Bloodhound: The Mare in the Mirror

by Mind Jack

A Spanner in the Works

"Everypony stay calm!" Starfish ordered.

That order was very needed, but not heard over the chorus of screams and the clip of fleeing hooves from the surviving patrons.

Fireball, thankfully, had enough experience in a crisis to step in front of them. "Oi! The Guard mare said stay calm! She can't find out what happened if you're all acting like startled rabbits!"

Starfish nodded her thanks. "Merrilight, Bloodhound, you two investigate the scene. I'm going to go and get more guards to secure the restaurant. Fireball, let nopony leave."

All involved parties nodded agreement.

Bloodhound could smell the blood that cut the air. It nauseated her. Could this be their killer? It felt like too much of a coincidence for it to not be the same culprit as Matchstick and Sprout. Her lungs were heaving from the sudden stress. She fished into her mane, looking for her inhaler, only to find it gone.

Merrilight emerged, having quickly changed out of her hated dress and into her Watch uniform. She gave Bloodhound her uniform back too, along with her inhaler. "Onwards, Bloodhound! To investigatory glory!"

After a life-saving inhaler puff, Bloodhound gathered her scattered senses, changed into her Watch uniform, and gave a shaky nod. "Right!"

"Can you smell anything useful around the scene?" Merrilight asked as they approached.

Bloodhound sniffed, and was immediately nauseous. "Blood. Lots of blood. It kind of covers everything else up."

"Drat!" Merrilight swore. "Alright. I guess we'll have to use our eyeballs on this then."

Her horn glowed, and her magic surrounded Bloodhound's body, as well as her own. "There! That'll keep us from shedding and contaminating the crime scene. Now, let's take a look-see at these two."

The two must have stood up in shock, as their chairs had fallen over behind them. Both had a look of surprise, and a bloodstain on the front of their clothing. They hadn't even gotten to eat their meals, as the shiny, metal cloche was still over both of them.

Merrilight did her best to investigate without disturbing the bodies. "Hm. A single stab wound to the chest, in about the same spot on both of them. But there's no clothing damage. Strange…"

Bloodhound was getting quite uncomfortable with the overwhelming smell. "Do you mind if I go canvas the witnesses? Otherwise I think my vomit will absolutely compromise the crime scene."

"Probably for the best," Merrilight agreed. "Your talents are more useful there." She retrieved a piece of chalk from her coat, and began tracing outlines around the bodies.

Happy for the excuse to get away, Bloodhound made her way over to the whispering, frightened crowd. She took a brief sniff. To her surprise, somepony else had the harsh tang of blood on them in that crowd. "Excuse me?"

The crowd fell silent. They all stared at her, waiting for her to speak.

I am not used to having that kind of authority. "Sompony amongst you is covered in blood."

She had expected the villain of all this to try and flee the crowd. Instead, a trembling hoof was raised. "That's me…"

The speaker was a waitress, who was positively drenched in red. Her breathing was heavy, and tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. Her legs were shaking.

Bloodhound instantly went from suspicious to sympathetic. "What happened to you?"

"I-I had just delivered the Coin family's food," she explained, nodding towards the crime scene. "The lights went out, and something sprayed all over me. When they came back on, I was… like this."

"I was standing nearby," a waiter confirmed. "I heard the splatter, and then I heard her make a surprised noise."

Bloodhound sniffed the waitress. "It's blood, alright. Did you hear anything in the dark? You were extremely close to them."

"I… I don't know," the waitress admitted. "There were a lot of screams when the lights went out. I couldn't tell if any of it was them."

Right. It couldn't be that easy. "Did anypony else hear or see anything?"

"I saw a horn light up in the dark!" One of the noblemares piped up.

"That was me," a unicorn stallion in a tuxedo confirmed. "I lit up my horn so I could see."

"Me too!" a mare confirmed.

"Same here," said another stallion.

"Did any of you see anything odd?" Bloodhound asked.

"Horn light isn't much," the mare explained. "I could only see enough to keep from bumping into anypony."

"I… may have seen something," the first stallion to confess said uncertainly.

"What was it?" Bloodhound asked, excited.

"Well… I'm not totally certain. But while I saw these two and myself lighting up horns, I definitely saw a fourth. It's weird they're not speaking up."

The second perked up. "Did they have red magic?"

