I arrived inside the Canterlot palace with Geo hanging limply in my grasp. Not exactly sure where, but definitely one of the main halls. I looked around and saw some of the castle staff and guards around me, all anther in this universe.
Oh great, now I have to resist the temptation of boobs again. Ok, let's get this over with.
I inhaled deeply before shouting, “HEAR ME, PONIES! I COME WITH THE ONE CALLED ‘GEO’! I SEEK AUDIENCE WITH THE PRINCESSES! BRING THEM BEFORE ME AT ONCE!”
The shout was loud enough that I know the Princesses would hear me if they were in the palace, and it was also enough to cause Geo to stir awake. Seconds later, both Celestia and Luna teleported in ready for a fight, surprised to see me as we all as Geo just barely conscious. A few moments later, Discord and the Elements of Harmony arrived. I was actually surprised to see Discord ready to lay the smackdown, but backed off when he saw the situation. I let Geo drop and approached the Princesses before bowing.
“Celestia and Luna, royal sovereigns of Equestria, I am Gilgamesh, warrior from beyond time and space. I come to you today so that I might enlist your aid in deciding the future of a particularly violent acquaintance of mine. One you are quite familiar with.”
Before she could respond Geo shakingly rose from the ground. “Decide my future? No way. Fuck that,” he began in a voice that was struggling to sound powerful. He spread his wings, trying to escape. “YOU’LL NEVER CONTROL ME, YOU PANSY ASS-!”
I grabbed Geo’s head before ramming it into the marble floor, hard enough to crack it, before turning to Discord. “Restrain him. His weaknesses are electricity, rock, and water. Don’t use metal or ice, he’s strong against those.”
Discord took a moment to respond but nodded. He smirked before snapping his talon and in a flash bonds appeared around Geo’s arms, legs, wings, and tail, pinning them to his body, and another one keeping his mouth shut. The bonds were made of rock but also seemed to have water conducting electricity around them as well. Geo struggled but that only caused him to grunt in pain as he received a shock.
“Not so fun now, is it?” Discord asked, a surprising amount of hatred in his voice as he leaned into Geo’s face and smiled maliciously.
“Don’t taunt him,” I ordered. “He’s been beaten down enough by me already. Anything beyond that now is cruelty.”
Everypony seemed surprised to hear this, but I paid that little mind. I'm a hard guy to get a read on. I reverted to my base form and turned to Celestia and Luna. “Now that that’s dealt with for the moment, let’s go inside and have a little chat.”
The Princesses hesitated for a moment before exchanging glances and nodding.
“Very well. Warrior Gilgamesh, we accept your audience,” Luna responded before both the sisters turned. “Please follow us.”
I saw Geo struggle to get into a more comfortable position before following the two. As we walked I had some time to my own thoughts. I began to think about how, despite my efforts I could tell that recent events had made me a bit more... off. I wasn’t hesitating to brutally kill things, even if they were just vicious monsters. I had thoroughly enjoyed beating some smug punk into the ground and within an inch of his life. But the thing that notified me that something was really wrong was almost silly by comparison: I wasn’t flirting with the Luna of this dimension. Hell, I wasn’t even checking out her or her sister, who looked especially sexy considering they were anthro in this dimension and I didn’t have to work past my rapidly crumbling mental block of finding non-humanoids attractive, but every time my eyes moved over their bodies all I could think of was in what horrible conditions my own Luna and Celestia were in.
I really need to get over this shit and check on them, especially Luna. I don’t even know if she’s awake yet. And I should also probably try to schedule something with a therapist.
"So, warrior Gilgamesh, if you could explain exactly who you are and why you are here it would be greatly appreciated," Celestia began as she and her sister sat on their respective thrones.
"Of course. As I explained, I am a warrior from another world, more specifically another Equestria."
"What do you mean 'another' Equestria?" Luna asked.
"Perhaps you have heard of the 'multiverse theory'? Well it's true, there are a near infinite number of alternate universes out there. Some are almost identical to each other, others extremely different."
