Foaly stared at the screen of the computer until it shut itself off. The abrupt change from light to dark snapped him out of his trance.

The centaur moved calmly, automatically around his apartment. He shut down his computer and gathered the things he would need for returning to work the next day. Dinner was simple and eaten without paying any attention to it.

And then Foaly went to bed, setting his alarm for moonrise so he could get to work on time. It wouldn't do to be late his first day back.

He laid there awake until the alarm rang, with only one thought to keep him company.

Oh, dear Frond—what have we done?