"Yeah!" the first confirmed.

"You know them?" Bloodhound said.

"Not exactly." The second stallion scratched his chin. "They were sitting at a table across from me. I noticed them because they were acting really weird."

Bloodhound dug through her fluffy mane storage for a notepad and pen, writing all this down. "How so?"

"Well, they were just a silhouette, and I couldn't even tell you their colors from how harsh that red magic light was. But while everypony else was yelling or panicking, they were just sitting at their table, completely calm. They weren't even looking around. I think they were staring at something on their table."

Bloodhound recorded every word. "Thank you. This could be vital informa—"

"Alright, everypony! Stay calm!"

Ponies in golden armor marched into the room. The Guard had arrived.

Merrilight protested as she was forced away from the crime scene. "This is outrageous! I have just as much right to investigate this scene as you do!"

"Not according to Princess Celestia, you don't," said a handsome, ivory unicorn stallion with a two-tone, royal-blue mane. He had a red helmet, lined with gold, that must have been a symbol of rank.

Merrilight's demeanor became so icy that Bloodhound could feel the temperature drop in the room. "Captain Shining Armor."

Bloodhound had never heard so much disdain in any three words grouped together. Except, perhaps, a book critic saying 'Another vampire romance.'

"I'm not having a glorified bureaucrat run roughshod all over my crime scene," Shining said calmly. "You're leaving. Now."

"Hey!" Aphrodite shouted. "You can't do that!"

"It's Princess Celestia's orders," Shining replied. "Take it up with her."

"E-excuse me!" Bloodhound said as she overcame stage fright and found her voice. "But you may wish to reconsider."

Shining focused on her. He didn't seem all that scary. Just a little irritated. "And you are?"

"She's my star investigator," Merrilight proclaimed, smirking.

"She is pretty good at her job," Fancypants confirmed.

Shining raised a hoof to cut off the mutters of support. "If she's in the Watch, she's an untrained civilian. Sorry, but I'm not elected, so popular 'star investigators' being around me doesn't matter at all. Like I said, this is straight from Princess Celestia. This case is way too big for the Watch. If you disagree, talk to her."

Merrilight tried to argue, but the Guards ignored her as she and Bloodhound were shoved out of the restaurant, and away from the crime scene.

---

They sat outside for several moments, neither quite able to believe what had just happened.

Merrilight let out a stream of curses in at least six different languages. There may have been more that Bloodhound didn't speak, but she was speaking too quickly for Bloodhound to translate.

When she'd gotten the venom out of her system, Merrilight took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Bloodhound."

"It's alright," Bloodhound replied. "I do wish I'd gotten a chance to eat, though. I'm starving. Mother will probably be in there for quite a while, and I'm not much of a cook. So, how are we going to get back on the case?"

"Wait, what?" Merrilight blinked several times. "We're not. Celestia has ordered us off of the case."

"Yes. I know that. What kind of clever technicality do you have to get us back on?"

"I'm… Bloodhound, I don't have one." Merrilight looked incredibly depressed. "That was a direct order, with no other interpretations. We're done."

"You promised you'd help me with my mum's case!" Bloodhound argued.

"I did! And I want to, but…" Merrilight sat down. "...but I just don't know what to do."

"Could we ask Princess Celestia to put us back on?" Bloodhound asked, pacing.

"Maybe, but I doubt it'd do any good." Merrilight looked up at the moon forlornly.

"But it could!" Bloodhound argued. "We still have options! We can't just give up! This isn't some mystery novel where you're trying to guess who did it! There are actual stakes here! If you don't help me, I may never find out who killed my mum!"

Merrilight closed her eyes, and nodded slowly. "Okay… okay. You're right. I need to pull myself together. I refuse to let myself get shown up by Shining Armor again. You should head home. I'll put out some feelers, and let you know when I find something. Maybe I can get Celestia to see sense."

Bloodhound suddenly jumped on her, hugging her tightly, with a wide grin splitting her freckled cheeks. "Thank you! This means the world to me."

Merrilight blushed a little, and hugged her back. "You're welcome, Bloodhound. Don't worry. I'll find us something."

Bloodhound's stomach growled.

Merrilight laughed. "Apparently that something should be a replacement for our missed dinner. Come on. I know a good pizza place."