"In what ways, if I may ask?" Celestia requested, looking equally surprised and intrigued, as did her sister.
"Well, there may be differences in the timeline, such as the Canterlot Wedding Invasion not happening. Others may be changes in biology. For example, the ponies of my dimension are... well, ponies, quadrupeds, not more, um, 'anthropomorphic', like yourself. "
The two sisters exchanged glances for moment.
"Those are... some considerable differences," Luna commented.
"Well, those were just the most extreme examples."
"And what of you, Gilgamesh? How do you fit into this?"
"I am a type of being that has been given the title of "Displaced", those who do not hail from the universes they currently reside. Geo, and several others, also share this title. We often communicate with each other, in many cases rendering assistance, but not always, and tend to communicate and summon each other through tokens we have scattered across the multiverse."
"And this is how you met Geo?" Celestia asked.
"Yes. My Equestria has fallen upon... hard times.” I felt myself shift a little, wondering if leaving my own world in its time of crisis was a good idea. “Things are going to get worse before they get better. To help me weather the approaching storm I thought I'd have a pleasant time with another Displaced, as well as introduce another to this considerably convoluted system we've ended up in. Though we had a good time at first, and he assisted me in protecting others when trouble came he let slip his plans for you two in this realm, and I may have... snapped a bit," venom leaking into my voice near the end.
"And what were those plans?" Luna asked, but also leaning back, noticing the hatred in my words.
A fake smile stretched onto face as I responded in a jovial tone. "Oh nothing much, just that he intended to pummel you two into submission and parade you around like trophies as a warning to those who would challenge him. Seeing as how he caught me in an exceptionally bad mood I decided to teach him a lesson by beating his face in until even dental records wouldn't be able to identify him. So, you know, same old, same old."
“He planned to what!?” Luna shouted in both disgust and anger.
“Apparently he thinks it’s your fault he wound up in Tartarus. I mean, in a way it is, but he feels he had no reason to be there.”
“‘No reason to-’!? Oh, well perhaps it is time we taught him a lesson!”
“Luna, calm yourself,” Celestia commanded, stepping out of her throne to stop her sister from flying off.
“I agree, Luna, though not in the way you’re thinking,” I interrupted, causing both of the sisters to stop and give me their attention.
“You have a plan for him?” Celestia asked.
“Well, more an idea,” I admitted.
She took her seat and looked at me with scrutinizing eyes. “Continue,” she ordered.
I was a bit taken aback by that reaction, a sort of “you better not be playing me, boy” tone. I could already tell this Celestia was stronger than my own in terms of sheer power, but it seemed she also was in terms of spirit.
I cleared my throat. “Well, first of all, the reason I brought him back here is because I see potential in him. A chance to be something greater than he his, not just in terms of prowess but as a person. I’d like you to give him a chance to repent for his violent ways.”
Luna practically leapt from her seat at that, “You think he is worth redeeming? He’s a barbarian! A MONSTER! A violent beast with no respect for others! All he’s done is attack others without provocation!”
“Perhaps. But he has saved lives as well.”
Both of them looked at me with expressions more shocked and confusion than when I changed form, “He what?”
“He saved a mother, an expecting one, I might add, in addition to several others. In my world… several monsters attacked Ponyville, my version of Ponyville. I easily dispatched them, but if Geo wasn’t there as well there would likely have been casualties as well. Also… he and I are not so different.”
“What do you mean?” Celestia asked, her eyes hardening, which I ignored.
“He and I both know the joys of combat, the thrill of a hard fought battle. Where we differ is that he wishes to earn victory over all, while I don’t even care about winning so long as I have a good fight. In addition, though it pains me to admit it, we’ve both caused others grief. True, I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, but that doesn’t change the fact that I did. No lives were ended or maimed at my hands, but I did not realize the emotional distress I caused others until Celestia, my Celestia, revealed how much it had affected her. Before that revelation I did good deeds if they happened to coincide with what I wanted, but now I’m trying to actively do more good. I believe that if he sees what that path will bring him, Geo will take it as well. And if I’m wrong, then you can use this to summon me.” I created a medallion in my hand and tossed it to Celestia, who grabbed it with a levitation spell and brought it over to her. “I’ll make sure that if he doesn’t change, he won’t live to regret it.”
