“Ok Gilgamesh, sir, I thought about what you said earlier, I assume you wanted me to figure out which type of fighter I would be? I think I have an answer.” Duncan stood before his teacher with a determined look.

“Go on,” Gilgamesh said, his arms folded across his chest.

“Deviator, I tend to believe in balancing things. I think having formal training and then breaking the mold in a way I feel confident would be my strong suit.” Duncan explained.

“Interesting. Looks like we’ll have to find a proper teacher for you before I leave. But for now, I want you to come at me again. I’ve got one more lesson for you today, but I’m going to see if you can figure it out yourself.”

“Alright, vague, but alright, what do you need me to do?” Duncan asked a look of confusion on his face.

“Fight me. And this time, I’m not just gonna give you a light slap when you make a mistake.”

Duncan pulled out the Sword and Power card in a single motion activating both he charged Gilgamesh. Wanting to use the element of surprise to get close.

“Now then, show me what you have to offer. Hold nothing back!” he shouted as he took a classic boxer’s stance.

Duncan’s eyes went wide mid charge and he veered away and tripped over his own feet, sending him sailing past the monster before him. Getting up he bolted to hide behind a boulder. “NOPE! I am not dieing in training, not happening!”

“Come on Duncan, He won’t kill you.” Boom cheered from the side lines.

“You wanna fight him?” Duncan answered. Boom shifted a bit before eyeing the murderous intent emanating from the Displaced. He chuckled nervously.

“I will,” Snow Drop flew over to land next to Duncan, she locked her eyes on Gilgamesh, her knees shaking in fear. Steel Will teleported on the other side of the recruit without a word. Twisted ran over with a spear in claw aimed at Gilgamesh, Boom relented and trotted over behind Duncan pulling one of his flashbangs out of a bag.

“Correction We will fight you. Wolves never hunt alone,” Twisted glared down Gilgamesh. Steel placed a hoof on Duncan’s shoulder, “Not even our newest pup.”

“Thanks guys.” Duncan sighed turning to face Gilgamesh with a new fire in his eyes. “I may be a ‘little wolf’, but we won’t back down.”

Gilgamesh chuckled a moment before throwing his head back into a hearty laugh. He then turned to face Twilight. “See that? This is what I think of when I think of the magic of friendship. No showy lights, no flashy powers, just old old fashioned camaraderie.”

Twilight looked surprised for a moment before bringing her hoof to her face in a pondering motion. After a moment she grinned back. “I guess friendship really does take all kinds of forms,” she then smirked. “Now let’s see how good you do against it.”

“Ha! It’s because I consider myself friends with these guys I’m gonna win! But for now,” he turned back to the squad in front of him. “Let’s have a little fun messing around. I’ve always wanted to try this.”

Gilgamesh began to float into the air as a song played, the leftover boulder coming off the ground and heading towards him. Suddenly the ground around him began to break around him and gather towards the warrior in varying sizes, until finally it formed a twenty foot tall vaguely bipedal figure. “Now then, let’s see how you like getting stoned!”

“I’ll think it’s fun.” Steel Will smiled wide eyeing the stone giant. “Boom explosives on the legs, Duncan help. Snow, Twisted with me, go for the shoulders. SH find us a weak point.”

Without further fanfare the squad charged into combat. Duncan used the Dash card to help Boom plant bombs around the creature’s ankles. Zig-zagging to keep it from stepping on him. Boom favored luging his explosives from a distance timing the charges to blast against the knees.

Unfortunately this seemed to do little to it aside from send bits of rocks tumbling, forcing Duncan to dodge the debris.

“My turn,” Gilgamesh replied, lifting both arms and slamming them into the ground with surprising quickness, releasing a shockwave. Sending the team flying, landing in a ring around Gilgamesh. Spear Head shot several healing spells at his team, mending the minor damages. In response, Gilgamesh jumped at them, curling himself into a ball, and rolling like a giant boulder.

The squad was teleported out at the last second, standing together the rest of the guards. Everypony who was watching the training stared down Gilgamesh, Chief stood at their front, “With all due respect Sir, We are going to buck your day up! Charge!”

