//------------------------------// // Episode 5: A Ghastly Trick // Story: An Epic for Gilgamesh // by zaleacon //------------------------------// The mail came slightly later than Fluttershy had been expecting. And by "slightly later," she was referring to the two hours that it had taken the messenger to get the mail to her, well after the usual amount of time it took. "I'm truly sorry about this. Yes. I am," he said. He was dressed like a royal messenger, wearing a dark blue coat and black-rimmed hat. "I meant to be here several hours prior, but… I became somewhat sidetracked." Fluttershy blinked, and retreated into the door of her cottage slightly. "O-oh," she whispered, "that's… f-fine. A-at least it's here now." The messenger bowed his head apologetically. "Again, I'm truly sorry about all of this. I had no intention to keep you waiting so long. No. I didn't." He grimaced. "But, without further ado, I must present you with this message." He lifted a small envelope from his bag using magic and floated it over to Fluttershy. The messenger saluted her, smiled slightly, and turned away. "How strange," he mumbled to himself as he began to walk away from the cottage. "To think that such a letter would merely be sitting in the midst of the throne room… Why would Princess Luna request me to deliver such a simple-looking message…?" When he was out of her line of sight, Fluttershy closed the door, and let out a sigh of relief. It was already hard enough to deal with a normal mail carrier, but having to speak to one of Princess Luna's own messengers had made it immensely difficult for her to remain calm throughout the short conversation. Fluttershy carefully looked the envelope over. There was no return sender? That was definitely odd. In fact, there were no marks of any kind, save her own name printed in large, featureless text. There wasn't even a stamp, now that she thought about it. Was it really from the princess? In spite of her own desire to avoid curiosity like the plague – curiosity killed the cat, after all, and Fluttershy loved cats – she could not help but gingerly open the envelope, cautiously peeling it apart. As it opened, Fluttershy could see nothing inside except for a small piece of paper, likely folded over several times. She pulled it out, once again with extreme caution, as something about it completely unnerved her. Fluttershy's suspicion had proved to be right; the letter was folded over itself several times, as if in a desire to make it better fit the envelope. But even as she unfolded it for the last time, Fluttershy could tell that the message was a perfect square, and small – barely three inches on each side, in fact. The only things that were large were the words listed before her. They were as featureless and bold as her name on the envelope's front, and Fluttershy felt her heart stop as she read them over to herself: You will die next. -- An Epic for Gilgamesh -- -- Episode 5: A Ghastly Trick -- -- Written By ZaleAcon -- "So… another has turned up." "Yeah. Poor beasts." Fenrir Dire placed a hoof on his head. "What a waste," he muttered, "but are there any leads on what caused these travesties?" Detective Cold Case shook her head. "Nothing yet, sir," she responded. "Only that one note's been found. And that's all." "Right. I understand." Dire stood up from his desk, and looked out his office's window over Canterlot. "What a waste," he repeated. "To think that such acts could go so far… Detective, have you any information on their physical states at the time of their…?" "Yes, sir," replied Case. In the mirror's reflection, Dire could see her as she placed a manila envelope on his desk. "The victims were all mutilated; Mister Abyssal Void's horn was cracked and broken off, Miss Maelstrom's wings were cut off, and the last victim – an earth pony, we believe based on no evidence of either wings or a horn – still hasn't been recognized due to the severe scars and scorch marks on his or her body." She shuddered, and touched her own horn protectively. Dire felt his wings clamp to his sides as those words passed his eardrums. He was never one for flight, and was always a pegasus who preferred to be grounded, but he could still feel a sense of terror at the mere thought of one's wings being cleaved from their back. "I see," he responded, as calmly as he could manage. Which, given the circumstances, was very calm. "Detective, thank you for this report." Case nodded, and placed a hoof up to her head in a kind of salute. "Of course, sir. Although, if you don't mind me asking…" Dire turned to face her. "What is it?" "Regarding this report, sir… I've been meaning to ask for a while, now, but –" Cold Case paused, as if she was trying to find the right words to say "– why is it that you seem so fixated on this case? This isn't like you to want to look over something. As a prosecutor, I mean." Case rubbed the back of her head. "I mean… there aren't any suspects, and I'm sure as hay that this isn't going to be taken to court…" "Perhaps," Dire admitted, and he sat down in his chair. "However, that being said, assumptions cannot be made that such an event as this is to be taken lightly; there are far too many… similarities between the incidents. Even if the common theory is…" He coughed, trying to veer away from the subject. "Yes, but in that vein, should we not suspect foul play?" Cold Case rolled her eyes. "There hasn't been a murder in this area – especially not on this scale – in four years. You should know that better than anypony, so why are y–?" "Please, Detective," Dire said sharply. "Do not question my want for involvement in this. In any case," he added, standing up once more, "there is no point to this line of questioning. I would advise you to hurry to the scene once more, or should I choose to call Dreadnaught and tell him about your act of insubordination?" Case's lips twitched up into a smirk. "Yes, of course," she mused, feigning a look of horror. "I should be far more careful. Although… I'm pretty sure that the chief isn't going to get mad over an ‘infraction’ such as simple curiosity. Eh, sir?" Dire narrowed his eyes. "Detective, do not try my hoof on this matter," he snapped. "Yes, sir," Case sighed. "By the way, Mr. Dire, sir… I've been meaning to say: We got a message earlier today. Somepony got a letter saying they'd be the next one to die. Name's… uh… Butterfly, or something. Sent the letter they’d gotten to us to look over." Dire grimaced, and sat back in his seat. "Of course… has there been anything on what to do regarding the threat?" "Nothing yet, sir." "I see." There was silence for several seconds as Dire mentally evaluated the actual worth of the police, doing nothing to assist a creature that had been threatened so horrifically. At last, he slammed his hoof into the desk before him, and his eyes met Case's. "Well, why not?" he snapped, although his voice was icy. "You must realize that a creature has been marked for death, and none of you have even made the decision to go and protect him or her?" Case went pale, and she looked away. "W-well, sir, that's…" She swallowed before meeting his gaze once more. "U-um… Well, w-we think it's… j-just a prank, sir." "A prank?" hissed Dire. "You believe this to be a mere prank? Even