• Published 22nd Jun 2012
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Elements of Insanity - Emeral Bookwise



Lunaverse; Twilight plans to prove herself superior to Trixie by forming her own Elements of Harmony

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Chapter 6: "A Beautiful Heart"

A young earth pony colt ran down an alley, a small sack of ill-gotten loot clutched tightly in his mouth. His lime-green mane billowed as his lungs heaved beneath the dark brown coat of his barrel. It had been a stupid dare; he should have known better. Now he was going to be in big trouble.

The colt chanced a backwards glance to see if he was still being chased. As his eyes took in only empty air and the refuse of the alley he, breathed a sigh of relief as he slowed his gallop to a trot before coming to a full stop. His heart was still racing as he panted deep breaths, but between each he found himself beginning to chuckle.

As he came full about, a new sensation entered his head; he'd actually gotten away with it. The thrill rushed over him, pure exhilaration. He'd never felt anything quite like it, and quickly found the fear and guilt washing away beneath an overwhelming sense of empowerment.

Taking one last moment to stare at the empty alley behind him, the colt turned to leave, but quickly felt himself bodily lifted into the air.

"Gotcha, you little hooligan!" called out the pegasus dressed in an officer's uniform who had swooped out of the sky and was now carrying the little thief away.

It was all over, he'd been caught and there was no escape… unless. There was that one trick mamma had taught him. She'd be mad if she ever found out he used it in public like this, but she'd be just as mad if she found out he'd been caught stealing.

All these thoughts passed through his head in just a few brief seconds and before he was fully conscious of making a decision the young colt found himself sneering out a threat. "Oh yeah!" the colt stared defiantly, "But who's got you?"

The officer was more than a little confused as he watched the little miscreant close his eyes in concentration. Were the colt a unicorn he might have been worried, even if the young lad was obviously too young to know any dangerous spells. He quickly put it out of his mind, but then it happened, something that he'd never experienced once since before graduating flight camp so many years ago.

He fell.

Try as he might his wings couldn't catch the wind, almost as though they weren't even there, but that would be silly. Wings couldn't just randomly disappear.

It only lasted a second, maybe less, but the officer had still been close to the ground, and by the time he recovered, it was all he could do to twist in the air to make sure the colt he was carrying (thief or not he was still just a child) wouldn't bear the brunt of the crash.


The colt limped away from the crash site and the unconscious adult, or at least he hoped the officer was only unconscious. The colt breathed heavy his head still dizzy from the exertion. Then as he took his next step a sharp pain stabbed up and through his left hind-leg.

Had he broken his leg in the fall?

No, or at least he didn't think so. His leg hadn't given way, and all too quickly the pain shifted into a numb tingling like his leg had simply fallen asleep. He wasn't sure why but he was afraid to look back. As he tested to confirm that his leg could still bear weight, something still felt wrong. It didn't really hurt any more, but it didn't feel like it was moving the right way either.

Maybe it was broken, and it just hurt too much for him to feel it. He'd heard stories that could sometimes happen with really bad injuries, not that it was a very reassuring thought at the moment. Still, if it really was broken, he didn't think he should have actually been able to stand on it even if he couldn't feel the pain.

Unable to figure out what was wrong he turned his head, very slowly. At first he couldn't see anything; the whole world had gone black. He panicked for a moment, wondering if he had gone blind as well now – then chided himself as he realized he had his eyes tightly shut.

This was getting ridiculous. He was no infant yearling, so why was he acting like such a baby? Whatever might be wrong, it couldn't be that scary. Cautiously he peeked a look through squinting eyes.

The sound of a young pony's terrified screams echoed through the alleys.


The Lost Hearts orphanage, a largely private funded and wholly independently operated home for young ponies that, for any number of unfortunate reasons, had no families to look after them. Inside a sitting room, two adult unicorns sat engaged in conversation while drinking tea.