Several unicorns opened fire with spells, bolts of magic flew in vollies blasting into the stone. Earth ponies alternated throwing spears and boulders. Pegasi performed dive attacks chipping away at Gilgamesh’s stone armor.

“Yes! This is what I want to see! Show me the power of your bonds!” Gilgamesh shouted, smashing his fist into the ground and picking up a rock before hurling it at Duncan. Two pegasi charged in and picked Duncan up, lifting him high into the sky.

“For Pony!” Duncan cried out as they released him , activating both Fight and Power. He flew at Gilgamesh like a bullet. Gilgamesh responded by spinning his upper body like a top, smacking him away, but much of his “hand” being destroyed by his new strength.

“You’re not Richard!” he shouted, before pulling one of the rocks off his body and wielding it like a club at the ponies on the ground. The ponies that could dodged out of the way, unicorns provide barriers where they could or healing when needed. Some received some debilitating wounds and were pulled from the battlefield.

“You’re right, Suiryuu Shourai!” A gout of water shot from Duncan’s jian and splashed harmlessly against the rocks.

“Mediocre!” Gilgamesh shouted back, swinging the club at him. Several earth ponies jumped into it all swinging as hard as they could trying to shatter the club, barely managing to succeed.

“Suiryuu Shourai! Suiryuu Shourai! SUIRYUU SHOURAI!” More jets of water splashed against the rocks, water began seeping in everywhere as Duncan tried to coat Gilgamesh in water.

“What are you up to, little man?” Gilgamesh asked, his arms raised for another ground pound.

“RAITEI SHOURAI!” Duncan poured as much magic as he could into summoning lightning down on the now very conductive stone. He heard Gilgamesh shout in pain and surprise for a moment before the rocks all began to crumble, breaking apart and hiding the warrior in a cloud of debris.

“WOO HOO! Go rookie! Nice job! Way to shock him!” Ponies cheered from around the battlefield Pegasi began blowing the dust away to see what became of their foe. Duncan fell to a knee his own magic now severely depleted. Before the dust fully cleared, boisterous laugh came from the rubble, causing all of their cheering to stop.

“SERIOUSLY?!” Boom yelled panting, he was out of bombs and had resorted to throwing rocks. He wasn’t sure they could ever hope to take Gilgamesh out if he wasn’t down after that.

“The fight is over sir. Accept defeat.” Chief Thorns called out standing resolute before the cloud of dust.

Gilgamesh clapped. “Wonderful! Splendid! You were amazing, all of you! You really showed what it means to be a cohesive unit! Such synergy!” his laughter died down and he stopped clapping. “But before I decide whether or not to stop, I’m going to have to ask, Duncan, what did you learn?”

“With friends anything is possible,with them I don’t need to be afraid.” Duncan looked resolut while resting on a knee. Several ponies clapped at the declaration. Boom even patted him on the back.

“Very good, very good!” he nodded in response. “...But it’s one thing to say that, another to actually live it. And though you may have been frightened to start, you are far from experiencing true fear,” he finished in a cold tone. He then raised his hand, a a green sprinkle of light appearing over all the combatants, completely healing the injuries of everyone, even those who had to be pulled off the field.

The ponies looked shocked, having never seen such powerful healing magic, and not expecting it of the warrior. Duncan’s own fatigue partially lifted, his magic reserves would need a rest, he was able to stand again though.

Gilgamesh then cast several other spells on the crowd, their effects felt by the group as they felt stronger than ever. “There. Protect, to buffer you against physical attacks, Shell for defense against magic, Haste to increase your speed and agility, and Regen so you can constantly recover. I think that should be enough to keep you alive.”

“Should? That is not comforting, what do you have planned?” Duncan eyed Gilgamesh suspiciously.

“Quite frankly, that’s enough, sir,” Boom taunted. “No matter what tricks you have we’ll still beat you, especially if those spell do what you said they do!” many of the other ponies cheered in affirmation, but the more experienced fighters like Phantom Thorns, Steel Will, Snow Drops, and Twisted Spear eyed him cautiously preparing for a fight.

Gilgamesh chuckled before throwing his head back and laughing maniacally, actually quieting their cheers. He then turned to face the Elements, Fluttershy looking utterly terrified, Rainbow Dash and Applejack looking ready to fight, Twilight, Rarity and Spike trying to look calm, and Pinkie munching on a bucket of popcorn.

