//------------------------------// // Funfte // Story: Gestalt // by The Writer's Group //------------------------------// Owlor was given only the fourth chapter and was asked to write this fifth chapter. Mayor Mare couldn't have been more proud of the town, Twilight had been very clear that there was... something in the woods. The description was muddled, something about a thorny mane or a rose for a head, but she didn't need any more information to know that this was bad news. Yet almost the entire town had willingly joined the search for Fluttershy, knowing full well the risk involved. With the help of Twilight she had divided the entirety of Ponyville into massive grids, most of which where already being searched by a trio of volunteers each. But the more dangerous squares of the Everfree forest needed a special strategy all on its own. Assembled in front of the town hall were a small crowd of combat-ready ponies, speaking excitedly amongst themselves and the mayor couldn't help but shudder slightly at how fierce they looked. She wouldn't want this level of fierce determination set against her -again- and she had to remind herself that these ponies where on her side. She put on her serious face as she trotted up onto the stage. The podium had been removed and in its place was a stand holding a map of the Everfree Forest. Mayor Mare looked very much like a drill sergeant as she stood in front of the map, holding one hoof in the air to silence the masses. ”Thank you all for coming, we're going to need each and every one.” The mayor coughed and swallowed her political instincts to use diplomacy and euphemisms. ”I'm not going to lie, if we want any chance of coming out of this alive, we're gonna have to be smart about this. I had Twilight draw up this plan for us, and I want it to be followed to the letter, okay?” The crowd nodded nearly in unison as the mayor produced a red marker from her saddle back. She draped her left hoof around the cap, but couldn't get a good enough grip for it to open. She flipped the marker over and tried to open it with her mouth, but to no avail. She fumbled with it as she noticed the crowd growing impatient. Beads of cold sweat appeared on her brow and she she could feel the image of her as a competent leader erode rapidly in front of everypony's eyes. A light appeared at the edge of her field of vision and a green glowing hand appeared on stage. It grabbed the cap between its thumb and index finger and neatly screwed it off. The mayor breathed a sign of relief and turned towards the source of the magic, a cyan pony beaming a helpful smile. ”Thank you, Lyra!” she said. ”I'm glad to help!” Lyra replied and the hand did a ”V”-sign. ”I can help you write too if you want, just tell me what to do.” The mayor frowned at this, still sensing the wound in her commanding presence. ”No thank you,” she replied. ”I appreciate it, but I don't need your help. She put the marker in her mouth and went up to the map. ”Arrarrh, irsh ee o-u-e ef arh oh-e-orerh” the mayor said as she drew a rough circle around part of the forest. The crowd murmured and a more blunt pony yelled out: ”Hey, miss mayor, we can't friggin hear you!” The mayor blushed violently and held the marker up to Lyra's magic hand. ”Here Lyra, come up on stage and help me write with this thing. ”Yay!” Lyra jumped up, defying all laws of gravity. ”Allright, as I said, first we bring the entire group to this part of the forest here.” she pointed and Lyra’s glowing green hand completed her rough circle. ”After that we split up into six groups, going out from the center and then back together gain a few miles east.” The mayor gestured with her hooves and Lyra followed her instructions obediently, drawing a neat wave-pattern across the map. ”Each group leader will have the checkpoints marked on their maps, and we won't continue unless everypony is assembled at each checkpoint, you got that? I don't want to lose any more ponies.” The mayor smirked to herself, having regained some of her lost credibility. The crowd didn't exactly stomp in applause, but they did emit various appreciative roars. Among those she could hear an indistinct ”yee-haw!” ”I already told you, Mrs. Smith,” miss Mare scolded the green pony that was the source of the yell. “You do NOT qualify as a combat-ready mare!” ”You wanna come down here and say that to my face, young lady?!” the old mare exclaimed and got ready to sprint up the stage with all the speed and graze of Tank the tortoise, but her grand-daughter held out a hoof to stop her. ”Please granny,” Applejack told her determined granny. “Ah I know you wanna help, but we don't wanna put more ponies in danger.” Granny Smith snorted in displeasure but eventually resigned. On stage, the mayor turned back to Lyra. “That will be all”, she said to the unicorn. “Thanks for your help. Lyra gave the red marker back to the mayor and jumped back into the crowd as the glowing hand disappeared in a shower of sparkles. The mayor looked back towards the crowd with stern eyes. ”Be careful!” she pleased. ”There are monsters in the Everfree forest, everypony knows this, and they are not going to be happy about us barging in like this. With a little luck we'll find Fluttershy an complete the search before we rile up the really big ones.” “And with a little more luck, Fluttershy will actually be alive,” she added under her breath. ”So, any questions?” ”Yeah, what group are you going to be in?” the outspoken pony from before probed. ”Well... let's just say I...” the mayor blurted out, stumbling on her words. ”You're gonna stay behind aren't you?” the pony from the crowd asked and miss Mare felt a knot in her stomach. ”I do wanna join in, I really do. But I'm too important to the town to risk.” ”So, you're saying we are expendable?” ”Goodness, no! I'm just saying that I haven't had time to instruct a replacement yet but I promise you I'll help out in any way I can.” The crowd grumbled a bit at this, but ultimately decided to accept her excuse. ”Alright,” the mayor began to announce and produced a scroll from her saddle back ”Are each group leader ready?” she unfolded the scroll and started reading out the names. "Applejack for Combat group A?” A stetson hat appeared from the crowd. ”Yee-haw!” Applejack exclaimed. ”Rainbow Dash for combat group B?” At first the mayor was afraid that the pegasus pony was missing as well, but looking up, she found her perched on a cloud right above the crowd. ”Let's rock 'n roll!” RD