid spell that did the talking back in the Dark Land... Of course you'd never love me... A snobby, perfect, spoiled princess like you would NEVER feel anything for a monster like me... A stranger, am I...? SO BE IT! His eyes glowed red as lightning covered the area, and the sharp shards fell even faster.
He grinned and chuckled, then looked up at the hundreds of razor-sharp diamond projectiles. "Those shards will look lovely with your jewels, Tia. And you know what? You'll look lovely, too... As a dessicated show cow in my new throne room!"
Celestia smiled at Luna as her little sister lowered her head and shared some of her power.
"It ist not much, sister, so please maketh good use of it."
"It will be enough." Celestia looked at Discord as she walked on the diamond-covered ground. "I have finally figured out a way for us to defeat you, Discord."
"Oh, really? Okay, then, Tia. Be my guest. Defeat me with... Oh, that's right. With what power? Is it the sun?" He snapped his fingers and made the sun shine brighter, then fade. "The moon?" He smiled as the moon suddenly rose in the sky, but then plummeted to the ground with a crashing sound. He gave the princesses an uninterested look as the sun returned. "That magic is all but overdone, girls. I practically know it by memory! I could eat those little sunlight beams of yours for breakfast, Tia. Oh, wait, wait, I did! It tasted so bad, I burped it back at you!" He laughed.
Celestia watched him, then spoke patiently. "It is neither my magic nor Luna's. It is a force of magic more powerful than ours put together. It is perhaps even stronger than yours. It is the magic of six elements. Elements of friendship and positive assets that bring end to all threat." She closed her eyes and cast a spell that protected them from the diamond shards.
Luna stepped forward and cast her magic to strengthen Celestia's protective spell. She looked straight at Discord as she spoke. "The Elements of Harmony!"
Discord clapped his claws together and vanished all his magic creations. He dusted his shoulders and stood before the princesses, then cleared his throat and fixed his mane. The stubborn tuft remained where it always laid, between his eyes. He stood in a mocking elegant pose on his two feet.
"Very well, let's put tricks aside. Truth has been revealed at last. Friendships, fake as they ever were, are now dead. 'Tis only your Elements of Harmony, against my Element of Chaos. No more remorse, hesitation, or forgiveness. There is now only WAR!" His eyes glowed red again. He started to fly with his wings. "Let's finish this once and for all, princesses!"
Celestia closed her eyes, and concentrated. "Generosity, the act that restores lost hope and determination." She and Luna began to glow from the power of the other four elements. "And finally... Magic! The strongest power of all!" She and Luna rose in the air, surrounded by a very strong aura of power that combined and fused with their own.
Discord roared like a wild animal. A cloud of black smoke surrounded him as he summoned as much of his chaotic magic as possible. The energy took the form of a ring around him. He floated in the air as electricity sparked in his claws. He was ready, his element summoned at its fullest.
A blast of multi-colored energy was shot from the sisters, aimed straight at Discord. He countered with a blast of yellow magic that clashed with their multi-colored shot.
He grinned as he pushed the spell further with all of his strength. "CHAOS, IS INEVITABLE!"
Luna closed her eyes as Celestia concentrated further. Their spell gradually pushed Discord's magic back.
Celestia's voice sounded powerful as she spoke to him while directing her attack. It even had a bit of an echo. "It is over, Discord." Their blast shone brighter and banished all traces of the chaotic magic. Together, she and Luna finally directed their magic right at him.
Discord screamed and grunted in pain as the beam of light hit him. Soon the blinding light of the spell died down, and he crawled on the ground, exhausted. His eyes shut closed as he laid there, groaning and panting. "No... It... It can't be...!" He gritted his teeth as he looked at his body. He saw that it started to become heavy and difficult to control. "What..." He was surrounded by a white light as his body slowly began to turn into stone. "Hey, w-wait! No, this... This can't... be happening!" He grunted desperately as he clawed at the ground, trying to reclaim the mobility that his limbs were losing.
Celestia walked over to him as he struggled. She closed her eyes a bit as she watched him slowly resign to his fate. The expression on her face was serious and unreadable as she looked down upon her fallen enemy, her former friend.
