“Shiny, I really don’t think you should be doing this,” Cadance pleaded.

“I’m coming, and that’s final,” he replied, adjusting his armor one last time.

“Shiny, I-”

“I know. I know the Princesses said not to come. I know they want someone to watch over the Empire, but she’s too much of a risk. I won’t let you deal with her alone.”

“Shining Armor… you could get punished for this. You’re disobeying Celestia and Luna.”

“Then I’ll get punished. I’m not just sitting here. Not after last time.”

Cadance sighed. There really was no arguing with him right now. In a way it made her happy that he was willing to go to such lengths to protect her, even to ignore the orders of the Princesses, but this would definitely cause problems. She could only hope that no problems arose in the empire that the nobles couldn’t handle.

“Fine. If I can’t stop you, then at least promise you’ll keep a lid on your emotions, ok? Remember, she came to us for help.”

He growled for a moment and then sighed. “Ok, I’ll do my best.”

He then began to gather energy in his horn, focusing intently before a flash of pink took them from the throne room of the Crystal Empire and into the throne room in Canterlot.

“Cadance, perfect,” Celestia said with a smile before noticing her former Captain and sighing. “And you, Shining Armor. I should’ve known.”

“I’m sorry, your majesty, but I couldn’t-”

“We understand,” Luna interrupted. “I’m sure you’re familiar with the details?”

“We are, Princess Luna. Are her claims true?” Cadance asked.

“Indeed. Major Skyranger just finished her report half an hour ago.”

“So Tartarus really is open,” Shining said grimly.

“It gets worse,” Celestia began. “The demons did not merely break out, they were released by something powerful enough to destroy the gates.”

“W-What!? But what could do that!?”

“Likely one of the creatures that Gilgamesh warned us about,” Luna answered.

“But didn’t Discord finish his barrier?” Cadance asked.

“Indeed. But, as he warned us, it cannot eject one who is already here.”

“But wait, how did they even find Tartarus?”

“These creatures are far from drooling beasts. They are intelligent and patient. The one who possessed Twilight Sparkle waited weeks to make her move.” Shining Armor and Cadance grimaced at that, remembering the feelings of helplessness they felt when they were told of what happened to their sister and sister-in-law, respectively. “We believe one of them may have infiltrated our ranks and took the information.”

“That makes sense,” Shining admitted. “How else could this scenario be the case? But shouldn’t we be looking for the infiltrator?”

“It likely won’t help. Whoever they are, they’re likely long gone,” Celestia explained. “Besides, we need to focus on the more immediate threat. Cadance, do you think you can perform the spell?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure it will be enough to feed them all,” she explained. “I have no idea how much they’ll need to absorb.”

“Whatever it is, it’ll have to do. Shining Armor, since you’ve decided to disobey our orders, you should at least make yourself useful. Escort Queen Chrysalis here after Cadance is done.”

“Yes, Princess,” her replied with a salute.

“And Shining Armor? They may be our prisoners, but they are also our guests. They have rights and are under our protection.”

“... I understand, Princess.”

“Good. Now go on then.”

The Prince and Princess bowed before exiting the throne room. As they headed towards the dungeons civilians or nobles bowed respectfully while members of the Guard saluted. The two only silently acknowledged them, Shining focused on the task at hoof, and Cadance worried at what his reaction might be. They reached their destination in fifteen minutes, a surprised Lieutenant Starshine and his team saluting them.

"C-Captain! I mean, Prince! I-I didn't-!"

"At ease, soldier. What's the situation?"

"No situation, sir. They've been quiet since they got in," he explained motioning to the high-security metal-plated door. "We've checked on them several times and they haven't even moved aside from a few shifts here or there. If I had to guess they're trying to conserve energy."

"I see. Alright then, open it up."

"Yes sir!"

Starshine banged twice on the door before opening the slot. "Move away from the door, we're coming in!" he ordered before sliding it back. Two of his team removed the iron bars before finally unlocking the door and opening it.

The two royals were surprised to find them injured, specifically the Queen, the Princesses' letter having failed to mention the state they were in. Their initial fear subsided a bit when they noticed the rings around the bases of all their horns and the cuffs and chains around their forelegs, giving them just enough space to walk.