"Well, Miss Scintillation, that is quite the tale," said the elder of the two, a blue-maned and yellow-coated unicorn mare. Lemon Hearts was the proprietor of this facility, a pony hailed by the local papers for her generosity in providing a nurturing home for those who could not take care of themselves. Her irreproachable virtue was born out by the trio of blue and green hearts on her flank.

Her lavender-coated guest answered plainly, "I assure you it's all true, and with your help everything can be set to right again."

Lemon Hearts sipped from the tea cup levitated by her magical aura. "I'm sure you must understand that I have important duties to attend, young ponies that depend on me. I can't just pack up and leave, not on such short notice at least."

"I understand that you have obligations, but this is the very fate of Equestria we are ralking about!" as the younger mare saw how her host was staring she realized only belatedly that in her excitement she had pounded her hoof against the top of the table, spilling her own tea cup. She blushed sheepishly.

The silence hung heavy for a few tense moments, but before either mare could make to speak, the door was flung open and a young pegasus filly with a white coat and vibrant three-toned mane of yellow, pink, and green burst into the room.

"Mamma Hearts, Mamma Hearts, there's been an accident! You…" She trailed off as she noted the firmly admonishing gaze of her caretaker's magenta eyes.

"Young lady, what have I told you about interrupting me while I am with company?" The voice was strict, but not overtly harsh, "Surely there is no crisis that one of the older children cannot manage for a short while, and if it were that serious one of them should have been the one to come tell me."

"But it's Limey. He's hurt. He was limping real bad and had a raggy blanket wrapped around his leg when he came in, but when Frosty Mane tried to look at it, he got all panicky. He ran upstairs and locked himself in one of the bed rooms," the filly panted a bit as she let her breath catch up with her. "He said something about you being real angry if anypony else tried to come in there.

"Now deary, when have you ever known me to be angry with anypony?" Lemon Hearts said in a soothingly patient tone.

"I know that, Mamma Hearts. I'm sorry to break the rules and bother you like this. Frosty Mane said that if Limey could still run like that he couldn't be hurt too bad so we should just wait, but Limey looked so scarred and I am really worried about him." The little filly's blue eyes watered as she looked to be on the verge of tears, "I don't care how much trouble this gets me in, but please, Mamma Hearts, you just have to come and help right now."

Lemon Hears breathed deeply. She paced over to the young pegasus who's head hung low as she sniffed and fought to control tears. The unicorn mare stroked a single hoof through the filly's tri-colored mane and then raised the youngster's chin to meet her eyes. "There, there, Cream Breeze. No one's in any trouble here. You're a good sister, and Lime Wedge is lucky to have someone who cares for him so much."

Turning to her guest, Lemon Hearts spoke, "I'm sorry to cut our meeting short Miss Scintillation, but as you can see I have urgent matters to attend to with one of my wards."

The younger mare nodded slowly, "Yes, of course I understand, but will you at least consider my request? I know this isn't something you can rush into, but it really is important. Could I maybe come back after I've found the others I need?"

The elder mare smiled gently, "I shall think on the matter, and if I am able to arrange it I will offer what help I can."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The lavender pony caught herself and halted her bouncing, "Er… I mean, I'm gracious to be worthy of such consideration and will look forward to your decision. Good day Madame Hearts." She gave a small bow as she excused herself, and left.



With her guest dismissed, Lemon Hearts had given Cream Breeze a final reassurance that she would check on Lime Wedge right away, that she wasn't cross and that there wouldn't even be any punishment. The filly was still obviously worried, but only lingered a moment after being told to go back and play with the others.

It was sweet really. Lemon Hearts encouraged her wards to treat each other as siblings, such familial bonds were useful for keeping the children tightknit and made her their natural figure of maternal authority. Still, every so often among the children those feelings would run... deeper. She'd seen it before; it was somewhat a pity that being one of her special children Lime Wedge would likely never be able to reciprocate those feeling.

Maybe when she had everything she needed from the colt she could spare the effort to teach him to pretend. That, however, was a matter for the future and right now she had more immediate concerns to attend.