"Ugh, wha..." Discord laughed weakly as he used his front claw and paw to push himself up, once his hoof and lizard claw turned to stone. He looked at Celestia, smiling wryly. "Ohh... Why so grim, Tia?" He smirked and spoke to her sarcastically. "Rejoice. Your enemy is defeated now, so your kingdom is safe. No enemy of yours is worth mourning for..."
She looked at him again, then she closed her eyes and turned her head away from him. Even after all that had happened, she could not stand seeing him in that state. She could not watch peacefully as he faded away. "...It is not like that, Discord. You... You were more than our enemy before this, and you know that. You were our dearest friend. Even... more than that."
She watched silently as he muttered and laughed to himself. ...Just what in the world came over you, Wilder...? No... Not Wilder... Discord... Was it really a lie... all along...? She opened her eyes a bit and glanced at Discord as he kept snickering. She said nothing as she watched his pitiful state, though he still kept laughing, as if his situation was the most amusing occurrence in the world.
She knew that he laughed sarcastically, with all the dark irony he could muster. She also knew very well that he was doing it on purpose, too. To spite and torment her, even in his last moments. He would not go down quietly and uneventfully, that much she had learned from the draconequus, whichever his name had been from the very beginning. "Oh, Discord..."
Luna stepped forward. She put a hoof on Celestia's shoulder as she looked at her worriedly. "Sister, we should just... Let us be on our way..."
Discord sighed and shook his head. "Dear Celestia and Luna... How long will it be, I wonder?" He looked down at them with a weak smile. "How long before those precious Elements go away, and I am free again...?" His lion paw turned to stone. He looked at it and chuckled slightly.
Celestia stood by, her gaze still serious. "That will not be possible, Discord. The Elements of Harmony will always prevail. It is fated. You will not return."
Luna looked down without speaking. Though she refused to show her tears, she still felt as though she would break down the moment she uttered a word.
Celestia sighed and looked away from Discord. "It is over now." Her horn started to glow as she prepared a spell to finish turning him to stone. It was merciful to turn him into stone once and for all. Regardless of everything he did, she would give that last kindness to the beloved friend that once was in that draconequus. "It seems as though it was meant to be."
Discord grunted with effort, smirking at Celestia. "Don't worry, Tia... We'll meet again. I'd appreciate it if you looked at me while you spoke... You still are speaking to me, not to stone..." He stretched his eagle arm with difficulty, pointing it upwards. "Ngh... You know... There is one thing I meant to do, in case something like this happened... I was thinking of doing it while you were my mindless little toy, but then that wouldn't have been fun at all..."
Celestia stepped back. She looked at him with caution and a bit of anger, since he had brought up his hypnotic spell again. "What? What could you possibly want from me at this point, Discord?"
Discord concentrated the remains of his magic to elongate his neck. He moved his head rapidly towards Celestia, then grinned as he caught her off guard. As he reached her, he quickly placed his lips over hers and kissed her gently, just as he smiled. "This, Tia." That face... Oh, it's just priceless.
She blinked, completely surprised and shocked by Discord's unannounced action. "What... D-Discord, this..." She stammered as she stumbled back. She gave him a startled look. "What did you do that for?!" She fought the urge to step away from him. She was still working on keeping her heart from beating right out of her chest.
The spell forced his neck back to its normal length. "Ah, that face of yours... You look just lovely when you're caught off guard, y'know. I'll always remember that." Tia... Those things I said in the Dark Dimension... Those things I used to do you in... I... He laughed hysterically. It was a laugh that he had not done before. His mouth was wide open and his head thrown back, his eyes were closed. I didn't mean them... It would've been nice if I could have actually taken your feelings seriously, wouldn't it? I should have let you talk about them a bit longer back there... It felt good... He sighed and smiled a little. But I'll be back, Tia. Oh, you can bet I will! And when I am, everything will be much better than this.
He kept laughing, startling the sisters with how open and genuine his laughter was. It was in that happy moment of his that the spell took full effect, and he became completely covered in stone.
Celestia stood still with shock as she stared at the stone statue with disbelief. "Discord..."
Luna slumped down on the ground and started to cry. She called out Discord's old name between her cries.
