Fluttershy walked into her cottage to find Carrot Top and the Cutie Mark Crusaders cowering behind the couch, for some reason. She didn't bother asking and walked straight into the kitchen. They waved their legs trying to get her attention but she ignored them.

Rummaging in her pantry was a large grizzly bear easily twice her size. “Oh, hi, Harry.”

The large beast turned to look at her and his large nose scrunched up as he sniffed her over. Fluttershy felt like she should know what Harry was doing; they had tea almost every week. His actions were on the cusp of her understanding, but all she could draw was a blank.

“I'm sorry. I guess we'll have to cancel tea time this week.”

Harry, if anything, seemed equally confused. He made a low grunting noise and stared at her.

Fluttershy flew up and opened her top panrty. She pulled out various fruits and placed them in a large picnic basket sitting out on her counter. Harry had already partially filled it himself. She added extra food but neglected to include a blanket, plates, silverware, or her tea set. With the basket full, she lowered her head and nudged it towards him. “I think you should go; you're making the others uneasy.”

Harry grabbed the handle of the basket with his mouth and lumbered out. He left via the back entrance and Fluttershy sighed. She was frustrated with herself. She felt she could have tried harder to understand him, and she really could have used a tea party right about now.

“That was so cool!” Scootaloo's voice came from behind Fluttershy. “You didn't even flinch when that huge bear walked right up to you.”

Fluttershy twisted around to address the wide-eyed filly. “Um, that's Harry. He stops by all the time. We usually have tea together with the other animals.”

“You usually have bears wander in your house?” Carrot Top asked. Her orange curls rose as she peeked her green eyes over the top of the sofa. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were caught in her firm grip. Neither of them were happy about that.

“Just Harry—he's the only bear I know that doesn't live in the Everfree. He won't be back again until next week.” Fluttershy frowned and added quietly to herself, “I hope I'm better by next week.”

Sweetie Belle squirmed free. “Tea? What kind of tea does he like?”

“Herbal honey rose peppermint tea with added honey is his favorite, but, um, he likes most other varieties too, as long as you add honey.”

Apple Bloom morosely held onto Carrot Top's foreleg that was wrapped tightly around her. She'd given up on trying to break free. “I want some honey. Can Ah have some, please?”

Carrot Top felt silly cowering behind Fluttershy's couch and crawled out from behind it. She still held onto Apple Bloom tightly, much to Apple Bloom's annoyance. “Dear, too many sweets are bad for your teeth, but it is lunch time, isn't it? What do you say, Fluttershy? Do you want to have a picnic? We could have a tea party of our own if you'd like.”

Fluttershy looked at Carrot Top and the excitable fillies. She really would like to have a tea party. It'd take her mind off her troubles. “Um, no thanks.” She surprised herself with that response. “I, um, I'd like to be alone, please. I-I'll be out back i-if you see any other bears or scary centipedes. S-sorry.”

She didn't give them time to protest and darted in her room to remove her dress. They didn't follow her, but she could hear them talking through the open door.

“Scary centipedes?” Carrot Top asked.

“It was huge!” Apple Bloom said.

“It was icky and gross,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Aw, it wasn't that bad,” Scootaloo said.

“Now girls, remember what I told you. Nopony's going to be interested unless you exaggerate. Now try again and let me know just how impressive this centipede really was, okay?”

Fluttershy raised her eyebrows. What, exactly, was Carrot Top teaching them?

“Uh, it was so big that it wrapped around the whole room,” Apple Bloom said.

“And, it, uh, smelled like rotten garbage and breathed fire,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yeah! And it actually was on fire, because it's from the Burning Bayou. And Fluttershy had to squirt it with the garden hose to get it leave us alone,” Scootaloo said.

“See girls? That's much better. Ponies will be much more interested in hearing about the monster centipede from the Burning Bayou than the would be to hear about an unusually large but otherwise normal bug.”

Fluttershy groaned. She made a mental note not to let Carrot Top to foalsit again. She stepped forward to intervene. Well, she dragged her hooves forward. She didn't want to have to explain how that kind of thing was bad. Carrot Top would be so annoyed. Actually, Fluttershy should put her dress away first. She didn't want it to get wrinkled from lying on her bed.

“I don't know...” Apple Bloom said. “Isn't this kind of... lying?”

“It's not really lying since the centipede really did exist. You're just stretching the truth. That's not so bad,” Carrot Top said.

“The last time we stretched the truth was when we wrote all those articles for the Foal Free Press as Gabby Gums. We got in a lot of trouble and almost lost all our friends when we did that,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Really? That's right. I'd forgotten about that. Gabby Gums was my favorite columnist. I remember reading your apology, but I guess I never heard the full story.”

“Do you want the real story, or the exaggerated version?” Scootaloo asked.

“...real story,” Carrot Top said.

...or they could handle the matter themselves. Fluttershy finished hanging her dress up and snuck out the back while they were talking. Perhaps they weren't quite as immature as they looked. Well, okay, they were, but she was still proud of them for taking the lesson they'd learned to heart. That reminded her of all the lessons she'd learned ever since Twilight first came to town. It was wonderful to have such good friends.

Fluttershy poked her nose in the chicken coop. It was vacant; her hens were out roaming the yard. Elizabeak was dustbathing while the others foraged. Fluttershy would have enjoyed chatting with them, but that was pointless now. With a sigh, she left her chickens be and went to sit alone on a stump near the woods.

Seeing Harry the Bear again reminded Fluttershy of what she was missing. Sure, she was painfully aware of her missing talent at most times, but with Harry she'd almost been able to make that connection again anyway, yet...

Fluttershy bent down and plucked a dandelion. The yellow flower had far too many petals to pull off individually. She frowned and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth. Where were the buttercups when she needed one?

