//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11 
// Story: The Edge of Madness 
// by SaltyJustice 
//------------------------------//

	"Twilight, slow down for pony's sake.  You're going to choke yourself," I said, trying to take on my best scolding tone.  Twilight took no notice of me, practically inhaling the waffles on her plate whilst simultaneously reading a book (on table manners, no less) and using her magic to stuff a spoon full of minced hay into Spike's mouth.  He gurgled and rolled over, falling asleep as soon as he swallowed.
"Mmmghghghh," she said, looking up at me.  Her mouth, half-open, had minced hay nearly falling out of it.
"Swallow before you speak," I said gently.  She swallowed hard.
"Mmmmghghgh," she said, this time with no food in her mouth at all.  I fought back a laugh.
"Are you trying to test my patience, Twilight?  I have more than you're prepared for," I said.
"No, I'm trying to speak Dragon.  That's what Spike says when I talk to him," she said.
Draconic?  It sounded more like something a Minotaur might say, though it was best not to speak that aloud.
"Perhaps I can teach you a bit more about Dragons then, language studies are important -" I said, though I was distracted by a vortex forming in the air.  Amoria was sending me something, and it was big.  Too big actually, it was straining the matrix.
-Crack-
A bowling ball came down on my head, followed shortly by an envelope that rested on my nose as my legs buckled.  The envelope was exactly enough to set my balance off, and I tumbled to the floor.  I will give her this:  Cadence's pranks had been becoming far more brazen.
"Princess Celestia, are you all right?" came Twilight's voice from somewhere above the table.  I struggled to stand and try to shake it off gracefully.
"Oh, just a concussion," I said, trying to feel the spot where it had hit.  Somepony was going to get a firebomb in her bagged lunch next chance I got.  I opened up the letter magically and held it in front of me while Twilight tried to finish her breakfast, though I could tell she was concerned, as she was only vacuuming up the cantaloupe at 80% her normal speed.
Celestia
I know it's not supposed to be possible, but they have bodies now.  Physical forms, not just psychic ones.  They're smart too, tried to set a trap for me, so be on your guard.  Not sure what's going on here, but it's big.
I found this inside the body of one, but I don't know what it is.  I figured you'd have better luck than I did.  I can't tell if it's writing that's on it, or even what language, but it seems to change when you're not looking at it.  Good luck.
-Cadence
Finally, she was making use of all her resources instead of trying to solve everything by herself!  It was, in fact, not a bowling ball, but was some sort of dodecahedron.  Or was it?  In fact, the number of sides on the object was not consistent.  It was black, and it seemed to have as many sides as it could get away with, as I turned it over with my magic I noticed that a square might become a triangle, or a triangle might become a square.
"What's that thing?" Twilight asked, and for once I did not have an answer.
"I don't know, but I'm supposed to find out," I said, "so we may have to cancel today's lessons."  I touched my hoof on the object to see how hard it was, and perhaps to glean some idea of what material it was made of.
All at once, it was like the color was sucked out of the world around me.  Everything took on a slightly gray tinge, except Twilight, oddly enough.  She looked the same vibrant purple she always did, but the tablecloth was now a dull, metallic yellow instead of the brilliant gold and red it had been before.
"Oh, can I help you find out what it is!?" she piped up, practically shouting.
"No, absolutely not," I snapped at her.  She quieted down instantly, and returned to munching on what was left of her breakfast.  It was mine, and I wasn't going to give it up so easily.
"I just wanted to help," she said, trailing off as she did.  I didn't regret what I said, she had deserved it for being so pushy.  I'd need to start teaching her discipline, to keep a check on her tongue, especially when in my presence.
Wait, what was I thinking?  My head started to hurt, quite a lot, like a migraine, throbbing under my skin.  I took my hoof off the object and pressed it onto my aching head, and the color of the world came rushing back.  Twilight continued to chew on something, at a normal pace now.
"I'm sorry Twilight, I didn't mean that," I said, trying to recover, "of course you can help."
Her eyes lit up, and she resumed her best maelstrom impression, obliterating what was left of her breakfast.  Her plate was cleaned off completely, not even a crumb remained, before I could even finish rubbing my head.
We put Spike back to bed and headed off to the northern tower of the palace, where I had a hunch we could find answers about the object.  I made sure not to touch it, rather, I kept it afloat with my magic, which seemed to prevent it from doing whatever it had done earlier.  Cadence had not mentioned that, I wondered if she had not the occasion to touch it?
