The Birth of Harmony, Part 2

Part 1 starts this whole adventure off, and this is the conclusion. Now maybe I can get back to the next chapter of Neighbors!

     "Where--?"  Clover stared at the crater around her, couldn't 

keep from thinking about the ponies who'd been in those now-

vanished buildings, couldn't keep from wondering--

     "Shhhh," came a soft voice above her, and she blinked at 

Cadence, the pink winged unicorn's striped mane flowing in the 

damp, chocolate-scented breeze.  "Don't let him unnerve you."

     A bark of a laugh from Discord, hovering overhead on his 

mismatched wings.  "Excellent advice, my dear!  But I fear it's 

wasted on our little Clover."  He settled to the ground, the dirt 

making a sound like air rushing out of a punctured balloon under 

him.  "You'd almost think that 'unnerved' was her middle name."

     Snorting, Pansy glared at Discord.  "Shows what you 

know!  Clover's middle name is 'the'!"

The Birth of Harmony, Part 1

More My Little Pony fanfic:

I'm afraid, and this one, well, this one gets down into the weeds, as they say.

It extrapolates upon information given in the two-part, second season opening episode, "The Return of Harmony" as well as the historical play the ponies put on during the episode entitled "Hearth's Warming Eve." Add in a strange revelation from a Hasbro toy display that there's apparently a third winged unicorn princess named Cadence who hasn't actually appeared in the cartoon, and the stewpot I call my head threw together the following.

This is Part 1. Part 2 is soon to follow!

Trying her best to look like nopony at all, Clover trudged 

through the backstreets and forced herself not to sigh when the 

sun reversed course with a screech and plunged back below the 

horizon.  A sound like glass shattering, and the full moon shot 

into the sky like a stone from a sling, the drifting cotton 

candy clouds bursting to pink mist.

     How long had it been like this?  Weeks, maybe?  Months?  

Years?

     Her whole life, it seemed sometimes....

     She shrugged the cloak closer around her shoulders, winced 

at a gust of chocolate milk rain spattering into her face, at 

the cobblestones below her hoofs suddenly going squishy, 

squeaking like rubber toys with each step she took.  She could 

still remember the time before, though, could remember Princess 

Platinum standing on this very hill and proclaiming it the site 

of Canterlot, the city the unicorns would build in accordance 

with the agreement Clover had put together with Smart Cookie and 

Pansy: "A shining jewel," the princess had said that day, "and a 

symbol of this partnership we unicorns have forged with our 

neighbors, the earth ponies and the pegasi!  Together, 

therefore, let us create our land, our dream, our Equestria!"

     That had only been a year ago, she was sure, two years at 

the longest, the construction going so quickly with the pegasi 

and earth ponies helping.  And she would never forget standing 

with Cookie and Pansy at the party the princess had called the 

Grand Galloping Gala, the purple flare of the princess's horn 

wielding the scissors, Commander Hurricane and Chancellor 

Puddinghead on either side of her as they cut the ceremonial 

ribbon across the city gates--

     Just as that first drop of chocolate splashed against her 

snout...

Half the Day is Night, Epilogue

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4 ; Chapter 5

Chapter 6 ; Chapter 7 ; Chapter 8 ; Chapter 9 ; Chapter 10

Chapter 11 ; Chapter 12 ; Chapter 13 ; Chapter 14 ; Chapter 15

     "You see?" Luna asked, her gossamer diagram spinning above 

the center of her room, the spark in her voice making Celestia 

smile.  "It'll be just like what we were doing before except now 

we'd announce the dawn and dusk there in the center of the 

courtyard where as many ponies as possible can see it instead of 

each of us going back to her throne to make it happen."  She 

grinned with an eagerness Celestia hadn't seen in her for a 

long, long time.  "Whaddaya think, Sunny?"

     Celestia cocked her head.  "I think my vacation did you 

more good than it did me."

     Luna laughed.  "I think you're right."  Her smile faded.  

"It's just...we owe them so much, all those ponies, and we 

can't...I mean, they can't...they don't--"  All her previous 

good humor disappeared, and Celestia's shoulders tightened.  