“... We shall consider this, Gilgamesh. But we are not certain if he shall accept this offer…”
“Oh, trust me, he will. By the way, you’ll want to remove the two gemstones he has, and the bracelet, as well. If he has those, he can assume stronger forms.”
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHH!”
A cry of pain rang throughout the halls of the palace, causing all three of us to flinch. We all of recognized the voice.
“Geo?” I muttered before barreling back the way we came
“Geo!” I kick open a large door, and, to my surprise, saw a creature. A creature that just looked... wrong. It had a thin and almost shrivelled body, which would probably be even taller than my twelve-foot final form if it stood at its full height, with dozens of long, stick-like limbs that ended with what looked like a mix between eagle talons, human hands, and something that even H.P. Lovecraft would puke at, sprouting from its shoulders all the way to its hips, all of it ending with a tail that had a barb currently impaling Geo through the stomach area.
To be honest, it wasn't the strangest thing I'd ever seen, I'd played Silent Hill and Resident Evil before, but for the first time I'd ever felt in my life something I hadn't felt before: an almost sublime kind of fear. I could tell this creature was dangerous just by looking at it, but something about it's being radiated deep within my soul, touching the most primal recesses of my brain that were telling me to just run and never stop running.
To the side, Discord was lying on the ground, with several large scratches along his body. I instantly realized this creature was armed with more than just sharp appendages.
“!?” It made a… sound that I couldn’t even describe, not with words, or with any earthly language. It turned around, revealing that, between its shoulders, there was a single, pale white skull. A skull that doesn’t even look like any creature I’ve ever seen, or can even think of. But that wasn’t the disturbing part, at least not in comparison to its eyes. Inside of each socket was a single, marble-like, glowing, eye, radiating a color that for some reason I felt like shouldn't even exist.
“...-\~...*^” It keept speaking in that completely unholy voice, and it stared right at me, like it's piercing gaze is reaching my soul.
“G… Gilgamesh… what is this creature?” I slowly move my gaze over my shoulder, and see both princesses scared out of their minds, holding each other closely, and the primal fear they feel is obvious on their faces.
“I… I don’t know…” I turn back to it, gulping as I try to regain my courage. I then see Geo, obviously in serious pain, and anger begins to override my fear. “But it’s not getting Geo, that’s for damn sure!” I dash forwards, quickly changing into my first form, "HENSHIN!" I glow, and jump straight into the air, before coming down on the being with a flurry of Rocket Punches. The moment it casts its gaze up at the many boxing gloves coming at it, it disappears. Not with any sort of poof or whoosh that teleportation magic gives off, it just vanishes. The boxing gloves come down, and create a large series of explosions, and I quickly land in the resulting smoke cloud. I quickly wave my weapons around, and create a wave of wind, moving the smoke away. The moment I do, the creature is there in front of me, with its tail still impaling Geo.
“Grgh… G… Gah!” I hear him scream out again, as its stinger rips itself out of him, and it catches him in one of its many arms. It slowly carries him along them, like some kind of horror conveyor belt, until its uppermost limbs were holding him in front of it.
“`...>/’\-_*_” It speaks again, and I get a massive headache. Whatever this thing is, it’s NOT gonna get away scot-free.
“Don’t know what your deal is, but he is not gonna die by your hands! TOKI WO TOMARE!” As time stops, I leap forwards, and I bring my weapons down on its head. As I do, it grabs my arms, and throws me to the ground. It then cocks its ‘head’, and then I hear something I didn’t expect.
“I shall ask again, why do you defend the defective one?”
I slowly look up, amazed it can speak in the time stop.
“This one is defective. I am taking it to be repaired. There is no need to defend it.”
