Dear Princess Celestia,

During my time here in Ponyville, I have made great friends with many of the ponies in town. The bonds I have developed here are ones I will never let go of. For that I will always be grateful of your decision to send me here.

However something is happening. One of my closest friends here in Ponyville has been drifting away over the last couple of weeks. I'd rather keep her name anonymous for right now in case this passes over, but I'm wondering how much longer I can hold on like this.

I've noticed that she hasn't been talking to me as much lately, and when I try to talk to her she tries to avoid me. Is she scared of me these days? Does she not want to be near me any more? Considering the pony I have on mind, this seems very unlikely. She isn't the type to just dump a friend like that. Something serious is going on with her. The problem is, she won't talk to me about it.

This worries me. The best way to get around your problems is to talk to a friend. I tried to talk to her last night after Spike's party, but she refused to share anything with me. I continued asking her about her problems, but what happened next, I never expected from her or myself for that matter.

We got into a fight. We didn't throw any hooves at each other, but the words we used were just as painful. I've never been in a fight with her like this before except for the Discord incident, which I can't really count because they were under his influence.

It hurt. A lot. I didn't know whose fault it was. Seeing her for the last two weeks, I'm upset with her for the way she has been treating me. But, I must ask. Am I doing anything wrong? Was I pushing her too hard? I do not know the answer to this question.

Sorry, I know this isn't really a lesson in friendship, but I felt as though I had to get this off my chest. I'm just wondering what's going to happen to us next to us. Will our friendship just die away, just like that? Or is something else going to happen?

Thank you for listening, Princess. I just hope things work out in the end.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight re-read the letter again and again. Not for simple punctuation or grammar, but for herself. The fight with Pinkie had frightned her. That night has been one of the roughest evenings she ever went through. She had tossed and turned in her bed, trying to get the images of Pinkie's tear-ridden face out of her mind and the verbal feud that took place beforehoof.

Her baggy eyes stared at the letter. Her mind was a furious storm of questions that could not be answered. One in particular haunted her: what was going to happen next?

To be honest, she was scared to find out. She and the elements had been the best of friends for so many years now. They had been on many adventures, faced many dangers together, and made new discoveries. Their friendship was linked together like a circular chain. They all depended on one another, and if any of them didn't get along, there would be a kink in that chain, a kink that would destroy the circular that kept them together.

Twilight sighed as she rolled up the letter. Spike was supposed to be due back any moment now from the gem hunting trip with Rarity. She would have him send it as soon as he arrived.

It had been a quiet morning in the Golden Oaks library. Without Spike around, Twilight had had plenty of time to brush up on studies and magic. A couple of ponies had come by to check out books, but the visits had been short. For the most part, Twilight had been alone. While she did enjoy the company of others, she still cherished peaceful days like this. They allowed her to get a lot of work done.

Still, today hadn't been as productive as she had wanted it. All throughout the morning her mind kept wandering back to the pink pony that had spat at her the night before.

The idea that Pinkie Pie would act the way she did was what surprised Twilight the most. Pinkie Pie was always a pony in high spirit, making Ponyville a more jubilant place for her friends and neighbors. To see her act the way she did was so unlike her.

She still stood by her assumption. Something was going on. It had been obvious for the last couple of weeks. Twilight didn't know why Pinkie was trying to avoid telling her, but by Celestia she was going to find out one way or another!

Twilight was just putting her ink and quill away when Spike walked through the door. He stepped into the library before turning around and calling outside.

"Thank you for the invitation, Rarity! I'll be over there in a minute!"

Twilight smiled. "Hey Spike! How was gem hunting this morning?"

Spike closed the door behind him before answering. "It was great! I think Rarity's excited for tonight!"

"Oh that's great Spike. I'm glad to hear that it went well. By the way, could you do me a favor and quickly send a letter to Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked, levitating the scroll over to her assistant.