As Lemon Hearts started upstairs, she found her thoughts still lingering on the offer the visiting unicorn had presented. She hadn't wanted to dismiss her guest so hastily. The offer was indeed most tempting, but even if she were to take it up, she couldn't seem too eager now could she – not if she was to play the role of Generosity.

The idea made her chuckle lightly to herself. It certainly made sense why Tenebrosity Scintillation, or whatever the young mare's real name was, had concluded to asked her to exemplify such a quality. Not that Lemon Hearts held the minor deception against the unicorn. She herself had used more than a fair share of aliases over her life.

Still, that might be the problem with accepting such an offer. Certainly Lemon Hearts the philanthropist who had dedicated her life to providing care for the lost children of Equestria – poor unfortunate souls with nowhere else to go – fit the bill, but that wasn't quite who she really was. She could fool ponies easily enough, but could she actually fool the primal forces of Harmony itself?

If she could though… why the possibilities where deliciously tantalizing.

Even with her already impressive abilities, an ancient power like that was not something to be dismissed without consideration – a power greater than even an alicorn. Why the very idea alone that such power could be hers for the taking was a temptation that might well be worth any risk. True there would be five others she would have to work with, but Lemon Hearts had never been a stranger to coercion.

In her present life most ponies assumed that her cutie mark represented boundless love or some other such of the likes. The truth was that her special talent was empathy. Most might think that pretty much the same thing, but all it really meant was that she was skilled at reading the emotions and even secret desires of those around her. It made it very easy for her to get whatever she wanted, as she always knew exactly the right thing to say or do to motivate a pony or play on their sympathies. Also, thanks to being a unicorn she could augment her talents with several very useful spells.

Her former family might be proud of the use she'd put the training they'd given her, that is if she hadn't discarded the whole lot after getting everything of value she could from them. She had her own goals and ambitions; she refused to be just another stepping stone in a generational legacy, not when she had devised a way to gain it all for herself instead and in doing so had accomplished more in a matter of decades than her ancestors had in over a millennia.

Still, she had to move slowly and cautiously lest she draw overt notice to her true endeavors. Bad enough if any remaining members of her family found her (though she was confident that by now she was more than a match for any of them). More so, she couldn't let the common ponies learn her secrets. That was the real reason for the orphanage. She only had use for a very select few of the dozens of children she took in, but if she didn't have the others to diffuse attention the outside world might grow suspicious of certain oddities.

Yet because of that the years were starting to ever so slowly catch up with her. There were days when she doubted if she really could achieve it all. Which brought her back to today's visitor and the proposal. That stood to change everything. With the Elements of Harmony at her disposal, with even the merest fraction of that untold power, she might in very short order be able to surpass even her own wildest expectations.

First things first, however.


Lemon heart's knocked on the door to the back dorm room, "Lime Wedge, are you in there?" There was no response save for a muffled shuffling sound.

It was a simple matter for Lemon Hearts to reach past the door with her magic and flip the locked latch. She opened the door, only to find the room darkened with all the curtains drawn. Peering through the shadows, she looked past the rows of beds and managed to make out the form of a colt in the far corner.

"Now then deary, what are you doing hiding back there?"

There was brief pause before, "You… you're gonna be angry with me. I… I did a bad thing."

As Lemon Hearts reached the back corner she could now see her ward curling tightly in on himself as he rocked back and forth. His brown coat was greasy and sweat stained while a pervading and deep-seated horror wafted off of him, centered on… his left hind leg. It was wrapped tightly in an assortment of knotted rags and bent at an awkward angle.

She reached out to examine the leg, but the colt batted her hoof away with his own, but then just as quickly recoiled, realizing who it was he was lashing out at and clenched his eyes tight in shame.

"Don't cry deary; whatever it is can't be all that bad," actually, if it was what she thought, it might just be, but right now the frightened child needed more consoling attention, lest things get any worse. "Just tell me everything, I promise it's nothing we can't fix together."

"I didn't want to do it, but I had to get away. It's all that dumb Biggs's fault anyway! He dared me to do it all in the first place."