if that is the case, that should not deter your movements! It is actions such as yours that caused Equestria's last murder to occur in the first place, and Dreadnaught is willing to allow such negligence to continue?!" He was shouting by that point, and Case seemed to have shrunk back in terror of his voice. "B-but we're not… sure if it's a murder, yet… sir…" whimpered Case. Her eyes had turned to pinpricks, and her blue-gray coat had become almost white. "Th-the consensus is th-that they're all–" "Suicides, I know!" Dire snapped once more. "But is that any cause for such ignorance and arrogance on your part? What did Dreadnaught have to say on this matter, hmm? Did he advocate your stupidity?!" He slammed his hoof into the desk once more. Dire's voice suddenly became very quiet and calm. "Now, if you desire to keep your profession, I would advise you to go and at the very least attempt to convince Dreadnaught to go and at least check on the creature who called for your aid." Case shrunk back towards the door, and she mumbled "Y-yes, sir… I-I'll do that…" before she turned and stumbled out of Dire's office. Fenrir Dire sighed, and rubbed his temples. Cold Case was a brilliant detective, there was no denying that fact, but he often questioned how she – in her ignorance outside of that career – had not lost that position after so many blunders. He reached over and opened the manila envelope that she had placed before him, looking over its contents with eagle eyes. As always, her gathering of evidence was as neat as it was meticulous. The images of the bodies were all in great quality, as was the written information, the diagrams of the scenes, and any other evidence that had been gathered. The given information – the way that the victims had been hung from their necks, the ladders that revealed only their hoof-prints – all pointed to signs of suicide, but something about the victims themselves, all of whom were mutilated horribly, did nothing but reaffirm his first opinion; namely, the theory that the cases were all homicides. And that was not even to mention the note that had been found at the scene of the latest victim, the one who had been so destroyed that his or her very body could no longer be identified. Dire stared at the image of the message, its letters awkwardly scrawled in blood, and with only a single word, but quickly pushed it away in an attempt to keep that word from searing itself even further into his brain. No, that was not important at the moment. What mattered, first and foremost, was to ensure that no more victims would appear, and that the creature who had called in with a note of her own would be discovered to not die in such a disturbing manner. Dire rested his head on his hooves, and let out yet another sigh, hoping that Cold Case would be quick. The sound of knocking echoed throughout the entire bottom level of the library. It reverberated across the wooden floor, the walls covered in various literary works, and finally reached its intended target: one Twilight Sparkle. She looked up from the parchment on which she had been writing, and turned her gaze toward the entrance to the library's entrance. With a low groan of annoyance, she trotted over to the door and pulled it open. On the other side stood a unicorn stallion, his light-gray mane and maroon coat visible under a blue jacket and hat. His stature was fairly average, leaving him almost completely un-noteworthy. In fact, the only thing about him that Twilight really noticed was that he wore the clothing of a royal messenger, and a fairly high-ranking one, it seemed. The messenger smiled at her, although he appeared very uneasy. "Ah, so you're Princess Twilight Sparkle?" he asked, though he continued without any confirmation: "Yes, er… It's a pleasure, I must say. Yes. It is. Um, yes… I was apparently requested to deliver you this letter. But I'm not entirely certain as to why…" He shrugged, and magically grabbed a small parchment from his bag, before pulling it up in front of his face. "Yes, yes… here, I'll read it to you… Yes. I will." "'Dearest Twilight Sparkle,'" read the messenger, looking over the parchment, "'it would appear that there is a problem. A very large one, at that. You see, my most faithful of messengers has told me of a letter that he delivered to your friend, Fluttershy, after discovering it in the throne room of the royal palace. However, there appears to be an issue in regard to that.'" He paused, took a breath, and said, "'Yes, I had written no such letter, and there were signs that the window in the throne room was broken from the outside. Worse still, it appears that the letter that my messenger delivered happens to have been a'…" He paused again, and his eyes turned into pinpricks. "No… that can't possibly be…" he breathed. "What is it?!" Twilight urged, attempting to pry what little information she could out of the messenger. After all, if he insisted on reading the princess's letter to her – a move that she, personally, found rather baffling – he may as well tell her just what the truth of the matter was. "What did she say?" The messenger regained his composure, and nodded. "Yes, I'm very sorry. Yes. I am. Now, where was I…? Ah, yes…" He inhaled, and said, "'Worse still, it appears that the letter that my messenger delivered happens to have been a death threat. I cannot say for certain, but it seems that somepony wishes to see your friend dead. The police have recently dispatched a detective and her partner to look over this matter. They have also recommended that you and one of your friends – although just one, for reasons that they refused to disclose – in order to keep her company before they arrive, if only to put her at ease. If you discover any new information, please alert myself, Princess Celestia, or Dreadnaught, the chief of police, immediately. My thanks, Princess Luna.'" He grimaced. “Ah, yes… she has added a post-script, it would appear: 'In the case that you are wondering why I had to send a messenger in order to give you this, I was unable to contact Celestia, and desired to get you this as fast as I could. He may seem somewhat lazy, but I assure you that this messenger is the best I had available.'” As soon as he stopped reading, the messenger let out a sigh. "Lazy? Me? That's ridiculous. Yes. It is. Oh, well," he added, and looked up at Twilight. "Yes, I do believe that is all. I'm very sorry for the bad news, Princess Sparkle. Yes. I am." He rubbed the back of his head with his left foreleg, and sighed again. "Yes, very sorry. In any case, I realize that you likely wish to go and check on your friend. So I'm sorry for holding you up for so long." The world around Twilight began to spin. A death threat? Against Fluttershy of all ponies? How could anypony want her dead, or be willing to go so far as to send her a letter proclaiming that desire? She felt sick at the mere thought. "R-right," she at last managed to say, trying to steady herself. "Um… thank you, Mister… um…?" The messenger nodded, and tipped his cap. "Encrypted Glass, Princess." Twilight nodded. Her mouth felt dry, and her wings were clamped to her sides as if bound to them by steel. "Yes," she managed to say, trying to sound as calm as possible. Which, given the