Chrysalis looked shocked before a smirk stretched across her muzzle. "Well, well. So this is what they came up with. Hello Shiny. I hope things have been going well for you and Cady."

"You don't get to call me that," Shining Armor growled.

"Oh, but excuse my manners. You see, I've been quite bored without any of you ponies to talk to. At the very least our jailers could provide us with a little entertainment." She then turned to face Cadance. "So, I'm assuming you intend to help feed us? Quite honestly I can taste the love off you and your hubby right now. If you just stayed there for a few hours I'm sure we'd be fine. Or," she smirked, "if you two started to go at it we could leech off that much faster."

The two royals blushed but held their glares.

"Silence! You will show respect!" Starshine shouted.

"Hush dear, the grownups are talking," she teased before turning back to the Princess. "You wouldn't need to go all the way, just a little passionate snogging would be enough."

"Are you quite through? Or would you prefer to starve longer?" Cadance asked.

Chrysalis sighed. "No sense of humor. How sad. Very well, go ahead."

Cadance closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Stand back. I haven't tried this before."

As every pony and changeling scooted back the Princess summoned her power, straining in concentration. Soon an orb of pink energy formed above and grew in size. After about a minute Cadance collapsed from exhaustion, Shining holding her up, while a pink heart the size of vendor's cart made of pure love hovered in the air, providing all near it warmth.

Many of the changelings couldn't help but lick their lips in anticipation, but held back as they looked to their Queen.

Chrysalis turned to face them. "Feed," she said simply.

"Your majesty, we couldn't possibly eat before-"

"I am your Queen, and I order you to feed, now," she commanded.

The insect equines hesitated for a moment before opening their mouths. The pink energy flowed inside, the heart rapidly shrinking. They stopped when it had reached half it's size, only to flinch under the harsh glare of their leader. They began to feed again, some stopping sooner than others, and by the time they finished the heart had shrunk to size of hoofball. Despite looking more alive, their wounds almost healed to scars and the their chitin shinier and more vibrant, they all hung their heads in shame as they watched their queen feed off the last small remains of the love energy.

The ponies all looked on with varying levels of surprise before Shining Armor snapped them all back to attention. "Lieutenant Starshine, take Cadance somewhere to rest. Chrysalis, the Princesses request your presence. Follow me."

The changeling queen nodded and trotted after the prince, two guards at her sides, while Cadance trotted further behind with Starshine after he closed the cell door. As she followed and thought about what had just happened her mind kept going back to a training session she had seen him perform in the Crystal Empire a month ago.

"Alright, listen up!" Shining Armor barked as Cadance watched from the balcony. "You are all officers now, which means you are expected to act a certain way. Here's the advice that will make you worthy of your title: you will not eat, drink, sleep, sit, or lie down until your soldiers have had a chance to do the same! Your soldiers come first. Keep to this idea and they will follow you to Tartarus and back, you will have their undying loyalty. Fail to do this and I will break you in front of them! Do I make myself clear!?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Cadance couldn't help but think back on those words every time she looked at the queen in front of her. The queen that foalnapped her and stole her fiancé, who had foalnapped the filly she had grown to love like a sister, who now had refused to even nibble the energy she provided her until her own subjects had filled their own bellies, who was probably starving herself right now.

Maybe there's more to you than I thought, she mused as the lieutenant finally took her down a different path from the Queen and her husband.

Luna sighed as she levitated the familiar brown medallion out of her nightstand and into her hoof, thinking on the conversation she and her sister had not even an hour ago.

“So, how should we attack this problem?” Celestia asked.

“I… I think we may have to call in help,” Luna replied.

“‘Help?’”

“Yes. From the only one stronger than us.”

“Him? But why? Why not handle this ourselves?”

“Our forces have not faced anything like the demons of Tartarus. Their skirmishes with the Griffons and occasional duels with minotaurs are nowhere near enough experience.”

“True, but I meant why don’t we handle this?”

