//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: "An Easy Feat" 
// Story: Elements of Insanity 
// by Emeral Bookwise 
//------------------------------//

It was a glorious spring afternoon; the birds chirped, the foals played, and the clouds had been perfectly positioned to provide a relaxing shade.  It was the kind of day on which everypony couldn't help but be blissfully happy and joyously carefree – everypony that is save one.

Atop a park bench sat a lavender unicorn mare in a rough brown cloak, heedless to the vibrant frivolity that abounded all around her.  For Twilight Sparkle, things hadn't been going so well, not since being framed for a crime she didn't commit – well okay, actually she did commit the crime, but it wasn't her fault.  She'd been tricked into it by that pretensions charlatan, the so-called Element of Magic, Trixie Lulamoon!  That was all going to change, however, and with her meticulously crafted plan she'd expose that self-important fraud and prove herself the superior unicorn!

…or at least that's how things were supposed to happen.

Twilight had done all her research, selected a list of worthy candidates, but one-by-one she'd met only aloof dismissal or scornful rejection.  Nopony seemed willing to believe her, most wouldn't even give her the chance to explain, and those few who would hear her out still refused anyway for any variety of contrived excuses.

Some of them were reasonable enough: "I wish I could help, I really do, but I can't take that kind of time off, and if I lose my job I'll never be able to make next month's rent."

But others were obviously just making up excuses – if not insane: "YOUr eLephANTS aRe hOpELESs!"

Out of the dozens of ponies she'd approached, only two had given so much as a maybe.  Still, one of those two said he knew someone perfect for the team, so that would make four in total, counting herself.  Not enough, but maybe working together they could all find viable proxies to fill the leftover gaps and make this plan work.

It was with that hope she now sat here, waiting for the second most loyal and dependable pony she'd ever known.  It seemed kind of silly to think about him that way; Twilight barely even new Sheriff Silverstar, but for some inexplicable –utterly irrational– reason when he was around she had no doubt that things might actually work out.

…

Awkward minutes passed, and with each tick of the nearby clocktower, Twilight's confidence dwindled.  He'd probably forgotten about her, or worse, maybe he'd just never really carried in the first place and just like every other pony she'd tried to recruit he thought she was the crazy one.  Maybe he was right this very moment laughing it off in some tavern as he lost himself to another drink.  The very thought of such betrayal made Twilight—

"Pardon me, miss.  Sorry to have kept ya waiting."

Twilight looked up and there he was, just like he'd promised, and as she looked into the deep blue of those protective eyes, Twilight wondered how she could have ever doubted him.  Without even pausing to think, she leapt from the bench and tackled the brown-coated earth stallion, knocking the black stetson from his head.

As she held him in a tight embrace, she heard him cough slightly, "I'm… glad to be seeing ya too, girl, but… it's a might hard to breath like this."

The unicorn blushed against her violet coat as she released her grip and backed away to a more respectable distance, "I'm so sorry about that.  It's just I've not been doing so well finding any more recruits and I was so worried that you'd abandoned me too and—"

She was cut short as Silverstar placed a single hoof over her mouth, "No need for explanations.  Can't say I'd be able to put much faith in me either, if'n I were the one in yer place, but I made ya a promise and a proper stallion always keeps his word."  Only belatedly did Silverstar question how that should be any reassurance; how could a pony as wretched as himself rightly claim to be a proper stallion?

His introspection was cut short as Twilight enthusiastically inquired "So then, where is she?  The sooner I meet your friend the sooner we can all start working together."  Her question asked, the unicorn began eagerly scanning the area, eyes darting about rapidly as she grinned with jubilant excitement.

Silverstar paused in the middle of picking up his fallen hat… and let out an audible sigh.





"Mother's right in here Sheriff."

Silverstar started to remind Woody not to call him that, but then stopped and just let his mouth hang instead.  If the past hour had made anything clear it was that there was no disavowing the boy of his naive sense of hero worship.

It was hardly his greatest concern anyhow, not now that he found himself here, just a few short paces from… her.

The light blue of her coat was exactly as he remembered it.  Her elegant gray mane-style was simply, but clearly well washed and groomed.  Given her condition, Silverstar had feared to find the mare woefully emaciated, but she was clearly well fed, the picture of physical health.  It was obvious her son had been caring for her admirably, and really Silverstar knew he should have expected as much from the boy.

This was it, the entire reason he'd made the long trip, but now that he was so close, the trail worn stallion found himself wishing he was anywhere else.  Taking a deep breath, he mentally prodded himself, no turning back now you old fool, and then took his first tentative steps.

