AiE First Arc: Dream(E)scape

Ch 2
>Still holding on to the black pony with a blue ethereal mane, the tender moment is broken up when you feel a rumbling in your stomach.
>Her unchecked laughter would indicate that she must have heard you.
>"Well it seems as though it’s time for us to eat.”
“Ha ha, yeah I guess so. What’s for dinner?”
>With a glow of her horn she summons random fruit from the fade itself.
“Wow, magic is pretty sweet.” You say picking a banana from out of the air.
>If it was conjured from thin air, does that mean that it's made of air?
>Or maybe somewhere down on that planet some poor soul is wondering what happened to their precious golden fruit.
"Fuck it." Taking a bite out of the banana you realize exactly how hungry you were before ending the poor fruits existence in your omnivorous maw.
>More laughter from your side brings you back to reality.
“Something on your mind my little pony?” You ask, mouth half full of mushed up banana paste.
>“Night. Mare. Moon. Or ‘your highness.’ will suffice. Besides it seems appropriate the ape would eat bananas.”
“Well excuse me princess. I just think Nightmare moon is a hell of a mouthful to always say. Besides we hugged it out and we barely know each other so I figured we were just fast friends.”
>“Friends? Yes, it does seem as though we were made for each other.”
>Your toothy grin is all it takes to make her raise an eyebrow before she understands the implications of her comment and she blushes shortly after.
>“What I mean is that it’s true how quickly we’ve accepted one another! Nothing romantic about it at all!”
>You chuckle a bit before replying.
“It’s alright princess, I’m just glad that the first sentient being I met here is so much like me.”
>“How so?”
“Come on, you’re a total badass but I can tell you’ve got a heart of gold, you just let your emotions go too quickly. I used to have the same problem back home. Granted I never solved the problem and it's tended to cause more trouble than I really wanted to deal with.”
>“So what’s the lesson in all this?”
>You weren’t exactly lecturing her.
“No lesson, I just kicked anyones ass who thought they could fuck with me. To be honest if I didn’t decide to keep to myself at my last job I would’ve been sent to prison for assault. If you’re looking for a lesson then I guess it would be ‘Walk softly but carry a big stick.’ One of my favorite presidential quotes and words I literally lived by.” You say as you raise the sledgehammer in front of your face.0
>“So what you're saying is, being angry and violent worked for you?”
“Well, yes and no. It was a short term answer that I had to hope wouldn’t turn into a long term problem. I’m not a bad guy, but suffice to say, I’m far from good.”
>"Well that's certainly something to think about."
>Silence takes over the rest of your meal before you finish your impromptu fruit salad and fish for conversation.
“I know you had your share of bad experiences, after all it’s what got you here, but that’s no reason you can’t find success in life.”
>“Worry not Anonymous. I plan on taking that success for myself. For you see, you as well as I, are trapped on this moon. Although with the rate at which my power is growing, I imagine I’ll be able to return soon. Then I shall make my sister pay for banishing me here in the first place.”
>Yeah she’s been thinking about this for a while.
“Is revenge the answer though?”
>“What do you mean?”
“I just think maybe you should consider making peace. From what you’ve told me of your home, it’s a lot less hostile than mine.”
>She furrows her brow in anger before getting in your face.
>“Try spending an entire millennium in total solitude for standing up to a family member who you thought understood you! Not only that, such a spell was meant to keep me here for eternity! A fate far worse than any death!"
>Wow, hard to argue with that.
“I’m sorry your highness; I just didn’t want you to end up like me, bitter and friendless.”
>“I have you, don’t I? You said it yourself, that we were friends.”
>Man. Logic is her bitch.
“Yeah. You know what, you’re right. I am your friend and if you want to get some revenge then I guess I’m down to dish out a proper ass whuppin’ in your honor.”
>“Uh, ass whuppin’? So is that a yes?”
>You just shake your head and chuckle.
“I guess slang is something I'll need to teach you. Of course it’s a yes Nughtmare. A friend will bail you out of jail, but a true friend will sit in that cell right beside you because they shared in the excitement."
>“I don't plan on ending up in a cell but it will be nice to have you by my side to share in our victory. Yes, soon enough my power will return in full and we shall descend upon Equestria and they will bow to their dark mistress.”
>Mistress? Oh my~~.
“Why boner?”