And just like that, in that one instant, all my fear is gone, replaced by unyielding rage. I glare, and I grip my weapons harder. I can feel my heart beating faster and my blood boiling.
“It has fallen off its chosen path. It is defective. I am taking it to be repaired.” I see Geo's frozen expression, his face contorted in pain. It feels like my heart is going to bust out of my chest from how hard it's pounding.
“Well? What is your reasoning?” My response was to shoot forwards and swing my spear, severing the its tail. It howls in pain, and the time stop ends.
“‘Defective?’ ‘Repair?’ That’s not a machine you’re talking about, that is a life. He doesn’t need ‘repairs,’ What he needs is a lesson in friendship." I raised my spear at him, my body shaking in rage. "I don’t know who or what you are or who you work for, but unless you want to have your existence ended, then I recommend you run now!”
It snarls, before vanishing in a black mist.
“Haaaaahhh…” I snapped my head around and see Geo gasping for air, holding onto the large wound in his side. “Guh… Oh, merda, that’s gonna leave a mark… ah, feckin’ hell…” He tried to lift himself off the ground before collapsing. “Oof…” He looked around the room for a moment, but stops when his gaze met mine. “You… you saved me?”
I slowly walked towards him, returning to my base form before leaning down, “Yeah… I did…”
“Why? That thing could’ve killed you… it kicked Discord’s ass, it kicked my ass. Why?” I was honestly surprised he even asked that question. Maybe he needed more help than I thought.
I looked him dead in the eye, “Because if I let that thing do whatever it wanted, then I would no longer be worthy of the scarf around my neck. I am a being who represents freedom, Geo. Freedom, and choice. To let you be taken by that… thing, for ‘repairs’, would be a blatant hypocrisy of my own values.”
Geo stared at me for a moment, as if trying to process what I said. “Freedom… choice…” Then, his eyes opened wide, “... Beh, a mo scopare.”
I leaned in, “Do you know what that thing was? Geo?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he was going to say was cut off as he hacked up blood. I stepped back and several unicorn guards quickly approached, levitating him onto a stretcher. As I follow them, Geo stares at me, trying to wave his claws in a manner indicating that whatever happened was very important. As we enter a hospital room and set him on the table, the doctors around us quickly step between me and him, “I’m sorry, but until he’s been stabilized, you’ll have to leave.”
“G… Gil... ga… mesh…” He sputters, and raises a claw. I dash to his side, “I’m… gonna… take… a nap… make… sure… it… doesn’t… get… me…” I nod silently, but he shakes his head, “Promise… please… I know… what… it wants… don’t… let it… get to me… I know what… it’ll make me do… I don’t wanna… do it…” Tears stream down his face, and his eyes are filled with despair. It was really a shock to see this confident fighter break down.
I quietly respond, “I promise. I won’t let it hurt you.”
He smiles, and breathes slowly, “Rest…” he finally utters as his eyes close, and he falls asleep. As he does, his body begins giving off a light glow. Small particles of light dance around his form, and they begin to gather over his wound. Much to everyone’s surprise, it begins rapidly closing. It doesn’t seal all the way, with most of it still being wide open, but the outer edges are sealed.
“Sir, would you mind leaving, now? We still have an operation to perform,” one of the doctors asks.
"I promised I wouldn't leave him. Besides, I've seen worse than someone getting an operation," I protested.
The doctor turned his gaze to Celestia, who merely nodded, and he quickly turned around, “Very well, then. C’mon, let’s begin.”
After the operation, Geo was sitting in his bed, partly propped up, with multiple bandages along his stomach area. He was obviously still in some pain, but it was apparent he would recover.
“Can you speak to him?” I asked Luna.
She nervously nervously averted her gaze, “Considering what happened the last time I did that, I would rather not.”
I stared at her curiously before I realized what she meant. I growled but quickly calmed myself. “As much as I’ll have to pummel him for whatever he did later, we need to talk to him now. Luna, I already told you, this thing managed to move around when I stopped time. Naturally, this is a cause for concern. Any info we can get on this thing is essential to victory. If you can, I'll come with you.”