Each step was slow and deliberate, like walking in molasses, as he was hesitant to actually approach the mare at the other end.  Silverstar knew he didn't deserve to set foot in the same town as Miss Loosy, let alone come into her home begging a request for help, especially not given the condition her son said she was in.

The former sheriff had wanted to just leave the moment he'd found out, but Woody had insisted he try speaking with her – "I think maybe she's been waiting for you." – that's what the boy had said.  It seemed such a silly notion; who could possibly wait on a pony the likes of himself?  Still, the boy had been so insistent, and Silverstar just couldn't bring himself to say no.

The mare made no indication she heard his approach, which was hardly surprising under the circumstances.  At first Silverstar reached up a hoof to touch her shoulder, but after a lingering moment instead brought it to his mouth as he coughed.  "Pardon the intrusion ma'am, but if'n it's not too much trouble I've got a favor to ask."

There was no response, not even the slightest change in her passive breathing to suggest she had any awareness someone was speaking to her.  Normally such a silence would have been all the message Silverstar needed to know he wasn't welcome, but after what he'd been told, he knew that it was just a symptom of her deeper problems.  Still, every instinct was telling him to run away before it was too late.

Too think, after all the dangers he'd faced in his long career on the open frontiers of the Mild West, the thing that now inspired the most terror in his weary bones was this lone mare.  Silverstar would laugh, it weren't so utterly pathetic.

More importantly though, he knew that he couldn't flee.  Not only had he made a promise to Twilight, but now one to Woody as well, and he didn't need to spare a glance backwards to know that the boy was looking on with longing eagerness.

Silverstar stepped around in front of the mare.  He lowered his head level with hers and gazed into those infinitely deep violet eyes.  A man could lose himself in those eyes, or at least that used to be the case.  Now they were only empty, bereft of their former vibrant allure.

Was there even any point in trying; was there anything left of the pony he'd once known?

He took in a deep breath, knowing that if there was to be any chance, he couldn't waste time with formalities, that he would have to speak from the heart.  "Loosy, it's me… it's Silverstar.  I… well, I came here lookin' fer yer help, but well, I guess maybe ya need my help too… least that's what yer son here thinks.  Ya should see him, Loosy; he's growing up into a fine young stallion, more than a might better than most.  I guess maybe that's why ya ain't in such a hurry to come back, cause I guess ya know he'll do alright all on his own, but that don't mean he doesn't miss ya something fierce."

"Still, Woody here, he says yer talent's always been makin' things fit together, and that's the reason why ya won't come back fer just one pony.  He's says that's why fate must of brought me here, cause ya see, I'm not  here for myself; I know I ain't worthy, but I met this lost little filly.  She's all alone, and up against impossible odds, but she's got a plan… only she needs help to make that plan happen.  She needs somepony who can help her build a team of special ponies.  She needs somepony just like you."

"So if'n yer still in there, Loosy, won't you please come back?"

Silverstar stared deep into her eyes, hoping against hope to see her stare back… and he waited.





Silverstar held his stetson to his chest, head down cast, "I'm sorry Twi, but well my friend… well, she ain't in any position to help nopony."

He then took another deep breath before continuing, "I tried, I really tried, but like I told ya before, I ain't the pony ya were ever looking for," and with that he placed his hat back atop his head, brim turned down to hide his eyes.  He turned to leave, but managed only a few paces before pausing.  He knew his words must have crushed the poor girl.  He knew that right now she would need somepony to lend her strength and support.  Worst of all, he knew that if he allowed himself a final glance back that there would be no escape, that he would give her his shoulder to cry on and that he'd promise to make everything right again.

…but it would all be a lie, because in his heart Silverstar knew that the only thing he could ever bring this young girl was more pain – it was all a pony like him was good for, and so he didn't look back, but he did speak a final farewell, "I'm… I'm sorry."

…

The young mare could only stare as her last hope retreated from sight at a full gallop.  Her lips quivered as her eyes strained to hold back the tears.

It was all over.  Twilight Sparkle, the most talented and magically gifted unicorn of her generation, had… failed.  Everypony from her original list had rejected her.

Well, not quite all of them.  She'd been so sure of Silverstar and his the friend he'd told her of that she'd stopped looking for Loyalty or Kindness, so there were still a few names left to check on her list… and maybe she could widen her search to find Laughter and Honesty, plus she still had that one hold out for Generosity.

Yes, she could still do this; she could still make things work!

Who was she kidding though?  Her last best hope had fallen through, so what chance was there of ever convincing anypony else?

With her head hung low, the broken and dejected mare slumped off as her abject misery expressed itself in the only possible way.