>“Boner?”
>Aw shit son, ya done goofed.
“Nothing.” You respond and quickly bury your hands in your pockets.
“Fuckin high school bullshit.” You whisper inaudibly.
>You thought you were passed the awkward boner stage.
>Such is life in a new world.
“Well now that we got an idea of what you want to do for your homecoming, how exactly are we gonna beat a sun goddess? I might be a rough and tumble motherfucker but I see myself as having two major disadvantages in this fight.”
>"Such as?”
“Well let’s see here, I ain’t got no wings and I can’ts do no magic. Hell I barely even have a weapon to defend myself with really, and all I’ve got on me isn’t suited for a proper fight with a goddess."
>She closes her eyes in thought for a moment before opening them and trotting around you in an inspective manner.
>"Yes. I suppose you’re right about that. Still many of the best fighters rely on brute strength and cunning to outdo magical and aerial foes. Although against Celestia, even a giant like you would be no match for her.”
>That caused a slight rustling south of the border.
“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”
>“I trust you would just throw caution to the wind and face my sister head on but it’s true that she does have an unfair advantage. Wouldn’t want my precious underling to be vaporized for trying to swing a stick like some primitive beast at the sun goddess.”
“I find that offensive! Stick swinging is an art, and I am one of its greatest composers. Just ask my ex girlfriend.”
>She just laughs at your response.
>“Oh Anonymous, I was only teasing. I’m sure you’ve had quite a bit of practice ‘swinging your stick’.” She says while making a yanking motion with one of her fore hoofs.
>Did moonbutt here just make a dirty joke?
>Heh, Moonbutt.
“Alright Moonbutt, I’ll give you that one. All jokes aside though, what use am I if not for being a big distraction? Or gods forbid you decide to use me as a shield.”
>She looks at her flank before turning to you with a deadpan stare.
>Which you return with a shit eating grin that could rustle Gandhi’s jimmies.
>“Yes. How clever of you. Before you go and say something stupid that we’ll both regret, I suppose I’ll have to do something about your lack of power.” She turns to face the planet above and remains silent.
"So what's the plan then?"
>She keeps up the mute act.
"Hey, what's the plan?"
>Only her glowing mane and tail seem to be moving.
"Hey, listen! Hey, listen! Hey-ell with this, that's almost as annoying as the real thing."
>Walking up to her side, you grab her shoulder to get her attention.
"Dammit Nightmare, what's the pl-"
>You're cut off by a sudden pressure on your lips as your view of the world is eclipsed by her face.
>The shock from this sudden development leaves you vulnerable to being pushed over onto your back as Nightmare leads the kiss and moans gently into your mouth.
>You lose yourself in her slitted eyes and make no effort to fight back when you feel a foreign presence slip out of her lips and in between yours.
>Pleasure however, soon turns to panic as the slick object forces it's way to the back of your throat and you begin choking.
>Broken from your trance, you find that Nightmare has already separated from the kiss and whatever she slipped inside your mouth has begun spreading inside your body like some kind of goo.
>An evil grin appears on her face before she chooses to speak.
>"Think of it as a gift. For the one strong enough to be my 'friend', the gift is power beyond your wildest dreams. For the weak however, the gift of life shall be taken from you and it's power will aid in my escape. A win-win situation, for me at least."
>At this point you can feel the dark energy coursing through your veins as it threatens to consume you.
>To think that you'd be taken out by a pretty pony princess.
>They won't look kindly on that in Valhalla.
>As you continue to choke, you feel a familiar emotion begin to supersede the fear.
>Anger.
>As the adrenaline begins to rampage through your clogged system, your vision turns red and you have Nightmare locked within your sights.
>Swallowing the dark force rather than trying to expel it, you take in a jagged breath of air before sounding out a blood thirsty roar and charging at Nightmare.
>She obviously never saw this coming as you're able to close the distance and tackle her to the ground.
>With her belly on the floor, you pin her down under your weight and pull her head back by the horn.
>Her horn fizzles and pops as it tries to unleash magic but your grip seems to be forcing a short within her spells.
>When she opens her mouth to cry out in pain, you clamp your free hand over her throat and squeeze for all your worth.
>In your rage, you fail to notice the invasive ooze spread further and further through your system to the point that it's visibly crawling under your skin.