"Sure thing Twilight!" Spike said, grabbing the parchment out of Twilight's magic. He tightly held the scroll in his claws and with a deep breath engulfed it in an intense blaze of magical green fire, sending it away to Canterlot.

Twilight smiled as she began packing up her writing supplies. "Thank you Spike. I really appreciate it."

"No problem Twilight." Spike responded. Exhaustion from the morning's work took ahold of him as he slumped onto the couch. Twilight looked over at the haggard dragon and giggled.

"Busy morning?" She asked.

"You said it! I don't think ever we've ever collected so many gems before, and she still has to work tonight on all those dresses!" He shook his head is disbelief. "I don't know how she does it at times!"

Twilight giggled. "She has a passion, Spike. You must know that. It's that inner fire of hers that keeps her moving forward! The same thing can be said for me and my studies, or any of our friends for that matter."

"Friends?" Spike asked.

"What's that, Spike?"

Spike sat up on the couch. He looked worried.

"Twilight, was everything okay last night? You know, between you and Pinkie?" he asked hesitantly.

Twilight paused. Once again her mind raced and clouded as the memories of that evening invaded.

Should I really tell him?

She battled the question. She didn't know what to say. One part of her just wanted to tell him the truth and get it off her chest.

Perhaps Spike could help. He could be knowledgeable of these situations. Heck, he even got her out of the mess she made with the Want It Need It Spell! He must have some advice!

But the other half of the battle denied it. She didn't want Spike to worry about them. He had been through a lot that morning, and the last thing he needed was another weight on his chest to worry about. Besides, she didn't want to spread her concern to the others. This was just between her and Pinkie, no pony else.

"Don't worry, Spike. Everything was fine. We just had a little talk and got a few dilemmas cleared up here and there, nothing serious."

"Are you sure, Twilight? You were pretty mad at her yesterday."

"Yes, Twilight answered. "Yes I was. But everything was taken care of. We're still good friends, trust me." She felt a pain in her chest after saying that last sentence.

"Okay Twilight, if you say so. I'm happy it went well." Spike sat up and got off the couch. He looked at the time.

"Well, Rarity is going to be throwing lunch for me and AJ in a little bit. I'd better get going, Twilight. I just wanted to know how things went and, oh yeah!" Spike reached into his invisible pocket and pulled out the black gem he had found earlier that day.

"I found this while gem hunting with Rarity and Applejack this morning." He placed it on the coffee table in the center of the room. Twilight Sparkle looked at it curiously.

"I've never seen anything like it, have you?" Spike asked.

Twilight shook her head. "No I haven't. Where did you find it again?" she asked, picking up the gem with her hoof.

"I found it in the side of a cliff at Rambling Rock Ridge. It seemed so out of place compared to the others. Rarity even admitted that black gems weren't supposed to exist."

"They're not," Twilight said, placing the ebony stone back on the table. "When Equestria was created, the gems were formed from the colors of the rainbow." She pointed at the gem. "This looked like it was created from something else."

"Are you going to study it?" Spike asked.

"Oh yes. I'm going to do some research on it. Maybe I can find some information related to its creation. I'm just baffled by its presence more than anything."

Spike smiled. "Had a feeling you would Twilight. Well, I'm going to Rarity's for a couple of hours. Good luck!"

"Thanks, Spike. Have a good time!"

The baby dragon walked out the library, shutting the front door behind him. Twilight centered her attention back to the gem. She picked it up in her hoof again and carefully examined it.

If the unusual color wasn't enough to catch her eye, then it was the alien like form of the stone that did. Its shape was twisted and asperous with no even form to it whatsoever. It didn't look like a gem you would simply place on a dress, but rather in a chest to be hidden away from everypony else.

"What is that thing?" she asked herself. She couldn't find an answer. She placed the stone on the table and went over to the minerals section of the library where she started to pull out all the books she could on gems, crystals, and anything related to precious stones.

