//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: I Can Do Anything, I'm the Mayor // Story: The Shark Fighter // by Rabuiods //------------------------------// One more requisition form and…done. Mayor Mare looked up from the mountain of paperwork on her desk, toward the grandfather clock in the corner of her office. I can’t believe it’s this late already…I need a vacation. Just as the earthpony was about to call it quits for the evening, her assistant rushed in. “Excuse me Mayor, Derpy just dropped this off. She said it’s from the hospital, and it’s very urgent!” “It’s probably another request for more funding. I know the hospital is important, but I can’t spare-“ Color slowly drained from the mayor’s face as she read the letter. After giving her assistant strict instructions to leave for the night, she hurried to the hospital. Upon entering the lobby, she was approached by Doctor Stable. “Good evening Mayor, I’m assuming you’re here because you have received my message?” “Yes, I did. I’m not sure this is going to continue to be a good even given the circumstances…is there someplace in private we can talk?” Doctor Stable escorted the city official to his office, where they sat in silence. Because of the severity of the situation, they were unsure of the precautions to take. Finally, the mayor broke the ice. “Do we know who it is?” “I can’t be certain, there wasn’t much left to examine. From our preliminary autopsy, I believe it may be Bon Bon.” Mayor Mare ran her hooves through her mane. “Oh Celestia…have you told Lyra yet?” “No, we usually retain news like this until we are one hundred percent sure we have properly identified the victim.” “You’re right. It’s best to wait. Do we know what did this to her?” “We have some ideas, but nothing concrete yet. She washed up a few-“ The physician was interrupted by the perplexed earthpony sitting in front of him. “Wait…washed up? I don’t understand…” “Two colts found the remains washed up on shore a few hours ago.” “Washed up? So her murderer dumped her remains in the water?” “No…from what we can tell, she was killed in the water.” Mayor Mare asked for clarification. “I’m not expert, but I believe Bon Bon was attacked and killed by a shark.” To say the Mayor was dumbfounded would be an understatement. “Shark attack? Here in Ponyville?! I find that very…difficult to believe doctor.” “Look, I’m just giving you my professional opinion. I have spoken with colleagues who work at hospitals where this situation is common. I have described the remains, and they all agree that this was the work of a shark.” “Ok doctor...let’s say Ponyville does have a shark problem, what in Celestia’s name do I do about it?” “I’m not sure ma’am, I’m just a doctor.” Taking a moment to assess the situation, the Mayor decided this situation could wait until morning. “I’m going to call a town council meeting tomorrow and see if somepony else can shed some light on this scenario. I would like you as well, doctor. Perhaps you could explain things better than I can." Doctor Stable promised he would attend the meeting. Feeling anxious and exhausted, Mayor Mare called it an evening. Before heading home, she made one last stop at her office. Pulling out a few pieces of stationary, she addressed a simple note to each member of the town council, asking them to meet with her tomorrow. On the last piece of paper, she addressed one last letter to the town librarian. Dear Twilight Sparkle, There has been an emergency, and the council is going to meet tomorrow at ten. I would appreciate it if you could attend as well. Sincearly, Mayor Mare PS- If possible, can you bring your friend Fluttershy? We may need her talents. *** “Good morning everypony. I wish this meeting could be held under better circumstances.” Mayor Mare turned to her council members, Filthy Rich and Mrs. Cake. Twilight Sparkle was also in attendance, per her request. “What’s the problem Mayor? You said it was an emergency?” “I was getting to that Twilight.” Taking a seat, the city official took off her glasses and wiped her eyes. “Somepony has been killed.” The room fell silent as everypony in attendance mourned the death of the pony. After a moment, a solemn Mrs. Cake asked what happened. “Do we need to worry about our family’s safety?” “To be honest, I’m not quite sure. From Doctor Stable’s preliminary report, he believes it was a shark attack.” The behavior of everypony in the room suddenly changed from silent and somber to confused and chaotic. “What do you mean SHARK ATTACK? How the hell did that happen?” Doctor Stable’s entrance interrupted the Mayor’s train of thought, thus preventing an answer to Filthy Rich’s question. “Ah, perfect timing