circumstances, was not calm at all. "Th-thank you, Mister Glass." "It's n-not a problem at all, Princess. No. It's not," Glass replied, and he placed his hoof up to his forehead head in a kind of salute. "It is m-merely my duty as Princess Luna's personal messenger to get everything out a-as soon as feasibly possible! And I shall do just that, regardless of the circumstances. Yes. I-I shall." He attempted to smile, but Twilight, even in her terrified and exhausted state, could tell just how disturbed Glass truly was at the news. She held up a hoof. "Really, don't worry about it," she said. "Thank you for getting it to me so quickly, though." "Again, it's not a problem at all on my part," he said. "But in any case, it would be best for me to be off. Yes. It would. So farewell, Princess, and I wish you the best of luck on your escapade!" And with that, he turned and began to sprint away from the library, leaving Twilight in silence. “So,” Gilgamesh said, not looking over at Twilight as he was led along the dirt road, “can you explain something to me?” He was slightly hunched over, and he once again mentally cursed at her for having dragged him out and into the open. She simply glanced over at him. “What?” Gilgamesh grimaced. “Why are you dragging me of all creatures along with you on your escapade to your friend’s house?” Twilight merely rolled her eyes, and refocused her gaze on the road. “I already told you,” she said bluntly. “Maybe if you actually took the time to listen…” She shook her head, and let out a sigh. “Ugh… this is just ridiculous…” “What? A threat such as that seems pretty normal to me.” Gilgamesh pressed a hand to his mouth, stifling a yawn. Twilight rolled her eyes again. “Yeah. I’m sure it would be,” she remarked dryly. The two walked in silence for a time, the world around them eerily quiet and cold as they stepped along. No sounds save their footsteps could be heard, and even the animals about the area seemed to have hidden. In spite of the beautiful weather – which was certainly better than the storm from the previous day – the area simply seemed devoid of life. Not even any ponies wandered the grounds, although, given the recent threat, Gilgamesh could hardly blame them. He had received many of the like back in his own world, commonly from Exdeath’s more disgruntled servants when they longed for his position, but the response to them had been swift and brutal. Several minutes passed in that awkward, terrible silence, before Gilgamesh finally said, “Well, why is it that you’re asking me for help? Would it not be better for one of your friends, one of the creatures she trusts, to look after her? Instead of a complete stranger?” A stranger who had recently pointed a pitchfork at one of her friends, at that. Once more, Twilight was quiet for several seconds. “Well,” she finally said, although it sounded somewhat pained and forced, “you seem like the most qualified… in this case, I mean.” She placed a hoof on her chin, as if trying to figure out what to say next. “Yeah. Um… right, you just seem like the one who would be best at keeping Fluttershy safe, I think.” The silence came down again, with only the crunching dirt of the path able to be heard over the quiet cacophony. Gilgamesh looked out over the landscape. It truly was beautiful, he thought to himself – the grass was a very healthy-looking shade of green, the trees that littered the area all had leaves of the same color, and the scattered ponds were clear. It was certainly a step up from the disgusting, mosquito-infested marshes that he was used to. Gilgamesh grimaced, and looked back towards the path. It was important that he was to focus on the matter at hand. Why was a creature as docile as the so-called “Fluttershy” being targeted for death? What was the purpose, or the motive behind the action? She most certainly did not seem like the kind of equine who would warrant such abuse, or so Gilgamesh assumed, based on his limited contact with her. Then again, the same could be said of Lenna – from what he had seen of her, Gilgamesh knew that she was extremely kind, but she certainly packed a punch behind that dagger of hers. He rubbed one of his wrists at the memory of a particularly painful blow, before turning his mind back to the matter at hand. Again, Fluttershy did not appear particularly dangerous. Even her name displayed that fact, and Gilgamesh knew all too well just how much a name in the equines’ dimension meant about them, overall. But still, if she really was the kind on a daily basis, then why? Why would any of the creatures of the land lust for her blood, to the point of sending her a message about it? Logically speaking, wouldn’t one just commit the act? Giving advance warning seemed extremely arrogant. Or, perhaps, like it was never meant to commit the crime at all. Could that be what they were dealing with? No, Gilgamesh had done his research – a simply prank had already been ruled out by the detectives, especially after further testing had been done on the letter Fluttershy had received. Then the arrogance was likely the correct choice in the matter. Whoever the alleged murderer was, could it be that they were simply incredibly cocky in their own abilities? Yes, that seemed possible. Plausible, even. Gilgamesh placed a hand on his chin. “Arrogance, eh?” he heard himself mutter. “But, in that case, the killer would have to be a creature proud of their act, and confident of their abilities as a whole. That narrows it down to –” he froze, realizing that Twilight was staring at him “– literally hundreds of potential suspects,” he finished, shortly before noticing that his latest tangent had taught him absolutely nothing new about the criminal or their identity. “Rainbow Dash was right,” he heard Twilight murmur to herself. “That was really creepy…” Gilgamesh looked away from her in an effort to avoid any further scrutiny. However, it was immediately as he did so that he realized that the two of them had already reached Fluttershy’s cottage. As was to be expected, the place was literally surrounded by a combination of barbed wire, steel fencing, and what appeared to be a giant ring of fire, forming a sort of cage that not even the smallest of pegasi could fit into. The only open area was a single gate at the front, and even that appeared to require heavy checking in order to pass. Rightly so, Gilgamesh thought to himself as he and Twilight approached the entryway. A figure appeared at the gate as they approached, clad in some sort of security uniform. Gilgamesh instantly recognized him as the monstrous chimera that he had encountered on his first day, and instinctively wanted to turn back as soon as the chimera’s eyes locked with his. The creature simply looked him over for several seconds, and looked to Twilight. “Oh, if it isn’t Princess Twilight Sparkle! … and friend,” he added bitterly. “So, I take it that you’re here to check up on Fluttershy, hmm?” Twilight looked at the creature with something resembling distaste, but nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Discord, can you just let us through? I’d rather not have to wait out here…” She didn’t finish the thought, and shuddered, instead. The creature, Discord, rolled his eyes. “Well, as much as I would just