“Take notes, Twilight! Behold a small fraction of my power, and the darker side of ki!” he then turned to face the soldiers. “I admire your spirit, I truly do. But you are mere paper tigers before a true beast. You have not fought something on par with the Princesses and those of their ilk. Savor this experience, and behold the ferocity of the Satsui no Hado!” he boasted before bowing his head and crossing his arms. He began to inhale and exhale quite loudly, each breath sounding more and more forceful.

Not wanting to let the Displaced have a chance to do anything everypony charged forward with enhanced speed. Spears, hooves and magic aimed to take down their foe. Duncan brought up the rear dreading what ever was coming next.

Gilgamesh raised his foot and slammed it into the ground, the force being enough to push back the advancing mob. At this point his breathing sounding less like breaths and more like growls. A moment later he quickly brought his arms to his side as explosion of power burst off his body, their view becoming obscured from the dust being kicked up. As it cleared they looked on in terror as an aura resembling black and red flames radiated off his body. He looked at them, eyes glowing red.

“I am Combat incarnate,” he proclaimed his voice no longer just deep, but also raspy. He then quickly took a fighting stance, the aura seeming to warp the air around him, obscuring their vision of him. “Prepare to face true terror. Stare into the face of death!"

The field went silent, the only sound the crackling of energy emanating from Gilgamesh. Not a single pony made any move, after a few moments some began to whimper. Duncan fell back his eyes wide in terrors all logic had left his mind.

He looked around for his team hoping to see somepony to rely on. Damnit I wanted to be a network tech, this fight is beyond me. I’ll die, I’ll never see Terra again… Terra….

Duncan closed his eyes, he remembered everything he could of his far away fiance. Her hair, her face, the way she hated it when he booped her nose. Her love of karaoke, the way she made him feel important. The way she loved him and had risked being homeless just to be with him.

He stumbled to his feet, using his jian as a crutch he started to stumble against the pressure. If she could risk it, then…

“You know what Gilgamesh,” Duncan started focusing on one foot and then the next.

“I can’t die, no matter how scared I am, no matter how out matched I am, I can’t die,” he said to no one in particular. His knees were shaking, the feeling was suffocating, to look his own death in the face. Look him in the face, he need to look him in the face.

Duncan leveled his gaze at the Displaced locking eyes with the glowing red. His heart clenched his his chest, blood thundering in his ears. Closing his eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath.

“FUCK YOU!” Duncan charged forward in an awkward rush both hands gripping his sword tightly, missing a step he stumbled, but he never broke eye contact with his target, “I’M GOING HOME!”

He brought his sword over his head to cleave Gilgamesh pouring all of his feelings into the blow. Every memory, every feeling, his very soul poured into the blade. It began glowing with an unnatural light arcing down. Before it made contact, however, Gilgamesh glided at Duncan before seeming to phase through him. Duncan turned around only to be met by a punch straight to his face the sent him bouncing along the ground before sliding to a stop. He groaned as he opened his eyes only to widen in shock as he saw Gilgamesh coming down from above, ready to punch downwards and smash the earth.

Force activating the Dash duncan moved out of the way. He then activated the Power, the Fight, and the Sword card. Dual wielding again Duncan charged Gilgamesh, intensely focused on nothing else but winning the fight. Slashing and kicking he became a flurry of determination. He dodged and jumped taking advantage of the Haste enchantment on him, augmenting it with Dash when he needed to.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t actually landing any blows, Gilgamesh blocking or parrying his strikes with nothing more than his limbs. The warrior struck the boy with a Shoryuken punch, nailing him in the chin and sending him high into the air. With a combination of his enchantments and his own willpower, Duncan fought through the pain and saw Gilgamesh had jumped above him, firing two blasts of violet ki from his hands. Duncan cut one with The Sword, causing it to dissipate, while smacking the other aside with his jian, barely having enough time to hold both in front of him and block the kick that came at his chest. The force, however, was still enough to send him smashing into the ground below.