"There has got to be something in here, I just know it!" Twilight said as she closed "The History of Equestrian Gems". She tossed the book behind her and levitated another title towards her. Her available sources were running thin and she still hadn't found anything explaining the black stone present in her library.

"This is crazy!" Twilight said as she flipped through the pages. "There is nothing in any of these books! Nothing!" Hours of studying had left the unicorn bedraggled and frustrated. Never before had she had so much trouble researching something, ever.

She scanned through the pages multiple times, checking the index more than once. Nothing. "Ugh!" she screamed and magically threw the book across the room. She looked back at the coffee table. The gem was still sitting in the center, mocking her.

She got up and approached it. It was late in the afternoon, and Twilight had spent a good part of it trying to deceiver the mystery behind this rock with no luck whatsoever. She knew she had to take a break. As of right now she had gotten nowhere with her research. In a couple of hours the sun would be setting and Spike was due home at any moment.

But always the curious unicorn, Twilight did not want to set this aside. She glared at the stone in front of her, its night black complexion mocking everything she knew about Equestrian minerals.

"What secrets are you holding?" she asked as she lit her horn and started to levitate another book towards her. But as soon as she did, she felt something reverberate against her magic. She yipped as the mysterious presence startled her, breaking her concentration. The book fell to the ground.

"What in Equestria!" Twilight gasped. Something had made contact with her magic, a presence that she couldn't explain. She looked around the library, thinking somepony else was in the room. But the room was empty.

"What was that?" she asked herself. Then she looked back at the gem. She felt a cold shiver run down the length of her spine.

Did...did it have to do something with the stone?

She tested her magic, forming a purple aura around her horn. She concentrated her mind as she mentally felt the space around it. At first there was nothing, just the emptiness of the space surrounding her.

Then she felt it. An invisible force started to press itself against her magic. Cautiously she brightened the glow around her horn, increasing the strength of her magic. However, it didn't seem to break the mysterious wall that it was up against. She began to sweat and her breathing intensified.

It was strange. The energy field seemed familiar, as if another unicorn was dueling with her. But at the same time it didn't feel like the same type of magic that she would use. It felt colder, darker. She felt goose bumps form all over her body.

She released her magic, the purple aura dissipating around her. The energy field immediately vanished. At this point her head was sweltering and her breathing was deep and heavy. She stared at the stone for several seconds. Gems were not supposed to contain magic inside of them. But her investigation had clearly proved that this one did. It scared her.

"What is this thing?" she asked herself hesitantly.

Something was wrong here, she just knew it. Whatever secrets this stone held she just couldn't conceive on her own. She needed help; expert help.

"Maybe Celestia knows something about this," Twilight told herself. "She's ruled Equestria for hundreds of years! She knows a lot about enchanted treasures."

It was final. She decided that the following morning she would go Canterlot seeking assistance from her mentor. The magical energy in this crystal just had to be addressed, and she wasn't about to do it alone. While she could easily just ask Spike to send the stone through his magical breath, she wanted to be there for the observation. Besides, she didn't want to risk subjecting Spike to the gem's powers. She didn't know what it was capable of.

Twilight turned and walked back to the pile of books on the floor. She sighed as she looked at the mess.

"I better clean this up before I do anything else."

As she levitated the first two books into the air she heard the front door open. She smiled. Oh good, Spike must be back. He can help me clean this mess up! She turned around and came face to face with the jubilant smile of Pinkie Pie.

"Hey Twilight! How are you doing?" she asked excitedly.

"GAH!" Twilight screamed, scattering the books across the library floor.

"Pinkie Pie! Honestly, do you really have to sneak up on me? Also don't you know to knock on somepony's door before entering their house? It's really rude!"

Pinkie's ears drooped a little and she cringed slightly at the outburst. "Heh heh. Sorry Twilight. I wasn't really thinking, was I?"

Twilight sighed. "It's okay. But please, be more thoughtful next time."

