I waited until we reached the quieter side of the Ponyville park before telling Trojan about Spike joining the team.

“You incompetent idiot!”

She did not take the news well.

“Trojan, you need to calm down,” I ordered icily. My hardened gaze met her piercing glare. We stood face to face, our muzzles a breath away from each other and our nerves hanging on by a thread. Despite keeping my composure visibly calm, there was no way in Tartarus I was going to let myself be disrespected by a changeling, ally or otherwise.

"Says the pegasus who couldn’t keep his wingboner in check! What part of ‘don’t tell anypony about the mission’ did you fail to comprehend?" Trojan bit back venomously.

“A wing-what?” Spike, who chose wisely to give us space and not directly intervene, asked.

“Now’s not the time, Spike,” That, and it was a topic I did not wish to revisit anytime soon.

Trojan broke her gaze as she scoffed. "You see Spike, when a male pegasus sees an attractive female, sometimes their wings will—"

"Moving on!" I interjected quickly. I was not in the mood for Trojan’s pegasus anatomy lessons. "Listen Trojan, this can still work to our advantage. Spike’s lived in Ponyville for a long time. If there’s anypony—sorry, anydrake—we could count on to help us with extra intel, it's him. It's a blessing in disguise, and one more teammate isn't going to hurt our odds." I knew it was a rather weak argument, but I had no doubt in my mind this was an advantage for us.

“The idea of stealth is that nopony’s supposed to know,” Trojan hissed. “You can’t go around praying every little goof up will eventually turn out good. Even if he isn’t a changeling—which, by the way, you lucked out on—there’s the risk a changeling might’ve been listening in or even manipulating him. I knew I should’ve tried harder to convince Shining to let me solo this mission.”

“Hold on, Trojan.” Spike stepped in front of Trojan and separated us. "I know he screwed up and all, but he has a good point. If Twilight's in danger, I want to do everything I can to keep her safe. Yeah, I hate the fact he spied on Twilight like a creep, but I'm glad I know what's going on."

“Give me a break already…” I muttered.

"Still can't believe you're a changeling, though. You fooled everypony."

"We have no choice but to be good at it, Shortcake," Trojan said with some indignation. I couldn’t help but grin at Spike’s dismayed face at his nickname. "We can’t exactly walk up to a pony with no disguise asking nicely to feed on their love. Not to mention we don't have the best track record when it comes to diplomacy. Changelings don’t tend to openly make friends, if you catch my drift."

Now that we were on the subject, there was a plaguing thought that kept bothering me since I’ve met Trojan. "No matter how I look at it, Chrysalis’s plans should be something you would be all for."

"Explain yourself." Her deadpan gaze was somehow more troubling than her glares, as if she was casually deciding how she should end my life.

I thought about my choice of words before continuing. "Twilight is a major threat to Chrysalis. With her out of the way and Chrysalis taking over as Twilight, she could infiltrate virtually anywhere unimpeded and wreck havoc. It's a horrible thought, but I can't imagine why you would want to stop that, not to mention betraying your entire race to help the very enemies who caused you so much grief."

"My reasons don’t matter. I swore to help you stop Chrysalis, and that's what I'm going to do. You can work with me or not, I don’t care, as long as you don’t get in my way." Trojan’s cold tone surprised me. I didn’t know whether to be bothered more by her evasion of the question or the anger it brought out of her.

Just as Trojan started walking away from us, Spike slipped in front of her. “Trojan, If you want me to help, I need to know I can trust you two. Flash is a weirdo, but at least he seems honest enough when he’s not peeking on Twilight.”

“I get it already. Sheesh…”

Trojan rolled her eyes. “We don’t need your help. We never needed your help. You’re along for the ride because Flash screwed up. I don’t plan on making that same mistake.” The tension between us could be cut with a knife. I wanted to say something to defuse the argument, but I couldn’t blame either of them for their stances, and all because of a mistake I made.

Now seemed like the best time to change the subject and focus our attention on the mission itself. Regardless on how we felt about each other we still had a job to do. "Spike, I've been meaning to ask: Has anything strange been happening in Ponyville recently? Anything that stands out?"

The question broke them out of their glaring contest. Spike tapped his claw against his chin thoughtfully. "Strange? Hard to say. Feels like something is going on every week."