Gilgamesh prepared to head down and attack again only to notice a magic blast coming at him. He backflipped away from it, seeming pushing off thin air, before landing and saw that Steel Will had worked up the courage to fight back, her body still shaking in fear, but her face hard and determined. Gilgamesh cupped his hands in response and fired a hadouken at the mare, who summoned a barrier in response. How the force of the ki attack exploding was enough to destroy the defensive spell and send her tumbling.

He turned back to face Duncan, only to see him up again and barely dodge a series of sword swipes. Gilgamesh responded with a spinning kick coated with electricity, shouting “Tatsumaki!” as he did, hitting the boy multiple times before he went rolling backwards.

Phantom moved with blinding speed gripping his spear tightly, he lunged at Gilgamesh from the air in a fly by. His spear coming millimeters from Gilgamesh’s face. Swinging mid stroke he brought a leg up to kick him in the head. Gilgamesh blocked the attack before grabbing the Chief by the tail punching him in the midsection, winding him, before throwing to the ground and stomping on him. He turned back to Duncan who once again had managed to recover quickly, and attacked.

“Kashin Shourai!” Duncan pointed his sword at Gilgamesh sending a spout of fire at him. Duncan’s own body started to smoke, bits of his flesh turning red. He didn’t stop his charge swinging his jian to catch Gilgamesh’s arm and create an opening to stab him with the Sword. The warrior once again phased through him and prepared to throw a hadoken, only to be stopped by Boom De-yada bucking him in the knee, causing him to stumble slightly, as Twisted spear jumped slashed at his face with her spear. He responded by grabbing the dragon by the head and slamming her into the earth pony, only to be met with two slashes across the chest from both of Duncan’s weapons. He grunted in pain for a moment before hitting Duncan with another shoryuken, sending him flying into the air, only Snow Drop to grab him mid-air. He was then met with a combined blast from all the unicorns to his back, causing him to stumble forwards slightly. He saw all the soldiers having gathered themselves and preparing to attack from all sides.

Gilgamesh raised a fist skyward, glowing with a violet light. “Kongou Kokuretsuzan,” he said almost casually before slamming his fist into the ground, producing an explosion that demolished the earth and sent all the combatants tumbling.

Duncan struggled to sit up, only for a heavy foot to force him back down. He stared up at the armored warrior, ready to continue fighting, when he noticed that the warrior’s more intimidating displays of power were gone.

Gilgamesh removed his foot and offered his hand. “And what have learned, boy?” he asked, his voice back to normal.

“You can be afraid, but you need to still move. Let nothing stop you, not even yourself.” Duncan coughed several times banishing the cards to their sealed forms. He laid there looking up into Gilgamesh’s eyes.

Gilgamesh nodded. “Not the words I would’ve used, but still hit the nail on the head,” he replied, picking the boy up and dusting him off. The dust began to clear and the other soldiers began to regain themselves. When they noticed him they immediately prepared for a fight, only to calm down when they noticed what the warrior was doing. “Congratulations. You have stared down an enemy you couldn’t possibly hope to defeat and fought bravely. You have proven to be true warriors who stand firmly by each others sides and in front of any enemy. Feel proud, for you would do well in my own army.”

“You sir are an ass, but thank you. I think it would be best if we called it for the day, I think some of us need some medical attention. Unless you have any last words you wanted to share, sir?” Chief asked coughing slightly his breath was short and painful.

Gilgamesh thought for a moment before responding. “Listen up! What you faced was one of my most powerful techniques. You held up well, but to perfectly honest, you went against roughly fifteen percent of my full power.”

There was a collective sigh of defeat as the ponies slumped to the ground exhausted, thoroughly done.

“Now, I understand how you feel hearing that, but I want you to know this: I wasn’t always this powerful, and I have been defeated before. I want to remember not to grow complacent, to always get better, and know that giants have been defeated by those beneath them. Don’t ever stop getting stronger, and don’t ever lose your will to fight. Am I clear?”

“SIR!” They responded with a low level of enthusiasm.

Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes. “Why can’t I hear you!?” he asked.

“YES SIR!” They all shouted as loud as they could get, their bodies at their limit.

“Good. Come see me if you have any particularly debilitating injuries. The rest of you, rest up and take the remaining time off. I’ll see you here on tomorrow and oh eight hundred hours. Dismissed.”

“Sir!” Most of the ponies elected to remain where they were not ready to move yet. One of the medical ponies approached Duncan, looking him over.