“Though we may be strong enough to defeat their leaders, I doubt we could defeat an entire army, along with their leaders by ourselves. And I don’t feel comfortable sending in our own troops alongside us against something they’re clearly not prepared for. But more importantly, there is the citizenry. Surely you’ve noticed their unease due to this situation.”

“You think they might attack the changeling’s while we’re gone?”

“You and I have both seen how fear can breed aggression. If we are not here to calm our ponies they may take drastic measures.”

Celestia sighed. “It feels like more and more we’re relying on others to solve our problems. First Twilight and her friends, and now Gilgamesh. Have we truly fallen so far?”

Luna struggled to form a response to that. It was difficult to think of a situation where they had not required aid of some sort.

“Do you even have a way to contact him?” Celestia asked.

“Yes. He gave me a device to communicate with him should we require his help while he was overseas.”

“I see. Then use it. I’ll contact Twilight and her friends. I think they should know of our plans as well.”

Luna sighed. She never would’ve thought they’d have needed to call upon his aid so soon. It almost seemed too convenient that he’d given her such a device on the same morning he-

Luna shook those thoughts from her head. She could sort out her feelings about that at a later time. She held the medallion in both hooves, concentrating her thoughts on the warrior before speaking.

Fuck, what do I do, what do I do, what the fuck do I do!?

For who knows how long I was pacing back and forth in the Castle of the Pony Sisters, trying to calm my panic and assess the situation... and failing miserably.

Knowing what was going to happen, even if not exactly when, was my greatest advantage here! Sure surprises like Twintania and Melusine popped up, but for the most part the timeline followed the show! What should I do now!? Should I head across the seas to get my last five weapons!? But what about if something happens here while I'm gone!? But what if something that happens is too powerful to deal with because I don't have my full power!? What if-!?

"Gilgamesh, this is Princess Luna."

My mind stopped, taking a moment to process what was happening. Before I could guess the implications the voice in my head continued.

"Equestria requires your assistance. We are in no immediate danger, but please come to the Royal Canterlot Palace as soon as possible so we may discuss matters."

I stopped to process everything she said. Apparently the Princesses needed my help to defend Equestria, but whatever the threat was it wasn't banging down on their doorstep. The polite and responsible thing to do would be to teleport to the throne room immediately.

... Which of course meant that that was so not what I was going to do.

The citizens of Canterlot were on edge. Chrysalis and her changelings had made no secret of their arrival into the city, and even with them being watched over by the Royal Guard the news of the Demons of Tartarus had spread like wildfire. There was not a single pony who wasn’t ready to run and hide at a moment’s notice.

So it probably didn’t help when a certain warrior suddenly appeared in the middle of the city. Ignoring the ponies who stared at him in either awe or terror he began to walk towards Canterlot Palace as a strange music began to radiate from him. He took a look towards the palace before marching towards it, his scarf flowing in the wind. Everypony stood aside as he walked, whether out of fear or respect.

As he approached the palace five pegasi guards landed in his path. "My name is Major Skyranger," the lead mare began. "We have been expecting you, Gilgamesh. Please follow-"

Before she could finish he swung his weapon, cutting a hole in reality in front of him, and disappearing through it. Not even a second later another one opened and he stepped out of it, right behind the guards, and continued his march towards the palace.

"H-Hey!" the major shouted.

"Follow me if you'd like, but I go at my own pace," the warrior replied as he kept moving.

"Why you-!" one of the pegasi stallions began, only to be cut off by a hoof from his superior.

"Easy, soldier, we're just here to make sure he doesn't cause trouble. Besides, I've seen him fight. We couldn't stop him if we tried."

The other guard growled but nodded. Soon all five fell into step behind the warrior. Within minutes they were in front of the palace, Lieutenant Starshine and a crew of thirty unicorn and earth pony guards in front of the entrance, doing their best to look professional and hide their unease.

As the song reached its climax the warrior stopped, spinning his weapon before standing it upright as he did. He then pumped his fist.

"Nailed it."

Everypony stopped and stared until Starshine spoke up.

"'Nailed it?' Nailed what?"

"The timing."

Again they all stared.

"You mean to tell you were trying to arrive here just as the song ended?" Skyranger asked.

"Yup."