Could it finally be time?

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 15

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4 ; Chapter 5

Chapter 6 ; Chapter 7 ; Chapter 8 ; Chapter 9 ; Chapter 10

Chapter 11 ; Chapter 12 ; Chapter 13 ; Chapter 14

     Completing her third circuit of the throne room without 

seeing Ory, Rarity felt a touch of panic.  After the awful and 

disturbing spectacle of Night Guard troops leading the weeping 

Lady Stargazer into custody, if Ory had vanished as well--

     Of course, she couldn't show how distraught she was, not 

with a fair percentage of Canterlot's elite buzzing around the 

refreshment tables like bees ready to strike.  She had to smile 

sadly, shake her head, and project a confidence she didn't quite 

feel: "Yes, it's just so dreadful!  When Minister Applejack 

presented Princess Luna and the rest of us with the evidence 

against Lady Stargazer this afternoon, well!  I could hardly 

believe my ears!  It will all be read tomorrow morning in open 

court, of course, but oh!  Such a shock!"

     Exhausted upon leaving one particularly unhappy group of 

unicorns in evening dress, she was on the verge of tears when 

Applejack sidled up to her and whispered, "Yer smoothing more 

ruffled manes tonight, sugar cube, than the rest of us put 

together, but I can see it's getting to you.  So you turn on in 

any time you need to." 

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 14

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4 ; Chapter 5

Chapter 6 ; Chapter 7 ; Chapter 8 ; Chapter 9 ; Chapter 10

Chapter 11 ; Chapter 12 ; Chapter 13

     Shuffling a deck of cards always took most of Pinkie's 

concentration, but it was still one of her favorite things to 

do.  She'd loved it, in fact, ever since her Uncle Abernathy had 

taught her how to do it after her cutie mark had appeared and 

the family farm had started getting more famous for its parties 

than for its rocks.

     Of course, Pinkie had known even as a twinkie Pinkie that 

none of the ponies who'd come to live at the farm after her 

parents had started smiling and helping out with the parties 

were really related to her, but she'd loved them all so much, 

not a one had ever objected when she started calling them aunt 

and uncle and gramma and grampa and cousin.  

     She could still see Uncle Abernathy with his gap-toothed 

grin and his plaid vest flinging cards around with hoofs and 

teeth in ways she was sure even Twilight couldn't match.  And 

all the time he'd spent with her at that big table in the barn 

where he and the other uncles would play cards all night, 

whooping and laughing and drinking her dad's root beer!  Pinkie 

had practiced and practiced and practiced like nothing else 

she'd ever worked on before, and after a few months, she could 

shuffle cards and deal them out as easily as any of her unicorn 

uncles could.

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 13

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4 ; Chapter 5

Chapter 6 ; Chapter 7 ; Chapter 8 ; Chapter 9 ; Chapter 10

Chapter 11 ; Chapter 12

     "Anything for the princess," Lace Brocade was saying, the 

ruffles around the edges of her black frock coat just exactly 

the right shade of ecru to contrast with the bright red of her 

hair and hide.  "And your designs!"  She kissed her right front 

hoof and waved it at the ceiling.  "An absolute pleasure to work 

from!  If you have any further need of the House of Brocade, 

don't hesitate to call!"

     It took every ounce of Rarity's self-control not to fall at 

the fashionista's hoofs and start kissing them.  Lace Brocade!  

Praising her designs!

     But instead Rarity took a breath and said, "This has been 

the single most fulfilling experience of my professional life so 

far, Ms. Brocade!  I can't thank you enough for--"

     "Oh, now, really, Rarity!"  The slender unicorn gave her a 

smile.  "Certainly you'll be calling me Lace from now on."

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 12

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4 ; Chapter 5

Chapter 6 ; Chapter 7 ; Chapter 8 ; Chapter 9 ; Chapter 10

Chapter 11

     The story made Rainbow Dash shout "What??" more than a 

few more times, and by the time Rarity got to the part about 

her and Ory Stargazer kissing, Dash wasn't the only one.