"How about new residents? Anypony strange or oddly aggressive?" Trojan pitched in. Dead silence rolled by as Spike raised an eyebrow and gave her a coy grin. “...Smart ass.” She grunted irritably.

Takes one to know one, Trojan.

"Well, I don't know if it has anything to do with the mission, but there is a pony I’ve noticed who has seemed really off lately."

"Off?" both Trojan and I asked.

"Yeah, with Mr. Carrot Cake and Mrs. Cup Cake. They're our resident bakers and Pinkie's bosses. They're always so nice and pleasant, but lately Mr. Cake has…” Something dark passed behind Spike’s eyes as his lips curled into a snarl. “Well, maybe it's better if you see for yourself."

"Lead the way, Spike." I nodded. Trojan and I followed Spike closely as he led us to the bakery.

Once we arrived at the Cake’s shop in Sugarcube Corner, I couldn’t help but stare in awe. Never in my life had I seen a building I could call delicious until today.

The brown roof was decorated to look like chocolate frosting, and the hinges and awnings resembled pink cream. This entire house reminded me of a delicious chocolate sponge cake. "Let's hurry up and check this place out. It's making me hungry just looking at it." My stomach growled in agreement.

"Wait. I think I see Pinkie. Let’s hide here and watch." Spike pointed to the dark space between the Cake’s shop and another building, and we made a break for it. Just as we made it into the shadows of the building, Pinkie Pie appeared as she bounced along the road and entered the shop. The nearby window was opened marginally, allowing us to hear them without risk of discovery and, to my dismay, smell the tantalizing scent of frosting and pastry dough. This was going to be absolute torture.

"Good afternoon, everypony!" Pinkie called out as she walked inside. A blue, well-rounded pony with towering pink hair emerged from one of the back rooms to meet Pinkie. This had to be Cup Cake.

"Good afternoon, Pinkie. Are you here for your cake order?" Cup’s eyes were weary and exhausted. She flashed a smile as she trotted to the counter to greet Pinkie..

For half a second, I noticed a look of concern cross Pinkie's features before she went back to her peppy self. "Yep! Is it ready?"

"Almost. Carrot is still not feeling well, so it’s taken longer than expected. Sorry to make you wait."

"I can help if you want," Pinkie said. Cup shook her head.

"Don't worry, Pinkie. It's almost done, so feel free to relax. You've been working so hard lately; I can't thank you enough."

"It's all in a day's work!" Still smiling, Pinkie Pie took a seat while Cup returned to the backroom.

As soon as she was out of sight, Pinkie's features literally deflated. Her hair went from frizzy to flat. I could swear even her colors faded as her gaze fell to the ground. It was almost unbearable to watch.

I turned to Spike, whispering, “Is Carrot Cake sick or something?”

“I kinda wish he was.” Spike’s fierce gaze was making me worried. What in the world happened? Then I heard it, and so did Pinkie as her eyes were wide with alarm.

A young foal's cry, followed by yelling.

Pinkie's eyes darted to the stairs as she jumped from the shock. I couldn't make out the words, but I knew it was no way to regard a foal. From the stairs emerged a tall, lanky yellow pony who, despite his brightly dressed clothing, wore a dark expression. Even though it was clear this was Carrot Cake, Spike’s earlier description of nice and pleasant couldn’t have been further from what this pony was.

I could not even qualify Carrot’s face as angry or irritated. It was the face of somepony who absolutely despised their life and everything about it. As soon as his hoof hit the stairs, Pinkie perked up and smiled, just as she had with Cup Cake. Although she almost looked like her normal self, there was noticeable strain in her cheeks.

"What do you want, Pinkie?" Even his words were filled with venom.

"I'm just here for my cake, Mr. Cake!" I heard the quiver in Pinkie's voice as she struggled to be positive. "H-how are you feeling?"

"None of your business!" The very air in the home froze solid. The clang of falling metal from the back area Mrs. Cake had wandered to earlier echoed into the tensed quiet that followed. Spike growled under his breath, his claws curled into a shaking fist. I imagined he was almost as furious as I was. I glanced at Trojan, whose expression was completely passive, shooting a clinically look at Carrot Cake. Somehow, that was more disturbing than Carrot’s attitude.

