//------------------------------//
// Zehnte 
// Story: Gestalt 
// by The Writer's Group 
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Angelson1992 was given only the ninth chapter and was asked to write this tenth chapter.


Hmm, a brand new stage has been set for our chaotic little play, and now it’s my turn to tell the tale of this day. At stage left sits the villain, archetypically mysterious and overflowing with madness and malice. From stage right flies the princesses, beloved heroines ready to fight for their charges. And center stage, can’t forget, battles our brave band of bearers against a force, not of evil, but of chaos and change unfettered.

Now that I’m done waxing lyrical, let’s get to the story. Shall we?





In the lair of our mysterious villain, a blinding whiteness was currently bleeding through the marble walls of the central chamber. The light’s recession to levels appropriate for unrestricted sight marked the successful completion of the arcane spell that our antagonist was casting. One might wonder exactly what spell is so important to complete when there are princesses, spirits of chaos, and element bearers to deal with. The answer to that is actually surprisingly simple, a teleportation spell. After all, what better way to make sure that the Elements of Harmony won’t become an issue than teleporting their fragments all across not only Equestria, but the entire planet?

A long sigh escaped the lips of our cloaked villain. Not one of exhaustion, he had long since evolved beyond the point that such a simple spell would cause him any form of strain, but one of satisfaction and anticipation. Satisfaction came from the fact that he had completed step one: Nullify the Elements of Harmony. Anticipation came from the imminent implementation of step two: Nullify the Princesses of Equestria. An almost roguish smile soon followed the sigh as he contemplated all the things that he had to do and the time he had to do it in. Even with literally all the time and space in the world to work with there were so many places to be and things to do; well that had a simple enough solution.

In one heartbeat, the sound of four hoof steps became twelve, and in the next beat, the sound of twelve became silence.





The ride in the chariot towards Ponyville had been an awkward affair for the lunar princess. Her elder sister’s dogged refusal to acknowledge her attempts at conversation being the main source of aforementioned awkwardness. It seemed that Celestia has appreciated her remark from before their departure even less than she first realized. Princess Luna drew in a deep breath as she braced herself for the task of earning back her sister’s favor, partly for the reason that it was important that their teamwork be at its best, but also for the morbid reason that she would much rather their final words to each other be something more positive if any unfortunate events were to come to pass. “Sister…” she waited for some acknowledgement of her attention but the only hint that she was heard was the instinctive flick of Celestia’s ears towards the sound of her voice. She soldiered on anyway, “We hath realized that our words may have been in improper taste for the time being, but we were only trying to find a source of humor in the face of this serious occasion.”

Despite her words, the expression of consternation and irritation refused to extricate itself from Celestia’s visage. Luna huffed inwardly as her own irritation began to mount and decided to try a different path for redemption; her sister had just been complaining that she was skipping her modern speech classes. She took a small step forward for emphasis, “Cellie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you when I made that joke. I thought that maybe livening the atmosphere would…” her statement was cut off at the knees by the sudden glowing of Celestia’s horn and then brutally curb stomped by the small pieces of cotton fluff covered in golden magic that exited her ears.

“I’m sorry Lulu, were you saying something?” the expression of concerned innocence on her face looked far too perfect to be sincere. The fact that Luna’s extremely accurate rendition of a gaping goldfish only seemed to make the corners of her mouth twitch upwards wasn’t a point in her favor either. If she weren’t so intensely aware of the inherent hypocrisy, Luna would have lectured her on the idea of proper time and place. As it stood, all that she could do was huff indignantly and fight down the smile that dared to try to form on her face.

Celestia was indulging herself in some light laughter for yet another successful prank against her sister when she noticed an incongruity in her senses. All of her senses agreed that she was moving in a chariot except for her sight which stated that the landscape was no longer moving beneath them. “Luna,” the authority, the seriousness, and the slight hint of worry snapped the lunar princess out of her temporary funk and at attention in less than an instant. Luna’s brief inspection of her environment revealed similar incongruities to her as she prepared herself for the worst.