Lemon Hearts frowned ever so slightly. She still didn't know exactly what had happened, but she hardly needed too. Mauve Bigarade was an older ward at her orphanage, a troubled youth whose mother had passed on while bringing him into this world only to leave the boy to spend the next few years under the care of a father who blamed the child for the loss. Unsurprisingly, the colt had picked up some rather bad habits in that time, habits Lemon Hearts thought she had broken him of, but now it seemed he was just pressing the other children to do his dirty deeds.

Yes, looking back the signs were there all along, if subtle. Lemon Hearts almost admired the young deviant's ability to maintain such a charade under her watch. Still, she couldn't have her peaceful operation being disrupted by an uppity brat with delusions that he had free license to run things his own way. A lesson as to who was really in charge would have to be taught.

A soft sniffling brought her attention back to more immediate concerns. She gently rubbed a hoof through Lime Wedge's dirty green mane to sooth him as she hummed a few bars of his favorite lullaby. "There, there deary, it's alright. Now why don't you show me what's wrong."

She already had her suspicions, but she had to be sure.

Lime Wedge gave a few more sniffs, "Promise… promise you won't get mad?" There was no reply, not with words, but as Lime Wedge looked up into those eyes, into Mamma Heart's deep magenta eyes he knew the same thing he always knew – that all the children knew – that no matter what, she would always be there to love and protect, and could never be truly cross or angry.

All his worries just melted away under her comforting gaze, as she hummed that tune which was older than he could remember, but which always made him feel less like an orphan who had lost his real family long before he'd ever had a chance to know them – except of course he had a family, more brothers and sisters than he could even count, and of course there was always Mamma Hearts herself, so loving and kind. Here in her gentle embrace it seemed so silly that he'd ever been scared at all.

The young colt backed away just a little bit, and Lemon Hearts let him, a soothing smiling on her face and in her eyes maintaining the atmosphere of trusting reassurance. Such simple measures to weave, she thought to herself, and yet no less satisfying for the ease of the effort.

One by one the knots and coils of rags came undone and Lemon Hearts cast a light from her horn to see it more clearly. She had to suppress the audible hiss from her sharp intake of air, at the sight that greeted her. Still, she held a passive face as her eyes gazed down the young colt's brown flank to where it meat dark green scales that stretched down the entire length of the reshaped limb all the way to the end where instead of a hoof was now a dragon-like claw.

"I knew you'd be angry," the colt sniffed.

Only belatedly did Lemon Hearts realize she'd allowed her smile to slip into a scowl, how careless of her. "No deary, never," she said, her voice dripping with sweetness as she twisted her face back into a smile.

The colt was too young to consciously notice that the smile failed to reach all the way to his caretaker's eyes, so he only grew confused at how cold and unsettling the room had suddenly become. Whatever was wrong though he knew it had to be with him – after all, mamma loved him with all her heart… didn't she?

Lemon Hearts, however, realized all too easily what was happening, that she was letting her mask slip, but she was very cross. Not with the colt, it was hardly his fault, but rather at all the wasted effort she'd put into him. He was still so young and she had thought him full of so much more potential, but as she magically extended her sight she saw not only the physical manifestation of the corruption in the young pony's body, but the extent of the deeper instability of the taint that dwelt inside him. If, even only by accident, he was already reaching his limits… well, there likely wasn't much hope in expecting such great returns from him after all – a pity really.

The elder mare closed he eyes and the colt sighed in relief as the act broke the penetrating gaze that seemed to stare through the very core of his being. He let out a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding, as he spoke hesitantly, "Now… now you're going to make it… make it better, right? Just like you promised… just like you always do."

"But of course my precocious darling. Now just relax," she spoke in a strange tone that seemed to resound at an odd pitch. When she she opened her eyes they were no longer their normal vibrant rosy color, but instead beady blood read pupils set inside sickly yellow orbs. "Mamma's gonna make it all better."



Author's Note:

• Special thanks to Fizzy Orange, this chapter wouldn't be what it is without his inspiration. Doubly so as he went above the call and provided me with some proof reading as well.