---

Pyro Pendragon's Pizza was a tiny shop on the outskirts of Canterlot. The tables were cheap, and the lights flickered a little.

But it smelled amazing.

Bloodhound's nose tingled at the spicy, savory scent of various peppers and vegetables. She couldn't resist licking her lips at the thought of what the source of those scents would taste like. Good smells like this completely overwhelmed her mind, making it impossible to dwell on any dark thoughts. Such as how the double murder that had just occurred may have been their fault, for not working fast enough. Not now, bad thoughts. Pizza.

"Is red pepper and mushroom okay with you?" Merrilight asked.

"With extra cheese!" Bloodhound agreed eagerly. Then she gave a sheepish smile. "Erm… please."

Merrilight nodded, made the order, and brought Bloodhound to a table. She didn't look so good. Her shoulders were slumped, and worry lines had formed at the corners of her eyes.

Bloodhound kind of wanted to hug her. It was unlike the exuberant mare she'd come to know to be so subdued. "Are you alright?" she asked softly.

"No. No, not really." Merrilight gave a hefty sigh through her nose. "I feel guilty, terrified, anxious… Lots of bad things, and not much good."

"I'm sure Celestia has cause for refusing us access," Bloodhound pointed out. "If we can prove she's worried about nothing, I'm sure she'll listen to reason."

"And while we doddle and argue, a killer has the run of Canterlot." Merrilight lowered her head to rest her chin on the table. "I knew I'd have failures eventually, back when I quit my job to start the Watch. But I didn't think the first one would hurt this much. How are you handling it so well? You barely seem phased."

"I'm… not sure," Bloodhound admitted. "I know in the back of my head that I should be in bad condition, but… I'm not. I can't explain either." She paused. "Is it our fault? That the killer had time to strike again?"

Merrilight hesitated, then shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe if we'd worked faster, and not let ourselves get distracted, we could have found something definitive. It's also possible we'd just be chasing our tails, and everything would have been the same. I suppose we'll never know."

The pizza was brought over. It was a generous mound of toppings and cheese, with sauce peeking out of mines dug into the mountain. "Oooohohohoho!" Bloodhound was once again led by the nose away from the path of dark thoughts. Her tongue hung out like a dog's at the smell of the spicy peppers alone.

Merrilight couldn't help but crack a smile. "Well, I suppose I know how to please you now."

Bloodhound was already digging in. A slice of gooey cheese dangled from her lips. "Mm?"

"Never mind," Merrilight said with a laugh. She grabbed a slice for herself, putting it on a paper plate. Quite unlike Bloodhound, who was cradling her slice like she was in love with it. "So, let's move away from more morbid topics. Why don't you tell me about yourself? It occurs to me I don't know much about you."

Bloodhound gulped down her bite, needing a moment to recover from the spicy taste. "Not much to tell, I'm afraid. I was born in Trottingham. Lived there until my mother and father divorced. Then I lived in the Low District, until Mum came into our lives, and took us in. I went to college for cryptoentomology, and… well, now I'm here."

"Not the strangest way I've ever heard for someone getting into law enforcement," Merrilight chuckled. "I worked for the treasury. I was a tax collector."

"Really?" Bloodhound said in honest surprise. "How'd you go from that to solving murders."

Merrilight settled into her seat with an angry look on her face. "You would not believe the amount of tax evasion going on among the upper crust of Canterlot. It's staggering, so much so that it's causing legitimate problems."

"Causing?" Bloodhound tilted her head. "Surely Celestia solved the problem as soon as you told her of it."

Merrilight shook her head. Bloodhound had never seen her look so furious. "I worked for months gathering proof. I brought all of it before her; irrefutable proof that her lords and ladies had been stealing from the ponies they were supposed to protect. Do you know what their punishment was?"

"I'm assuming it was… bad?" Bloodhound said, nervous.

"She scolded them!" Merrilight spat. "Told them how disappointed she was. Plugged up the legal loopholes they used, made them pay back what they owed, and let them go on their way."

"That must have stung," Bloodhound said with a sympathetic frown.

"All that work, just for her to let them go to be careful next time they steal from others…" Merrilight agreed. "I was determined to catch them at it again. But when I was snooping around their records, I found the inspiration for the Watch."

"What did you find?" Bloodhound asked. "Some kind of conspiracy?"