"Oki doki loki! So what you up to?" Pinkie asked as she began to hop around the library. Twilight just started at her.

Wow. She's acting chirpy today despite our argument last night. Twilight thought to herself. Did she just blow off the whole thing, just like that?

She watched her more closely. No. Something's off about her. Her bounce is a little bit off. It's not as upbeat as it usually is. Her mane isn't as poofy either. It's not bouncing as much as usual.

"Oh, nothing much." Twilight said, trying to hide her suspicions. "Just had a lot of work to do today. Spike found this strange gem and I've been studying it…"

She was cut off by a pink blur rushing over to the table, which quickly scooped up the rock. "Ooooo neato! I've never seen a gem like this before," Pinkie exclaimed while moving the stone around in her hoofs. "Do you know what type of gem it is?"

"No, I don't. I've never seen anything like it, either. I've read nearly every book on gems here in the library and I can't find anything about it," she said, pointing to the pile on the floor. "It's ridiculous."

"Oh, nothing is ridiculous you silly filly!" Pinkie exclaimed as she put the stone back on the table and rushed over to the books.

I could beg to differ, Pinkie.

Twilight shook her head in frustration as she watched the kooky pink mare flip through her books. Pinkie gasped when she found one of the titles and showed it to Twilight.

"Maybe you could find the answer in this one Twilight!" she said reassuringly.

Twilight looked at the cover. "The History of Equestria."

"Pinkie, I don't think a history book is going to help with mineralogy."

"You never know, Twilight! I remember finding a lot of crazy dazy things in history books when I was in school! Maybe you could, too!"

Twilight groaned but she knew better than to try to judge Pinkie's logic. "Fine, if you say so." She levitated the book out of Pinkie's grasp before turning her attention back to the party mare who was still rummaging through her books.

"Pinkie, I really don't mind you visiting. But I have a lot of things to do tonight. I'm going to Canterlot tomorrow and I need to clean up the library before I leave."

Pinkie looked up from one of her books. Her eyes flashed as she suddenly had an idea.

"Oooo! Want me to help? I could clean up the library while you get ready for the trip!" she offered while bouncing in place excitedly.

"Wait what?" Twilight asked. "Why do you want to help?"

"Well- "Pinkie stopped her bouncing and looked straight into Twilight's eyes. "I was just thinking about last night. You know, that big dummy stupid argument we had?" she asked. "Well, you were right. I have been a bit of a trouble bum lately for you. I want to make it up to you, Twilight! Let me help you!" Pinkie gave Twilight the biggest puppy dog face she could conjure. She dropped her ears and her lower lip quivered.

Twilight tried to avoid eye contact but just couldn't pull her eyes away from the sappy display. "Ugh Pinkie, really? With the face and the eyes and-? Fine fine, you can help! Just please don't screw around this time."

Pinkie stood on her hind legs and gave Twilight a little salute. "You can count on me, Twilight! I won't let you down!" With that she leaped into the pile and pulled out several books, carefully looking at the covers for each one. Twilight shook her head as she watched Pinkie's antics.

Maybe things are going to be okay after all.

She went upstairs to her room and grabbed her saddlebag. The train was supposed to pass through Ponyville tomorrow morning. She would catch it before it headed up the mountain for Canterlot. Depending on Celestia's schedule and the analysis of the stone, it was possible she could be up there for several days.

Twilight had just finished packing when heard Pinkie squeak from downstairs, followed by a crash. She quickly ran to the top of the stairs and looked down into the library. Pinkie was on her back with several books scattered on the floor around her. Her body was shaking vigorously.

Twilight felt a wave of panic envelope her. "Pinkie are you okay?" Twilight asked as she ran down stairs to her friend.

"I…I…d…don't…k…know…Tw…Twilight. I thi…think…its…m…m…my…pinkie…s…sense!"

Twilight reached Pinkie and tried to help her up, but she couldn't get ahold of the shaking pony.