“Can I help you?” Duncan asked still not moving.

“You have several burns from magic overuse,” She sighed shaking her head and red mane. “You will need to be on bed rest till they recover, using magic at this stage could cause worse injuries.”

“Seriously?” Duncan asked.

“Yes, but don’t worry you won’t be the only pony dealing with it the unicorn from yesterday is suffering the same problem, so you will have some company.” She explained flagging down a stretcher team to pick up the displaced.

“That is two patients in as many days sir. Please be gentle,” She asked Gilgamesh before walking away without another word.

“Gotcha,” he replied, casting Curaga spells on all the injured ponies before him, managing to recover their wounds, but not their soreness or exhaustion, before moving over to Duncan and doing the same. Surprisingly, the magic burns did not go away completely, but instead looked like a mild case of sunburn. “Oh, that reminds me, I need to pay Trixie a visit.”

“Sir! When I said no magic I meant it. Magic overuse is serious an outside forces could cause irreparable harm.” She glared at him again. “It is caused by drawing too much magic through one’s own body, light cases cause headaches, mild cases leave burns on the skin, serious cases can burn internal organs killing the user. Introducing outside magic can aggravate the effect and make it worse.”

“Really wish someone told me that,” Gilgamesh complained. “I thought you meant him using magic.” The mare rolled her eyes, thinking she had said it before.

“Thanks Gilgamesh, I’ll be fine. I’ve broken a bone before and came out fine.” Duncan smiled though the pain, thankful that the healing spell seemed to do what it was intended to and not make things worse. “Why don’t you come with we can see Trixie? You said you needed to see her yesterday.”

“Yeah, I need to give her a little talk. I’ve always had a soft spot for the misguided. Hey girls, you coming?” he asked, turning back to Mane six and Spike only to see them all staring at him, eyes wide and jaws dropped. “What?”

“...That. Was. AWESOME!” Rainbow shouted. “I mean, scary as Tartarus yes, but still awesome!”

“I’ll be that was some impressive fightin’. Never seen the guards get a good whooping like that.” AJ stated in amazement. Rarity turned her nose up feeling the creature was rather uncouth and rude. Fluttershy remained hidden behind her friends refusing to look at the terrifying creature.

“That was totally awesome, can you teach me to fight like that? I could be just like the Power Ponies!” Spike rushed up to Gilgamesh with wide, hopeful, eyes.

“Spike!” Twilight chastised him, “That was certainly impressive. I’ll be sending the Princess a detailed report of what I have learned today, and yesterday. I still want to know how you have a over thousand year old commission.”

“Maybe I’ll tell you later.”

“Visiting hours are over at six so make sure it’s a fast visit. If you’ll follow us sir, we will show you the way. Duncan will be rooming with her.” The mare instructed them, the stretcher ponies started off in the direction of the hospital.

“Give me a second!” Gilgamesh called back, before walking over to the group and kneeling down near Fluttershy, who was still scared. “Hey Flutters. I scared you, didn’t I?” he asked in a gentle voice. Unfortunately she didn’t answer and drew back further behind Applejack. After a few moments she nodded slowly. “I’m really sorry about that. That was a test of their bravery, and they all did very well. But I still know someone who was even braver than any of them. She was someone who was very soft and gentle, very quiet and scared of so many things. You’d think she would never hurt a fly, but when her friends were in danger she summoned up her courage fought to defend them. You know what her name was?”

She shook her head ‘no’ slowly, curios about this brave and kind mare. She even gathered enough courage to look Gilgamesh in the eye.

“Fluttershy.”

She eeped hearing her name, “How do you know my name?”

“Because I’m from another Equestria, one not too different from this one. And back where I’m from, that version of you is one of the most amazing ponies I’ve ever met. You see, we had a really big war going on, and a lot of bad things happened. But we won because a lot of good people found their courage and fought for what was right, including my universe’s version of you. I asked her once, ‘Fluttershy, you’ve become so brave. How did that happen?’ She told me that she wasn’t brave at all, that she was scared out of her mind every time she went onto the battlefield, but she still did what she could to help because she felt that was right. I smiled and told her ‘that’s what bravery is.’”