>Soon there is no more room for the ooze and it begins to harden into solid masses that lock up your body and you fall off of Nightmare who starts gasping for air while you begin to fade out of consciousness.
>Just as you're about to black out completely, she walks over to you and though you can't make out the tears that have stained her cheeks from being so close to death, you can hear the shakiness in her voice as she whispers into your ear.
>"I shall see you on the other side, my friend."
>When you open your eyes again, all that sits before you is a long obsidian walkway that towers over a lake of fire with a blackened throne visible at the end.
>The sky seems to be blacked out by that same ooze that Nightmare slipped you.
>The sight of it alone causes you to growl in contempt.
>Standing up to investigate yourself, you find that where skin and meat once laid, you were nothing but a skeleton.
"Not the worst dream I've ever had but definitely different from the rest."
>A familiar voice calls out to you from the rolling mass of darkness above.
>"If you consider this a dream then I would LOVE to see one of your nightmares."
>Well look who decided to show up.
"Oh yeah, flesh eating spiders crawling in and out from under my skin, pitch black oceans full of monstrous creatures ready to drag me further and further into a watery grave, and having every bone in my body broken one by one including my teeth. You know that really kinky shit that drives girls wild. At this point in my life, I'm more surprised by having a good nights sleep instead of a nightmare or just something weird." You shudder at the memory of one of the stranger dreams. "Buh-huh-huh."
>A giant pair of slitted eyes appear in the rolling mass of darkness.
>"Then be further surprised by the fact that this is neither a dream or a nightmare. Though it could end in either one. This is a test of your strength Anonymous. I want to see if you have the power to rule by my side."
"Okay, so how do you propose to do that?"
>She chuckles sinisterly before the eyes disappear and globs of the darkness fall from the ceiling and down onto the stone pathway.
>The oozy piles get to about four feet in height before taking shape as armored ponies.
"This is it? Bunch of mini horses in armor? I'd be laughing my ass off right now if I still had one."
>Just as you finish your little quip, the bladed end of a spear hurtles towards your face and you narrowly lean to the left in order to dodge it.
"Shit!"
>The spear retracts and floats in a gray aura next to one of the armored unicorns
>Another wields a long sword by its head while the third has a great axe with hammer opposing the bladed side.
>Two winged ponies take flight and you can make out dagger like protrusions on their boots.
>In the back stands the bulkiest pony with no horn or wings but the heaviest black iron armor with spikes covering the boots on its front and hind legs.
>The two pegasus ponies take off and attempt a pincer maneuver while the three unicorns march forward with weapons pointed forward and the large pony bringing up the rear.
>Not having your own weapon to defend yourself with, you scramble backwards while avoiding the sweeping attacks of the pegasi.
>Loose rocks are all you can find and grabbing the largest ones you can hold in a hand, you start whipping them at the unicorns since the Pegasi are moving too fast to target.
>The axe wielder blocks its face with the broadside of its weapon but the other two aren't as lucky and one of your stones strikes the spearman's horn causing his magical hold of the weapon to fail.
>Acting quickly, you pick up a good sized rock, lunge forward and grab the spear in your free hand before slamming the stunned pony straight in his face with the rock.
>You continue breaking through the ranks and narrowly avoid getting your knees shattered by the heavy pony's buck.
>Now armed, you use your superior reach to jab at the unicorns with the spear while taking pot shot stabs at the pegasi.
>A bit of aim and a lot more luck leads to a pegasus that dove too quickly and ended up impaled on your weapon.
>It writhes in agony as blackened blood trickles down the shaft and a quick swing of your arms flings the lifeless corpse down at the foot of its allies.
"Heh heh, shaft."
>Your revelry is short lived as the body begins regenerating its wound and panic sets in as you realize these creatures won't be so easy to dispatch when you see the caved in skull of one of the unicorns begin to retake its shape.
"NO!" Yelling with an out stretched hand pointed at the healing enemies, your emotion takes form as a burning sensation builds in the palm of your bony hand before a stream of flames shoot out and engulf both your targets.
>The downed enemies let loose one last cry of anguish before turning to ash and blowing away in a breeze of wind you've just become aware of.
>The air seems to be blowing softly all around you but it's source remains elusive and you're more concerned with how you just managed to turn your hand into a flame thrower.
>The armored pony stomps his hoof and issues out some apparent command in a strange language that's half growl, half moan.