Pinkie showed no reaction to Carrot’'s harsh words and remained stock still, smiling. As he walked around the corner, Cup emerged at the same time with a towering chocolate cake on her back. Once her eyes fell on Carrot, she was visibly nervous. "H-how are you doing today, honey?" Her only answer was a cold stare as Carrot walked past her as if she didn’t exist.

Cup’s lips formed a thin line. Pinkie's smile diminished slightly, fighting a losing battle. Cup Cake and Pinkie exchanged no words but held strained smiles. With a nod, Pinkie took the cake, left some bits on the table, and made a brief exit. Out of curiosity, I curved my head around the corner to see Pinkie's expression.

Pure rage.

If looks could kill, the Cake’s shop would have been burned into the ground. For a solid minute, she didn’t move from the entrance, her face contorted into a feral snarl. “Pull yourself together, Pinkie. You Pinkie Promised...!” Facing the Cake’s home, her eyes were dead set on the door. I thought for a minute she was going to change her mind and strangle Carrot Cake. Eventually she sighed and trotted away, wiping her eyes. We quietly slipped away from the Cake’s shop and headed back to the Ponyville park area to speak privately and gather our thoughts. We’d all seen enough.

"It's been like this for a week," Spike said as we soon as nopony was in earshot. "Mr. Cake has always been a wonderful and fun pony to be around, but this seemed to come out of nowhere. Pinkie made me promise not to say anything yet, and said she would handle it if things got too out of control." From the look in Pinkie’s eyes, I feared that risked a possible murder charge. “I know she promised Mrs. Cake not to interfere, but even Pinkie has limits. If this continues, I don’t think Pinkie’s heart could take it.”

As much as the situation broke my heart, I knew I had to stay focused on the matter at hoof. I needed to confirm my suspicions. "Spike, are you absolutely certain that was not Mr. Cake's normal demeanor at all?"

"No way! He would never say such awful things like that!"

"Don't be so sure," Trojan's words caused me and Spike's heads to whip in her direction, “from what I’ve just seen, you know this Mr. Cake far less than you think.”

"Take that back!" Spike stepped up to glare at Trojan, “You’re out of your mind if you think that pony is anything like the real Mr. Cake! If what you said is true, then it has to be a changeling that’s trying to break them apart or something!”

Trojan showed no reaction to Spike’s outburst, an almost disturbing level of calm and certainty in her gaze. "I can tell you without a shadow of doubt that was not a changeling, nor was he being mind-controlled. That is the real Mr. Cake."

Spike’s eyes narrowed as his talons clenched together in fury. “It can’t be true! I’ve known him for years, and I’ve never seen him like that! You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“I know all too well what I’m talking about. I don’t care if you believe me or not, but what you saw there was the hard truth your pony friends are oblivious to.”

Spike looked ready to pounce at Trojan, but something she had said caught my attention. I decided to put a gentle hoof on Spike’s shoulder to hold him back in case he decided to attack out of anger. Couldn’t help but sense a bit of irony in that. “What do you mean by that, Trojan?” I asked.

Trojan’s expression turned grave as she sat down to regard us seriously. "Ponies have been surrounded by nothing but positive energy like love, happiness, and fun for a very long time. Sure, once in a blue moon, something happens and they struggle a bit, but overall ponies have good lives. But underneath all those smiles and lovey-dovey affections is something ugly, powerful, and all too real. Something that will come out when that happy bubble of yours pops. It’s a force of nature that is inside every single living thing in Equestria: hatred.”

While I wouldn’t say pony lives were as peaceful and happy as she put it, it did make me think about the Crystal Empire. An empire maintaining a long period of peace and prosperity. As soldiers, we were trained to face the ugly truth reality was more than happy to throw at us, so I could understand her words better than most civilian ponies probably could. Assumptions were dangerous and appearances could be deceiving, something I had learned from personal experience.

Speaking of assumptions, she had mentioned Carrot was not being controlled or was a hidden changeling. What if... “Maybe you are right, Trojan.”

“WHAT!?” Spike’s shocked and angry gaze switched to face me, “Even you—”

“However,” I continued, keeping my tone calm, “you never said nothing happened to him. You just said he was not a changeling or being mentally controlled. I trust Spike’s knowledge of him, but I cannot dismiss your claim either. If he isn't being mind-controlled or is a changeling in disguise, what exactly happened to him? You know that answer, don't you?”