Celestia walked over to her to comfort her, though she herself felt emotionally exhausted and drained. She felt shattered, but she embraced her little sister nonetheless, and patted her head softly. She summoned strength so that she could comfort Luna. "It will be fine, Luna. Everything will be okay now. We did it. We defeated the threat that he had become, and saved our subjects. They will be in peace and happy now, with our help. They will be happy and grateful to see us, like always. We will ll fix everything in no time. We..."
"But, but he wast our friend, sister! How... Oh, how could we do that to him?! What wilt we do now, sister? What... What wilt we do without him?!"
Celestia closed her eyes as she stood up. She took a deep breath and spoke seriously. "We are going to be princesses, Luna, just like we always have been. We will lead this kingdom away from these misfortunes, back to its peaceful ways. We will rule together, with or without... Discord."
Luna sniffed as she wiped her tears away. "It wilt be so lonely without him, sister. We cannot believe this, We... We did... We did this to our friend. He wast our friend! We..."
Celestia put her hoof on Luna's shoulder. "We had to, Luna. Do not feel-"
"How wilt We move on after this?! We don't know what to do now... How can we just keep going on like nothing happened...? How wilt we be happy without him, sister? It ist not possible!" She buried her face in her sister's shoulder and cried some more.
Celestia patted her sister worriedly. She had never seen her so shaken up. She hoped she would be able to calm her soon. "Shh. Calm down, Luna. Fate will fix things somehow. It will be okay, dear."
She cried quietly herself as her little sister sobbed. However, she quickly wiped her tears away and smiled at Luna as she held her face up to look into her eyes. "It is alright. We will be fine, you will see." She hoped that Luna would grow tired from her crying. She figured that rest was what her little sister needed. All of us do...
An elder's voice spoke as ponies approached them from behind. "Princess Celestia. Princess Luna, thou hath done it." Starswirl appeared before them, accompanied by a scout of royal guards.
Celestia nuzzled Luna. "Oh, Luna. You were so strong for me back there. Thank you so much."
"Sister..." She sniffled, looking up at Celestia.
"If it had not been for your determination and courage, I would still be under Discord's spell." Celestia held Luna's face again. "You would be gone, and so would be our kingdom as we know it. I am not the only one there is for our subjects to thank, Luna. You fought as hard or even harder that I did. Find your strength, little sister, we still have things to look after." Celestia smiled encouragingly at Luna as she wiped away her tears. She supported her to help her up, then looked at Starswirl. "Thank you very much, Master Starswirl. We did try our best. We discovered powerful elements of magic while fighting him. Elements that we believe will be very useful in the future. I trust that you will see to them later."
Starswirl nodded as he analyzed the statue that Discord became. "This must have been a powerful spell. Thou hath secured the kingdom's future, Thy Highnesses." He looked at the princesses.
Celestia let out a weary sigh. "We are just glad that we were able to succeed. Things should be returning to normal in the kingdom, that is a good thing as well. Are you alright, Master Starswirl?"
"I wilt be fine, thank you, princess." He looked at the royal guards and spoke in a stern commanding tone. "Guards, taketh the prisoner and put him in a dark brig, where he belongs."
Celestia looked up at Discord. She stayed silent for a short moment as the guards approached the statue. "...No." She didn't look back at the statue or her guards as she instructed them. Instead, she walked past them as she spoke. "Leave him in the palace garden grounds, in the labyrinth. He will remain there, imprisoned, and... forgotten over time."
The guards saluted and began to load Discord onto the chariot that they had brought Starswirl in.
Starswirl sighed and walked towards Luna. He could not help but feel sympathy for the young princess as she turned away from the statue. He watched as she cringed and held back tears when Discord was loaded into the chariot like a common, inanimate object.
Luna looked down once she turned away. We must be strong... This... She blinked as Starswirl put his hoof on her shoulder. "M-Master Starswirl. We-"
"Night Princess, I am sorry for the loss of thy friend. Even so... I believe thou hath done many a better good by imprisoning him than thou wouldst have done by taking his life, or, of course, letting him run wild."
Luna looked aside. "We do not know, Master Starswirl..."
"Please, Thy Highness. Feel comforted to know that thy friend ist still there. Perhaps, in time, he wilt find his way back to thee."
Luna looked up at him. "Master... Doth thou thinketh so?"
