//------------------------------//
// Elfte 
// Story: Gestalt 
// by The Writer's Group 
//------------------------------//

lolcatsmanseven was given only the tenth chapter and was asked to write this eleventh chapter.


Inside the Royal Carriage, the atmosphere was saturated with tension, and had any mortal been near, they would have soon found themselves overwhelmed. Princess Celestia, who was not a mortal, was unaffected as she addressed the two copies by their true name.

“It’s been a long time, Gestalt.”

The two ponies sitting across from her shared a small, condescending smile. Their forms became blurry, and it became difficult to tell where they ended, and where the air began. They quickly drifted towards each other, until there was only a single one facing the two Princesses, with a watch in his left hoof and a fan in his right.

“Well, I guess you do remember us. And tell me, do you remember how we came to be?”

At this, Celestia’s gaze softened, and she averted her gaze to the left of Gestalt. It was clear that she was reliving a memory she’d rather not. Luna looked at her sister with a trace of concern. “Tia?”

Gestalt’s gaze hardened, and his glare bored into the withdrawn monarch. “Yes Tia, why don’t you explain to your baby sister how you created us.”

Against her better judgment, Celestia began to explain to Luna how Gestalt had come into this world during her long absence.





The countless gems and crystals created a dazzling series of miniature spotlights from the meagre light of a small ball of energy floating above a cloaked pony’s head. Despite requiring only a minimum concentration of energy and magic, the simple spell generated enough light for him to effectively search the Mines of Canterlot. Although, it was less of a search than a journey, as he knew exactly where his treasure was hidden.

Taking many sharp turns, and descending through many tunnels, the only sounds were his hooves striking the hard stone floor. There were signs of other ponies having been there before him, and here and there one might have been able to discern hoof prints in the rubble coating the floor. As he descended further into the welcoming maw of the caverns, the shadows cast by his light grew longer; and the light itself seemed to shrink, and pull into itself for safety.

Whereas at the entrance to the mines, the walls had been cleanly cut and the floor worn smooth by the countless hooves of miners, the passage he was now traveling down was more akin to a wound in the earth. The corridor maintained an even width, but at irregular intervals portions seemed to have collapsed in on itself partially. Nowhere was the path completely obstructed, yet multiple times the figure was forced to remove stones and dirt with his magic.

Finally, when it seemed that the passage could get no rougher without disappearing completely, it ended. The cloaked figure walked up to a simple, mahogany door. He drew back his hood, revealing gleaming, pupil-less eyes with a black sclera. Raising a single hoof, he opened the door.





“But, what kind of magic could create such a thing out of so many ponies?”

Luna’s question hung in the air for several seconds. She looked to her sister, but she just stared off into space, apparently still reliving Gestalt’s creation. When it became clear that the Monarch of the Sun wasn’t going to answer the question, Gestalt helpfully interjected.

“It didn’t, at least not right away. Our very consciousnesses, our souls, were torn apart, and scattered. We flew with the clouds, we ran with the streams, and we were buried in the earth. We became a part of the land itself. But something happened to us, and we began to condense into one form. We became solid, and your sister can tell you what happened next.”

Celestia closed her eyes for several seconds, and when they opened, they had regained their previous intensity. She again made eye contact with the being across from her, and responded in a firm voice, “Once regaining solid form, he began to rampage, taking the innocent lives of many. I confronted him, and learned what I had created that fateful day. I vowed to put his souls to rest, but I couldn’t. All I could do was scatter him again.” At this, she paused for a moment, as if to collect her thoughts.

Gestalt seized upon this gap, and raised the pocket watch to eye level. Luna’s eyes immediately locked upon it, and it took all her self control to not become enraged again. However, Gestalt didn’t seem to notice, or at least he didn’t care, about Luna’s reaction. Instead, his gaze was firmly locked upon Celestia, to see if she would rise to his taunt.

Celestia spoke in a matronly tone, though it was clear there was long buried pain behind her words, “I truly am sorry for what happened to you, and I promise that this time, I will put your souls to rest.” She stood up from her seat, an action mirrored by her sister, and her horn began to glow.

“Even if you possess the tools of the Creator, our father, you cannot stand against the sun.”