Slowly a pleased grin appeared on Trojan’s face. “Glad to see one of you is using your brain today--” she pointedly ignore Spike’s aggravated growl “--but yes, something did happen to Mr. Cake. However…” She stopped, a troubled look crossing her features.

“However…?” I echoed as I gestured her to continue.

“Forget it.” She waved off after a minute of thought. "The point is he was definitely affected by a changeling. This confirms that changelings are definitely hiding within Ponyville.”

“So what you said is true. Chrysalis really is targeting Twilight.” It bothered me they were targeting the Cakes rather than Twilight’s friends or the princess herself, but we needed to focus on one problem at a time. This was a crucial discovery, but also a foreboding one. “This means we don’t have any time to waste. We can’t let this drag on.”

“But we’ve got a party to attend, and as new residents we can’t just openly deal with Carrot Cake,” Trojan said.

“I know that. Which is why we’re going to deal with it after the party. For now, let’s go to home base. I think we’ve spent more than enough time ‘touring’ Ponyville.”

Trojan shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” With that, we left for what would be Trojan’s new home for the part.

As we started making our way to the party location, I caught Spike’s frown as he walked between us. I gave him a light prod on the shoulder to get his attention. “Don’t worry, Spike, we’ll figure this out and protect everypony. I swear it.”

Spike regarded me for a moment before he gave a small smile. “I know. Thanks.”

Despite what I said, there was a nagging doubt in the back of my mind that things were only going to get worse.

I was astonished with how many hours passed as the party raged on. Then again, this was one of Pinkie’s legendary “Welcome to Ponyville” parties.

What was once a two-bedroom home with only simple furnishings had transformed into a colorful and booming party zone. Confetti, balloons and streamers streaked across the living room space. A series of tables filled with a variety of drinks, food and treats lined the walls, the center table bearing a cake that had the words ‘Welcome to Ponyville, Flash and Sassy’ scrawled in pink frosting. Hoof-tapping music blasted from the speakers, and strobe lights flashed colors bright enough to give me a headache.

As the guests of honor, Trojan and I were the primary focus of attention. We were often involved in games like Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Pony or bobbing for apples. I indulged them a little, but for the most part let Trojan take my place for the majority of the games. To everypony’s amusement, Trojan was just as hyped for the party as Pinkie and was partying her heart out. Everypony got swept up in the whirlwind of excitement that was Pinkie and Trojan. All except Twilight and myself.

Taking a break from the festivities, we watched the shenanigans of Trojan trying to smack down a confetti-made doll with a stick while blindfolded. We enjoyed a companionable silence, occasionally laughing at the hilarious antics of the partying ponies. I preferred relaxing moments like this.

As we watched on, I thought about Twilight. Her friends seemed to be having fun, and part of me wondered why she didn’t join in. Was it preference? Maybe she was just being polite and keeping me company? It might have been a party for Trojan and me, but I didn’t want the princess to be bored standing around with me.

“Are you enjoying yourself, Twilight?” It felt awkward addressing her without the title, but I respected and admired her choice of wanting to be more personable to her subjects.

“Yeah. It’s relaxing watching my friends have a good time. How about you?”

“Of course. Any chance I get to see ponies having a fun time is a good day.” I caught Twilight giving me a slightly confused glance. “S-sorry, I know that was a rather boring answer to your question…”

“No, no, your answer is fine. It’s just, well...” Twilight hesitated, avoiding eye contact with me. “You’re not quite what I expected. N-not to say I had a negative impression of you to start with,” she added quickly. I quirked an eyebrow at her. If I didn’t know any better, I would have suspected she had already painted a specific image of me in her head. It was then I remembered something Shining Armor had said before I left for Ponyville.

“That reminds me. Shining Armor said something interesting before I left for your castle. At the mention of my name, you accepted my transfer.” As I spoke, I realized I was not sure exactly what I was trying to ask. I couldn’t remember any significant exchanges with the princess, but something told me my acceptance was more than coincidence. “Is there something about me that caught your attention, Princess?”

The princess seemed really caught off-guard, looking down on her hooves which she was rubbing together. “U-um, sort of. You remind me a lot of a human whom I met during my first trip to the mirror world.”

“Really?” I recalled reading some mention of her venturing into the mirror world. Oddly, it did not detail much of what had transpired, only that Twilight and Spike had ventured into the world chasing after a criminal. My curiosity was piqued, especially at the idea there was someone similar to me in that world. I would say “small world,” but that would be pushing it. “What was it like over there?”