said and struck a determined pose. ”Pinkie Pie for combat group C?” ”Here I am!” Pinkie's voice rang out from behind the map, startling the mayor. ”What are you doing here?” she asked. ”I slipped trough a plot-hole,” Pinkie Pie informed her. ”Isn't this exciting?” The mayor just sighed and kept on with the list. ”Rarity for Combat Group Sunflower.... is that really what you wanna call it?” Rarity flicked her hair back at this. ”I found it much more charming than simply naming it after a letter, don't you agree?” Mayor Mare ignored this and searched for the next name. ”Rose for combat group... well, rose. I gotta admit,” she added to the frail pony. ”I did not expect you to join with the combat group.” ”Well, you know what they say, every rose has its thorn,” Rose said with a sly smile. ”Well, they aren't not thorns, they are prickles, outgrowths of the epidermis, but anyway... Cranky Doodle Donkey for Combat Group 'I ain't naming this after no flower'. I'm glad to see that the donkeys of the town decided to pitch in.” ”And I'm glad the town at least acknowledges that we donkeys live here as well when there's work to be done,” Cranky said sarcastically. ”Allright, every pony... and donkey... seem to be here,” the mayor concluded. ”Go right ahead, you guys. I'll meet up with you afterwards.” It was stalking the woods, with a mind like an arrow that pointed her towards the bare essentials of survival. But somewhere under that rancid brown hide and that thick skull rested the leftovers of a more complex mind. Silver fumes of abstract thought spiralling helplessly around its head as the baser instincts drove It forwards, towards the nearest living target. A bird was resting on a small rock, wings still hurting after a bad fall. It appeared from behind the bird, like a huge imposing shadow framed by a mane made out of thorny wines. A second after Its presence became known, it launched itself towards the prey, catching the animal in Its claws. The fumes in Its head became restless, they trashed against the sides of Its narrow consciousness wrestling for control. One of the internal blows hit frightfully close to Its being and a small nugget of information crossed over. The fumes had a name, 'Fluttershy' ”Stop. Futtershy,” It demanded in its own simple mental language. ”I'm not gonna let you hurt a poor innocent bird!” a small, squeaky voice sounded in its head. ”Must. Eat.” The fumes once again dissipated, but the distraction had proven enough for the bird to find an advantage. The would-be prey wrestled out of its tight grip and It could only stare at the bird disappointedly as it flew away in a panicked, zig-zagging flight path. The town was hauntingly empty as the mayor made her way to her office, yet she still looked behind her shoulder several time. This was not an aspect of her former life she wanted her citizens to see Once in her office, she approached the rather gaudy picture of herself that hung above the desk and promptly tore it down. A thousand bits worth of paint and mare-hours came crashing down on the floor, revealing a large wall-mounted safe. Inside the safe was a pink jumpsuit, outfitted with hoof-mounted blades and shoulder-mounted guns and a bottle of aged ocean water. The mayor suddenly realized that it had been ten years since she had even looked at this gear. It was like meeting an old friend you had fallen out of favour with, only the friend in question was yourself. First thing first, the mayor grabbed the bottle of ocean water and drained it in one swoop. Her younger self had been very forward-thinking and had known precisely what she needed to be able to don this get-up again: liquid courage. The outfit slid on nicely, although it was a little tight around the stomach, reminding her that she wasn't the mare she used to be. Out from one of the legs fell a pick cloth, her trusty mask. She tied it over her face and pulled the hood of the spandex suit up. ”The Pink Avenger rides again, I guess,” she muttered to herself. The salt water did its best to block the most painful memories. Behind the jumpsuit in the safe was a small mirror and she admired herself in it. Her grayed mane would be a problem, it was distinctive enough for ponies to recognize her. Without hesitation, she grabbed a pair of scissors from the top drawer of her desk and cut the offending bangs off, hiding the rest of the hair under the hood. There was a knock on the door, and the mayor froze up. Some of her old instincts returned and she looked around the room for a place to hide, cursing the day she chose hot pink as a signature colour for a sneaky ninja suit. In a fit of clarity, she tossed the torn canvas over the safe, hiding it just in time for the doorknob to turn. ”Miss mayor!” Twilight yelled from the door frame. ”I just discovered a flaw in my plan, you'll.... who the hay are you?” Twilight dropped the document she was carrying as she gazed towards the mysterious pony in the middle of the room. ”I... my name is of no importance,” the mayor said, affecting a growly voice like the female version of those ponies in the western movies she loved as a filly. ”I used to be kind of a hero around these part until... well, that's in the past. But I heard about your trouble and hoped I could make up for it by helping you and your town on your search." Twilight looked sceptical, and the mayor couldn't help but notice the strange locked around her neck, which was glowing faintly as tough it was warning its bearer about something. ”What did you do to the mayor?!” Twilight said and put herself in a combat-ready pose that looked extremely out of place for this unicorn intellectual. ”She's safe, don't worry about her, I'll help you find Fl...” miss Mare stumbled on her words.”This friend of yours that's missing,” she corrected herself. ”If you'll let me.” Twilight surveyed the strange masked pony as one of her hooves reached for the locket when the talisman stopped glowing, some of the harshness in the librarians eyes disappeared. ”Okay, she said. ”But I'm watching you! We need to catch up with the others, you see, there's a flaw in my...” ”No time!” The mayor interrupted her, being fully aware of how neurotic Twilight could get and not wanting to waste her precious time on a minor hang up. ”If the description I got from the mayor is accurate, I think I know where to find this thing, I've encountered it before.” the masked mare announced. ”And I don't know if I can take it myself, but I'm bloody well going to try!”