love to see you ripped apart by some crazy pony, I think that would put a bit of a… a bit of a damper on Fluttershy’s and my friendship… so fine.” He stepped aside in order to let her through, but pulled himself back into place as soon as Gilgamesh walked up to the entrance. “Whoa, sorry there, Buffy, but no can do.” Discord pulled out a fish rolled up in sandpaper, and started to file his nails. “See, I’m not really sure if I can trust you around Fluttershy. She’s a bit… delicate, with that threat and all. And I’m not about to let a creature like you go and make anything worse. So, sorry to tell you this, but –” Discord’s head disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing with sunglasses on his face “– take a hike.” “Discord…!” Twilight’s voice was dangerous. “What?” Discord asked, his voice suddenly the sound of pure innocence, and a halo appeared over his head. “I may not look it, but I actually care about my friends – and I’m not going to make them suffer any more than they already are.” He pulled the halo from his head, flattened it, and started to pick at his teeth. “Again. It’s nothing personal. Except completely.” Gilgamesh reached one of his eight hands to the sword at his side. “You would challenge me?” he asked, attempting to keep his own voice from fluctuating. “Then I will gladly accept.” Discord simply looked him over for several seconds. “You understand what I mean, Twilight?” he deadpanned. “There is absolutely no control over this guy! Put him in a room with Fluttershy, and he’ll kill her before anything else gets the chance!” He spat out the flattened halo, and it vanished in a puff of smoke. “I’m amazed that you wouldn’t bring one of your more qualified friends over… even a hothead like Rainbow Dash would be better protection than this idiot!” Gilgamesh grit his teeth, and felt a vein appear on his forehead. “So you doubt that I’m qualified? I assure you that I am quite qualified!” “Um…” came a small whisper from behind them. Discord scoffed. “You? Qualified? Please, even I’m more qualified for this than you are, and I never take anything seriously!” “Um… would you two please…?” Twilight was visibly biting down on her lower lip, as if trying to keep herself from having an outburst. Gilgamesh ignored this however, and simply continued in his efforts to best Discord at his own game. “I assure you that I am quite qualified!” he repeated. “I am a defender at heart! A warrior down to my soul! I have the strength of a glacier, and resilience of a boulder…!” “And all the intelligence and modesty of both,” Discord deadpanned again. “Yeah, listen, I know you’re trying to sound smart, here. Maybe you’ve just got gunk in your ears, but I’m pretty sure that you’re not listening to a word I say.” “U-um… please… would you two just…?” Gilgamesh felt another vein on his forehead. “I-I… I assure you that I…!” He paused, and felt his teeth begin to scrape together. “I… I am–” “An idiot? Yes, I’d believe it.” Discord pulled one of his arms off, and began to scratch his back with it. A new thought process began to work its way into Gilgamesh’s mind. He was no idiot, and he knew that completely. However, attempting to prove such a thing to his latest adversary was proving to be not only ineffective, but also counter-intuitive; Discord was refusing to listen. But what was pushing him to that brink? And why did Gilgamesh feel so angry? Of course, that was it! He was being goaded by Discord into becoming enraged. Why had that thought not occurred to him before, and why did he have to go on a tangent in order to realize it for himself? No, that did not matter at the moment. Gilgamesh instantly felt himself become calm once more, and stared directly into Discord’s eyes. “I,” he said, his voice completely unwavering, “am entirely qualified for this.” He crossed all eight of his arms, and raised his head slightly. “I have all of the necessary pieces in order to make this lucrative… for myself, and for the creature who is now shuddering in terror within the confines of that building.” “Um… but I…” Discord stared at him for several seconds, before cocking his head. “Oh? You think that, just because you went and changed around your stance, that makes you any better for this? Sorry, but it doesn’t quite work like that.” He reattached his arm and cracked his shoulder. Immediately afterward, Discord snapped his fingers, causing a large ice cream cone – shaped like a cat’s head, humorously enough, and with the “ice cream” in question being packing peanuts covered in chocolate sauce – and leaned back against the burning wall around him, but with no marks of it being… well, made of fire anywhere on his body. “You’re just wasting your time, my time, Twilight’s time, Fluttershy’s time, and even the killer’s time…” He paused, and replaced his paw on his chin, thoughtfully licking the packing peanuts while holding the ice cream cone in his other hand. “Well, actually, that last one’s not too bad, now that I think about it… But you’re still wasting everypony’s time just by standing around here.” “Then let me in,” Gilgamesh challenged, “unless… you don’t think you can handle me?” “Don’t try to psychologically manipulate me. It doesn’t work. Lord of chaos, remember? Actually, now that I think about it, you didn’t know that tidbit, did you?” Discord stuffed the entire cone into his mouth at once, and licked his lips. “Ah, that hit the spot… But… well, believe me, I’ve learned my lesson ever since Vinyl Scratch made me fix all of her equipment for free.” He grimaced, and rubbed the back of his head. “Sheesh! That was sure embarrassing…” Gilgamesh cocked an eyebrow. So he was not the only one who had been manipulated by Vinyl? That was comforting, at least. But lord of chaos? What a strange thing to rule. Literally. He cracked his eight sets of fingers, planning to say just that. “You’re worried for your friend’s sake, but you’re not even willing to allow a professional to look at her?” he said instead. “Believe you me, Discord, I am a warrior of the highest caliber. And I will not allow a creature such as you to belittle my intellect, my abilities, or me.” He stood up tall, in such a manner so that he was looking down at Discord. “I was not forcibly dragged out here just to waste my time.” Twilight flushed from behind the gate. “H-hey!” “Not now, Twilight,” snapped Gilgamesh. “I am not one to give up, but if you are so adamant in making this difficult –” he breathed in deep, trying to force the next words out “– then perhaps… we can come to a compromise?” Discord smirked. “Uh, huh. And what’ll that be?” He placed a hand on his chin, and began to stroke his goatee. “Oh, wait, let me guess – you’re going to say something along the lines of –” he pulled out a hand puppet of Gilgamesh, complete with eight arms, and changed his voice to a mockingly high-pitched version of Gilgamesh’s own “– ‘I’ll be polite in there’ or ‘I’ll try and not be an eyesore,’ right?” His voice became normal again, and the puppet burst into flames, before Discord crossed his arms. “Well?” Gilgamesh bit back the urge to say something extremely scathing towards Discord, ignoring it for the simple fact that he needed to convince him that he was open to negotiations. “Well, the two of those are a