     "What??"  Twilight's mane seemed to be standing on end.  

"Ory??  But he's...he's--!"

     "Such a gentlecolt!" Rarity breathed.  "I always dreamed 

of coming to Canterlot and meeting a prince, but, well, Ory 

was going to be Night Minister, and that's nearly the same 

thing."  She sighed, a blush lighting her cheeks, and Dash 

couldn't help remembering her own blush earlier in the Citadel 

garden with Captain Destrier.

     Which made her clear her throat.  "I think you're missing 

the point here, Rarity!  Somepony just tried to kill you!"

     Rarity rolled her eyes.  "Well, yes, if you want to dwell 

on the more unpleasant aspects of the evening..."

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 11

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4 ; Chapter 5

Chapter 6 ; Chapter 7 ; Chapter 8 ; Chapter 9 ; Chapter 10

     The whole of the valley spread out in the darkness before 

her, lights sparkling under the stars along what Rarity guessed 

was the river, and she found she could trace the route all the 

way back to Ponyville, a glowing cluster that didn't seem that 

far away, actually.

     If only she weren't about to plunge to her death, she found 

herself thinking, the length of wooden walkway that she, 

Fluttershy and Ory had ridden down the rapids of Canterlot's 

underground river sailing from the waterfall at its end and 

arcing delicately through the night sky before starting 

horribly, inevitably downward--

     If it weren't for that, this would be rather pretty.

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 10

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4 ; Chapter 5

Chapter 6 ; Chapter 7 ; Chapter 8 ; Chapter 9

     So far, Pinkie Pie thought, humming a song backwards as she 

walked frontwards with her friends into the already darkening 

throne room of the Day Palace, it had been the best day ever.  

     Of course, she thought that about every day.  And weirdly 

enough, it always turned out she was right.

     She was wearing her dress again, the one Rarity had given 

her this morning, the one that hugged her tight with one part of 

it while the other part flared out all poofy and made her feel 

just exactly the way a balloon would feel, she was sure, if a 

balloon ever wore a dress--

     And that was such a great idea--dresses for balloons!--she 

almost stopped to get her notebook out to write it down for when 

they got back to Ponyville.  

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 9

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4 ; Chapter 5

Chapter 6 ; Chapter 7 ; Chapter 8

     The others had gone on talking--"planning strategy," 

Twilight had called it--but Fluttershy couldn't focus on 

anything but the upcoming party at some strange stallion's 

house.  It made her stomach tighten, and her breath got so loud 

and raggedy, Applejack had finally suggested she go lie down for 

awhile.

     Pinkie had volunteered to take her back to the Night 

Palace, but Fluttershy hadn't wanted to be any trouble.  Panic 

building, trying to think of something soothing she could do 

without bothering anypony, the picture and the words had just 

popped into her head: "I'll just...just go out into the garden," 

she'd said.

     To be honest, she'd been hoping for an excuse all day to 

get outside.  The palaces were very pretty, of course, but 

nothing about them breathed the way a flower or a tree or a bird 

did.  The stones of the walls sat around tame and shaped and 

settled, not like real stones, all funny and lumpy and friendly.  

The buildings looked like the guard ponies, she realized as she 

hurried past the two standing outside the sitting room door: 

stern and kind of scary, like they didn't really want her there.

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 8

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4 ; Chapter 5

Chapter 6 ; Chapter 7

     "You can't seriously suspect Pancake!"  Rainbow Dash 

pounded a hoof against Captain Destrier's desk.  "He didn't do 

anything!"

     Captain Destrier gave her a sideways glance; Dash grinned 

sheepishly, brushed the dusty hoofprint away, and settled 

herself back onto the carpet, the noontime light shining bright 

through the window of the captain's office.  "I mean, yeah," 

Dash went on, "it was his hacksaw, but he just loaned it to 

those other guys!  They didn't tell him they were gonna use it 

to chop down part of the Day Palace's roof and try to squash 

ev'rypony or whatever!"