Merrilight had to ponder her answer. "Not exactly. At least, not just one. I suppose you've probably heard some variation of the phrase 'that kind of thing doesn't happen in Equestria?'"

Bloodhound nodded.

"Well, that's not true!" Merrilight spat. "'That kind of thing' happens every day. A wealthy grandmother dropping dead at the table, not long after her children made a sizable payment to her chef. A local restaurant owner falling off a cliff after offers of buying his establishment were denied. There were dozens of others. Celestia, thankfully, did alert the Guard. But they only did a cursory investigation, came back, and said not to waste their time with baseless paranoia. Apparently, unless the villain is singing about their evil deeds, they're innocent in the eyes of the Guard."

Bloodhound made a quick connection. "I suppose that the one who told you that was Shining Armor?"

"He dressed me down in front of the entire court!" Merrilight confirmed. "I think it's because that sister of his was one of the ones on my list. Celestia pulled us apart like we were squabbling toddlers." The anger left her body, causing her to slump down again. "Though she also agreed with my petition for a dedicated civilian investigation force. So I'm not sure if she did it to shut me up, or if she really agrees with me."

Bloodhound really wasn't sure what to say to that, but even she wasn't socially dense enough to deny that Merrilight needed a hug.

Merrilight stiffened as she felt Bloodhound's forelimbs wrap around her. But after a moment, she returned the hug. "Thank you, Houndsy. I'm sorry for going off like that."

"It happens to all of us," Bloodhound assured. Nice comfort, Bloodhound. Would you care to add a 'be yourself' to be even more generic? She took a bite of her pizza. "This is really good pizza."

Somehow, her awkwardness actually made Merrilight laugh. "I suppose it is. Maybe we should do less talking, and more eating."

---

"That's… nuts," Bucky said. "They really just threw you out?"

"Like old rubbish," Bloodhound huffed as she trotted on a treadmill.

"And you two took the opportunity to go on a date?"

Bloodhound tripped over her own hooves, falling on her reddened face. The running treadmill sent her tumbling off of it, but she recovered quickly. "It was not a date!" She protested, straightening her crooked glasses. "We were both just hungry!"

Bucky helped her up, making sure she wasn't hurt. "Hey, whatever you say. She is pretty."

"Well, yes, she is. I—" Bloodhound would have instantly bled out if she blushed any harder. "You are just the worst. Merrilight and I barely know each other."

Bucky just chuckled. "That's fair. I'm just teasing you. As your best friend, I was obligated to. Still, hanging out with a work friend is a big step. As your life coach, I approve. Now come on. Let's do some pullups. You need to gain some muscle mass."

"Erm… excuse me?" somepony asked. "Are you the gym owner? I'd like a membership."

They turned. To Bloodhound's surprise, the speaker was familiar to her. "Countess Spiderweb!" she greeted warmly. "It's good to see you under better circumstances!"

The purple pegasus blanched a little. "O-oh. You're the mare who interviewed me… before."

"Please don't be frightened!" Bloodhound said quickly. "I'm not scary enough to give you the kind of interrogation the Guard gave you."

Spiderweb slowly relaxed, and laughed a little. "I suppose you're right. I've been jumpy lately. I'm very sorry."

"Think nothing of it," Bloodhound assured. "Getting stung so badly is bound to make anypony hesitant to touch a hive."

"How have you been?" Bucky asked. "I can't imagine it's been easy."

Spiderweb's smile faded. "It hasn't. All my neighbors are whispering that I killed my husband, even though I couldn't have, and I have to go through it without Sticky…"

"I'm sorry you have to go through that," Bloodhound said with a wince. "I know how much a loss like that can hurt, but even I've never been blamed for mine."

"Do you want to sit down and talk about it?" Bucky asked, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

Spiderweb looked at the ceiling, visibly forcing herself not to let any tears out. "No. No thank you. This is my problem, and I shouldn't be burdening others with it." She hesitated, looking contemplative. "But there is something I would like to speak with you about. You're a member of the Watch, right?"

"I am," Bloodhound replied, unable to help a proud blush.

"Good. The Guard didn't want to listen to what I had to say." Spiderweb pouted uncertainly.

Behind Spiderweb, Merrilight stepped into the gym, looking as though she hadn't slept, and walked over to a weight bench. Without saying a word, she got on, and started lifting a barbell while loudly grunting.