Doctor! Are we sure it was a shark?” “Yes. After looking over the remains one last time, I am one hundred percent sure the cause of death was indeed a shark attack.” Mrs. Caked asked if the body had been identified. “Yes, my initial guess was accurate. The victim in question is Bon Bon.” The pudgy bakery immediately placed her hooves on her face, eyes wide open with distress. “NO! Oh Lyra’s going to be so upset…” Twilight rose to her hooves, butting into the conversation. “Excuse me Mayor, but this doesn’t make any sense. From my studies, sharks are oceanic creatures…we don’t live near the ocean. How is this possible?” “That is a question I might be able to answer.” Taking a map of Equestria off the wall, the elected official told everypony to gather around her desk. “See how the ice from Caterlot melts and flows into this river here? The river passes around the edge of Ponyville, and eventually leads into the ocean. Could the shark have swim upstream toward Ponyville and attacked Bon Bon?” The door to the Mayor’s office opened slowly, revealing a yellow pegasus. “Ah, Fluttershy! Glad you could make it!” “I’m so sorry for being late, I had some trouble rounding up all my animals for breakfast.” Fluttershy turned to Mayor Mare, looking slightly flustered. “I hope this isn’t about my lack of animal licenses, because I am working on it Mayor, I just-“ “No Fluttershy, it’s not about that. We need some animal advice.” “OH! I’ll be glad to help! What animal did you have questions about?” “Do you know anything about sharks?” The freighted pegasus squeaked and took refuge behind Twilight Sparkle. “I know they are very s-s-scary, and attack ponies sometimes.” “Everypony knows that, we were hoping you could provide us with anything else? Perhaps a way to get rid of one…” Twilight Sparkle explained the situation at hoof to the pegasi, who instantly started crying. “OH poor Bon Bon! She was such a nice pony…what are we going to do?” “If I may speak Madam Mayor, I have a suggestion.” Everypony in the room turned to source of the voice. “Go ahead, Mr. Rich.” “Fillydelphia had a situation like this a few years back; it was a lot worse than ours. My sister told me the city brought in some pony named the Shark Fighter to take care of their problem.” Mayor Mare began laughing at the stallion’s story. “The Shark Fighter? Sounds like a horrible professional wrestler.” “I know it sounds unorthodox, but he gets the job done. My sister said he walked right on in the water and dragged the beast out a few minutes later. I think we should look into giving this pony a chance.” “Excuse me, but…I disagree!” Fluttershy nervously stood up in front of the group, explaining that it wasn’t the sharks fault for the attacks. “Like the Mayor said, he probably swam up here by mistake! He’s just a big fishy wishy after all!” Filthy Rich proposed a new idea, once the pegasus finished speaking. “We can always throw Fluttershy in the water, maybe she can politely ask him to leave.” Twilight Sparkle immediately leapt to her hooves, defending her friend. The meeting spiralled out of control, everypony was at each other’s throats. “EVERYPONY QUIET!!!” The arguing stopped, and Mayor Mare had both hooves planted firmly on her desk. Allowing her frustrations to boil over, she demanded that everypony sit down and shut up. “Look, we are all scared, confused and angry. I understand, but we can’t be fighting like this! I called you all here with hopes of coming up with ideas on how to resolve this situation.” She turned to Filthy Rich, “I will certainly take your suggestion under advisement, but for now, let’s look at some other ideas.” *** “Isn’t the view from here breath taking?” Miss Cheerilee looked into the eyes to the stallion that was holding her close. “It’s not as purdy as you, Cheerilee” “You know Big Mac, for a stallion who doesn’t say very much, you sure know when to say the right thing.” The couple quietly nuzzled each other, losing themselves in the natural beauty that surrounded them. “Big Mac, you’ve made me the-whoops!” The mare’s sun hat was blown off her head and into the chilly water below. She rose to her hooves to retrieve it, but her very special somepony had different plans. “It’s ah'right, ah’ don’t want yer mane to get ruined, on account of it gettin’ all wet.” “Big Mac, you sure are a gentlecolt!” Watching her boyfriend enter the water, Cheerilee felt a sense of pride. Knowing she had this handsome, loyal, and hardworking pony all to herself was a dream come true. Standing on the sandy soil, she watched Big Mac retrieve her hat. Look at him…he is such a strong swimmer. Wait…why is he going underwater? Big Mac submerged for a moment, only