>The others quickly regain their senses and you're put back on the defensive as the remaining unicorns move to your flanks while the pegasus tries its best to stay behind you.
>Using the spear in one hand to keep a perimeter, you attempt to get more fire going in your free hand.
>A few unimpressive balls of fire are all you can manage however and you begin to get frustrated as your poor performance helps the ponies steel their nerves and they begin moving in.
>Side stepping a sweep from the pegasus, you barely have enough time to brace the spear with both hands to block an axe swing that would've surely split your skull.
>This clash of weapons doesn't go unnoticed by the swordspony as the tip of his blade plunges into your chest.
>Being a skeleton at the moment however proves to be advantageous as despite having several ribs cracked and split from the stab, it doesn't seem to be a fatal blow.
>Holding the axe back and away, you stand as the sword struggles in a telekinetic grip to pry itself from your chest.
>The wind picks up strength once again as the thought of being stabbed by this janitoring prick makes your currently unaccounted for blood boil and the world takes on a red hue.
>The color however seems to be coming from the chasm of fire as it grows in intensity and the inferno takes on a crimson tone.
"You really think this is going to stop me?" You ask as your empty eye sockets focus on the swords wielder. "I'm just getting started."
>Grabbing hold of the swords handle yourself, you easily remove it and despite the protests of its owners magic, the weapon doesn't leave your grasp.
"Can't exactly call this a flesh wound but I definitely felt my ribs crack just now." Your hand glows as it becomes engulfed in flames. "That hurt."
>The weapon begins to melt in your hand and the red hot steel starts dripping off your finger tips.
>Extinguishing the fire before the metal melts away completely, what's left of it that hadn't fallen off your bony appendages re-hardens into talon like blades.
"Now I'm gonna do the same to yours, just before I rip YOUR FUCKING HEART OUT!"
>With strength you didn't know you had, you use your spear hand to push back the axe with enough force to knock back its controller.
>As you stalk toward the now unarmed unicorn, his pegasus ally comes in for another sweep but you are undeterred in your rage and by simply raising your bladed hand, the talons rip jagged wounds through his belly as his bladed hoof merely glances off your skull and he lands in a crumpled mass behind you.
>The distraction caused by the pegasus leaves enough time to allow the unicorn to bring up a shield around himself in hopes of preventing your onslaught.
>Slamming into the barrier with your metal hand clenched shakes it violently but other than a startled unicorn there seems to be no damage done.
>With an animalistic roar you grip the spear in both hands and plow the tip straight into the magical dome and cackle in delight as it breaks through and embeds itself into your enemies leg.
>The new wound disrupts his concentration and his protection disappears into thin air as you close the distance and backhand him hard enough to send him tumbling over onto his back.
>Before he can regain his bearings a new pain erupts throughout his body as your bladed hand sinks deeper and deeper into his chest.
>When his eyes lock onto to your skeleton grin and empty sockets what you see in return is a far cry from the soullessness that these creatures greeted you with earlier, the fear is immeasurable and oh so delectable.
>When your hand is wrist deep and your fingers are wrapped gently around his rapidly pulsating heart, he lets out a silent scream with his eyes before you crush the muscly organ like an over ripened tomato.
>Just as the last spark of light begins to fade from his eyes, you ignite the corpse in a column of fire with just a thought and a wave of your hand; and take delight in knowing that his last conscious moments must have been spent in pure agony.
>The last two ponies are now standing their ground side by side as you approach them.
>The regenerating corpse of the other pegasus lies between you and as you move to step over it; you pause and bring your heel down on its neck with a sickening crunch but rather than dispose of it now, you simply leave it to heal the even more extensive damage you've caused and it knows that you only let it live to suffer longer.
>The wind has died down once again but there's an electricity in the air that has you tingling all over in a twisted sense of joy.
>The leader barks an order to his last soldier who takes a defensive stance between the two of you.
>Growing tired of these antics, you simply point your hand in his direction and shoot off another cascade of flames to incinerate him.
>However, when the flames reach their target it appears as though they are being deflected and when you cease the attack you see that the unicorn telekinetically spun his axe in order to fan the flames away from himself.
"Smarter than I gave you credit for."
>Directing the spinning axe towards you he presses his charge, forcing you to come up with a new solution for how to deal with an enemy that can stop your flames.