Reaching the tower, I let Twilight knock on the door for me.  It was kept locked most of the time, though not for my sake.  A voice came from behind the door.
"Yes, who is it?" asked a raspy, impatient voice.  Before I could answer - 
"Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia!" Twilight shouted, totally oblivious to who might be behind the door.  Her enthusiasm was legendary already.
"What's the password?" came the voice again.
"New England clam chowder," I said.
"The red or the white?" he asked.
I paused, I would always forget this part, "The white?"
The door clicked and opened partway.  Twilight tried to push it open further, but it was very heavy, and she only succeeded in opening it enough to see inside.
Beyond the door lay a study, made of ancient brick in a dark blue hue.  Our palace had been filled with curvy, gold-trimmed furniture for a long time now, but there had been a time when we used simple stone and hay-stuffed cushions.  This study had never left that time, elegant in its simplicity.
Twilight went barging forward, eager to explore the room.  She examined a chemistry set along the wall without even taking note of the pony standing just to the side of the door.
"She's a curious one, isn't she?" he said, regarding her.  He had shaved off his beard recently, but was still my old friend Starswirl, from a time best forgotten.  I do not mean that figuratively.
Twilight, turning around, noticed him for the first time.  Despite his reputation as that of a bearded old codger, he was actually quite young, with a warm smile on his cream colored coat, and a thick black mane he had been letting run wild.  He looked as old as the day I had met him, for a very good reason.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Twilight said sheepishly, turning around.  Amazingly, she had forgotten there was somepony behind the door to unlock it within the 3 seconds it took to open it.
"No trouble at all madam," Starswirl said, taking a bow.
"Twilight, I'd like you to meet Sta -" I started, he cut me off abruptly.
"Shush!  The name is Steven," he said, extending a hoof.  Twilight stared at him awkwardly until he put his hoof back down.
"Hello mister Steven, I'm Twilight," she said, and that introduction done, she spun around and trooped back towards the chemistry set tucked in the corner.
"Steven eh?  Some reason you're using that moniker?" I asked in a hushed tone.  Twilight paid no note of us, she was busy examining a vial labelled 'Sodium Chloride'.
"Can we really go around telling everypony my real name?  You're likely to cause a panic, or at least a lot of questions," he said.
"Yes, if anypony actually remembered who you are.  Do you know how long it's been?  You're ancient history," I said to him.
"So are you," he said back, shooting me a panicked look as Twilight picked up a vial labelled 'Ammonium Nitrate'.
"Don't sniff that!" he shouted at Twilight, who promptly put the vial back down.
"Twilight, why don't you come over here and let me introduce Professor Steven to you properly," I said.  Her head turned all the way around while he body remained facing the chemistry set, I thought I heard a crack in the neck but she was no worse for the wear.
"Professor?  What do you teach?" she asked 'Steven'.
"I'm an expert in time magic, actually, but I've dabbled in just about everything," he said.
"Oh, like auguries or..." Twilight started, then she held up her hooves to her mouth to stifle a gasp, "time travel?".
"Something to that effect, yes – "Starswirl started to say.
"Can you tell me my future?  Can you tell me how to tell my future?  Can you tell Spike's future?  Can you - " she rattled off questions at an alarming pace.  I shifted my stance slightly, and that was all it took to calm her down.
"One at a time Twilight, time magic is something you really mustn't rush," I said.
Starswirl lowered his head to better commune with Twilight, summoning up as much patience as he could, though I could see he was going to be strained if she broke something important while we were here.
"Well my dear, I could tell you your future, though there is one minor caveat," he said.
Twilight's face took a blank look, and she turned to me.  "What's a caveat?" she asked.
"A catch, a problem that doesn't seem obvious at first," I said.
"Ohhhh," she said, turning back to Starswirl.
"Indeed.  I could tell you, but it would always be wrong, even when it's right," he said.
"How can it be right and wrong?" Twilight asked, clearly taking in every word.  I could see she was thinking, but she would always ask even if she thought she knew the answer, to make sure she was correct.  There was no advantage in being fast if you weren't right.
"Because, if I read your future, it's based on you not knowing your future.  If I tell you, then you will know, and that will change your behavior, making the prediction wrong," he said.
"What if you read it, and don't tell me?" she said.  Starswirl chuckled.
"For one thing, that'd defeat the purpose.  For another, it would still not work, though it would be harder to tell.  I would be altering my own behavior, which could have effects down the road and would eventually invalidate other predictions," he said.  Twilight was satisfied, though a bit unhappy.