It was the worst that revealed itself in the form of two shadowed ponies casually lounging on the opposite seats from them. There had been no flash of light, no sound of moving air, or blur of advanced speed. One instant, the seats had been bare of life and in the next they simply weren’t. Celestia reacted to the intrusion of their privacy with surprising civility, “Who are you and why are you here?” They were simple questions with enough power and authority behind them to cow an Ursa Major into answering.

It was too bad that the two identical figures before them simply did not seem affected by any of it. “Princess Celestia,” the voice was surprisingly respectful from someone who was almost certainly their enemy, “You really don’t recognize me? I used to be one of your favorite advisers. Have we really grown that far apart?” The tone of voice and sad expression would make someone believe that he was truly offended if it weren’t for the burning malice that shone brightly from his eyes.

“Hey now,” the second incarnation of robed mystery spoke up while seemingly comforting his doppelganger, “Time takes its toll on everyone, and it has been quite a few years since you left.” Celestia wasn’t an idiot of any measure. When the first hint to their identity was given she had immediately begun searching her memory of anyone that could fit this pony’s description but searching through eons of experiences was easier said than done. The two cloaked figures didn’t seem very keen on waiting for too long however and the last brother to speak addressed the two princesses before him, “You really don’t remember us,” he sounded as unsurprised as he was unconcerned, “I suppose that we can be nice and give you one more hint.”

Celestia focused the full force of her gaze on the two before her as her mind ran at full gallop. The finality of that last statement implied that this last clue would make it overwhelmingly obvious who their enemy was and she knew from experience that the first step to defeating one’s opponents was understanding them. Luckily, or unluckily depending on your point of view, the last clue to their/his identity did not disappoint. In an elegant motion worthy of the most prestigious of royalty, the cloaked figure they had been conversing with revealed, of all things, a simple pocket watch.

It really was just a simple pocket watch. It didn’t glow with some obvious ethereal power. It wasn’t made of the finest crystals and precious metals. It didn’t even appear to be overly valuable from its well-used appearance. In fact, the only distinguishing feature on this particular watch was the series of archaic, alien inscriptions on its gold-brass cover but that single feature was more than enough to send comprehension, revulsion, and shock shooting through the hearts of both sisters.

Shock has an unfortunate habit of giving way to unrelenting rage far too quickly for the good of many. Equally unfortunately, Luna falls within this category of many. Before sense could have a chance to reassert control over her faculties, a raging torrent of dark blue flames was already racing forward to incinerate the entire half of the carriage that the two dark figures still rested on. Interestingly enough, instead of the more talkative doppelganger taking action, it was the recently silent one that seemed to simply materialize a small paper fan in his hoof and simple wave the flames from existence. Even as the thought of such a powerful attack being so effortlessly thwarted settled in her mind, Luna could not help but notice the similar make, modeling, and inscription that the fan shared with the watch.

The fan-wielding, cloaked figure opened his mouth to playfully admonish Luna about the dangers of casting powerful spells in confined spaces when he was unceremoniously cut off by Celestia’s deathly calm monotone, “You come before us carrying the stolen artifacts of our parents…” it really should be impossible to put as much contempt into a monotone as she had, “I finally remembered you name.” Without a single waver in breath or speech, Celestia’s voice seemed to slice through the air as she spoke his name for the world to hear …





It really is beautiful in the mines of Canterlot. The walls themselves are practically made of the most radiant of gems and no one seems to ever come down here anymore. If it weren’t for the sheer scale of this place, he would be tempted to think that this would be a simple and enjoyable excursion, but he was never that much of an optimist. In fact, if he had thought that this would be a simple mission, he would not have needed to bother releasing Discord to distract the elements or giving two clones some of his most powerful magical artifacts to distract the princesses. But it would be worth it when he found what he came for.

A simple inspection of the area allowed him to pinpoint his location on a mental map born of experience, reading, and study. A single step forward was taken; the first step of what was sure to be many in his meticulous search for the lost artifact he searched for. A twisted facsimile of a smile wound its way on his lips as he began his search in earnest and began the final phase of his plan.

For after all of his treachery and thievery, he would show this broken world why it was the powerful that ruled and brighten this world cast in shadows with his glorious light.