given,” he remarked as calmly as feasibly possible. Which, given the situation, made his voice shake slightly in a quiet rage. “However! The point that I actually wanted to say was this.” He pulled the sword from its scabbard, and offered it to his verbal adversary. “I am fully willing to allow you to hold on to this whilst I am inside of there – a sort of loan until today’s work has come to a close.” Discord looked down at the sword for just a moment, before he glanced back up to Gilgamesh. “Hmm… I could swear that I’ve seen something like this before… Oh, well.” He held it up into the air, and the weapon vanished in a plume of black smoke. “Well, since you want to go so far for this… Eh, sure. But –” he leaned in close, keeping his eyes level with Gilgamesh’s, before his voice turned dangerous “– if you cause Fluttershy any more strife than she already feels… well… Let’s just say that she won’t be the only one with a death threat. Capiche?” He held out his paw, but retained his cold glare. Gilgamesh hesitated for a moment. Something felt off, but he wasn’t entirely sure what it was. And had he truly just given away his sword? All to get into the house of an equine who he did not even know, and for no good, obvious benefit? Why was he acting so foolish? But after thinking on it for several seconds, he let out a sigh – partly of irritation, and partly of defeat. He had come this far, and by no means would he give up yet. With a single, albeit slow, movement, he reached over and clasped Discord’s hand in his own. Discord instantly grinned, his expression becoming far more lenient and friendly. “Okay, come on in.” He stepped aside, and gestured to the area past the gate. Gilgamesh did just that, choosing to oblige his adversary, and walked past Discord and into the area within the confines of the burning cage. “O-oh!” came a small, whimpering voice from just within the area, although the speaker was hidden behind Twilight. “U-um… I-I’m sorry if Discord caused you any trouble, Mister Gilgamesh… He’s not normally this serious about this kind of thing…” The speaker stepped out from behind Twilight, revealing herself as the pegasus, Fluttershy. Discord sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I told you to wait inside the cottage, Fluttershy,” he said, although not unkindly. “Just because this cage is literally on fire doesn’t mean it’s impenetrable, you know!” Fluttershy blushed. “I’m sorry.” She turned her gaze to the ground, and began to paw at it with one of her front hooves. “I… I heard shouting from out here, and I started to get worried… so I ran out here as fast as I could, and I saw you and Mister Gilgamesh fighting! I-I tried to stop you two, but I guess you couldn’t hear me…” She sighed, emitting a sound that could almost be described as “silent.” Discord looked over at Gilgamesh, the latter fully expecting him to consider that causing Fluttershy “more strife than necessary.” Instead, however, he just sighed again, and gestured at the door. “Go in.” The four creatures did just that, all of them entering Fluttershy’s cottage. Not Fluttershy, Gilgamesh, Discord, nor Twilight seemed willing to sit down, instead with Twilight immediately freaking out as soon as the door closed. “Why the hay did some jerk send you that threat?!” Twilight exclaimed. She began to pace to and fro, all while coming up with possible ways that Fluttershy could have sufficiently created a potential motive. “M-maybe they’re some undercover assassin, and they think she’s a potential threat to their mission! Or maybe Fluttershy’s incited the wrath of some kingpin crime boss! O-or maybe…” She trailed off, her mutterings all difficult to hear. Gilgamesh turned towards Discord and cocked an eyebrow. The unspoken question was obvious, and he responded in turn, “Yes, yes, I’m well aware of that. But at least Twilight didn’t try to skewer me in front of her. Oh, I’m sorry – did I just say that out loud? How silly of me.” Still bitter. How interesting. Gilgamesh really did not have too much to say on the matter, however. He knew the error that he had made, and had no intentions to repeat it any time in the near future. That was, unless the situation actually warranted violence, of course. Even for a creature who oft lauded himself as the great warrior – that he undoubtedly was – Gilgamesh could tell that the equines’ dimension was a place that very much deterred such a thought. And to think that, back in his original world, a death threat was basically a daily greeting. At least… it was among the people of his village, and even then it was done in a joking sort of manner. For just a moment, he felt himself drift away into those memories, before he snapped back to reality. “Um… does he do this often?” Discord asked, looking over at Twilight. “And do his eyes normally glaze over like that when he does?” “Yeah, that sounds about right,” Twilight muttered in reply, having finally calmed down somewhat. Discord rolled his eyes. “Delightful.” Gilgamesh grimaced. Why had he gone on so many random tangents as of late? Was there some problem with him? Certainly, he always was wont to those kinds of events – as he remembered, many bouts of Exdeath’s rage at him came from him dozing off in the middle of a job that he was to be working on – but the sheer amount that he had recently partaken in was just odd. In fact, the more that he thought about it, the more Gilgamesh questioned just why he couldn’t seem to focus on anything for a decent amount of time. He placed a hand on his chin. Yes, why? Why could he never focus on anything as of late? Did he need to be in the midst of battle? Or perhaps… was it simply the shock of jumping into a new dimension? Gilgamesh had never thought much of it at first due to everything he had seen in his life. But what if that was the case? Could it be that his mind was breaking down from everything that he had learned? A moment of panic washed over him, only to be completely subsided as he realized that such a thing was extremely unlikely. No, if his mind were breaking apart, then he would have noticed it. Right? Yes, that seemed to be implausible – it was most likely that he simply was still getting used to the new dimension. The new dimension that he did not know how to escape. A new feeling of panic rushed down his spine, and a chill seemed to overtake Gilgamesh’s every nerve. The thought had never really occurred to him before, but… what if he was stuck in the equines’ dimension forever? What if he could never escape? What if Exdeath’s banishment was permanent, and he was never to see his home again? His village would be lost to him, he would never get the chance to cross swords with Bartz, Lenna, Faris, or Krile… Gilgamesh shuddered, and noticed that all of the others seemed to be staring at him. “Um… Mister Gilgamesh? Are you feeling okay…?” Fluttershy asked, as if the death threat on her life had been made null. “You look cold…” He blinked once, and looked back and forth between her, Discord, and Twilight. Sure enough, the three creatures’ eyes were all locked on him. “Oh, I’m… um…” He rubbed his neck, not entirely sure what to say. “Yes. I’m fine.” “Are you sure?” Twilight asked. She leaned her head closer to him, and cocked an eyebrow. “You’re acting