I was prepared to face this test; knew I could give my very best
Cast a light, dispel the tricks; but I wasn't prepared for this

This equation should have been a breeze; with my research I was sure to please

Thought I'd ace this quiz without a miss; but I wasn't prepared for this
My hopes were high, but now are gone; what can I do…?

My mind was keen, my skills precise; my heart was true…

Now, I've taken my final lick; No one left from who to pick
For no I wasn't… … …

Oh no, I wasn't… … …

No I wasn't prepared… for this!


Twilight looked up and read the sign in front of her – The Lost Hearts Foundation for Orphans and Wayward Children.  She wasn't sure why she'd even bothered to come here… what was the point when she'd already failed?

It would be so much easier to just slink away into the shadows and disappear forever.  No doubt, Lemon Hearts would only be all the happier to never be bothered by her pathetic troubles again.

Still, if there was any chance that Lemon Hearts was the one pony that was actually willing to help, well then, Twilight owed it to the matronly unicorn to pay this one last visit, and to apologize for failing to see her own part through.

…

The dejected unicorn stepped into the lobby.  Over in the corner she spied two foals: one a young earth colt with a dark brown coat and lime-colored mane, the other a pegasus filly with a creamy white coat and a three-toned pastel mane of yellow, pink, and green.  The colt sat quietly moving blocks from one pile to the other and back again, while the filly just seemed to sit there and watch with an almost longing gaze.

She wasn't sure, but neither foal looked to be enjoying themselves.  The colt's motions seemed somehow detached and mechanical, like one who had forgotten what joy was like, while the filly simply seemed to observantly watch over the colt with mournful concern… or maybe Twilight was just so miserable that she was projecting her own feelings of grief.

Before she had time to contemplate that any further, Twilight was approached by a pale lilac-coated unicorn mare with an icy-blue mane and a cutie mark resembling three stacked ice-cubes.  The unicorn fixed her with a frigidly emotionless gaze, "Ah, Miss Scintillation, welcome back.  Mother Hearts has been expecting you."

Twilight had seen Lemon Hearts' assistant on her previous visit, though this was the first time they'd actually spoken with each other.  She was older than Twilight, but by how many years was hard to say.  She certainly didn't look older than Twilight's own mother, yet the way she spoke made her sound old enough to be somepony's grandmother, if not great-grandmother.   Maybe it was just that the mare was trying too hard to be professional… or maybe again this was all just Twilight projecting her own shameful remorse.

Worse still though for Twilight was the fact that Lemon Hearts had apparently been waiting for her return.  She had almost hoped to be dismissed outright, the idea that she ever had a meaningful proposal laughed off like some cruel joke.  Instead, however, it seemed like she really had in this one instance gotten it right and that Lemon Hearts was the one and only pony who was all too willing to help her – too bad one wasn't enough, and so now Twilight had to be the bearer of bad news.

She was led back to the same sitting room where she had taken tea with Lemon Hearts on her first visit, back when she'd still been full of such hope and optimism.  Distantly, Twilight heard her escort announce her arrival.  As she stepped into the room, eyes downcast and head held nearly to the floor, the disheartened unicorn could not even bring herself to look upon her host.

"I'm sorry Madam Hearts; I guess you found it in yourself to make the time to help me after all, but I must regret to inform you that I've completely failed to find any of the other ponies we'd need.  I'm so sorry to have wasted you time," Twilight then turned to leave, unable to bear the thought that Lemon Hearts would surely try to console her – before…

"Why so down in the down in the dumps, Tenbre?" came a quizzically cheerful voice, but not the voice of the matron who administered this establishment.

Twilgiht's eyes snapped open as her head jerked painfully erect, and there in front of her, sitting at the table, she saw a gray-coated earth pony with a curly dull green mane and cheerfully bright green eyes.  "LUCKY!?! …but I don't… but why are you…?!?"

"Silly," replied the mare with unrestrained exuberance, "I told you I wanted to help, if only I could afford too, and well, Lemons here apparently knows some pretty influential talent scouts and she's promised to help hook me up," she then grinned so wide it looked as though she could decapitate herself, "Isn't that just the most exciting thing ever!"

The stunned unicorn could only gape slack-jawed, as her eyes wondered over to the corner, where she saw an equally preposterous sight.  Hanging upside down, his hind legs wrapped around a wall mounted coatrack, was an extremely muscular white-coated pegasus, doing some kind of suspended crunches.

"Sn… Snowflake?"