“I... Can take others to the dream world, but you'd have to be asleep as well," she explained. "I don't think we have time for that."
"Hm... Would it work if I was in a dream-like state?"
She blinked in confusion. "Um... perhaps..."
"Alright then," I replied before taking my meditative position. I began to relax and empty my thoughts.
“Geo? Geo? Can you hear me, Geo?” Princess Luna asked.
I noticed the two beings floating in a dreamscape, so I guess my mediation worked.
“Ngh… nrgh… Gah! Wh… what’s going on?” Geo twisted in the space-like void of his dreamscape before his eyes fell on Luna. “Oh, back here again. And hey, it’s creeper-girl. What brings you to my neck of the woods?”
Luna grunted angrily for a moment before I interrupt.
“We need information.”
Geo jumped when he heard my voice, clearly not expecting me to be there. “When did you get here?”
“Just now. Now, what attacked you?”
He turned his head and thought about it for a moment, before a look of sudden horror appears on his face. “You… wouldn’t believe me if I told you…”
I rolled my eyes. “Geo, after all the shit I’ve been through, whatever you say can’t be that surprising.”
“System Admins.”
I blink. “Okay, that’s a new one. A computer nerd? Seriously?”
Geo shook his head. “No. Not like that. THE Sys Admins. The ones who wrote the multiverse. The things that decide what goes and what doesn’t. They wrote the very fabric of spacetime. And, the script.”
Luna stared. “Script? What script?”
Geo took a deep breath, and I notice his shivering, “The Sys Admins… made everything’s destiny. You might think that just because you averted a prophecy, that you evaded destiny. That’s just because you were supposed to avert it. Nothing is left to chance. Everything up until now has been the result of their decisions. They decided every single outcome. Every war, every gamble, every birth, every death.”
Luna and I both looked to each other, to insure we were hearing the same thing, before looking back, “You’re kidding, right?” He shook his head. “Holy shit.”
“But then… Teridax saved me.” He looked up and a strange mixture of appreciation and anger appears on his face.
“Teridax?” I asked. Teridax? His influence is being felt in this universe as well?
“A fellow Displaced. He’s one of the few beings who isn’t a Sys Admin that can tamper with the universal code. It was he who saved me from the battle I was at with… a certain pompous asshole who steals energy.”
‘Steals energy?’ Who, Chrysalis? She doesn’t seem like Geo’s ideal ally… he doesn’t seem like one to appreciate deception.
“He told me that, if I stayed there, that… puttana would’ve backstabbed me, after harvesting energy from the guards I beat, while you imbeciles were busy dealing with me. Mother fucker would’ve gotten powerful enough to make me sacrifice a wing, and almost cripple me in the following fight to kill ‘em. After that, you and your beloved sister lock me up in a magic dungeon, and the defenses there shock me until I become a damned vegetable. A VEGETABLE, do you hear me!?”
He turned to Luna, tears flowing down his face. “AND THE BEST PART? I HAD NO FUCKING CHOICE IN THE MATTER! NONE OF US DID! I COULDN’T HAVE TRIED TO REASON WITH YOU, I COULDN’T HAVE DUG MY WAY OUT, I COULDN’T DO ANYTHING BUT SIT THERE, AND ROT! AND NOW THAT TERIDAX SAVED ME, THE UNIVERSE WANTS MY ASS ON A SILVER FUCKING PLATTER!” He turned away and stared at the starry images off in the distance of the dreamscape, one which took form into images of visions of the future. One them was a creature that seemed to be a living suit of armor with glowing eyes who appears to be showing him these visions.
Wow, looks like one of those Bionicle toys I never played with. Is... Is that Teridax? Is this who Kat was talking about? And this is the guy who’s trying to fight Auric? Oh man, I think I need to be extra sure Geo doesn’t interact with him anymore.