“It was a very... unique experience, to say the least. Humans are very fascinating creatures, sort of like a very intelligent ape but lacking a lot of hair. When I was there, there was this human stallion who I became good friends with. He was very nice to me and, just like you, played the guitar and loved music. His hair style was even similar.”

“Seriously? That’s... a major coincidence.” “Insanely eerie” would have been a more accurate choice of words, but I would rather not come off rude.

“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. Flash was—” She stopped, flushing. I blinked. “Um, err, ‘Brad’ was a very close friend.” Not sure why, but something about that name felt underwhelming and disappointing to me. But if he treated Twilight well, then he must have been a respectable human.

“This Brad sounds like a really neat guy,” I remarked diplomatically. “Wish I could’ve met him.”

Twilight coughed, looking noticeably uncomfortable for a moment. “It would certainly make for a rather unique conversation.” I thought to ask what she meant by that but shrugged it off.

“What were you doing in the human world, anyway?”

“I was chasing somepony who had stolen my Element of Magic. She was a pony who used to be Celestia’s student before me: Sunset Shimmer.”

For a moment, my heart stopped.

“What… did you just say?” I must have misheard that. She couldn’t have just said—

“Sunset Shimmer. It was a big mess trying to follow her into that world. She fled there to escape, and I followed her inside along with Spike. She ended up causing a lot of trouble and tried to take over the human school. Brad actually helped out when it came to trying to catch her, which was kind of ironic since the two had actually dated at one point in time. Talk about crazy coincidences, right?” I didn’t answer, as I was too busy reeling with shock and feeling cripplingly ill. “Flash? Are you okay?”

“S-sorry. I was just, uh, surprised! Took your Element of Magic, huh?” I tried to force myself to put on a strong face, but what Twilight had told me had left me shaken.

“You don’t look so good. Do you want to—”

“Hey, hotshot!” Rainbow Dash called out over the noise. We directed our attention to the mare hovering over a makeshift microphone stand, several party lights focused on that zone. The look on Twilight’s face filled me with a sense of dread. At this point I was willing to take any distraction.

“I challenge you to a karaoke match!”

Except that. Anything but that.

“I-I really shouldn’t. I’m not all that good…”

Twilight hesitated a moment before smiling at me encouragingly. “Don’t be modest. Your singing is wonderful, and I would love to have my friends hear it, too. Could you do it for me? Just this once?” My heart couldn’t take getting on that mic to sing. I opened my mouth to decline, only for it to run dry and breathless as I looked into her eyes. It was an earnest gaze that held a strong hint of concern. It stirred something inside me that pushed through the dark feelings and thoughts that threatened to surface.

“S-Sure.” The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them, effectively dooming me.

“Alright! Get on that stand and let's hear those vocal cords!” Rainbow said as she landed into the audience side. Everyone parted as I slowly walked to the figurative guillotine. The music was turned down, and everyone was looking at me. I prayed they could not tell I was shaking like a leaf and sweating bullets. I was so caught up in my turmoil, I didn’t recognize the grins exchanged between Rainbow, Rarity and Trojan until it was too late. The music was turned up to the song I was meant to sing. I paled when I recognized the first few notes of the song: “Love is in Bloom.”

Of course they would pick the absolute worst song for me to sing in front of everypony. I would have been more upset if I weren’t terrified out of my mind. My muscles burned with tension, pupils shrinking as I stared at all the expectant faces.

This was my fault, I realized. If I hadn’t been such a fool and sung for Twilight earlier, they probably wouldn’t have considered getting me to do this. I could have refused, but the other option of Twilight inquiring into my reaction to Sunset’s name was possibly worse.

I released a shaky breath and gripped the mic stand as if my life depended on it. I could do this. If I could do it in front of Twilight, surely I could do it in front of her friends. I hoped. Sucking in a breath, I braced myself, pooling every ounce of will I had to sing for them.

Nothing.

I performed Cadance’s breathing technique to calm down. It didn’t work. Panic swelled, and I felt myself breaking apart.

I tried again, but only strangled gasps of desperation escaped my lungs. What struck home and destroyed whatever resolve I had left was the blank stares from my audience.