     "In the first place," the captain said, "we don't know for 

a fact that these are the ponies who did it.  That's why we call 

them 'suspects.'  In the second place, we still don't have the 

saw in question; we found none here on the palace grounds, and 

of the suspects you led us to, only this Pancake fellow is doing 

any talking.  In the third--"

     "There!"  Dash couldn't keep from springing up to hover 

over the carpet in Captain Destrier's office.  "See?  He's 

trying to help us!  Those other jerks aren't!  They're the ones 

we need to lean on, not Pancake!"

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 7

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4 ; Chapter 5

Chapter 6

     Shedding that jacket of Rarity's made Dash feel twenty 

percent lighter--she could barely stop herself from racing up 

into the weird currents twisting around the open spaces between 

all Canterlot's little towers.  "The unicorns must do mosta the 

weather stuff around here," she told Pinkie Pie as they trotted 

into the streets, the Day Palace behind them shining like a 

jewel in the morning sun.  "The air's itchy with magic!"

     Pinkie nodded.  "Like my uncle Zebulon used to say, 'When 

in Canterlot, do as the Canterlotians.'  Except I don't think 

'Canterlotians' is really a word."

     Dash gave her a sideways glance.  "Where are you getting 

all these uncles from?"

     "The usual places."  Pinkie pointed her snout at the sky.  

"It's OK if you wanna wing it, Dashie.  I'll be fine down here."

     And as much as the wind was tickling her, teasing her with 

its odd swirls--  "Naw."  She tossed her mane like she didn't 

care.  "Maybe after we get done with this whole saw thing I can 

take a spin around."  A thought made her brighten.  "Or later 

when I head up to the Citadel!  I mean, did you see??  Captain 

Destrier??  Knowing who I was??  He gave a talk once at flight 

school about joining the guard and said he turned down the 

Wonderbolts--turned them down!--so he could serve Princess 

Celestia!  That's, like, either the coolest thing ever or the 

craziest!  I can't wait to meet some of those guard ponies and 

see what their HQ is like!"

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 6

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4 ; Chapter 5

     "Twilight!" Applejack yelled.  She lurched sideways, shoved 

Twilight Sparkle bodily around, and pointed at the huge metal 

beam tumbling from the ceiling toward the crowd filling the Day 

Palace's throne room.  "Lift it!  Now!

     Leaping forward, she heard Twilight gasp, but Applejack 

couldn't do anything except trust her friend would do what she 

could.  "Clear the floor!"  She pitched her voice like she was 

calling Big Mackintosh in from the back forty.  "Y'all can exit 

to each side and at the back!  Nice and orderly, now, but move!"

     Rainbow Dash burst into the air and streaked to hover above 

the center of the crowd.  "Folks on my left through that door, 

folks on my right through that one, and folks behind me out the 

back!  Let's go!"  She jabbed her hoofs at the nearest three 

pegasi in golden armor standing along the walls.  "You, you, and 

you!  Help 'em out!  

     The soldiers jumped, their wings unfurling to sail them 

over the crowd, and that was apparently the first time anypony 

in the audience looked up, the first time they saw what was 

glowing and hovering in the air above Rainbow Dash.  Applejack 

heard gasps and shrieks, spared just enough of a glance to see 

the beam was holding steady halfway between the ceiling and the 

floor, the thing big as the windmill back home but solid metal 

and weighing who knew how much!  Long as it kept floating, 

though--

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 5

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4

     "It was truly the oddest thing!"  Rarity waved her horn, 

tucking a quick stitch into the collar of Rainbow Dash's blue 

satin jacket, the pegasus shifting her head back and forth to 

peer at herself in the full-length mirror Rarity had set up 

against the cabinets her unexpected visitor had taken the books 

from.  "Why shouldn't we let ponies know we were the ones who 

restored Princess Luna??"

     Twilight seemed a bit distracted.  "Ory Stargazer," she 

muttered, shaking her head, the reflection from her tiara 

spattering shards of light over the walls of the room.  