I'll… handle her later. Bloodhound turned back to Spiderweb, while Bucky went to spot Merrilight. "Erm… what was it you wanted to say?"

Spiderweb pried her eyes away from Merrilight. "I was speaking to Sergeant Starfish, and she said that you had smelled somepony in my house that wasn't supposed to be there, right?"

Bloodhound nodded, causing her fluffy mane to bounce. "Why do you ask?"

"Well… it's just that I did some checking around. I think I found out something important. You see, we have two things: very nosey neighbors, who will call the Guard at even the slightest abnormality, and a security system that prevents teleportation all the way out to our yard."

It took several moments for Bloodhound to make the connection. When she did, her hindquarters hit the floor. "The killer couldn't have left without being seen!"

Spiderweb nodded. "I tried telling the Guard, but everypony except Sergeant Starfish just told me that I was being hysterical, and to let them do their jobs."

"Thank you so much, Countess!" Bloodhound said excitedly. "Do you think you can answer a few—"

"RAAAAAAAH!"

Bloodhound gave Merrilight an irritated look. "Are you okay?"

"Psyching… myself… up!" Merrilight replied as she continued to pump iron. "Meeting… with… Celestia… is… soon!"

"Mosquitoes!" Bloodhound swore. "You should have told me. Countess Spiderweb, do you mind if we stop by your home later, to ask a few questions?"

"I'd be delighted to answer any questions you may have," Spiderweb confirmed.

Bucky forced Merrilight off the weight bench. "That's enough. You're going to hurt yourself."

Merrilight panted as she let herself be nudged off. "Right, right. Sorry. Let's hail a carriage. Bloodhound and I will let you know how it goes, Ms. Up."

"Looking forward to it," Bucky replied. "But never call me Ms. Up again."

---

The air of Celestia's throne room was much more tense than the first time Bloodhound had been there. Nobles watched the two watchmares enter. Anxiety was palpable from all parties.

Princess Celestia's calm smile as they approached was unreadable. Bloodhound knew that a smile like that in a situation like this just couldn't be real. Surely she was just being reassuring.

She and Merrilight bowed as they approached, before standing upright.

"So, Merrilight," Celestia began. "You pulled quite a lot of strings to get your petition before me. Strings I honestly didn't know you had." Her face grew more serious. "I'll be honest. I am highly dubious about allowing a force as new as the Watch to continue working a case as terrifying to the public as this one."

"The Watch doesn't have the experience for this," Shining agreed.

"Well neither do you," Bloodhound said.

She was silenced as Celestia's kind gaze dwindled into an offended glare directed right at her.

Bloodhound let out an eep of fright. Oh birdbees. I said that out loud.

"Constable Bloodhound, I will not settle for petty insults in my court," Celestia warned. "I won't tolerate another outburst like that."

The nobles of the court started muttering amongst each other, sensing blood in the water.

"I-it wasn't intended as an insult, your majesty!" Bloodhound said quickly. "It's just… there haven't been any murder strings like this in a very long time, right?"

"That's right!" Merrilight piped up. "Most ponies can't shoplift a can of soup without bursting out into a villain song. We haven't had a smart criminal like this in ages!"

Bloodhound nodded thanks. "And if that's true, erm…" She cleared her throat awkwardly. "...wouldn't the Guard have almost as little experience with… let's say 'complex' cases, as we do?"

"You're on thin ice, Constable," Celestia warned. "I have the utmost trust in the Guard,"

Bloodhound backed down. "I-I'm sorry, your majesty. I didn't mean to offend. I'm just an ant under a magnifying glass, hoping the sun doesn't decide to smite me."

Even Celestia looked completely unsure what to do with that statement. Merrilight was cringing, and trying not to look like she was desperately trying to come up with some clever legal loophole, but utterly failing. Shining's expression was unreadable, but his gaze was fixed on Bloodhound.

"Your majesty, may I speak?" a male voice rose from the din of muttering.

Bloodhound glanced back. A familiar well-dressed, blue-mustached stallion had stepped out of the crowd.

Celestia's smile returned. "Of course, Fancy Pants. I value the input of my nobles."

"Thank you, Princess," he said with a bow. "While I agree that the Watch is inexperienced, I recently had the privilege of witnessing the rather… unique talent of Miss Hound." He nodded at Bloodhound. "I must say, I found it rather impressive. I truly think she could be an asset to this investigation."