“But… ya wanna know the best part?” he continued, his speech beginning to devolve into maniacal chuckles, “Now that I’m free, whoever I interact with will be freed as well. I wasn’t supposed to meet you, Gilgamesh! HAHAHA!” His chuckles began to morph into full on mad laughter, “And now that I DID meet you, you aren’t BOUND to their script! You say you represent FREEDOM? You were never FREE until I came around and saved your sorry ass! Who knows, maybe if you didn’t summon me, you would’ve gotten killed by those assholes who did that to Canterlot! And now… they…” Suddenly he seems to lose his steam, appearing to ponder something that just came to him. “They wanna… correct me… they were… coming after me… to set me back on their path…” A look of dawning horror appears on his face.
“If I’m free, and I’ve been liberating others in my journeys… that means… those stronzos are gonna…” He clenched his claw, “No. Not after all the children I went to the effort of saving… Not after all I did to avenge the ones I couldn’t… They’re not really gonna set him back? No… No, no, no, no, NO!” He breathed out a stream of flame, roaring at the top of his lungs. The background shows images of the CMC… crying? And why were they covered in-
Oh. OH.
“Wh… what happened?” Luna asked. I was thankfully able to cover her eyes before she saw... that, but she still heard Geo’s screams of rage.
“NO, NO, NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! HELL NO! NO WAY! MAI! IN NESSUN CASO!”
"GEO!" I shouted, trying to get his attention.
"NO! NO! THIS CAN'T HAPPEN!" he kept going, roaring in anger and despair.
"GEO, REGAIN CONTROL OF YOURSELF!"
"THEY CAN'T BE THE ONES WHO’RE TRYING TO BRING HIM BACK!"
I wasn't getting through to him, I saw the thoughts filling his head as he screamed. If I couldn't overpower his train of thought, then I guess I'd just have to derail it.
"I WAS FROZEN TODAY!" I shouted in my best Christopher Lloyd impression.
All the images stopped as he just stared at me. I let go of Luna's eyes and she did the same.
"Wh-whuh?" he mumbles in confusion.
"Wow, that really does work," I muttered. "Geo, now that I have your attention, I want you to listen to me." I approached him and the looked him right in the eyes. "That's bullshit."
"...What? But you just saw-"
"I'm not saying I don't believe in the Sys Admins," I interrupted. "Considering I've found worlds where the Greek gods and even the Norse gods are apparently real, I can believe in multiversal tech-support. But as for this 'script' thing, I call bullshit. And all I have to say in my defense is 'if these Admins are so perfect, why do they have a repair system already in place?’ That's the kind of thing you set up if it's happened before, or if you expect something to go wrong."
“... Well, maybe it has. Teridax isn’t the only one who can… ‘Understand’. Maybe there have been others before him. And besides, why do you think that thing came after me, if it wasn’t to set me back on track?” He glared at me and snarls, “Answer me that, Gilgamesh. Why would it come after me if didn’t want me to do what I was supposed to do?”
"It's not what you're supposed to do, it's what it wants you to do. 'Destiny', 'fate', those are words used by those who have no hope or by those who have just been lucky. 'It was my destiny to become rich and powerful.' 'It was fate that my life is in such a shitty state.' It frees them from responsibility, from having to take responsibility for their own actions. Now I'm not saying everything will go your way just because you try your best, lord knows that's not true. But if you don't try at all, then things definitely won't go how you want them too."
"B-But-!"
"Geo," I said before placing my hands on his shoulders. "The moment you believe something is impossible, it becomes impossible. Just because this problem before you seems huge, insurmountable, that doesn't mean it is. Break it into smaller problems, ones you do know how to fix. You need to gain the power to defend yourselves against these lovecraftian repairmen. But before that, you have a different problem to overcome. Namely, making up for being a complete fucking asshole." I let him go before straightening up and steeling my gaze. "I'm going to give you a promise and a choice Geo. I promise you that even with the craziness that will no doubt be coming to my Equestria I will do everything I can to make sure you never get locked in Tartarus, one way or another."