     But Applejack shrugged, fiddling a bit, Rarity couldn't 

help noticing, with the simple gabardine collar around her 

Element of Harmony necklace.  "Well, Princess Luna ain't done 

much to get on folks' good sides 'round here."

     Fluttershy's sigh didn't even rustle the lace of her 

collar.  "But Princess Luna is good!  Maybe she just isn't at 

her best with other ponies..."

     Pinkie heaved a much larger sigh.  "As my uncle Arbutus 

would say, 'I blame a tragic lack of parties.'"  She rolled over 

onto her back, Rarity happy to see that the skirt she'd designed 

followed the movement rather than snagging or tearing.  

"Fortunately, some of us are gonna be correcting that pretty 

darn quick!"

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 4

Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3

     "Where--?"  Twilight set her horn glowing, tried to look 

around, but the darkened space was so big, she couldn't see 

anything other than her friends standing in the puddle of light 

she was casting and craning their necks as well, the cart full 

of Rarity's luggage sitting half in shadow.  "Where are we?"

     A piece of the darkness moved, Princess Luna stepping into 

the light to smile down at her.  "Sister Celestia calls it the 

Night Palace."  She looked around, too, her smile becoming a 

frown.  "Nowhere near as nice as our old place, but I guess 

that's pretty much a ruin nowadays."  She sighed.  "I don't come 

here that often..."

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 3

I'm doing so much writing, it's starting to back up! But here's the next chapter of my MLP novel! Before it, though, is the Prologue, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.

     "I don't like this, Twilight."  Spike poured tea into her 

cup, Twilight Sparkle watching through bleary eyes as he 

squeezed in exactly the right amount of lemon.  "Princess 

Celestia says she's passed all my questions on to Princess Luna, 

but I haven't got a single answer yet!  Not one!"

     Nodding, Twilight activated her horn and raised the cup to 

sip from it, Zecora's special blend just exactly what she needed 

to perk herself awake at five o'clock on a Monday morning after 

two of the most hectic days of her life.  But she'd gotten 

everything checked off her list: all Fluttershy's blankets had 

gotten unpacked, Rainbow Dash had made arrangements with the 

weather crew, Applejack had left at least 50 pages of 

instructions for her brother and sisters, Rarity had dropped a 

hissing box of Opalescence off at her parents' house after 

locking up her boutique, and Pinkie Pie had put together a 

Sunday night 'going away' party with a speech from the mayor and 

apple pie all around.

     Twilight took another sip of tea.  "I'm sure Princess 

Luna's made arrangements."

     A clatter from the library's front door, and Pinkie Pie 

came bouncing in, her panniers flapping against her flanks.  

"This is so exciting!  I mean, I didn't even know there was a 

five o'clock in the morning!"

Pony of a Different Color

They're having an April Foals' Day Contest over at Equestria Daily, and this is my entry!

     Steeling herself, Fluttershy stopped in front of Sugarcube 

Corner.  "I'm sorry, Rarity," she said, pushing the words out 

when her friend paused to take a breath in the middle of another 

funny story about her cat, "but I just have to stop off here for 

a moment."

     "Here?"  Rarity arched an eyebrow at the bakery's door.  

"On April Fools' Day?  With Pinkie Pie inside?"

     Fluttershy forced a chuckle past the nervous clench in her 

throat.  "Oh, now, Rarity.  You know Pinkie always takes April 

Fools' Day off.  It's for amateur jokers, she says, not 

professionals like her."

     "I know what she says."  Rarity turned and marched to the 

opposite side of the street.  "However, I believe I'll wait out 

here, if you don't mind."

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 2

In the natural order of things, you oughtta read the Prologue and chapter 1 before this. But if you have, please proceed!

     "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"  Rainbow Dash hovered a couple inches 

off the sawdust covering the floor of Applejack's barn and made 

a 'time-out' sign with her front hoofs.  "The princess is gonna 

do what??"

      Twilight sighed.  "We have two princesses now, you know."

      "Indeed we do!"  Rarity gave a brisk nod.  "And I for one 

think it's a marvelous gesture on Princess Celestia's part!"  