Again, no sound was made for a few moments before the Lieutenant groaned.

"Whatever. Look, the Princesses are waiting for you in the throne room. Please follow us and don't cause any trouble."

"I promise not to cause a ruckus."

"Thank you."

"Until I reach the throne room."

"What?"

"What?" the warrior said quickly.

Everypony stared for a minute before Starshine cautiously opened the palace gates and led them all inside.

Chrysalis finally entered the throne room, flanked by two guards with Shining Armor in front. She was intrigued to find that Twilight Sparkle and and her friends, even the dragon Spike, were there along with the Princesses. In addition, eight unicorns guards lined the walls, four on each side, and two pegasi guards flanked each side of the throne. Nearly all of them glared at her except for the yellow pegasus, who still withered under her presence, and the pink earth pony, who like always seemed unnaturally happy.

Not taking any chances, are they? I almost feel honored, she thought bitterly.

"Thank you, Prince Shining Armor. Please come join us. The two of you may return to your posts," Celestia ordered.

The two stallions saluted and left, closing the door behind them, while Shining approached the group, motioning for Chrysalis to do the same. He had her stop and stand on the bottom of the steps leading up to the throne, turning to face her, his gaze still harsh.

"Chrysalis, we've investigated your claims. Despite not seeing your lands ourselves there is enough evidence to corroborate your story," Celestia began. "So now, we need your help."

"My help? Aren't you supposed to be helping me?"

“What we need is information. We’re not just going to charge in blindly to face an enemy force. And more importantly, we don’t even know where your hive is.”

“I see. Well, if I could have a map, I’d be more than happy to help.”

“Of course. And more importantly, we need to know what we’re up against.”

“What do you mean?”

“What exactly were you attacked by? What creatures were they? How many were there? Who commanded them?” Luna explained.

“I see. I don’t know the names of what we were attacked by, and the descriptions I could give would be vague at best considering their horrid nature, but if I were to see a picture I could point them out. I didn’t see anyone commanding them, though with their movements I’d say they would’ve had to be. As for the number, it was bit difficult to tell with the large number of shapes and sizes, but I’d have to guess… in the mid-thousands. Four or five.”

The Princesses both seemed surprised to hear that. "Are you sure?" Celestia asked.

"Like I said, it was difficult to tell, but I'm sure their numbers didn't break the ten thousand mark. Why?"

"It just seems smaller than the number we were expecting," Luna answered.

A spark of rage lit inside Chrysalis but she suppressed it, realizing the younger Princess may not have meant it as an insult.

Besides, I still need their help.

"How many were you expecting?" she asked.

The Princesses exchanged a nervous glance before responding.

"All of them," Celestia answered.

Chrysalis, and all the other ponies, stared at the two alicorns in shock. She perhaps understood the gravity of the situation better than they did. She remembered the tales that the ponies had forgotten, that even though the Princesses had sent hundreds of prisoners into Tartarus, there were several species already there. Creatures that were not only aggressive and predatory or territorial like timberwolves or Hydras, these creatures seemed to be nothing but mindless beasts of pure destruction. After the Great War ended there was a period when the three sides had to unite again to force these creatures back to their hellish home. Even then their numbers numbered in the hundreds of millions.

Which of course begs the question of where they are now.

"It would seem they're being commanded and directed," Luna muttered. "It seems our decision to stay here was the right one."

"What?" Chrysalis asked, hearing her. "What do you mean you're staying here? You're not seriously stupid enough to send your forces to fight without your guidance?"

Shining Armor glared at her and was about to berate her when Celestia interrupted.

"Of course not. However, we're calling in some help. A specialist, you might say. He'll be here soon... hopefully."

"'Specialist'?" Chrysalis asked.

Before anyone could answer music began to blare from outside the throne room.

"Hey, what are you doing!?" came a voice.

"Hold it right there! Cease! Desist!" shouted another.

"Oh no," Celestia muttered and facehoofed.

"What is-?" Shining Armor began to asked only to be interrupted by a massive being entering the the room as the music crescendoed, forcing the doors open with a jump kick. It then landed and immediately went into a forward roll before launching itself into the air. By the time he had drawn his weapon and landed, posing dramatically, everyone finally recognized the being.