"Why yes, my dear," came a motherly voice from the side-door as Lemon Hearts walked into the room.  "Turns out Mr. McHugelarge here is somewhat hard of hearing and had some rather… interesting misconceptions about what it was you were asking him to help with, but after a bit of clarification he was more than eager to be of service.  ISN'T THAT RIGHT?"

At that exclamation the stallion hooked a fore-hoof around the bar he was hanging from, flipped himself into the air, looped over once and landed in an upright flexing posture, "YEAH!"

Finally regaining her composure –mostly– Twilight tried her best to get a grasp on this situation, "But I don't get it; how'd you even find these ponies?"

"Why that's simple, my dear.  As your charming friend already told you, I'm quite well connected, not to mention very resourceful when I have need to be.  After you told me how important this mission of yours was, how could I not do everything in my power to see to it you had everything you needed to see it through."

Twilight didn't know what to say, this was beyond her wildest expectation, and yet… "It still doesn't matter.  We're still two ponies short."

Lemon Heart merely gave a knowing smile, "Are we now, my dear?  I think that might be changing very shortly." 

…

Scarcely five minutes passed, during which time Lemon Hearts patently refused to explain herself any further, only offering that they all sit down and enjoy some freshly brewed tea.  Then finally, without warning, a somewhat rotund-looking pegasus colt with a mauve coat and burgundy mane swooped in the nearby open window.  What was even more startling though was the rather familiar looking black stetson he held clutched between his teeth.

Barely a few seconds after that an equally familiar stallion leapt through the window shouting, "Get back here ya varmint!"

Twilight gasped, "S… Silverstar!" she wasn't sure if her brain could take any more surprises like this.

The former sheriff seemed equally perplexed, "Twi… Twilight?  What in tarnation is going on here!"

At that Lemon Hearts stepped forward to interject, "My apologies, Mr. Star, but I was quite occupied arranging all of this and had no time to see to your personal invitation, and so sent my ward here to ensure your arrival."

She then turned to the young colt, "Now than, Bigarade, give the nice stallion his hat back."

The colt stared hesitantly up at his caretaker before nervously responding, "Y… yes, Mamma Heats."

As he walked slowly across the room, Lemon Hears called after him, "And do be sure to say how sorry you are."

The clot paused with his ears downturned and audibly gulped, but said not another word until he reached Silverstar.  He held out the hat, which the stallion took back in a sharp swipe of one hoof as he glared at the colt, who wilted beneath the gaze.

There was an awkward pause of silence before, "...'m... s…r…y…" mumbled the colt.

Across the room Lemon Hearts gave a stern cough, clearly not satisfied.  The colt's eyes shifted sideways in her general direction as he gulped again and his legs seemed to tremble just a bit, but kept his head turned away from.

"I'm... I'm sorry, sir!" the colt repeated with forced emphasis, "I Didn't mean to cause you no trouble, it's just that—"

He was interrupted by another stern cough from across the room, "That will be enough of that then young man.  Now off with you; the five of us have grown-up matters to attend."

The colt simply nodded, ears still folded against the back of his head as he ran from the room as fast as his hooves could carry him.

Silverstar kept a watchful gaze on the colt the whole time.  The insincerity of that apology couldn't have been more blatant, and he still clearly recalled the joyful mockery the boy had given during the chase across town.  No, that was a boy who liked making trouble.  Although, he did find himself briefly wondering what the colt had been about to add to his farce of an apology, before his apparent caretaker had cut the child off; however, almost as quickly Silverstar brushed the thought aside as none of his concern.

Sweeping an appraising glance over the remaining occupants of the room, Silverstar could only guess these were the ponies Twilight had been recruiting.  He puzzled briefly over who was supposed to represent what, before again deciding that wasn't really any concern of his either and then turning to face Twilight directly, "Well, looks like ya've been doing well enough fer yerself girl, and I couldn't be prouder, but I already told ya, I ain't the pony yer looking for, so t'was just a waste of effort bringing me here.  Now if ya don't mind, I'll just be on my way."

Before he had time to take more than two steps, he heard the other unicorn in the room call after him, "That's such a shame, Mr. Star, and after I went to so much trouble assuring our final guest that you'd be joining us.  It would be such a pity to disappoint her."

Shifting his gaze from the yellow-coated unicorn to the back-door she motioned to, Silverstar found himself powerless to move a single muscle as another mare walked into the room, It can't be!

The light blue-coated mare looked up at the former sheriff, eyes full of life as she reached a single hoof to wipe a stray bit of her gray mane from her face.  She smiled demurely, "Hello there, Silver."