"Your sense of smell, right?" To everypony's surprise, it was Shining who spoke. "Some of the witnesses at the restaurant crime scene told me about it. I wasn't sure I believed what I heard. The way they told it, you uncovered the deepest secrets of the entire room with just a sniff."

"That's uh… exaggerated," Bloodhound admitted, blushing.

Shining searched her face. She wasn't sure what he was looking for, but something about it intimidated her.

"Without training, her sense of smell matters little," Celestia interrupted. "I reviewed your test results to join the Guard, Constable. I really don't think you're suited to this kind of work."

"Training in what?" Merrilight demanded. "Bucking heads?"

Fiery anger erupted in Celestia's eyes. "Merrilight!"

The force of the Royal Canterlot Voice sent Merrilight stumbling back several steps. Her ears pinned in fear of the wrath of her goddess.

Ohhhh dungbeetles. We are going to be in a very deep, dark cell for disrespecting the Princess like that. There will be only wooden beds, and only a bucket for a toilet. They won't let any bugs in mine. Who will feed Rudy and the Fire Nation?

But some incredible, illogical force shoved Bloodhound forward between them. Her chest was starting to heave from stress as breathing got more difficult. Nooooo hooves! Again you betray me! "Princess, may I ask a question of Captain Armor, please? I believe it may help clarify our point of view."

The interruption gave Celestia a moment to compose herself, and prevented her from reducing Merri to ashes. "Captain?"

"I think I'd like to hear what she has to say," Shining agreed.

Bloodhound took a puff of her inhaler as she considered her words. "My mother was in the Guard," she began slowly. "She's told a lot of stories, when she isn't disappointed in me. But as a drill sergeant, she's told me a lot of Guard training. So I know that the vast majority of your training is focused more on protection and prevention of crime, not investigation. Is that right?"

Shining considered it for a moment. Then he nodded. "I think so. I can admit that our training in that area is a little shorter than the others."

"It does make sense," she assured. "Most crimes you've been faced with haven't required it. But this one does."

"That doesn't change that you have no training at all," Celestia reminded.

"But it does mean that the investigatory skillset of the Guard is limited," Bloodhound shot back. "They have the training, but with our less-strict recruitment process, the Watch can gather a wider array of skillsets. So why can't we work together?"

Celestia eyed her.

Bloodhound deflated. "Erm… that's all I wanted to say," she finished with a bashful grin, ears pinning.

The Princess and the Captain shared a glance. "What do you think, Shining Armor?"

Shining took a long moment to reply. "I think… I think she makes a fair point."

"We'll never have the experience to handle cases like this if you don't let us investigate anything," Merrilight reminded.

Celestia closed her eyes, and gave a deep sigh. "Alright. I am ready to render my judgment."

The entire room listened with baited breath, except Bloodhound, who listened with burdened breath.

"The Watch will be allowed to assist on the case on a probationary basis," Celestia began.

Merrilight jumped for joy, throwing her hooves in the air with a huge grin.

"HOWEVER!"

Merrilight fell hard on her hindquarters.

"Captain Armor will be in charge of you," Celestia continued. "There will be no loophole abuse, no sneaking around, and no accusations without proper evidence." She fixed her gaze directly on Merrilight. "If I hear you did so much as rip a tag off a mattress, I will be very, very displeased. You will not like me when I'm displeased. You recall what happened last time you displeased me?"

Merrilight was a unicorn, but she looked utterly cowed. She gave a shaky nod.

"Good." Celestia's smile returned. "Court is adjourned for the day. I hope you all have a lovely afternoon."

---

Comments

[Ficta_Scriptor]

Bloodhound dating Merrilight? You can't put two adorably awkward characters together like that and call them a couple! It's too much for me old heart! On a similar note, I love how insect names inexplicably become curse words in Bloodhound's mind. "Oh, Mosquitoes!"

Looks like Shining Armor has no choice but to work with the watch from now on, now that Princess Smile 'n' Shout has doled out her commands. But as for the mystery... A waitress and some nobles corroborate the same story, of someone using red magic? Sounds like orc mischief to me! But if they were focused on something at their table, maybe there's actually someone else involved?

Whatever the case, I'll be looking forward to the next one!