"I hear the summons, AND I ANSWER!" he proclaimed before he proceeded to spin his weapon several ways while slowly proceeding forwards. "I AM COMBAT INCARNATE, MIGHTIEST WARRIOR IN ALL OF EQUUS! MORE STURDY THAN THE GRANDEST OF MOUNTAINS, MORE GRACEFUL THAN THE OCEAN WAVES, MORE INTENSE THAN THE MOST FIERY OF INFERNOS, MORE SWIFT THAN THE GALES OF A HURRICANE!" He then threw his weapon into the air and began to punch and kick in all directions. "THOSE WHO WORSHIP EVIL'S MIGHT GAZE UPON THIS RED SCARF AND TREMBLE FOR THEIR END IS AT HAND!" He then caught his weapon and continued to show off spinning and striking the air with his weapon and unleashing kicks at imaginary opponents. “MY DEEDS ARE THE STUFF OF LEGEND! MY POWER SHAKES THE EARTH AND SPLITS THE SKIES!” He then stood still, only spinning his weapon. “NO TASK IS TOO GREAT TO BE COMPLETED! NO ENEMY TOO POWERFUL TO DEFEATED!” He then posed, his weapon held behind him with his other arm extended forwards. “FAIR PRINCESS LUNA, FOR WHAT PURPOSE DO YOU REQUIRE THE AID OF THE MIGHTY GILGAMESH!?”

The song ended and the room was silent. Shining Armor and the Royal Guards looked on in shock while Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Spike and Luna rolled their eyes. Fluttershy shrunk down and hid behind her mane, intimidated by his loud voice, but recovered after it was over, having learned to trust the warrior. Pinkie continued to hum the song, bobbing her head as she did. Celestia continued to facehoof and groan.

"Chrysalis, I am so-" she began.

"THIS!?" Chrysalis shouted, interrupting her, her eyes burning with anger. "THIS IS WHO YOU WERE WAITING FOR!? THIS IS YOUR 'SPECIALIST!?'"

"Chrysalis-"

"NO! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS! IS THE SUFFERING OF MY PEOPLE A JOKE TO YOU!? I THOUGHT YOU WERE TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY, BUT INSTEAD OF GOING YOURSELF OR SENDING YOUR FORCES YOU CALL IN THIS... THING!?"

Before anyone could respond a beam of fire whizzed by her head and incinerated part of the carpet, scorching the tile under it black. Everyone followed the attack back to its source, seeing the warrior with his eyes shining red and pointing at the changeling.

"I AM NOT A THING! MY NAME IS GILGAMESH, AND YOU WILL FEAR MY LASER-FACE!"

Again the room was quiet, everyone staring in shock, until Celestia broke the silence with a cough.

"Chrysalis, if I could have a moment of your time?" she asked, ushering her over. Without much idea of what to do she followed Celestia to the back of the room, facing away from the group. "Now, I know how this must look-"

"Oh, do you?" she interrupted sarcastically.

"-but, I assure you he is the best suited to this task. Surely you remember how he repelled your invasion."

"That wasn't my entire army, and even without the increase in power from Shining Armor's love the demons have managed to drive me from my most well-defended stronghold. Do you expect me to believe he's powerful enough to overcome a force that could do that?"

Celestia paused to think before responding. "Chrysalis, how familiar are you with Equestrian history?"

Chrysalis gave her a confused look before responding. "Well, I don't know everything, but I'm certainly familiar with more than most of your own subjects are. Even I knew about the Crystal Empire before it reappeared."

"Then do you know what ended the Great War?"

"Yes. The war had gone on for five years before a warrior appeared, one who was powerful enough to defeat any army and even you and your sister. His mere presence extended the war for another century before the pact between the three armies was made to defeat him."

Celestia let her words hang, motioning back to their latest arrival, who was now posing dramatically alongside Pinkie Pie.

Chrysalis looked on in confusion before turning back to Celestia. After a moment her eyes widened, glancing back to the warrior before turning back to the princess. "Him!?" Celestia nodded. "B-but he's a foalish idiot!"