"WHAT!?" Luna shouted from behind me.
"Princess Luna, please just listen for a moment." She growled but settled down, letting me continue. "If you make up for your misdeeds, if you embrace the Magic of Friendship, I will give you power. When I have the availability I will train you in combat, just as I have for others. Perhaps the Princesses could aid you with that as well. But if you refuse, if you reject it and decide to continue your ways of violence and destruction then I will ensure that you never harm anyone ever again by placing you in the one prison even you would be willing to accept: a six foot deep hole."
"What? What kind of choices are those!?" he shouted back, clearly unhappy.
"At least they are choices, Geo," I replied sternly. "You are free to do as you wish, but to believe that the choices you make won't have consequences is childish at best. And speaking of consequences, it's time you received yours for attacking Luna when she entered your head last time."
He scoffed. "What are you gonna do, beat me to a pulp? Like that hasn't happened enough times already."
"Oh no, I won't do anything as barbaric as that," I said as I smirked. "I just want to let you know that I'm never gonna give you up."
"Wh-What?"
My grin widened. "And I'm never gonna let you down."
His eyes widened, “No, no, no, wait!”
Much to my surprise… he actually started dancing along with them.
“HELP ME! I CAN’T STOP! IT’S TOO GOOD A RHYTHM! PLEASE!” he begged, panicked like he had no control over his body.
I looked to Luna for a moment. “Uh… You doing this?” She shook her head, obviously as confused as I was. “Well, uh, we’ll just be going, now… got a lot of stuff to do, y’know?”
“NO! Don’t you fucking leave me like this! No! NO!” he begged as he both popped away.
"Oh he is going to be so upset with me." I chuckle as Luna and I exit from the dream world.
"Fucking... Hate you," Geo mumbled as his foot tapped in beat to the rhythm in his head.
"What was that?" Luna asked, still confused and a little disturbed.
"Oh, just a song that gained a reputation for being annoying as hell. Seems he actually likes it."
There was a pause before she changed the subject.
"Gilgamesh, did you mean what you said?" she asked.
I turned serious and nodded. "Absolutely. He isn't evil, Luna, and even if he was I'd never sentence him to just rot away in a cell. For someone like him, that's just too cruel."
"So you would kill him instead?" she asked, confused.
"A warrior's death instead of wasting away in a cell? You better believe it. I'd ask for the same."
She paused before looking back to him. "Do you really think he can change?"
"He's just an angry child, Luna, and he’s not the first one I’ve dealt with either. He needs healing and guidance. He needs to see there is something more. Just like Discord did. Speaking of which, how is he?" I ask Celestia.
“He’s recovered well. Although, the more concerning part is the fact that he was injured to begin with,” she answered, looking concerned.
I raise my eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“I’m assuming the variations of Discord you met before are different, but Discord himself is little more than chaos incarnate. He is naught but chaos magic,” Luna answered
“But… can’t he be hurt?”
“Oh, yes. Temporarily, though. He will eventually reconstruct his physical form. The problem here is that, according to his own testimony, the creature negated his powers,” Celestia explained.
I scoffed, “Not surprising. It moved when I stopped time. Disabling magic would probably be a breeze.”
All was quiet before Luna spoke up again, “Gilgamesh…”
I turned to her, “Yes?”
“Do… you really believe that these… ‘System Admins’ have truly been dictating every living creatures’ lives? That up until now, all of us have been unwitting pawns of theirs?” she asked, a hint of fear in her voice.
I sighed. “Luna, you keep wondering about that kind of thing your head’s going to explode. ‘Am I really rejecting this request, or am I being forced to?’ ‘Am I really friends with this person, or did we become friends because we were destined to?’ ‘Am I ordering my coffee black because I don’t like cream or because I’m supposed to not like cream?’ As cliche as it sounds, you need to just live life and follow your heart. Maybe there is a script out there, but to think we’re all stuck following it to the letter is unthinkable to me. If there is fate, as far as I’m concerned all it can do is put situations in our way. We choose how to deal with them. And if they really do have such a supreme amount of control over us,” I paused to look back at Geo, still squirming in annoyance. “Then I guess I owe him.”