“I really did all those things? How did I respond?” She asked curious to hear about such a brave version of herself.

“She just said ‘thank you’ and went back to her duties. Now then,” he extended his hand out to her. “Could you be brave for a little bit and come with me? There’s a pony I really need to talk to, and I would appreciate it if all of you girls were there too.”

She took his hand, standing straight, she nodded with confidence. “If another me can do it, then there is no reason I shouldn’t. You know you’re a really nice stallion.”

“Thank you,” he said and gently placer her upon his shoulder. As they all walked towards the hospital, Rainbow Dash flew up to him.

“You made that up, right? I mean, Fluttershy is one of my best friends, but there’s no way she could be that brave,” she whispered in his ear.

Gilgamesh smirked back. “Tell that to Master Sergeant Fluttershy herself,” he replied smugly.

Rainbow looked absolutely gobsmacked before asking “What’s a Master Sergeant?”

“In our military system, that’s almost the top of the enlisted rankings, around an E-8. She might not have been on officer, but she was far from a grunt.”

Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks realizing where that put her friend. Being the military buff she was because of her desire to be a Wonderbolt, she knew that made her friend a Senior Chief, a rank normally held by really old ponies.

“Coming Rainbow, dear?” Rarity asked trotting along with the rest of the group.

Duncan was wheeled into the room first, the tests the doctors performed while he was being moved showed no serious damage. The curtain was currently drawn around the other occupant. After quickly getting Duncan transferred to the bed, they instructed him on how to use the call button and that there was a book cart that came around every few hours.

“Now then, they said you wished to speak with our other patent, Trixie you have guests.” A nurse called over to the mare pulling the curtain back.

“Trixie cares not, Trixie doesn’t want guests.” Was her only reply as she sat in bed looking out the windows. She was covered in bandages with tubes and cables connected all over her. A heart monitor was stationed next to her bed, beeping at a steady pace.

“You sure? You took over a town and subjugated its citizens, not to mention interfered with international relationships,” Gilgamesh began, stepping inside. “Sure you were kinda driven insane, then you were possessed by two magical embodiments, but I’m gonna guess the town is pretty pissed at you. So, I kinda thought you might want someone who actually wants to help you out.”

“Why should Trixie believe you? Trixie remembers, she saw you fight her. She also saw the monster in pony form. Trixie remembers everything, Trixie IS A MONSTER!” She exclaimed quickly dissolving to tears.

Rainbow Dash had been about ready to start chewing Trixie out when she saw this display. Even she wasn’t insensitive enough to berate a crying mare. The others turned away unsure of what to do. Only Twilight had any idea. She stepped forward placing a hoof on the crying mare’s shoulder.

“It’s ok Trixie, we’re not mad, just worried. If you listen I promise we will make it worth it.” Twilight smiled as she tried to comfort the mare.

“Promise?”

“Stick a cupcake in my eye.” Twilight said earning a giggle from her friends and a serious look from Pinkie Pie.

“Say it right or not at all, remember a Pinkie promise is a serious thing!” Pinky Pie appeared on the far side of Trixie’s bed without anypony seeing her move.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my ey- ow!” Twilight went through the motions only to poke herself in the eye. “Gah! How is it I still do that!?”

“Trixie is confused by your promise,” The events so silly that they completely derailed her own self pity. She blinked looking at the group of friends all laughing at their friend’s misfortune.

“So will you try and listen? We promise we want to help you.” Fluttershy approached the foot of the bed looking hopeful at Trixie.

“Trixie will listen, but she is not happy.”

“That’s ok. We can work on that part later,” Gilgamesh said.

“What do you ponies and monster want to talk about?” She turned away to look out the window refusing to look them in the face again, not after causing them all so much pain.

“Hey! That’s not nice!” Gilgamesh complained. “You shouldn’t talk about Spike like that!”

Trixie only glared at Gilgamesh.

“Jeez, no humor. Ok, down to the nitty gritty,” he began as he sat down next to her. He paused for a moment and inhaled. “I’m an interdimensional traveler from another version of Equestria and the Trixie where I’m from did the same thing you did except for the getting possessed and getting the crap beat out of you part and she became a good friend of mine and so I kinda want to help you out too,” he explained quickly.