"So why can we look at the future if it's useless?" she asked, and for once, Starswirl was not sure what to say.  I decided to tell her instead.
"Some ponies are different, they have a destiny that they cannot avoid.  If you read their future, it always stays the same," I said.
"That's just a theory, nopony has ever proven it to be true," Starswirl interjected, somewhat angrily.  I could tell the discussion was making him uncomfortable, and a change of subject was in order.
"Yes well, that's not what we came here to talk to you about," I said, levitating up the orb-object in front of me.  Starswirl forgot all about the conversation we had just had, and admired the construction floating in the air.
"Well well, what have we here?" he said to nopony in particular.  His gaze was transfixed on the object.
"We're not sure, but I figured an expert in all things exotic would," I said.
"One moment," he said, darting off into the antechamber attached to the study.  I heard some books being tossed on the floor and what sounded like glassware shattering, before he re-emerged with a book floating in front of him.
"Equestrian Rare Minerals study, first edition," he said, as he went over to the chemistry set and began preparing some devices.
"I have a few ideas based on the appearance, but there's only one way to be sure," he said as he pulled out a scale, a beaker of acid, and a number of other rocks with labels on them.  He struck the object with each of the rocks in turn and made some notes on a parchment, then placed the object on the scale and determined its mass.  Lastly he dabbed some acid on the object and took note of the lack of a reaction.  Twilight was enraptured the whole time.
"Hmm, hardness of nine, maybe higher.  Density looks to be eight or so grams per cubic centimeter, hmm hmm," he said, starting to hum to himself, "this doesn't quite add up."
He levitated the orb into the middle of the room, looking at it closely.  Twilight, as soon as he left, started reading the book behind him and checking over the notes he made.  I believed he was coming to the same conclusion  I had, and I could tell he was puzzled by the same property I was.
"This makes no sense at all then.  Unless?" he put the object down with his magic, then touched it.
I should have warned him, but it hadn't occurred to me exactly what had happened earlier.  Now, I got a good view.  Starswirl started to turn grey, the color seemed to siphon out of him, starting at his hoof where he touched the orb and spreading upwards from there.  His eyes took on an unfocused quality and he looked confused.
I reacted as soon as I saw it starting, charging forth to knock the object away.  He instinctively tried to stop me, but my legs were longer and I hooked them under his, knocking the object away like I was doing a tackle in hoofball.  As soon as he lost contact with it, his coat returned to its normal color.
"Ooh, what happened?" he said, holding his head.  Twilight had remained completely oblivious, as was usual when she found herself a project.
"Ziristone," she said, turning back around.
"Amazing..." Starswirl said, though he kept his hooves on his head.
"That's what I had thought Twilight, but perhaps you can tell me why it shouldn't be Ziristone?" I said, and I held the object up with my magic.  I was going to need to put this thing in a sack to keep anypony from touching it.
"It absorbs magic, increasing in density when it does," she said, though she had clearly read that out of the book.
"So if it does that, then how am I lifting it up right now?" I asked.  She thought for a second.
"Maybe it's full?  It can't absorb any more," she said, turning back around to see if there was an entry for that, though I knew there was no such thing.  Ziristone is extremely rare, occurring in exactly one place.  That place was off-limits for mining, and had been for millenia.
"It's possible, but it'd need quite a lot of magic to do that," Starswirl said, recovering from the incident.  His eyes told me we would need to speak about that later, I gave him a small nod to confirm it was not only him that had experienced it.
"Is it supposed to have this green stuff on it?" Twilight said, comparing the picture in the book to the object suspended in the air.  Starswirl shook his head.
"That, I am at a total loss for.  Please understand, this stone is incredibly rare, I've never had a sample to study myself," he said.
"I'm sure we'll be adding this to the textbook.  Thank you very much for your help Steven," I said.  Twilight took this as the cue to leave, but I could see she was looking back at the minerals book with a sense of longing.  It was a first edition, I wondered if she knew that that tome was presently in its seventeenth iteration?  She seemed to pay no heed to the curious state of the tower either, and had no idea who the pony who was rubbing his head was.  Perhaps I'd need to give her something to read on obscure Unicorn history.  Then again, would she connect the dots?  She was smart, but terribly naive, I would need to work on that first.
We left the study and heard the door close behind us.  Twilight was now terribly curious about rocks, and I quickly concocted a lesson plan for the day to teach her the basics.  Before I did anything else, I would need to let Amoria know about our findings, and more importantly, find something to shut this thing in before anypony else touched it.