Luna scratched her chin, “An interesting way of looking at things, I suppose… but do you think we can free ourselves from them?”
“Undoubtedly.”
She almost flinched at the assuredness of my response.“How… how can you be so confident?”
I smiled and turned to Celestia. “Even with the extent your kingdom is based on Harmony, Love, and Friendship, there are still disputes, are there not?”
“Yes. What are you getting at?” she asked. It seemed she'd been able to gather enough info on what we were talking about just by listening.
“That even in the most harmonious of societies, there are sides. Sides formed out of different goals, different plans for the future, or even different ideas on how to reach the same goal. I find it hard to believe that in a system spanning multiple universes, there isn’t some amount of conflict going on within the system.”
“So you’re saying there might be another one of those… things that might aid us?” she asked, her brow furrowing as she considered the possibility.
“Or at the very least call off the underlings to see where this goes. In the meantime, back to Discord. I think he could use this.”
I pulled out one of the copies of Auric’s letter and handed it to her. She skimmed it for a moment and seemed surprised.
“He can create a barrier?”
“I’m not sure how well it will work against this Sys Admin, but it’s better than nothing. At the very least it’s keeping out an invading force from directly attacking my own Equus.”
“I see. And what of this ‘Auric Fulcrum?’ You trust him?”
“As far as I’m concerned, of all the Displaced, he’s the best of us, or at least one of them. Among his many accomplishments, he managed to set up peaceful relations between ponies and changelings in his version of Equestria.”
Both Princesses looked shocked, completely surprised at the idea of such a thing, much less it being successful.
“In addition,” I continued before turning to Luna. “Just like Teridax, the one Geo mentioned, he also Understands. From what I gather the two are fighting against each other, and Auric is definitely on the good side. I’d love to help him myself, but,” I sighed. “I’ve got my own war to deal with.”
“‘War!?’” Luna asked, completely shocked. “With whom!?”
“An invading force from Beyond. Even worse, they’ve recruited Tartarus onto their side.”
“And Equestria stands alone against them?”
I smirk. “Not quite. Considering what happened to her hive, I’d wager Queen Chrysalis will be willing to lend a hoof. I also doubt the griffons and the minotaurs will be willing to sit this one out, and I might still have some old acquaintances who could do me a favor with the dragons.”
“You… You intend to unite all of Equus against them,” Celestia said, more a statement that a question, if a shocked one.
I chuckled. “Nothing gets two opposing sides to work together much better than a bigger force threatening them both. And with any luck, I can get the alliance to become more than that after the war is done. After all, it’s much harder to see someone you’ve trusted to watch your back as an enemy again.”
They both looked at me, still surprised.
"Oh, and before I forget.” I tapped my armor, using my Osmosian genes to absorb the energy in the rune, before tapping Geo on the chest.
The Princesses both looked confused.
“What was that?” Celestia asked.
“A little gift for him. And also something so that he won’t forget who he’s dealing with. Ask him what his favorite song is when he wakes up.” I unclipped my naginata and cut a hole in the air, stunning them both. “And one last thing, I don’t think you need a reminder, but make sure someone’s on him at all times. I know you’d probably do that anyway, but I think more than just making sure he doesn’t cause trouble make sure he doesn’t interact with this ‘Teridax’ fellow he mentioned. Sounds like a bad influence.” I made a short bow to them both. “I bid you farewell, Princesses. May the Winds of Freedom carry your wings, now more than ever.” I then stepped inside, leaving them behind as I headed home.
As crazy as this was, I needed the distraction. Hopefully Geo will be smart enough not to associate with Teridax anymore. And this Sys Admnis sound bad, but I'll cross that bridged when I get to it. But for now, I wonder how I should announce my return?
… Oh, that will be fun.