Celestia looked up at Discord one last time. Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of their first, and last, kiss. But then she thought of what little she could remember of the time he manipulated her in the Dark Dimension. She remembered the low methods that he had used to succeed.
She shook her head and sternly banished her tears. From now on, it is the well-being if my kingdom that I will dedicate myself to. I will be a rightful princess, fully devoted to my subjects. She walked forward with decision and determination. She kept her head high despite her sorrow.
Starswirl nodded and patted Luna's head. "I am sure, Luna. Time fixest all." He smiled at her, then walked over to a guard to speak to him as they prepared to head back to the castle. "Maketh sure that the guards in the city follow these instructions as well."
"Yes, sir."
Starswirl turned back to the princesses. "I shalt meet thee back at the castle." His horn glowed light blue as he teleported himself back to the capital city.
Celestia looked up at the sky. "It should be getting darker..." She smiled at Luna, who nodded to signal that she was ready to bring the moon up on the sky. She sighed and turned forward to lower the sun. "Let us go, Luna. Our duty here is done."
"Yes, sister. We must be going indeed. There ist much for us to do." Luna smiled just a bit as she and Celestia started to fly back to their kingdom. Her small smile did not last long, however, and she was soon looking down at the view below them with a sad gaze while Celestia continued to try to cheer her up.
Present Celestia looked at Twilight Sparkle with a solemn expression once she finished her tale. She closed her eyes and sighed. "And so this, Twilight Sparkle, is how we and Discord... knew each other, in the past. He once saved Equestria, only to threaten to destroy it himself. Twice now, apparently."
Twilight Sparkle stood stunned before the princess. She stared ahead as she tried to understand everything that she had heard and learned from the Sun Princess' story of the past. "P-Princess Celestia, I... Oh, I don't know what to say... What can I say...?" One uncomfortable and odd thought in particular came to her mind. She knew it was not very mature at all, but she could not help thinking it nonetheless. She made a disgusted face. "Princess, he... He kissed...!"
Celestia opened her eyes a bit wider and blushed the slightest bit. "Twilight, I... I'd rather not talk about it." She got serious again as she turned to look aside. "We were young and foolish back then. Besides... To this day, I still don't know what Discord's true intentions were with that kiss, given his horrible actions before that. So I left it for a devious act, behind in the labyrinth, along with him."
Twilight looked down at the floor as she thought. "This... This certainly is..."
Celestia paced for a bit as she spoke. "I only told you this to give you an insight of his ways so that you could fend for yourselves against him, Twilight Sparkle. He is a trickster at heart, and a manipulator of the highest, or lowest, class. He will do everything in his power to deviate you from your task, and set whatever and anypony that he can against you." She stopped and looked down at her student with a very serious face. "You must keep this in mind, Twilight. I can't stress this enough. Do not let his ways deceive you."
Twilight looked up at Celestia with a determined face. She nodded and bowed her head briefly before preparing to take off. "Don't worry, Princess Celestia. You can count on us, I promise we will all do our best. We won't fail you and the kingdom!" With that, she headed out the door, after her friends.
Celestia turned around and walked to the window to watch the six young mares as they entered the labyrinth in the palace gardens. "Oh, I wish you the best of luck, my faithful pupil."
Oh... I was listening to 'My Heart Will Go On' as I posted this. Oh, Celestia, the feels! Felt quite... a few things, with Discord's stone end. Honestly, quite a powerful scene, I really don't feel like I did it justice.
Well, end of the flashback story! Hm, I feel like I could have put some more stuff into it... Particularly the present scene. I felt it was quite appropriate that it was Twilight who Celestia told the story to. I mean, who else, really? And both my RP pal and I decided that the proper time in the present to introduce this 'story time' would be Discord's return, 'The Return of Harmony'.
So basically, after the other five left the castle, Celestia called Twilight aside to warn her of Discord's manipulative ways. I suppose she decided to do this starting from the beginning, explaining how Discord was before and what became of him. It was important that Twilight knew everything, right? That way she would see through Discord's tricks! How they still ended up being manipulated into Discord's games, it's beyond me and the Sun Princess. I guess Twilight just didn't know how to apply the knowledge she gained from the princess. Eh, the story obviously took shorter to tell, by the way, it's not like she spent hours and hours on end telling her.