No, this was impossible; he had to be dreaming, "Loosy?  Is… is it really you?  I don't reckon I understand.  Last time I saw ya…"

"It's really me Silver, and as for how… well, Madam Hearts here really is quite amazing.  It's like she can talk directly to a pony's soul, and when she told me how much you needed me… well, I just couldn't ignore that."

Silverstar felt a dampness at the corner of his eye, but he didn't care.  There she was, standing before him, good as new, like nothing had ever happened.  He didn't want to look away, for fear that if he did she'd vanish back into whatever cold lonely place had stolen her away before, but Silverstar had something he needed to do.

As he wiped his eyes, he shifted his gaze over to the elder of the two unicorns in the room, "Miss Hearts, was it?  I don't rightly expect any words could ever be enough ta thank ya fer doin' this… but I do thank ya most kindly from the bottom of my old heart.  Tis a truly amazing thing ya've done here."

"If you want to thank me, Mr. Star, then perhaps you would reconsider joining us.  I'm sure Ms. Screws here would most appreciate it."

"I reckon that there's no place I'd rather be right now."

"Excellent," Lemon Hearts then turned, "Well then, Miss Scintillation –or rather Miss Sparkle as I am to understand– that makes a full six if I've counted correctly.  Shall we move on to the next step of your plan?"

Twilight still couldn't believe it; to go from abject failure to such a resounding success… and all of it thanks to the fact that above all else she couldn't possible have hoped to find a more generous pony than Lemon Hearts, a pony who without asking for anything else in return had went above and beyond the call to make this all happen.  She wanted to express her boundless gratitude, but Twilight knew she could never hope to find the words to do so, and so instead…

"Right!  Well then, mares and gentlecolts, let's get down to business; first we—"

A protracted rumbling seemed to echo throughout the room.  Twilight stood rigid in mortified embarrassment, only now remembering that in her excitement to meet up with Silverstar earlier, she had neglected to eat lunch – breakfast too, for that matter.

Silence hung heavy for several seconds, before Lucky burst out laughing, "Same old Tenbs.  You really should eat more often, girl."

"Actually, perhaps we could all do with a good meal," said Lemon Hearts as she glanced out the window at the fading light of the orange cast sky.  "We can discuss plans over dinner."

Twilight was sort of impatient, but a second protest from her growing stomach convinced her otherwise, "Yes, that sounds like a great idea."

"If you will excuse me then, I will see to the preparations.  The rest of you should please feel free to make yourselves comfortable."

As Lemon Hearts left the room Clover called after her, "Hey, wait up.  I can lend a hoof with the food."

Remembering her last meal with the would-be comedian, Twilight blanched, unsure if her taste buds where up for another such the experience.  Unfortunately, the gray mare was already out the door before Twilight had the chance to stop her.





The minutes that passed waiting for the meal to arrive went by rather uneventfully.  Snowflake went back to exercising; now doing chin-ups on the coatrack.  Silverstar and his friend, a Miss Loosy Screws, sat near each other, but didn't seem to speak much – nor even look at each other, at least not at the same time, or when they did accidently do so, both would quickly turn away.

Twilight really couldn't figure out what was up with that.  If the two ponies were supposed to be old friends, why did they seem so nervous around each other?

For her own effort, the unicorn tried on several occasion to start up a casual conversation, but nothing really seemed to catch.  She thought she had a good topic going after she learned Loosy had a son and they got to talking about family, although twilight remained careful not to mention any of her own by name.  However, after a casual inquiry about the boy's father though, she learned that the mare –still younger than her own mother– was now an untimely widow.  Things got awkward again very quickly after that, and in the back of her mind it only reminded Twilight just how much she wanted this all to be over so she could go home and give her parents a big hug.

Had she remembered to do that the last time they were all together?  Had she even remembered to actually tell her parents how much she loved them, or had she just taken them for granted?

She could all too easily imagine her mother's last words to her having been a reminder to pack some clothes, to which Twilight herself would frustratingly bemoan how she rarely even wore any.  Her mother would then have retorted, in the height of parental embarrassment, that Twilight really should have something nice to wear – just in case she met a handsome young stallion while traveling abroad.  After all, neither of them where getting any younger and Velvet was all too eager to have some grandchildren.  Not like Twilight should have to be the one solely responsible for that.  Her brother, Shining Armor, was the elder child of the family anyway and so should bear the brunt of their mother's lineal coaxing.

It was all perfectly normal familial tension and whether she said so at the time, surely her parents knew she loved them, the same way she knew they would always love her (unless recent circumstances had made her too much of an embarrassment to ever publicly acknowledge again, but that was why Twilight had to fix things).  The fact that she couldn't remember the last time she actually spoke the words aloud or the last time she'd heard them in turn was an uncertainty that gnawed and twisted at her gut… a sensation which mixed poorly with the dull ach of her still empty stomach.