a bit weird… um, or… more than usual, at least.” “No, you needn’t concern yourselves over my health!” Gilgamesh replied. “I assure you all that I am in the utmost condition.” Twilight simply stared at him for several seconds. “Really? Because you’re talking like that again.” She placed a hoof on her chin, and looked up towards the ceiling. “Yeah. And when you did that yesterday, you seemed really agitated towards Rainbow Dash. So I’m not sure if this is right or not, but it seems like some kind of nervous habit…” Gilgamesh rolled his eyes in response, but felt his nails dig into the back of his neck. “N-nervous? Me? That’s absurd!” To drive the point home, he placed his hands on his hips, and stood as tall as he could manage. “I-I don’t get agitated, see? Please, assuage your fears of my current condition. I claim with nothing short of full confidence that I–” “Gilgamesh,” Twilight deadpanned. “You seem very, very anxious about something. There’s no point in even pretending.” “G-gah!” Gilgamesh’s hands nails dug deeper into his neck, to the point that he began to feel pain. “Hey, what right have you to claim this of me, under any circumstances?! You’re no psychoanalyst!” Discord pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil, and looked as if he was checking off something. As he did so, he said idly, “Yes, but even I can see the symptoms of some sort of mental breakdown. Let’s see: A change in demeanor, using different vocabulary, the fact that you look like you’re going to rip your neck off… Ah, yes. It’s all coming together, now.” He tore the page off, and handed it to Gilgamesh. The paper was a not-so-cleverly disguised game of tic-tac-toe. Fluttershy pulled her wings close to her sides, and looked up straight into Gilgamesh’s eyes. “Yes, you don’t really seem to be as fine as you say you are… B-but I’m sorry if that’s not true…! I-I don’t mean to imply…” “Well, Gilgamesh?” Twilight snapped, her eyes narrowed, and Gilgamesh found himself stepping back instinctively. “Are you going to admit to it –” she raised her right foreleg and pointed it at him accusingly “– or should I make you?!” Gilgamesh felt himself be thrown back for an instant, flinching visibly as his hand dug ever deeper into his neck, with all of his eight hands following suit. Several of his arms gripped each other’s wrists with their grips growing even tighter, and the sound of several cracking bones emanated throughout the air of the small cottage. This continued for several seconds, until Gilgamesh felt a particularly painful crack, and fell over onto the ground in reply. He blinked just once, as a sudden realization hit him. “Wait a second… Why do I feel like I’m being interrogated here?!” He stood up, and placed his hands on his hips. “I’ve no need to ‘admit’ my nervous habits! I am a warrior, and so it should be natural for me to feel some anxiety around others at times – like when they’re drilling into my mind, for example. And besides,” he added, “this isn’t important for right now, is it? Aren’t we here to make sure that this ‘Fluttershy’ is safe up until the police arrive?” Gilgamesh felt his palm hit into his forehead as soon as the name left his mouth. He swore: every single creature living in the equines’ dimension had some completely stupid, contrived name that somehow managed to be the basis of his or her personality. Even the lord of chaos happened to be named Discord. Why did nobody know how to give their children names that didn’t seem like things that a person would call their pet bird? “Are you… are you sure you’re feeling alright?” Fluttershy asked, her voice still quiet and innocent. “You seem kind of flustered, Mister Gilgamesh.” “Oh, no,” he muttered, attempting to sound earnest. “I’m absolutely fine. Not a problem in the slightest. Nope. None.” Twilight rolled her eyes. Obviously, his attempt at being sincere hadn’t gone over as well as he’d hoped. “Right.” Her voice was dripping with pure, unfiltered sarcasm. Gilgamesh would have been impressed, if he wasn’t so irritated over what had just occurred to him. “Well,” Discord said, “that certainly happened. Now, why don’t we go and actually focus on something important… Like, uh… I dunno, Fluttershy?! We can work out Gilgamesh’s mental problems later. When there’s not a mark on her head,” he added unnecessarily, before pulling out yet another fish wrapped in sandpaper and began to file his nails. Discord blinked just once, and the fish vanished. “Ah, yes, speaking of which,” he said, “it seems that we have some guests… Hmm, I’ll go and check on the gate. Twilight, be a dear and keep Gilgamesh from terrifying her, would you?” Without waiting for a response, Discord vanished from sight, evidently having traveled back to the entrance of the fiery cage. In his absence, Gilgamesh walked over to the couch, and sat down. His back was hunched over so that he was staring at the ground, not desiring to look over at the two other creatures in the room. “Not a problem at all…” he heard himself mutter. What ridiculousness. How in the world had he ever managed to get himself roped into this situation in the first place? Getting tossed into another world entirely, lost unto the one that he so loved, and unable to get back home. The thought had never before occurred to him that he would be unable to escape, but what if it was true? No, that couldn’t be. He would have to learn the truth for himself as soon as the creature responsible for the attack was found and brought to justice. And then – and only then – would his fate be decided. “But… you’re sure that you didn’t anger anypony? Not even something minor and stupid?” Gilgamesh blinked. Twilight was speaking to Fluttershy, of course. Probably grilling her for more information regarding the threat. He looked up a bit, feeling the bones in his back crack slightly at the movement. Fluttershy shook her head slightly. “N-no… At least, I don’t think so…” Twilight sighed. “What about somepony you annoyed in the past… like Gilda, maybe, or somepony else?” Gilgamesh cocked his head slightly. He would never understand just why they used “somepony” rather than the more effective “someone.” What of the creatures that weren’t like them? Did they call them “somepony,” too? Probably. “W-well, Twilight, to be honest…” Fluttershy replied. “I’m not really sure… b-but I don’t think that Gilda would… um… would do it like this…” Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. “Right…” she muttered, for what must have been the twentieth time that day. “But what about somepony else? There’s gotta be at least one creature out there who would want to…” She paused, realized her words, and began to backpedal. “Um… yeah. Right.” Gilgamesh rolled his eyes in response. Under normal circumstances, he would have said something scathing in reply, but now was hardly the time for sarcasm. “W-well, maybe…” admitted Fluttershy, “but I… I’m not sure…” Twilight sighed again, and turned away. “Something about this just isn’t adding up… Is there even a motive behind this…?” she murmured. Just as she turned back towards Fluttershy, Discord reappeared in the room. “Ah, yes. Sorry for running off like that, but it appears that we have guests.” A figure stepped through the door. She was a blue-gray unicorn, her