Most of Twilight’s friends gave each other confused sideways glances, murmuring to each other. Twilight and Trojan stared with a mix of curiosity and pity, likely debating whether to come pull me out of the fire or wait for me to make my move. Fluttershy stood out among the sea of curious expressions, her concerned gaze directed at me. Not quite out of pity, but almost a sense of recognition. My throat dry, limbs frozen with stage fright, and sweat pouring off me in rivers, I thought things could not get any worse.

That is, until I started having flashbacks.

The world spun around me as I returned to an all-too-familiar place. A stage. Hundreds of faceless ponies. The whispers grew louder, condescending, pitying, laughing. My heartbeat quickened as terror seized me. Darkness edged at my vision, as I had long since stopped breathing.

Every cell in my body screamed at me to run. I needed to get away. Now.

“S-sorry, gotta go to the little colt’s room.” I quickly fled to the bathroom down the hall, ignoring the stares I got along the way.

I rushed to the bathroom and closed the door, holding onto the sink for support. Taking slow, deep and deliberate breaths, I tried to regain control of my raging nerves. Why did this have to happen now? Why, when I had what was possibly the most important mission in my life?

“Pull yourself together, you weak fool…!” I snarled quietly as I shook my head. An old hatred rose within me, my expression turning feral. I hated this sense of weakness with a passion. I was a royal guard, damn it. A stallion who had been entrusted the title of captain and given a mission to protect a princess. No soldier worth their salt allowed themselves to be this pathetic and vulnerable, but here I was, hiding away and drowning in my own self-loathing like a miserable piece of—

The knock on the door snapped me back to my senses and out of that dark line of thought. “Hey Flash, it's Sassy. You all right in there?”

There are other ponies here, I reminded myself. I can’t let them catch me like this. Suck it up, soldier! “Y-yeah. I think I ate something weird earlier. Stomach’s not acting right.”

“Weird. I didn’t spike the drink THAT much...”

I blinked, staring at the door with a quirked eyebrow. I was going to pretend I didn’t hear that. “Hey, mind if I talk with you and Spike about something in the other room?” The timing was not what I wanted, but it was better to focus my frustrations on something productive than to let my negativity settle.

Trojan said nothing for a little while, but I knew she was likely contemplating my decision. “Fine. We’ll see you in a bit.”

After washing my face and clearing away any signs of distress, I quietly exited the bathroom and made sure the other mares were not looking in my direction before slipping into the adjacent room.

Trojan’s room was virtually bare other than the several stacked boxes strewn about. The report mentioned her belongings had been trickling in little by little from Manehatten for the last four weeks to avoid drawing too much suspicion. Spike and Trojan sat on the boxes, tossing me worried glances.

“I want to step outside for a bit. Get some fresh air and maybe stop by the pharmacy to get some medicine. I want you two to come with me.”

Recognition gleamed in Trojan’s eyes as she caught on to my coded request. I couldn’t risk speaking openly in case Twilight and the others happened to be eavesdropping. “You want to go now? Don’t you think they will be worried?”

I couldn’t deny the timing was off. Leaving our own party early would definitely make Twilight and the others a bit suspicious. “Hard to enjoy our own party if I’m feeling under the weather. It’s just for a little while. Shouldn’t take too long, and then we’ll be back for the rest of the party. Sounds good?”

Spike looked back and forth between Trojan and myself, confused. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. “Oooh, we’re going to—OOF!” He winced as Trojan gave him a harsh prod with her hoof. Just as he was about to snap at her, he hesitated, then slowly nodded. “O-okay. I know the way to the pharmacy. I’m sure the others won’t argue if you decided to keep it to just the three of us for, you know, personal reasons.”

I smiled. There was far more truth to that than I was willing to admit. “Exactly. Let’s hurry so we can make it back for the rest of the party.” The two nodded and followed me out the door.

A trip to the “pharmacy”. Surely nothing could go wrong.

...Right?

Author's Notes:

Originally, I'd planned the scene with Mr. Cake to be a lot harsher, but even I have some sense of mercy.

A lot happened in this one, and plenty more will be happening. Particularly enjoyed showing a lot of Flash's character here. A lot was shown in this chapter, some subtle, some rather openly. I look forward to see what everyone's thoughts are on this chapter, perhaps even theories on what may happen in the future. As always, leave a like if you enjoyed it, and drop a comment to share your thoughts, critiques and theories.

Until next time!