…

She considered striking up a conversation with Snowflake instead, but remembered how loud he could be, and didn't really feel comfortable shouting herself just to make sure he could hear her in turn.  That seemed like it would only be more awkward than the uneasy silence that currently pervaded the room.

As Twilight tried her best to distract herself with a few crackers and a cup of the now lukewarm tea, she couldn't help but dwell on how this was exactly why she'd never had any real interest in making friends before.  She was just no good at small talk, and found herself hoping that Lemon Hearts and Lucky would return as swiftly as possible.

…

As the saying goes a, watched pot never boils.

It felt like forever, if not longer, but finally Lemon Hears came back to the room, followed closely by Clover Charms who was pushing a cart with a large bowl full of salad, several sandwiches, and a pitcher of iced-tea.

Twilight couldn't be sure, but it looked as though Lemon Hearts had managed to keep Lucky from adding anything frightfully… exotic to the meal, and seemed to be confirmed by the comedian's own complaint shortly thereafter.

"I still think the salad would be better with peanut butter and cayenne spicing.  Hey, Tenbre, you agree with me?"

Twilight grimaced as she searched for a way to be diplomatic while still sparing her stomach the ordeal, but was fortunately spared the trouble when Loosy spoke up instead.

"Actually, I'm allergic to peanuts, so if it's all the same…"

Clover tilted her head in thought, "Oh yeah, I guess that cute pegasus colt who said he was your son might have mentioned something like that.  He's already a real looker too; once he's all grown up I bet he'll have to beat the mares back with a stick."

Loosy smiled, but with a hint of concern as she turned Lemon Hearts, "Are you sure he's okay all by himself?  I mean I guess he's been doing fine these past months; I still can't help but worry though."

"You son will be fine Miss Screws," the yellow unicorn assured, "And he's not alone either.  I sent him to eat with my wards while we discuss adult matters.  No need to burden the boy, would you not agree?"

"See, no worries, girl." Clover smiled and then turned to Twilight, "So, Tenbre, how 'bout it.  I got Lems to let me bring a little peanut butter and cayenne for my own salad; wanna share?"

Twilight grimaced returned deeper than before as she tried to conceal how her stomach rolled in an attempt to flee.  The unicorn wondered if she too could claim allergies as an excuse, but she was a terrible liar… which reminded her, "Umm… Lucky, you know you don't have to keep calling me by that nickname; Tenebrosity was just an alias."

"Oh, I know that.  Lemsy here already told me everything, but that doesn't matter," and then with a great big smile, "You'll always be Tenbs to me!"

…

The meal was simple but delightfully filling, especially the daffodil and daisy sandwiches.  As the unicorn savored the familiar flavor, she found herself drifting into memories of better days when she and her mother would spend lazy Sunday afternoons eating the same kind of sandwiches while reading together.  For just a few short moments Twilight found herself able to almost forget that she'd had to spend the last few weeks as a fugitive.

That is until Lucky, mouth half full of salad, spoke up.

"Sho, Tenbsh, howsh thish shole shing sh'poshed to… work?"  The earth pony's voice cleared as she swallowed, "Six of us, six of them, we gonna call them out and square off in some kind of epic showdown of epic destiny!" and then emphasized the statement by clapping her hooves together in front of her face and then spreading them wide as she added some explosion-like vocalizations, expectorating some stray food particles in the process.

Twilight nearly gagged, and found herself having to painfully swallow down her own last bite of food as she replied hoarsely "What… No!  I mean what would that even prove anyway?"

"I dunno, isn't that the way these things usually work out?"

Twilight finished gulping down half a glass of ice-tea to soothe her throat before explaining, "They're the Elements of HARMONY, Clover.  They represent the fundamental forces of peace and unity.  Violence is the very antitheism of their nature."

Loosy, who had briefly turned pale after Clover's original outburst, interject with a slight tremble to her voice, "Oh, that's a relief.  I… I was worried for a bit there.  I… I—"

Silverstar placed a hoof over hers, but pulled it back as quickly as her eyes were able to meet his own.  Seeming to stare off at nothing of importance, he coughed lightly, "I think what Miss Loosy her is tryin' ta say is that she's seen more violence than she'd care ta remember, and ain't in no hurry ta see no more any time soon," then added, "I rightly feel the same myself."

The blue earth mare gave a sad, but thankful smile, however, Silverstar seemed only able to return it with the briefest sidelong glance.