“So you are doing this as an obligation to your friend?” She asked not quite grasping what was going on, “Did you fight her too?”

“I’m not doing this as an obligation to anyone. I’m doing it because I want to. And no, we didn’t fight.”

“Then why help Trixie?” She asked. The other ponies in the room looking to Gilgamesh for his answer, curious to see why such a powerful creature would want to help a pony he doesn’t even really know.

“Because I know a misguided soul when I see one. And I guess I have a habit of trying to nudge others in a direction of happiness. And self-fulfillment. And power.”

“Happiness and power. Trixie has learned power does not lead to happiness. Power leads to pain.” She answered. she rubbed her horn wincing in pain.

“That’s very true. If power alone is all you care about. But what you use that power for can bring you happiness. Especially if it also brings happiness to others.”

Trixie turned away and muttered something under her breath that nopony could understand.

“What was that?”

“I said Trixie is not good enough to bring happiness!” She exclaimed, before falling into a coughing fit, her heart rate monitor started to beep a lot faster. The mane six looked on with surprise and concern, Rainbow Dash leaving to get a nurse.

“Easy there!” he exclaimed, holding onto her foreleg and stroking her gently. “Deep breaths, deep breaths.”

Trixie froze at the contact. Her heartbeat grew less erratic but still elevated. She tried to mesh this kind pony with the one who toyed with her the day before. She just couldn’t figure it out.

“Do I want to do this twice in one day?” he muttered under his breath. “...Yeah, why not?” he decided before turning to look Trixie in the eye. “Ok Trix, I’m gonna tell you about someone I know from back home. But first… ear scratch!”

“Wha-?” Trixie tried to ask before she felt the most blissful feeling in the world come from where the monster was moving his fingers, right behind his ears. Trixie practically fell limp and purred contently, providing an interesting scene for when Rainbow Dash arrived back with the nurses.

“Sir! That is highly inappropriate, no wonder her heart rate is eleva... or not, she seems to actually be relaxed now. Curious,” She looked over the machine, before turning back to the group. “I understand she is your friend but please be careful not to agitate her she is still recovering, she received level three injuries from her magic overuse.” She blushed and made a point to not look at Gilgamesh, “Sir I recommend you try to restrict such actions.”

“Gotcha. Thanks for letting me indulge,” he replied before stopping, causing Trixie to moan in disappointment. A moment later she realized what had just happened, huffing as she turned away, a blush noticeable on her cheeks.

Duncan laughed a little causing everypony to realise he was there and look more embarrassed. He looked on with an amused expression, noticing the blush on everypony’s face. He could hear Twilight talking to herself as she scribbled a note.

“Extradimensional cultures have very different views on what is acceptable in public, and potentially different views on mating rituals.” Twilight quickly wrote down adding it to her list of things to talk with the Princess about.

“Wait, what was that last part?” Gilgamesh asked.

“The area behind a pony’s ears is filled with nerve endings. Contact is considered extremely intimate and pleasurable. Such acts are normally reserved for two ponies who are in a relationship.”

“Huh. In all the other places I’ve been that hasn’t been the case. I mean, at most they might’ve shown some indignation over being essentially petted like a dog, but nothing so… intimate.”

There was a very awkward silence as the ponies were unsure of what to say next. What happened to break the silence shocked everypony and caused Duncan to start laughing evilly.

“Trixie did not complain.” Was all the blue mare said with a blush still on her face.

“Huh. Looks like I’ve got a way with blue mares,” he muttered. “Anyway, back to my story!”

“Yes quite right, continue your story, and let us not focus on embarrassing cultural mishaps.” Rarity muttered trying to dismiss the blush on her face.

“Ok, so I wanted to tell you about a gal I know from back home. She was a mare who had just come from doing something she deeply regretted, as she was lost in her desire for revenge. I talked with her a little and gave her a nudge in the right direction. A few months after we met a huge war broke out and a lot of ponies volunteered to help fight for what was right, and she was one of them. I was genuinely surprised at how much she changed since I last met her, and how much she continued to change over the war. She actually developed an invisibility spell, was taught Zebra shaman magic, and even became the first pony ever to learn how to use changeling shapeshifting magic. But most importantly was how her personality changed. She was a real big braggart before, always making claims she couldn’t back up. But when I met her again… well, she hadn’t entirely lost her ego, but she didn’t flaunt it in front of everypony else. In fact she became one of the best spies, gathering intelligence from our enemies and bringing it back for the rest of us. Though she didn’t do much fighting on the frontlines, her part was crucial to many victories nonetheless, and everyone involved in those victories knew who to thank.”