She fluttered her eyelashes.  "Allowing her poor, repentant 

sister to take the throne of both day and night for the next 

week!  Sheer poetry!"

      "Huh?"  Pinkie Pie cocked her head.  "I didn't hear 

anything rhyme."

      "But Twilight!"  Fluttershy's breathy voice seemed even 

more hesitant than usual.  "Princess Luna was..."  She glanced 

around the otherwise empty barn and whispered, "She was 

Nightmare Moon!  She wanted to take over the world and make it 

dark all the time!  What if she...if she...?"  Her eyes got 

wider as her voice squeaked away to nothing.

      "Yes."  Twilight licked her lips.  "That's the second 

part."  After the princess had left the library at four o'clock 

this morning, Twilight had banished the idea of sleep and had 

started making a list of things she needed to get organized over 

the next two days for the trip to Canterlot.  And the first 

thing on that list was this meeting to tell her friends about 

Princess Luna's request.

Half the Day is Night, Chapter 1

So, after the Prologue comes chapter 1.

      Looking up from her notes, Twilight Sparkle realized she 

wasn't hearing the music from Pinkie Pie's "Hooray for Friday" 

party down the street anymore.  Had it gotten that late?

      She yawned, stretched, stood, and shook herself.  She'd 

stopped by the party earlier, of course, had said hello to 

everypony and had some punch and cake, but this underwater 

breathing spell she was working on just kept nagging at her; 

she'd said her 'good nights' pretty early and had come back to 

the library to get another few hours of research in before 

hitting the hay.  But now, walking into the foyer where the big 

grandfather clock stood quietly ticking away, she realized she'd 

completely lost track of the time.

      Three soft clangs from the clock, and she had to give a 

little laugh.  Good thing she didn't have anywhere she had to be 

on Saturday, or--

      A knock sounded at the library door, gentle but definitely 

the tap-tap-tap of somepony's hoof.  Twilight blinked at the 

door, looked back at the clock, thought briefly about waking 

Spike, but no.  This was Ponyville.  Even at three o'clock in 

the morning, it wasn't like there was anything here she really 

had to worry about...

Half the Day is Night, Prologue

So I've started a pony epic. The basic story came to me after I watched the first two episodes of Friendship is Magic however long ago that was, and it's my vision of the 1st season finale. I figure it'll take me 12 or 15 chapters to get through, and I'm planning to fill it with romance, palace intrigue, and swashbuckling adventure. But here's the little prologue first.

      The three-quarter moon inched over the horizon, reddish-

yellow as the leaves Celestia could hear rustling in the breeze 

that washed down from the heights of the mountain behind her.  

Stepping forward on her balcony, she closed her eyes and 

breathed it in.  "Beautiful," she sighed.

      "Thank you."  Luna's voice, so much softer now than 

Celestia remembered, but even a year and a quarter since her 

sister's return, she still felt like dancing whenever she heard 

it.

      She glanced sideways at her smaller, darker sister.  "I 

missed you the most in autumn.  Each night longer than the last, 

and me with hardly enough ideas to fill them all."

      Luna shrugged.  "You did OK.  I mean, all the basic parts 

still work and everything."

      "I had a lot of help."  Celestia looked back at the moon 

and thought of ponies whose grandchildren's grandchildren had 

long since grown old around her.  "That first night after 

you...after you were gone, I did something wrong and managed to 

blow out half the stars.  A couple old earth ponies showed me a 

trick for burning marsh gas in vessels, teams of unicorns 

replicated the effect on a much larger scale, and every pegasus 

in Equestria flew multiple sorties to get the new stars aloft."

      "Yes.  I--"  Luna stopped, cleared her throat.  "I can feel 

their hoofprints, like...like where it was always just me 

shaping the night before, now there's...there's all these others 

mixed in.  And I--"  Again a stop, another breath.  "I'd like to 

know their names, Celestia.  I'd like to know who they were."

     Celestia nodded, and as she began telling Luna the story, a 

thought began forming in the back of her mind.

Things then continue in chapter 1.