to break the surface, screaming for help. “Cheerilee! Ah’ need-” before returning underwater. Ready to provide assistance, the suddenly mare had an idea. Big Mac is probably trying to get me into the water…that silly stallion. I’m not falling for his tricks. Taking a few steps back, the mare sat on the beach. She wasn’t going to fall for his practical joke. “Cheerilee, please! Ah’ need hel-“ The look of horror and anguish on the stallions face told Cheerilee that it wasn’t a joke after all. She ran to the edge of the water, where she brought her hooves up to her face. Her sun hat was brought to shore, by a wave of crimson water and mane. *** “So we all agree that this is what we want?” With the council nodding their heads in approval, the mayor called her assistant into the office. “We have made our decision.” Pausing momentarily so notes could be taken, the city official finished her statement. “We want two pizzas, one extra cheese, one with daffodils and daisies.” “Alright Mayor, I will drop this off at the pizzeria in a jiffy!” Before leaving, her assistant asked if they reached a solution for the shark problem. “Oh that…no, we’re still working on it.” Closing the door behind her helper, the exhausted pony asked Twilight how her research on sharks was coming. “Great! Did you know that sharks have rows and rows of teeth, so in case one breaks it can easily be replaced?” “Well…no I-“ “And that some sharks sleep while they swim!” “Twilight, when I said research, I meant-“ “And the weirdest thing I’ve researched…sharks poop-“ “TWILIGHT!” Mayor Mare snatched the book away from the unicorn and threw it across the room. “When I said ‘research’, I didn’t mean become a shark expert. Just find some sort of weakness or something.” Before a rebuttal could be heard, the entire room’s attention was drawn to blood curdling screams outside. Fluttershy flew over to the window, carefully peaking through the blinds to find the cause of the horrible shrieking. “It’s Cheerilee…she looks very upset for some reason.” Mayor Mare walked over to the window and took a look for herself. “I can’t believe it…why is she screaming bloody murder in the center of town?” “Actually Mayor, I think she’s screaming ‘HE’S DEAD, HE’S DEAD!” “…thank you for clearing that up, Twilight” The Mayor asked if everypony in the room would mind if she called a brief recess. The room agreed. They spilled out onto the street, fighting their way through the crowd that gathered around the magenta mare. Twilight Sparkle carefully approached her friend. “Cheerliee…are you ok?” The distraught mare tackled Twilight, standing over her with bloodshot eyes. She continued to scream nonsense words while the terrified unicorn covered her face. “HE’S GONE! HE’S GONE AND IT’S ALL MY FAULT! I DID NOTH-“ Cheerilee suddenly collasped. Twilight moved her hooves, to see Doctor Stable standing over the downed mare, a syringe in his hoof. “Well…that was interesting, my staff and I will take care of it from here.” “What was wrong with her Doctor?” “If I had to guess, she had a breakdown of some sort. She should be fine in an hour or so, why don’t you swing by the hospital then?” *** Twilight, Fluttershy and the mayor arrived at the hospital a few hours later. After receiving permission, the three mares entered Cheerilee’s room. To their surprise, she wasn’t living up to her name. While the magenta mare was calm, she seemed very depressed and distant. “Hello Cheerilee, feeling better?” Choosing to ignore Twilight, she faced the curtain next to her, crossing forehooves.Fluttershy attempted to speak to the distraught mare, but the results were the same. Having enough of her childlike behavior, Mayor Mare told Cheerilee to snap out of it. “Snap out of it?” Cheerilee shot daggers at her fellow earthpony. “How would you feel if the pony you loved more than life itself was killed in front of you, and the very last thing he saw was your face laughing at him?” Breaking down in tears once again, she demanded that her visitors leave. Once the three ponies where in the hallway, Mayor Mare took off her glasses, took a seat and began to rub her face with her hooves. “Twilight, Fluttershy…I’m sorry for acting like that. I have no idea what I am doing with this shark situation. What am I supposed to do?” Twilight suggested taking Filthy Rich’s advice. “It’s the only real idea that we have.” “Fluttershy, what do you think we should do?” “Well Mayor, I don’t like the idea of somepony killing a poor creature…but at the same time, I don’t want to lose any more friends or little creatures. Maybe it’s the best option.” Taking a deep breath, the mayor stood up and excused herself. “I have a shark killer to hire.”