"Foalish, undoubtedly. Idiot," she paused before glancing back at him. "Sometimes I wonder. Nevertheless," she continued as she turned back to the Queen, "his fighting prowess is the best in all of Equestria, and likely all of Equus. Though not as powerful as he once was, he is leagues above the strength of myself and my sister combined. I promise you, there is none more suited to this task."

Chrysalis hesitated a moment before nodding. "Alright then."

Both rulers trotted back over. "Gilgamesh-" Celestia began, only to be interrupted by a stallion's voice.

"What in the name of my Aunts is going on here!?"

"Oh no," Shining Armor groaned, closing his eyes as the white-coated unicorn trotted in.

"Here I am, trying to get some rest and relaxation after these dreadful events, and some fool has the gall to play an orchestra right here in the palace! Completely unscheduled even! I demand an explanation for-WHAT IS THAT THING DOING HERE!?" he finished with a shout, pointing to Chrysalis.

"Well hello to you, too," the Queen muttered.

"Hello, Blueblood," Celestia greeted, trying and failing to conceal her annoyance. "I'm sorry about the disturbance, but we are discussing an important matter at the moment."

"WHAT COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE FACT THAT MONSTER IS STANDING RIGHT HERE IN THE PALACE!?"

"Prince Blueblood, surely you've heard of the most recent turn of events with the Changeling arriving with the news of the Demons' release?" Luna asked, baring down on him with a harsh glare that went unnoticed.

"Oh, so that gossip was true? Hm, I suppose that would explain why you aren't trying to incinerate her, Captain Shining Armor."

"Prince Shining Armor," the unicorn corrected, doing his best to remain professional.

"Oh yes, quite right. Pardon me. Well, it's not as though we have anything to worry about, your sister and her little peasant friends can handle that easily with the Elements of Harmony, I'm sure," he said dismissively.

"Wow, he really is as bad as you said," Rainbow Dash whispered to Rarity.

"Worse," she replied.

"For your own sake, Princesses, I hope he's adopted," Chrysalis muttered to the diarchs.

"We don't have the Elements of Harmony anymore, Blueblood." Twilight explained. "We had to-"

"WHAT!?" he interrupted. "YOU LOST THEM!? HOW COULD YOU BE SO INCOMPETENT!?"

Twilight gritted her teeth before replying. "Blueblood, they weren't-"

"PRINCE BLUEBLOOD!" he corrected as he trotted over and got in her face. "Don't think you're on equal terms with me, my dear."

"That's ‘Princess dear’ to you, buster!" Pinkie angrily shot back.

"Silence, peasant!" he snapped before turning back to Twilight. "Cadance is one thing, but to have you given alicornhood before me, of royal lineage! Do not think I will ever see you as nobility, thief!"

Everyone was ready to brawl at that point. Shining Armor, Spike, the Elements, Fluttershy included, were livid. Even some of the guards looked ready to tell authority to go buck itself. Celestia and Luna looked on with disgust, shame also in the former's eyes, while Chrysalis looked on in complete shock, hardly believing this could be happening.

"Why Ah outta-!" Applejack began.

"Ahem."

Everyone turned to the voice's source, now facing the large armored warrior.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Blueblood asked, giving the biped a critical eye.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I don't believe we've been properly introduced!" he replied cheerfully before leaning down and grabbing the stallion's foreleg, shaking it with a greeting. "My name is Gilgamesh, most powerful warrior in this world and probably several others! You must be the infamous Prince Blueblood, I've heard so much about you, pleasure to mock your acquaintance!"

Blueblood pulled back his foreleg as soon as the warrior released him. “Charmed,” he replied, levitating a hoofkerchief out of his vest and wiping it down as he did. “But it seems your vocabulary could use some work.”

“Really? Well perhaps you could correct me?”

“Hmph. I suppose I can offer aid as simple as that,” he smirked, putting the cloth away. “You said, ‘infamous’ not ‘famous’, and you said ‘mock’ not ‘make.’”

“Ah, I see. Unfortunately, good sir, though I appreciate your help, I’m afraid I do not require your aid after all, as I said that exactly the way I wanted to.”