“This sounds like a very impressive mare. Trixie would be unworthy to meet her.” Trixie sighed, she looked up at the displaced, a blush still on her cheeks. “If Trixie is reading your story correctly, then you think Trixie would be worthy someday?”

Gilgamesh smirked. “I’d like to answer your question with another question. Do you want to know what this mare’s name was?”

“Trixie only knows one boastful mare with a desire for revenge. If you really are from another world, Trixie guesses Trixie?”

“Yup. And not just ‘Trixie Lulamoon.’ By the end of the war she was Captain Trixie Lulamoon.”

“Captain!” She exclaimed, “Trixie joined the guard, and became a Captain! Trixie is sure that she has a long way to go to be worthy of meeting her.”

“Every journey starts somewhere, Trixie. Are you willing to take that first step? You’re starting from roughly the same place she is.”

She didn’t answer for a moment before turning away and muttering something under her breath again.

“Trixie, enough with the mumbling. And please don’t shout or else I’m gonna scratch your ears again.”

Trixie blushed again, open and closing her mouth several times. Unsure of how to answer. After several moments she finally closed her eyes and steeled herself to answer with a calm voice.

“I said, If you want Trixie to she will.”

“Of course I want to. But the real question is ‘do you want to’?”

“Would Trixie be able to make friends like your Trixie?” She asked

“Absolutely.”

“Of course Trixie, I would even be willing to be your first,” said Twilight with a big smile on her face.

“You would forgive Trixie for everything she has done?” Trixie asked shocked.

“Sure, after all it’s what friends do.”

Trixie smiled back, only for the heartwarming moment to be ruined by Rainbow Dash.

“Ok, hold on a minute here! I thought Fluttershy being a Master Sergeant was Ridiculous, but you’re telling me she was a Captain!? I was part of this army too, right!? What rank was I!?”

“Yes you were, and you were a 2nd Lieutenant by war’s end,” Gilgamesh replied.

“What is a 2nd Lieutenant?” she asked, not familiar with the foreign ranks.

“Two ranks below Trixie’s.”

“Seriously!? She out ranks me!?” Rainbow Dash ashed in shock, making overly exaggerated expressions before falling to the ground in despair

“Relax Dashy, he is talking about another dimension. In this one you should worry about getting into the military first. How goes your application to the Wonderbolts academy?” Pinky Pie patted her friend on the shoulder. “I want to send you letters while you’re away and maybe a care package! So, so, so?”

“Still waiting on the response, but you’re right, I’m the amazing Rainbow Dash I’ll be awesome in this world!” Rainbow Dash recovered quickly.

“You tend to be in most every dimension,” Gilgamesh confirmed. “Anyway, I think visiting hours are going to be over soon. I need to go plan out the training for the rest of the guard here, as well as get someone who can teach Duncan while I’m away, so we better head out ladies. And Spike.”

“Huh, glad somepony remembers me. See ya around Trixie, Duncan, you two get better soon.” Spike said walking out of the room and waving to the two bedridden patients. The other girls following him, Twilight hung back.

“What I said is true, I’ll be your friend. Think it over.” Twilight offered.

“Trixie wants to change, she… I want to be your friend.” She sniffed tears flowing down her eyes.

Twilight smiled and trotted out.

“Oh, and Trixie?” Gilgamesh began before leaning in and looking at her with a serious expression. “We are going to talk about that ‘monster in pony form,’ at another time. Got me?”

Trixie was surprised to see him so serious and could only nod in response. Gilgamesh nodded back and walked out the door.

“Now, I wonder how Changie’s coming along with our little unruly child?” he muttered.

Author's Notes:

Yup its more with Shinigamisparda and his story The Mighty Warrior of Epicness and its sequel, For Glory! For Equus! For Epicness!

... I'm seriously considering adding him as a co-author. Until next time ^-^