Chapter 12

"Look, I don't care what the two of you do—" Twilight snapped at Gilda and Trixie. "Just stay out of my way and don't make any trouble!"

Twilight was almost to the Crystal Empire Library when she ran straight into Shining Armor. "Twily? I thought you went back to Ponyville!"

"I did, but now I'm back again!" Twilight said, shifting from hoof to hoof anxiously. She was itching to look through those books. She just knew the answer was in there somewhere.

"Great! You should come have lunch with me and Cadance in the castle," Shining Armor said.

"That's so nice, but I don't have time—maybe tomorrow. I have to go! Talk to you later!" Twilight said, cantering past him.

He watched in confusion as she ran off down the street and around the corner. Normally, she was excited to see him. It was very odd behavior, especially for Twilight….

Shining Armor took off toward the castle. He had to find his wife, and he had to find her fast!

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It was a familiar scene for Twilight, sitting in an accidental fort made up of large, glittery books. She hungrily flipped through the pages of one called Ancient Spells of the Crystal Empire: Volume Four. After the first three volumes, she had begun to feel discouraged, but she soldiered on. The Crystal Heart Spell just had to be in there somewhere!

"Twilight! Are you in here?" Princess Cadance called out, her voice echoing throughout the cavernous library. Shining Armor had come to her straightaway after seeing his sister act so bizarrely. Something wasn't right, and he knew Cadance could help.

"Yes, I'm in here," Twilight sighed loudly from inside her book fort. She didn't want to see Cadance right now. She felt embarrassed for not making any progress at all with the spell. Cadance peeked through a gap in the precarious towers of books.

"Oh dear, Twilight…" Cadance shook her head. "It's just as I suspected."

"What is?" Twilight whined. "Me being as big of a failure as I am? A pony with no leadership skills whatsoever?" Twilight hung her head in defeat. "Celestia should just go ahead and revoke my crown now."

"No, no, no. You're not a failure," Cadance said. She pointed her hoof at Twilight's neck. The Cosmic Spectrum wasn't shining at all anymore. "Look! You've gotten so down on yourself and those around you that the necklace is magnifying your negative feelings!"

The young princess looked down at the gem, stunned. "I didn't even notice that the necklace had changed…." Twilight suddenly thought of all her friends back in Ponyville. Rarity had tried to warn her about the gemstone, but Twilight had been so distracted trying to find the spell that she didn't even listen.

Actually, Twilight had dismissed all of their ideas. She suddenly thought of Pinkie Pie's cake day, Applejack's family dinner time, Rainbow Dash's Pegasus royal guard, Fluttershy's baby-animal sanctuary, and Rarity's kingdom fashions. The ideas didn't seem so bad now. Her friends were only

trying to help her, like she'd asked them to. And how did she thank them? By ignoring them and thinking only of herself.

"Oh, Cadance, I've been so horrible to my friends!" Twilight said, standing up. Several nearby books toppled over like a set of building blocks. "All I have been doing is thinking about what I want and not listening to anypony else's ideas!" The necklace began to glow dimly. "I have to go find my friends right now and apologize!"

Princess Cadance grinned as she watched Twilight gallop out of the library. She knew Twilight was on the right track again.