>A downward swing of his rotating blade sends sparks flying from the obsidian floor and creates a spark in your mind.
>That spark travels down your spine and spreads throughout your body as electricity crackles off your extremities and arcs between gaps in your skeletal structure.
>Seeing a force he can't easily defend with his weapon, he retracts it onto a sling to focus on a shield spell.
>Having left your spear to burn with the last unicorn, you opt to make one of your own as a lightning bolt forms in your dominant hand, ready to be hurled as though you were Zeus himself.
>The bolt flies far and true as it collides head on with the shield in a brilliant display of showering blue sparks but this unicorn was more focused than his fallen allies and his shield holds fast.
>With a deep rumbling growl, the electricity builds up inside your mouth and without a second thought you release a concentrated blast of energy which collides into the shield with enough force to shatter it and electrocute the caster.
>Not wasting any more time, you gather another lightning bolt in hand and charge at the fallen unicorn before jumping up and slamming the bolt into his face which causes him to seizure erratically before ceasing all movement.
>During that last display of power, you failed to notice the crimson flames take on the neon blue tone of your electricity and as you admire its eerie glow, your last opponent reminds you of his presence the hard way.
>A heavy hoof to the back of your knee sends you off balance and another one sweeps in to greet your face as you tried to scramble back to your feet.
>That easily would've broken your nose if you still had one.
>After you finish tumbling across the ground, the leader begins his assault anew as he stampedes toward you with full killing intent.
>Before he can close the final gap, you gather a ball of fire in hand and send it sailing straight into his face which has the effect of interrupting his attack and giving you the chance to get back on your feet.
>The damage you dealt however is far from satisfactory as it seems the flames mostly just rolled off his armor.
"I guess there had to be a reason you're the last one. Fine, if I can't burn you then I'll just have to settle for a good ol' death by electrocution." With that said, you hurl a glowing bolt of electricity and watch it strike the lightning rod of an enemy dead on.
>What happens next takes you by surprise however.
>Instead of toppling the hulking pony, the shock courses through his armor and dissipates into the ground.
"Bullshit! That should've fried your ass completely."
>His response is to simply lift a rear hoof out of the floor where he used the spikes on his boot to ground his armor from your attack.
"Great, I guess we're doing this the hard way. Whatever, I shouldn't have to rely on powers when hands on violence has worked well enough for so long."
>Grabbing the axe from beside the last unicorn, you check it's edge by running a clawed finger along it.
"Pretty sharp blade it's got, could probably cleave you in half if it wasn't for that armor but that would be too easy." Turning the axe around, you opt to use its hammer side instead. "Besides, I wanna see how fine a powder I can crush out of your bones before splitting open your flesh."
>Taking off straight at the pony, he follows suit and once the distance is closed, armored hoof meets hammer in a powerful exchange of blows.
>The clashing sound of your hammer making contact with his black iron armor reverberate against the blackened floor and minutes into the fight, it becomes obvious that this will be a war of attrition.
>Every blow to the head sends him into a spin that gives you a chance to recuperate your wasted energy while the same can be said of him when his kicks knock you over and you roll away to avoid further injury.
>Despite lacking the required organs, your body still heaves with each breath and you can see that despite being winded, the pony is fairing much better than you thanks to his armor.
>Cracks and splinters decorate your bones from the barrage of hits you've taken and in spite of the roaring inferno surrounding the area, you feel cold as fatigue begins to settle in.
>As you pace around a circle with the pony, your axe drags limply behind you, scratching a small line across the stone.
>During the next clash, he takes you by surprise by tackling your midsection after deflecting a swing from your axe.
>He beats down on you mercilessly with his forehooves as you block what hits you can with the axe.
>A swift haymaker sends you reeling across the floor in a crumpled mass.
>Can't win em' all.
"Story of my life."
>To have come so far only to lose it all in the end, another failed attempt at making a better life for yourself.
>There is no feeling of dread, no speculation of how it could've ended differently, only a bitterness at the realization that this is most likely the end and your efforts were in vain.
>The eyes of Nightmare return to the ceiling before she speaks to you.
>"It seems you have nothing left to give. Pity, I thought you showed great promise but it seems you lack the ability to follow through. At least your death won't be a total loss when I absorb your life force."
>Even dying can't be made easy for you.
