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// 5. From the research notes of Lady Twilight S. af Twilight, E.H.; written spring 1377. 
// Story: Silver Eyes and Rainy Skies 
// by Roadie 
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	From the research notes of Lady Twilight S. af Twilight, E.H.; written spring 1377.

It just doesn't make sense. There was an incredible amount of magical flux in the second trial, but before we could channel it into a reservoir it just vanished, like the whole setup had been grounded somehow. The trials before and after it worked perfectly, and there were no differences in the equipment being used or in the surrounding environment.

The closest thing I have to a hypothesis relates to the Elements' connection to the mental states of their bearers. There's a chance that any interruption of that attunement, conscious or not, could disrupt control of the Elements. The subjective nature of this means that it would be nearly impossible to test effectively. Even the best aura-reading equipment would have trouble trying to pick up on "kindness" or "loyalty".

The Elements have always been benign to ponykind in general, but they've also always had wildly varied effects. Freezing Discord in stone, trapping the Holocaust Roc in a living tree, banishing Princess Luna into the moon... trying to craft an artifact that can manage a fraction of what the Elements can do would bankrupt modern Equestria, even if Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were to personally do most of the work.

I've started to wonder if the power we can access from them might be more like a side effect of whatever greater force they tap in to. Legend places the Elements as forged from the pieces of the original Rainbow of Light, and from what the Princesses have said, the legends of that Rainbow of Light were old even when they were young. The actions of the fully-woken Elements seem almost sardonically chosen. They've never shown any obvious signs of conscious behavior, but there has to be some factor of the sort involved, given that the bearers of the Elements have no real control over their immediate effects.

If the Elements could talk to us, what would they say? If there is any guiding intelligence inside them, would it even care about us individual ponies?

This is the last set of trials for now, anyway. If Rainbow Dash has to stay down in the vaults much longer on a nice day like this, I think she might explode, and I'm pretty sure if anyone let Pinkie get her hooves on a set of suction cups she'd be hopping around on the ceiling. I'll need to schedule another trip to Canterlot for further testing if we're going to have any hope of getting anywhere with this.