mane a mixture of tan and green, and was wearing a large saddlebag, with one of those strange markings on her side – this time, a magnifying glass. “Huh. Nice place,” she said tersely. She stepped into the room, and offered a hoof for the creatures inside. “You’re Fluttershy, right? The mare who was threatened?” Fluttershy nodded, although it was only barely visible. “Great!” said the mare, and she extended a hoof. “My name’s Cold Case, though – and I don’t wanna brag, but – around the station, I’m called the ‘Ace Detective.’” She flipped her mane, a small smile forming on her lips. “And not much else, actually,” came a rather cold voice, as another creature stepped into the room. The figure was quite clearly a male pegasus, but his coat threw Gilgamesh off just to look at it – it appeared to be a pitch black across his entire form, with even his wings and mane being that same color. The only places on his body that appeared to hold any differentiation was a small line on the left side of his mane, and the edges of his wings – both of which were stark white. In addition to those, he wore a strange coat around his whole body, which covered nearly everything, save his wings, legs, and head. Even the mark on his side could not be seen beneath it. He stepped over to Twilight, and bowed. “A pleasure, Princess,” he said, his voice holding an accent similar to Twilight’s diva of a friend. “I apologize for the idiocy of my partner… she took us on a goose chase about your town, you see, but that is beside the point…” Twilight blinked, and cocked her head slightly. “Hey, hold on… haven’t I seen your face in the papers…?” “The papers? Perhaps,” replied the strange pegasus, and he held out a hoof. “I am Fenrir Dire. Prosecutor. And she, if I might say –” he gestured to Cold Case, who instantly flinched “– is my partner, so to speak.” Gilgamesh stood up, and looked over the two. “A prosecutor?” he asked. “In that case, why is it that you have come here?” Dire nodded. “Why, indeed,” he responded. “And you must be Gilgamesh, is that right?” Gilgamesh nodded, and Dire said, “Yes, I see. So you have been brought here in order to look and make sure this mare stays protected, is that also right?” Gilgamesh smirked. “Oh, but of course!” he declared. “Whenever a creature is in need, I am not going to leave them to suffer on their own!” Cold Case nodded, and looked over to Dire. “Yeah,” she said absentmindedly. “Well, you can go now if you want – Chief Dreadnaught sent us down to check up on this thing, after all.” “Yes,” Dire agreed, and looked to the five other creatures in the area. “I’ve some questions for the victim of this threat… if you would not be afraid to answer them, of course.” Fluttershy took several steps back, but nodded quietly. “U-um… okay.” Her voice was still faint, but it sounded as if she was legitimately trying to push through her terror. Discord rolled his eyes in response. “Tch… Excuse me – Prosecutor Dire, was it? – would you mind if I stay behind?” He teleported a glass of water into his hands, and promptly drank all of the glass as if it was water, and ate all of the water as if it was glass. “I simply feel that it would be for the best if Fluttershy has a friend here; or, at least, somepony who she knows.” Dire did not even seem remotely fazed by Discord's actions, and simply nodded. “Of course,” he said. “I have no plans to force any of you to exit if you don’t want to. Simply…” He paused, and shook his head. “No, no… That is unimportant.” Twilight blinked. “Huh? What is?” “Nothing in particular,” Dire responded, a thinly-veiled lie if ever there was one. “But, as I was saying… Cold Case, would you take her statement on this matter? It would be best to learn everything that we can quickly.” Gilgamesh placed a hand on his chin. It was odd, really, just how methodical the two seemed to be; within instants of Dire’s statement, Cold Case had already begun to take out several pieces of parchment and quills from her saddlebag, and took Fluttershy and Discord into another room to ask questions. It all seemed to happen so fast that Gilgamesh did not even have the chance to go into a tangent before Dire had started questioning Twilight. “So you were given that letter by Encrypted Glass, right?” Dire jotted the notes down as he spoke, gripping the pencil in his wings. Gilgamesh did not even want to ask how long that had taken to master, instead focusing on Dire’s words: “I see… So you had no knowledge prior to this meeting that your friend was being targeted by anypony.” “Not at all,” Twilight replied, and she grimaced. “Ugh… I just don’t get this! Why would anypony target Fluttershy, and so out of the blue like this, too!” Dire nodded his head in reply. “Believe me, Princess – I would have to claim the same in this matter. I do, however, have some theories regarding just why such a thing could occur. Of course, none of them are verifiable as of yet, but one in particular has been nagging at the back of my mind since earlier today.” “And… what is that theory, exactly?” Twilight asked. “There is no need for me to disclose that as of yet, Princess. I’m sorry, but I would rather learn what the truth is later, rather than blindly leap into danger.” Dire touched one of his wings gingerly, and winced. Twilight nodded, although she still looked rather troubled. Of course, given the circumstances behind everything, Gilgamesh could hardly blame her. “Yes. I understand, Prosecutor Dire.” “Of course, if you want,” Dire said, “I have no qualms with you staying by to investigate the area, and to look after your friend… provided that you have proper supervision, I should say.” Gilgamesh cracked his wrists, and looked over at Dire. “And… what about me?” he asked tentatively. “Would you rather I stay, or would it be best if I am to depart from this relative location?” Twilight blinked, and looked over to him. “Wait a second… Gilgamesh, you’re not seriously…? But wait, why are you asking that?” “The sake of curiosity, and nothing more than that,” he replied, and looked to Dire. “Well? Have you reached your… eh… verdict, should I say? Yes, that sounds about right…” Dire placed a hoof on his chin – an act that Gilgamesh noted seemed to be common amongst the equines – and nodded. “Yes, I have no problems with you staying here either, Gilgamesh. However, I must state this, first and foremost: This is but an investigation, and a form of police protection for Fluttershy and the animals living around her house.” He paused and touched his wing again, before wincing in apparent pain once more. “In the case that there is no attack tonight… well, both Case and I are to exit the premises.” Twilight grimaced, and let out a sigh. “That’s… kinda weird, actually. I mean, aren’t you a prosecutor? So why are you taking the same orders as Detective Case?” “Let’s just say that I… Well, it’s not so much an ‘order’ as it is a ‘request.’ A request from the chief of police himself, if I may add.” Dire rubbed the side of his head with his wing. “Yes, I understand the inconvenience that this creates, but I cannot simply stay here and keep watch over the situation twenty-four-seven. If anything, you already have an excellent fortitude outside.” He gestured towards the giant burning cage that covered the entire cottage. Gilgamesh folded his arms. “And what of me, Prosecutor?” he asked. “You said that there is no necessity in my being here, correct? Then would it not be convenient for me to simply return home now?” Twilight turned to him. “Wait, you’re really just going t–?” “What’s the point in me being here at all?” Gilgamesh asked, interrupting Twilight’s rather pointless question. “It’s not as if I am contributing anything to this, now am I? No. And… I can tell that I’m not exactly wanted here.” Twilight completely froze, and turned her head away from him. She was visibly struggling not to meet Gilgamesh’s eyes. Of course she was – she had been one of the first to so rigorously assault him and his mentality, yet whenever she needed help, she just had to get him. How could she not feel even slightly guilty over the matter? It would have made him sick if she wasn’t. Dire grimaced, although his voice still sounded as monotonous as ever: “No, there is no need for you to stay here if you don’t want to.” He shrugged. “Of course, I don’t understand the bad blood between the two of you… but I am not here to investigate that matter. Gilgamesh, if you so desire, you can leave here.” Gilgamesh nodded, but said nothing. There were few words that could properly express how he felt at the moment, but “unwanted” was most certainly one of them. He turned towards the door and walked outside, unaware of the world around him, and stalked down the road and toward his house, hoping to vent his frustrations on the keys of the piano. Gilgamesh played the keys, slamming his fingers down on them in pure anger at himself, at those around him, and at his own rage and sorrow of what had occurred. The behemoth’s teeth sank deep into the actual instrument, to the point where anyone – or anypony – else would have feared the thing’s destruction. But in that moment, such a fear did not exist to Gilgamesh. Even when what he produced was, in fact, decent, he still could not deny his own anger. “It seems that you forgot something,” came a voice from the doorway. Gilgamesh turned to see Twilight, levitating the blue sword, still in its scabbard, over to him. “Discord wanted me to get this to you – something about a loan.” She smiled awkwardly, and walked over to him. Gilgamesh said nothing in reply, and turned his attention back to the piano in front of him. “Um… well, you sound like you’re getting better,” she said, obviously attempting small talk, but utterly failing. “Um… yeah, you sound like you’re doing pretty well at this. I’m sure that Vinyl and Octavia will be thrilled.” Again, he said nothing, but continued to pound away on the keys. His anger refused to stop building up, even though he knew that he did not have the right to be in such a rage. An innocent creature had been threatened with death, and here he was, feeling so sorry for himself that he refused to act on anything else. After what felt like hours, he paused his playing, and turned to look at her. “Did anything new turn up?” he asked quietly. Twilight’s ears folded themselves against her head. “No…” she replied. “Prosecutor Dire, Detective Case, Discord, and I all looked for clues for hours. Hay, we even went out into Ponyville to ask for anything regarding the letter, but we couldn’t find anything!” She grit her teeth. “Meaning that Fluttershy’s gonna have to deal with this for another day, at least… or maybe even the rest of her life,” she added. Gilgamesh turned back to the piano, and pounded away at the keys for another several minutes. When he had finished, he looked over at Twilight once more. “I… I see,” he said, but nothing more. What was there to say? “I’m sorry, Twilight,” or “You’ll catch him, Twilight”? No. There was no use in wasting his words on such things as those. He played again, feeling the keys under his fingertips, allowing his rage to flow once more. All of their efforts had been all for naught. “We’ve come up with an idea, at least,” Twilight said as he played, her voice nearly drowned out by the cacophony. “An idea of the attacker, I mean.” Gilgamesh stopped, and looked over at her. “Let me guess,” he said dryly, “he or she is an arrogant, cocky imbecile who believes that sending a letter to their victim beforehand is irrelevant, as they are to die either way?” Twilight blinked. “Wait, how did you…?” “I came up with that on my own,” Gilgamesh replied, and began to play softer. “You don’t think that those tangents are all pointless bouts of me staring off into space, do you? No, I use them to think.” “It’s weird,” Twilight admitted, “but you seem so much different than you did at first.” Gilgamesh continued playing. “Creatures usually do,” he replied. “But… when you’re as dangerous as I am, is that really to be so unexpected?” He smiled slightly. “Ha! I know my power – that I am the most dangerous swordsman from my village, that my magic is immensely powerful…” He stopped playing again, and shook his head. “How strange. How… ridiculous, at that! I am the strongest swordsman in the world, this or any other, but…” “But what?” Twilight asked. “I… honestly, I am unsure. How can I be?” he grimaced. “Where I was born, strength was all that mattered. Your intellect was measured by your magical proficiency, your strength by how many people you could best in straight combat, and the like.” He resumed playing, softer than ever. “How strange,” he repeated, “but I was always the strongest. I was the smartest, too! … albeit, not in the way that ‘intellect’ is usually measured outside of there.” “What does that have to do with all of this?” Twilight asked. “I mean… what does you being intelligent or not have to do with what happened today?” “Maybe… because I’m not as smart as I was always told I was. It took me so long to realize that you all hated me – that I was nothing more than a thorn in your sides!” Gilgamesh clenched his hands into fists. “I was a fool to think otherwise at first! I was a complete and utter imbecile!” He slammed one of his fists onto the piano, causing it to emit a loud, disgusting cacophony. “And,” he added softly, “I was a fool to think that I could ever live in this place… I… cannot deny that fact…” He shook his head. Twilight bowed her head slightly. “I… I’m so sorry.” Gilgamesh bit back every single remark that he could possibly have made – the urge to curse, to scream, to blame Twilight for his rage and anger and hatred and sorrow. He wanted to rip into her, to see her feel terrible, yet he could not. He couldn’t force himself to say anything. After several more minutes of silence, he spoke: “Please, Twilight Sparkle… leave me be to my suffering. I’ve no necessity for your pity in this time.” His voice was quivering, although he tried his hardest to suppress it beneath a layer of neutrality. Again, minutes passed, the effect accentuated by the clock on his wall, ticking the seconds away as they occurred. Finally, Twilight nodded. “A-alright. I’m sorry again, Gilgamesh. For all of this.” And then she left. Just like that, she turned and walked out of his door, exiting his house, and traveling down the street off towards the horizon. Gilgamesh turned his attention back to the piano, and resumed playing, although even he could feel the tears of his mixed emotions on his hands.