"Well, no worries.  I might be the fugitive, but Lulamoon is the thug, and the way we show up her and prove she isn't worthy of being the Element of Magic isn't by beating anypony up, but by doing the one thing that she and her so called friends couldn't.  Because not only is the so-called Great & Powerful Trixie Lulamoon an obnoxious braggart and a self-important charlatan, but she is also a criminally negligent failure.  That's where the six of us come in; we will set right what went wrong and correct that fraud's most grievous of errors!"

Twilight hesitated, partly for dramatic effect, but also because of how ludicrously audacious sounding she knew her next statement would be.

Finally she proceeded, "We are going defeat Corona, the Tyrant Sun herself, once and for all!"

As expected there were gasps and nervous stares all around.

Loosy apprehensively spoke up, "That, that sounds really dangerous, and well… I'm still kind of catching up on events, but… well, I know that wicked queen escaped from the sun and all, but wasn't she already driven off in defeat anyway?"

"Well, yes," conceded Twilight before supplementing, "but that's exactly the problem.  With the power of the Elements of Harmony though, that Lulamoon should have been able to banish Corona back into her fiery prison at the heart of the sun; just like Princess Luna did a thousand years ago.  The fact that ancient tyrant was able to escape instead only proves how Lulamoon was never meant to wield the power of the elements, because she clearly doesn't know how to use them effectively, but with your help I can succeed where she failed!  Not only will we oust Lulamoon for the pretender she is, but we will also save all of Equestria from its greatest threat."

"I s'pose that makes sense" said Silverstar as he rubbed a hood against his chin, "Still, while I reckon I ain't no expert on such things, but wouldn't we need those fancy jeweled artifacts?"

"Not exactly.  The Elements of Harmony aren't actually physical objects; they are fundamental forces of creation, as old as the world itself, if not more so.  The jewels are just focal points for channeling that power, and according to Gâteau's Theorem of Harmonic Resonancies it should be possible to make a second set."

"Who?" said Clover Charms with puzzled expression.

"Tarte Gâteau, though I guess he's kind of an obscure figure in the public eye.  I mean, he's certainly no Starswirl the Bearded."

"Starswirl the what now?" Clover repeated, her expression no less puzzled than before, "Is he supposed to be important or something?"

Twilight simply stared, "…" dumbfounded, "…" her mouth moving, but unable to form the words to express a response to the sheer heresy she'd just heard, "…"

Finally, she managed to blink.  "Never mind," she bemoaned with sense of weary exasperation and barely restrained frustration, "Starswirl's only the most renowned conjuror of the pre-classical era, the father of the amniomorphic spell, and has an entire wing of the royal archives named after him," then with obvious sarcasm, "But no, fine, I guess that none of that makes him at all important."

"Am-ni-o-morph-ic… well, why didn't you bring that up sooner?"

Twilight sighed in relief, content that even if the earth mare didn't know his name, Lucky was at least familiar with Starswirl's work.

"I mean, I could have had a lot more fun with this if I knew we were allowed to make up words."

Some part of Twilight's brain registered a twinkle in the gray-coated pony's bright green eyes, the tilted grin that suggested at least some measure of the previous exchange had been in jest.  That part of her brain, however, was fast being drowned out by the part that insisted there were some things a pony simply should never joke about, that ignorance was never a laughing matter.

Before Twilight could launch into a rant, however, Lemon Hearts interceded, "Surely, Miss Charms, you have at least heard of Starswirl's student, Clover the Clever.  I'm sure you must have taken note of her during a Hearth Warming pageant presentation at some point in you life, being of similar name yourself."

"Oh, yeah!" Clover said as she started rolling a napkin into a cone, "Back in school whenever a teacher would make me wear the dunce cap I'd always tilt it forward like a horn", she then held the rolled napkin to her forhead, "and talk about how clever it made me look."  The mare then chuckled as she dropped the napkin back on the table, "Cracking that joke would net me an extra week of detention, but it usually got enough laughs from the other students to be worth it."

For Twilight, the image of her new friend spending her youth poking fun at Starswirl's overrated apprentice went a long way toward soothing her own previous frustrations.  She'd still need to properly educate Lucky of course, but that could wait till later.

"So anyway, as I was saying…" Twilight paused just an instance, eyeing Clover, just in case the mare felt need to make any more interruptions.  "Tarte Gâteau was a unicorn scholar who nearly five-hundred years ago conducted extensive research into the nature and function of the Elements of Harmony.  He is even one of the few ponies ever granted access to analyze the actual artifacts while they were inert.  He went on to write an unpublished treatise on how to potentially recreate a new set in case of future need."

