Star Swirl pored over the old, worn map. It's edges were rough and the parchment was so ancient it appeared as though as a sneeze might disintegrate it. Star Swirl reflected, not for the first time that day, that the Fates must be fans of irony to rest the hopes of so many ponies on something so fragile.
"Hope," muttered Star Swirl to himself in a voice which sounded even harsher than his usual gruff tone. "It is a pathetic day for Equestria indeed when *this* qualifies as 'hope'."
"Star?" A sweet but timid voice came from the entrance to Star Swirl's small tent. "Who are you talking to?"
"Come in, Luna," Star Swirl said in a relieved tone, happy to have something to distract him from his worries. He quickly levitated the map off the small wooden table and into a bag full of other rolled up pieces of parchment.
Luna peaked her head through the flap that served as the tent's entrance before slowly entering. After all the time he had known her, Star Swirl was still amazed by her elegance and beauty. Luna was a tall dark blue mare with a slender, elegant body and azure eyes. Her mane was like the night sky itself; it was midnight blue with small, brilliant dots of light throughout it that resembled stars. Emblazoned on her flank was a crescent moon, her cutie mark. The fact most astonishing about her, though, was that she possessed both the wings of a pegasus and the horn of a unicorn, something which was virtually unheard of prior to her birth.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," ventured Luna quietly. "I know you don't like it when I interrupt your work."
Star Swirl laughed in his coarse voice. "You need to assert yourself more, Luna! If you need anything, whatever I'm working on can wait until later."
Luna let out a melancholy sigh. "It's just not in my personality. I'm not like you. I can't bark orders around at people. I'm just not a natural born leader."
Star Swirl couldn't help but notice the humor of a pony as beautiful and physically awe-inspiring as Luna taking lessons in assertiveness from him. He was a rather plain looking grey unicorn with light brown eyes and a tome of spells for a cutie mark. Star Swirl had a round face with soft features. His mane was a plain and ugly brown, and, compared to Luna, he was rather short; on the whole he was rather unremarkable looking, the kind of pony one could easily ignore. He had to look up slightly to make eye contact with Luna.
"There's more to leading than just yelling at people. But I have a feeling you didn't come here for leadership lessons. Why are you here?"
Suddenly, Luna leaned in and planted a firm kiss on Star Swirl's mouth. "I didn't realize I needed a reason to visit you, Star."
Star Swirl was slightly taken aback. "Be careful, Luna!" he whispered urgently. "I told you we can't let anypony find out about us."
Luna rolled her eyes. "We're alone in your tent. Who could possibly see us?"
She had a point. Star Swirl had been more than a little paranoid lately. He was used to keeping secrets about Luna, but never from Luna. The contents of that map and the secrecy he had to maintain about it had been weighing heavily on Star Swirl's mind.
"Sorry, sorry. I've just been on edge lately. It's good to see you. How is everypony holding up?"
Luna's face became downcast. "I've been talking to the troops, trying to keep their hopes up, but..."
Star Swirl nodded knowingly. "They can sense it. We're on the precipice of defeat. It's only a matter of time before Discord finds us again, and this time, I don't think we'll be able to cut our losses and escape."
It hadn't always been that way. Star Swirl could still remember the early days of the resistance, when rebel forces under the pegasus Commander Hurricane had won victory after victory over the disorganized forces of the draconequus Discord. Their ranks had swelled with news of each victory, and it seemed as though they would soon be able to march on Canterlot itself and retake the former city of the unicorns that had become the seat of Discord's power.
Eventually, though, the Lord of Chaos had realized that he would ironically need to organize his soldiers in order to maintain a state of chaos throughout Equestria. Once they had become more organized, Discord used his army of brain-washed ponies to drive rebel forces from stronghold after stronghold. Now, Commander Hurricane was dead, Star Swirl was in charge, and the remnants of the rebel army, scant five-hundred Pegasi, Unicorns, and earth ponies, had to cower in hiding in the Everfree Forest.
"You need to talk to them, Star!" pleaded Luna. "They are losing hope, and seeing you cloistered in your tent day after day is only making them more hopeless. They think their leader has given up on them."
"I didn't ask to be their damn leader!" shouted Star Swirl. Luna stepped back, startled. Star Swirl could be harsh with other ponies, but he had never yelled at Luna before. "I- I'm sorry," he said, calming himself down. "Just give me more time. I just need to finish coming up with a plan."
Luna shook her head sadly. "Whatever you're going to do, Star, do it quickly. One way or another, this rebellion is going to be over soon." With that, Luna turned around and exited the tent.
Star Swirl cursed under his breath. He couldn't believe he had yelled at Luna. He was supposed to be calm and level-headed, the pony everypony could rely on. Instead, he was falling apart, all because he didn't have the guts to make the choice the situation required of him. It was the only way to save Equestria, and Star Swirl knew he couldn't let his own fear stand in the way of his duty any longer.
Sighing, he levitated the map back onto the table, both his horn and the parchment glowing with a bright white light. He turned his attention to the part of the map marked with an X, and the one word written above it: Elements.