"I...it must…b…b…be…a d…doozy!" Pinkie said.

Twilight didn't know what to do. If there was one thing she could never understand about Pinkie Pie, it was her Pinkie Sense. How did it work? How did it occur? She had tried to answer these questions for herself before but had only gotten pain and misery from the experience. While she had come to accept its existence, she still found it hard to comprehend.

"Are you sure Pinkie? Do you know what it could be?" She asked.

"D…don't worry." Pinkie stuttered. "I think i…its going away." Her shaking stopped and she immediately hopped back up on all fours. "There! All clear now!"

Twilight just stared at her. "Sooo what was the doozy?"

Pinkie put a hoof to her chin and pondered. "I don't really know. Nothing weird or unexpected happened. Maybe it was a false alarm!"

"Well great." Twilight said reassured. "Well, let's get back to work." She went into the kitchen with her saddlebag to fetch a few snacks for the trip. The train ride would be long and tedious, and she figured she would want a little something to nibble on on the trip. She spent a few minutes making a couple of daffodil sandwiches for lunch the next day. She also had some food left over still from the party the night before, mainly cookies and cupcakes. She decided to throw in a few of them as well, just in case she developed a sweet tooth.

Once she was done in the kitchen she turned towards the living room and walked over to the coffee table. The gem was still sitting in the center, its black form glistening in the light of the afternoon sun seeping in through the windows.

As Twilight headed over to the table she heard another thump from behind her. She turned to see Pinkie wiggling on the floor again. She let out a frustrated groan. "Pinkie! How many more times is this going to happen?"

"I…I don't know Tw…Twilight!" Pinkie stuttered. "I c…c…can't control them!" She tried to get up but her trembling caused her to fall back onto the library floor. This wave was worse than the last one.

Twilight turned back to the gem. I don't have time to worry about Pinkie's so called doozy right now. She thought to herself as she reached for the gem. She grasped it in her hoof and pulled.

But nothing happened. "What the-?" She couldn't move the gem. It was like someone had come along and glued the stone to the coffee table. She put both hooves on it and pulled with all her might but to no avail.

What in Equestria is going on? Twilight thought to herself as she stared at the stone, its alien shape mocking her.

Twilight heard Pinkie call from behind her. She didn't turn, though. Her mind was deep in thought.

Is Pinkie pulling another prank on me? Did she glue the gem to the table somehow? She asked herself as she examined the surface, looking for any sign of a Pinkie prank. She found nothing.

"Maybe a levitation spell will work?" she thought to herself.

Pinkie finally managed to stand up on all fours and was now looking around the library. The second tremble wave had passed. Still, nothing strange had happened. She frantically looked around the room. Nothing was out of place or broken.

Why is this happening to me? What's the doozy? Pinkie asked herself. Suddenly her eyes zeroed in on Twilight. She noticed that she was staring at the stone on the table. Before she could speak Twilight's horn began to glow, a purple aura forming around it.

Pinkie's eyes then darted to the gem, then back to Twilight. Her Pinkie sense returned. It was the strongest wave yet.

"TWILIGHT WAIT!" Pinkie screamed. She lunged for the unicorn, but was too late.

She collided with the purple mare just as Twilight's spell made contact with the gem. Twilight yelped. "Pinkie Pie. What in Equestria-?" The gem suddenly rose up in the air and a brilliant dark blue glow illuminated from it,engulfing the two mares. Both ponies gasped as a bright light filled the room. It shown out the windows of the library like the flood lights of a light house in a stormy sea.

Both ponies screamed as they felt a cold powerful energy wrap around their bodies. Twilight felt a strong magical jolt at the base of her horn before losing all connection to her magic. Then suddenly, silience.

The glow died away, disappearing as quickly as it had formed. Everything returned to normal in the library, but there was no sign of Twilight, Pinkie Pie, the saddlebag, or the gem. The only sounds were those of the calls of the late afternoon birds outside of the windows.