>But if they think they can finish you off this easily, they're wrong.
"Fuck that." You roll over onto your hands and knees and shakily stand up. "You think I'm just gonna lay down and die like a dog? Because I'm tired? Because I'm human? I've been losing my whole life but I found a way to deal with it. I got mad! To err is human, humanity is pain and pain leads to rage. And once Anonymous feels rage, NOTHING in this world or any can stop me!" The wind picks up force and soon becomes a violent whirlwind of blistering cold.
>"Perhaps I spoke too soon."
"Darlin' you don't know the half of it."
>The pony trudges forward, battling the hurricane force winds you're generating until you put a little more power into them and icicles begin to form within the swirling vortex.
>Dagger like shards of ice explode against his armor and each hit seems to chip away at his stamina as he slows his advance until he's brought down to his knees by the combined force of the wind and ice.
>Frost begins to form over his armor until it obtains an icy sheen when it becomes completely frozen over.
>Retrieving the axe from beneath the snow that has started falling, you raise it high into the air diagonally with one hand and with a mighty chop, sever his head which shatters after falling to the ground.
>Walking over to the shivering form of the pegasus, you drop your weapon and drag the enemy to the edge of the path and simply toss him into the now pure white flames.
>After repeating the process with the remaining corpses you make your way over to the throne you'd seen earlier and take your seat upon it.
"Oh I just can't wait to be king."
>As you hum the rest of the song and tap your bony toes and fingers to the rhythm, a black form makes its way into your field of view through the now gentle snowfall.
>"An impressive display of power Anonymous, for a moment I truly thought you beaten."
"That wasn't even the worst part though."
>"Oh?"
"Yeah, the worst part of this is, I'm very aware of my tongue but I don't have one." To emphasize your point, you stick a finger up through your jaw and wiggle it out of your mouth. "I don't even wanna know how I can be using my eyes and shit right now. Oh my god... What if I have to take a shit?"
>Nightmare brings a hoof to her face. "You've taken my expectations of you and dashed them quite expertly, bravo Anonymous."
"I try. One other thing that's rattling me bones now that I've had time to calm down and think about what just happened, I gotta ask; What just happened? I know I've killed a few monsters already but that seemed excessive."
>"In our dreams we are free to be more than we allow ourselves in reality. Does the monster inside scare you that much?"
>You take a moment to consider what she said.
"Huh... To be quite honest with you Nighty, I'm not scared. The rest of the world however, should be. I think I'm ready to take on your sister with you."
>She smiles genuinely at you, "That's just what I wanted to hear."
"So what happens now?"
>"Now? Now you wake up."
>With a groan you open your eyes and rub them tiredly to find that your meaty parts are right where they should be.
"That's nice."
>A foreign weight shifts on top of you and you turn your head to find Nightmares own head settled gently over your shoulder.
>"Greetings Anonymous, sleep well?"
"If you could call that sleep, I think I'm more tired now than before. By the way, you seem quite comfortable, any chance of getting you offa me?"
>"Normally to interact with a dream to the extent I did yours, I would need to place my horn in contact with your head. You however seemed to be more difficult for my magic to manipulate and I required to put myself in more direct contact with you. As for my being comfortable, I could say the same for your filthy paws."
>Peeking over her withers, sure enough your hands seem right at home cupped over her ass.
"Sneaky little bastards. It seems to me that we're at an impasse. Let's just say we're both too comfortable to bother."
>"If it were anyp0ny else I'd have simply crushed them under my hoof, but for you? I'll allow this. Do you have any more questions?"
"Yeah but let's save it for later I just wanna get some real sleep."
>"Good, because I'm too tired to answer them anyway. Now try not to move so much, you're the warmest thing I've had to sleep on in centuries and I'd appreciate it if you'd stay still."
"Fiiine."
>"Also if that thing pokes my belly any harder its going to run me through, do something about it."
>With an embarrassed blush, you reach down and adjust yourself to not be bothering Nightmare.
"Sorry..."
>Nightmare nestles her head along your shoulder . "Oh please, we're both adults here. I know its hard due to my beauty but just try to have some self control. Maybe we can take care of it some other time. Maybe."
>Well nothing left to do but get some sleep.
>Good night moon.
>Thanks to the raise in your body temperature, you took little notice of the same happening to Nightmare before you both drifted off into sleep.