"Wait," Loosy spoke softly, "so if the research was unpublished, how do you know any of this?"

Twilight shifted nervously, "Well, umm… I might have sort of payed an afterhours visit to private collections of the university where he used to teach and I might have borrowed a copy while I was there."

"Ya mean ya snuck in and stole it," there was no anger in Silverstar's statement, but it remained pointedly blunt.

The young unicorn didn't know how to respond, but fortunately Lemon Hearts came to her rescue, "Now then, Mr. Star, no need for harsh accusations.  Whether or not it was right of her to do so, what's done is done, and more importantly it's what makes our objectives here even possible in the first place. "

"It ain't about whether er not it was right er wrong, I just don't think she should need ta go mincing words with us 'bout such things."

Reluctantly, Twilight tried to apologize, "You're right, I suppose; friends aren't supposed to keep secrets," she smiled sheepishly.

Before Silverstar had a chance to further respond, Lemon Hearts spoke in his stead, "Good.  Now that we've settled that matter, if you could finish explaining, Miss Sparkle."

"Right, so anyway, his research stalled out because one of the things Gâteau required was an active sample of the Element's magic.  Unfortunately, since it had been over five-hundred years since they were last used, finding such a sample proved exceedingly difficult.  He spent years tracking leads without an success, but according to his last notes on the subject said he'd finally found a viable source somewhere in Cavallia, but that he would need aid from Princess Luna to acquire it and so had scheduled a meeting to discuss the matter.  No one knows the details of that meeting, only that afterwards Gâteau was granted a nearly unlimited budget for future research, but for some reason never pursued any further investigations in relation to the Elements of Harmony."

Silverstar rubbed his chin in contemplation, "So if this Gate-ow fellow never finished his research, how do ya even know it'll work?"

"There might not be any practical proof, but since his time, other scholars who studied Gâteau's work agreed that the theory was sound, however, the Royal Institute of Magical Sciences has never granted funding to anyone who petitioned to further pursue those studies.  Besides… it's not like we have much alternative here, and we'll never know if we don't at least try."

Placing her fork down on the table, Lemon Hearts dabbed a napkin across her lips, "So then, shall we be taking a trip to Cavallia, to follow-up on Gâteau's last lead?  I can arrange for tickets on the next train."

Twilight shook her head subtly, "That would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.  Gâteau never detailed what he found, only that he found it.  Besides, I doubt that whatever it was would still be viable now.  Fortunately, however, that won't be necessary, as I've already acquired my own sample."

The unicorn reached across the room with her magic, to her cloak hanging on the rack, and levitated out a small pouch.  Bringing it over to the table, she cleared away a space and then turned the pouch over, dumping out a pile of shredded metal –gold– slivers.  Curious stares were exchanged about the table, unsure what to make of the scrap.

One hoof scooped up a sliver.  Snowflake held it close to his face, staring first with one eye, then the other.  He gave it a long and very audible sniff.  Opening his moth, the muscular pegasus stuck out his tong as if to taste the metal—

At that Twilight grabbed it away with her magic, "Careful with that!"

Returning the shard to the pile she began to explain, "These are fragments of Corona's shattered regalia from when she was struck by the Elements at the ruins of the old Everfree palace."

Before she could continue, Loosy interrupted her with an expression of nervous concern, "Wait, you went into the Everfree forest to get these… all by yourself?  Isn't that place supposed to be full of the most dangerous monsters in all of Equestria?  We aren't all going to have to go back there or anything; are we?"

"It's creepy, but not really all that dangerous for a pony that is properly prepared with the right contingency wards and counter charms.  Besides, I already got the shards, so why would any of us need to go back there?"

Loosy gave an audible sigh of relief, but otherwise remained silent.

"Anyway, these pieces were originally forged by the Tyrant Sun's own magic and so should have dissipated once they were severed from her and left behind after she fled, but instead the magic of the Elements of Harmony crystalized them.  Which means that inside there is also preserved a residual sample of the harmonic magics of the Elements themselves as well."

With a bold eagerness, Lemon Hearts declared, "So then, if we have the shards and all six of us are gathered, let's get started forging this new set of elements."

"Well, it's not quite that simple; there is another catch," Twilight replied, "You see, to catalyze the reaction will take a lot of magic, far more than any mere unicorn, even one of my exceptional abilities, could ever hope to muster.  If we're going to do this, we need a power source that can rival that of an alicorn.  Fortunately, I know of a relic that should do the trick just fine, and exactly where to find it."