Blueblood looked confused before the realization hit him.

“Nicely done,” Rarity muttered under her breath with a smirk.

“D-Did you just insult me!?”

“Oh dear, was it too subtle?” Gilgamesh asked, causing the six Elements, Spike, and Shining Armor to smirk. Even some of the guards had to struggle to keep their mouths straight. “Here, let’s try a more obvious one.” He reached behind him before tossing an object at the unicorn stallion, who caught it with a levitation spell.

“Is this… toilet paper?” Blueblood asked, receiving a nod in response. “Why would you give me this?”

“That’s to wipe yourself. Because you’re a piece of shit.”

Blueblood was so shocked he dropped the roll, his jaw hanging open.

The whole room was silent. Rarity covered her mouth with her hoof, gasping but also hiding her smirk. Twilight, and Shining Armor’s eyes were wide, smiles tugging at the corner of their mouths. Fluttershy squeaked and hid one eye behind her mane, but was still unable to look away completely. Rainbow, Applejack, and Spike exchanged glances, shocked but still clearly enjoying the Prince’s reaction. Celestia, Luna, and Chrysalis, merely looked surprised.

Finally, Pinkie Pie broke the silence.

“SICK BURN!”

With that, the floodgates opened. Twilight and Shining laughed, doing the best they could not to fall over, while Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow were on the floor howling with laughter. Rarity covered her mouth and laughed with as much dignity as she could muster, and even Fluttershy couldn't hold back her giggling. The guards lost all sense of professionalism and joined in the mirth as well. Chrysalis chuckled heartily, not bothering to be polite, while Celestia and Luna barely manage to contain their own smirks.

"Y-Y-YOU DARE!?" Blueblood shouted, finally regaining himself as his face turned red with rage.

"Indeed," Gilgamesh replied simply.

"I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!"

“Oh? Well then perhaps we should settle this like gentlemen. Er, gentlecolts.”

“W-What?”

“A duel, your highness. Me. You. Right here. Right now. And to make this interesting, a wager.”

“‘A wager?’” Blueblood asked, his anger ebbing away to intrigue as the laugher around him died down.

“Indeed. Now, what would some suitable terms be? Ah, yes! I’m willing to bet that I can render you unconscious before you can even strike me with a spell. If I win, you must never complain to your aunts or anyone else that you don’t have alicornhood and you will never disrespect Twilight Sparkle or her friends ever again. And if you manage to land a clean blow on me before I knock you unconscious, I will be your personal servant and obey any command you give me, no matter how ludicrous. Even if you were to tell me to, say, kill the Princesses.”

“As if I would ever order such a thing!” he shouted back. To his credit, he did seem to be genuinely disgusted by the idea.

“I was just giving the most extreme example I could think of.”

“Fine! I accept!” he proclaimed smugly. “You’ll soon understand what it means to challenge royalty!”

“Um… does he not know who he’s dealing with?” Rainbow whispered.

“It’s actually possible. Blueblood doesn’t usually pay attention to anything if it doesn’t involve him in some way,” Shining Armor whispered back.

“Ah, but before we begin, we have to set penalties,” Gilgamesh continued.

“‘Penalties?’” Blueblood asked.

“Of course! Something to ensure we both keep our words! If I lose and break my vow to obey you, my punishment will be to be sent to the moon or sun, whichever you choose, with no hope of return.”

“W-What? Are you insane?” the Prince asked, clearly shocked at the idea.

“Possibly. But if you lose, and break your promise to no longer complain about not ascending nor disrespecting the mares and drake right behind you, you will be stripped of your royal status, your estates, and every last bit and valuable you have.”

“WHAT!? MADNESS! I WOULD NEVER AGREE TO SUCH A THING!”

“You refuse?” Gilgamesh asked, feigning shock. “But why? Admittedly it is rather extreme, but that was merely the penalty for not honoring your vow? Or are you saying that you, a noble of Equestria, of royal blood even, descended from the lineage of the Princesses of the Sun and Moon themselves, cannot be counted on to keep his word?”

Blueblood spluttered, trying to find his voice.