The light floating above the cloaked figure’s head did little to illuminate the room beyond the door. Putting slightly more effort into his spell, the glowing mass of energy doubled in size, and cast proportionally more light.

The harsh glow fell upon rows of stone caskets lining a raised dias. The cloaked figure stepped towards the casket closest to him, and swept the dust away with a gust of magic. He manipulated the light in order to make the writing on the top of the casket readable. It read:

HERE LIES STONEHEART,

A LOYAL GUARD, AND FRIEND

UNTIL HIS FINAL BREATH.

The figure stepped to the next casket, and read its inscription. He read several more, and found that all said nearly the same thing. Frowning, he walked to the dias, and found a stone of pure ebony, with an inscription describing the room he was searching. It detailed that he was standing in a tomb of the heroes of Equestria. It was a monument consecrated by the saints of an era long forgotten to the repose of those who had paid the greatest price.

He smirked upon reading the word ‘price,’ and turned back towards the stone coffins. Even now they were attempting to protect their beloved princesses. However, their efforts would be for naught, as he again resumed his search.

Finally, he found the engraving he had been searching for. Using his magic, he casually lifted the lid away from its base, and carelessly tossed it to the side. He looked inside the coffin, and smirked. “We figured he would have had it buried with him, taking one last memento of his love even to his literal grave.”

As he reached inside, the light from his spell illuminated the epithet on the lid he had so carelessly tossed aside.

HERE LIES TENDERHOOF,

WHO THOUGHT LOVE WAS WORTH EVERYTHING,

AND GAVE EVERYTHING FOR LOVE.





All that remained of what had once been a beautiful Royal Carriage was a smoldering wreckage far below on the ground. It had been destroyed by the combined might of Gestalt, Celestia and Luna. The two princesses were hovering side by side a hundred yards away from their adversary. They looked much the same as when their conversation began.

The same could not be said for Gestalt. His cloak was gone, revealing his pure black eyes, and he had several scorch marks in his short fur. He was still holding the pocket watch and fan, but the fan had several tears, and the watch was cracked. He was panting slightly.

Celestia called out across the distance, “Are you ready to end this? Even with the Tools of Creation, it’s hopeless. Please, just let this end.”

Gestalt’s shoulders started shaking, then his head, and he let out a deep, slightly manic laugh. “We guess even with these trinkets we still can’t match up. Well, it’s good then that these aren’t what we are relying on.” And he smiled confidently at the two alicorns.

Celestia and Luna drew back slightly, puzzled. The Tools of Creation had been wielded by their father as he created the world. They were two of the most powerful magical artifacts in existence, so did that mean he was after one even more powerful?

Luna responded first. “What are you relying on then, that could hope to match the might of the sun and moon?”

A light suddenly appeared in Gestalt’s eyes, and a flash of memories from deep underground passed into his mind. He relived the experiences of one of his many selves, memories of finding a simple hand mirror in an ancient tomb. His confident smile grew, until it was a full grin splitting his face.

“Well, since it appears we’ve already found it, I guess there’s no point in hiding it. We are using the Eye of Truth.”

If Luna’s reaction to the Tools of Creation could have been described as ‘snapping,’ then her reaction now was a complete melt down. Her eyes glowed a deep blue, and ambient energy flowed out of her body.

“You would desecrate the grave of my beloved, and steal the symbol of my greatest failure? Any mercy I may have felt for you is gone.” Any pity she felt for the creature in front of her had vanished, and she readied herself to destroy it once and for all. Her dark blue aura began to flow towards the tip of her horn, and condense into a solid ball. She grit her teeth from exertion, as her sister mirrored her action.

Gestalt smiled. “It’s fitting, isn’t it? The very thing that made you become Nightmare Moon is going to be used to destroy y-”

His taunt was cut off by the release of the energy being compressed at the end of the princesses horns. Their pure magic took the form of two narrow beams, one from each horn, that instantly shot through the torso of Gestalt. Instead of being destroyed by the intensity of the attack, Gestalt’s body became less distinct. He was disappearing into the air very air, and left only a few parting words.

“We are the land, and very soon, it will burn.”