“Oh, he’s a crafty one,” Chrysalis smirked.

“VERY WELL!” the Prince finally shouted. “WE SETTLE THIS HERE AND NOW!”

“By your leave, your highness,” Gilgamesh replied.

“Um, he’ll be alright, won’t he? Um, if you don’t mind me asking?” Fluttershy nervously quipped as the two stepped to the center of the throne room before facing each other.

Blueblood stopped and faced his challenger, seeming to wait for something. After a few seconds he asked “Are you not going to draw your weapon?”

“I’m quite fine, thank you for asking.”

“Hmph. Your loss. Now then,” he began as he gathered energy in his horn. “EN GUAR-!”

The Prince was cut off as a loud bang rang out through the throne room. Blueblood was now lying in a small crater, his eyes rolled back into his head as his tongue stuck out of his mouth, looking rather undignified. It took a moment for the onlookers to realize what happened: Gilgamesh had simply bended over and headbutted the stallion into the floor. The warrior then turned back to the group.

“OH HEY! I WON! WHO COULD’VE SEEN THAT COMING!?” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“OH, I DID!” Pinkie shouted.

“Princesses, I apologize for my less than polite behaviour, but I’m afraid I have no tolerance for entitled brats. I grew up among far too many of them,” Gilgamesh apologized with a bow.

Celestia merely smirked. “Guards, please take Prince Blueblood to his quarters and call the medical staff to attend to him. And when he wakes up, make sure he remembers his vow.”

Two unicorns saluted before levitating the Prince out the door.

“Perhaps now he shall learn to conduct himself in a manner more befitting his lineage,” Luna suggested.

“I seriously doubt it,” Shining Armor muttered.

“Now, what was it I was called here for?” Gilgamesh asked.

The atmosphere in the room had become serious once again.

“Gilgamesh, you were called here to render assistance,” Luna began. “The Demons of Tartarus have been released and have overtaken Chrysalis’ hive and driven her from her lands. We ask that once again uphold your vow and give her and her people your aid.”

“I see. But I’m afraid I must rebuke you, Mistress of the Night, for I pledged to protect Equestria, not other nations.”

“WHAT!?” Chrysalis shouted before anypony else could respond. “AFTER ALL OF THIS YOU MEAN TO SAY YOU REFUSE TO-!”

“Ah ah ah, let me explain, your majesty. I never said I wouldn’t help you, just that I’m not obligated to help you,” Gilgamesh interrupted. “However, I’m afraid you will need to convince me to render assistance.”

“‘Convince you?’”

Gilgamesh stepped forwards until he was a few paces from the Queen. “Judging by that ring around your horn and those cuffs on your legs, you’ve had to come to some sort of arrangement with the Princesses, haven’t you?”

“...Yes,” she replied hesitantly.

“I’m guessing you’ve had to submit to being punished for your previous crimes. That you’ve had to give yourself up as a prisoner, even after this is done.”

Chrysalis grit her teeth. “Yes.”

“And I’m willing to bet you’re so desperate that you’d be willing to do absolutely anything, right?”

“YES!” she snapped.

“Ok then, let’s get started.”

Chrysalis looked gobsmacked for a moment before shaking her head “Wait, that’s it? You’re agreeing? After all that?”

He chuckled. “Queen Chrysalis, I bet what you think I see is a weak ruler who’s had to come running to her old enemies to fix her problems. But what I see is a Queen who’s willing to swallow her pride and even give up her own freedom for the safety of her subjects. A monarch who is willing to put the welfare of those she commands above her own.” He then bowed. “For that, you have my utmost respect.”

The Changeling Queen looked back in surprise. Many of the ponies were now beginning to see their former enemy in a new light.

Chrysalis collected herself before speaking again. “Gilgamesh, I implore you to liberate my lands and my people. Will you please do this?”

Gilgamesh rose from his bow. “Or die trying.”

Chrysalis closed her eyes and sighed before bowing back. “Thank you.”

Author's Notes:

Once again, I'd like to thank Golden Script for helping me edit this.

Not much to say on this one, just a bit of set-up. Several setups, actually. I hope I'm writing Chrysalis in a believable way.