Perhaps she should try harder to talk to the animals like she used to. She'd thought talent was gone completely, but perhaps there was some trace of it left? If she could make that connection again she'd earn her cutie mark back? It was certainly something to chew—

Oh, yuck. Fluttershy had forgotten just how bitter dandelions were. She almost spat it out, but forced herself to eat it anyway. No wonder ponies preferred to eat the greens and not the flower. She looked around for something to wash the taste out with and noted a patch of poppies. They were budding, though. She didn't want to eat any before they'd had a chance to bloom, which, from the looks of them, could be as early as tomorrow. Instead, she went back to the chicken coop and used the garden hose to wash her mouth out with water.

“Fluttershy, are you ready to go to Zecora's yet?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy wiped the water from her muzzle. “Um, you're here earlier than I'd expected.”

“Am I too early? I can come back later.”

“No, no. We can go now. I kind of lost my appetite anyway.” Fluttershy retrieved her saddlebags and put them on. “Did you find what you were looking for in that spellbook?”

Twilight frowned. “Well, yes and no—mostly no. I don't really want to repeat myself so I'll explain when we get there.”

Fluttershy nodded and the two of them set out into the Everfree. This forest was a stark contrast to the one they'd just visited. While the Snakefog had been vibrant and full of life, the Everfree was dark and vacant by comparison. She used to be afraid of this place, well, she still was, but it wasn't the big deal that it used to be.

“How well do you think that Shining Armor and Cadance are doing?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight shook her head. “No idea. I haven't heard from them yet, but I've yet to send my report. This will be my last stop before I do so.”

“Do you think it will help?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight gave her a blank look. “Your report, I mean?”

“Honestly? No, not yet. It's a start, but it raises more questions than answers. We've found nothing yet that can definitively show what Linky is after or where she's going in any greater detail than we already knew.” Twilight sighed. “And unless Zecora can help, we won't know anything more about how Linky stole your cutie mark either.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy looked up at the forest canopy. Rays of sunlight broke through and created dancing lights on the forest floor. They moved in sync with a light breeze. Vines hung down from a few of the larger trees, complete with thorns and small purple flowers. Those plants looked a lot like thistle except they were a vines instead of weeds. Fluttershy wondered why Zecora ever needed to come to town. Every time she ventured in this forest she always ran across something new.

“Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy ran to catch up with the unicorn who'd pulled ahead while Fluttershy admired the scenery.

“Yes?” Twilight stopped walking.

“What will we do if Zecora can't help?”

Twilight shrugged. “Ask for advice. She's always good for that.”

“Hmm, I guess.” Fluttershy frowned. Talking about fixing things wasn't nearly as helpful as actually fixing them. Still, if it was that or nothing...

“Ssh, I think I hear something.” Twilight's ears perked up and she hopped atop a fallen log. Fluttershy strained her ears and swiveled them around but didn't pick up anything. “Wait, I guess it was nothing. Sorry if I seem a little jumpy, but this is the part of the trail where I ran into that cockatrice.”

“I guess that would leave an impression. But why go this way if it bothers you?”

“I'd rather not roam through the fields of poison joke again.”

“Ah.”

Twilight hopped down from the log and they resumed walking. It was quiet in the forest, but not unusually so. The Everfree was a wild place, and sometimes that meant they could roam for hours without encountering anything. That suited Fluttershy just fine. She'd rather not try to tame beasts she couldn't communicate with.

The trail soon came to an end. Zecora's hut looked as it always did. It was built into the base of a large tree with a wooden mask and fern fronds decorating her door. Various bottles hung from ropes tied to the tree's branches. Twilight walked up and knocked on the door. “Zecora, it's me, Twilight. I have my friend Fluttershy with me and we were wondering if you could help us. Somepony stole her cutie mark and we'd like to know if there's any way to bring it back.”

Zecora opened the door and stuck her head out. “Twilight, it is good to see you again. Won't you both please step inside my den?”

They did so, and Twilight took a seat on a stump at Zecora's table. She pulled Linky's spellbook out of her saddlebag and flipped to the bookmark she'd placed. Fluttershy lingered near the door as she looked around the room. She'd seen it before, but the shelves full of bottles, the walls lined with ritual masks, and the large cauldron bubbling with some kind of brew drew her attention.

“So your flank really is blank,” Zecora said. Fluttershy frowned. “That is most strange. What could cause such a change?”

“Um, it was stolen, as Twilight said. I don't know how she managed it, but a pony who goes by the name of 'Linky' took it. She tackled me and ran off. The next think I knew my cutie mark was gone.” Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut and frowned. “We tried to catch her, but she got away. I... It hurts so much not having my cutie mark. I'm losing touch with all of my animal friends.” Fluttershy threw herself prone at Zecora's feet. “Please, can you help me get it back? I-I don't even care if it's a new one anymore. I just want something, anything. I'll do anything, anything you ask of me. I-I just want my cutie mark back.”

Zecora's eyes went wide and she looked between Fluttershy, who was crying, and Twilight, who frowned. “Is this tale of your distraught friend true? Is there a pony who can steal cutie marks out of the blue?”

Twilight nodded. “Well, she is a blue pony, but yes, she can do that. How? I don't know. As an earth pony, I would never have expected Linky to be able to use magic like that, but she's done so at least twice, though the second time she returned the cutie mark. I thought we'd made a breakthrough when we discovered that she was in possession of this book, the Terracanium, but it doesn't actually have a spell for stealing magic. Instead, she'd performed a bonding ritual that tied her directly to some sort of artifact.” Twilight wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brow. “I've never heard of any tool for removing cutie marks. Do you know of anything that can do that?”

Zecora shook her head. “Such a tool for ill-gotten power would not last in our eyes. Destroying it at once would be an action most wise.”

“Ah.” Twilight nodded slowly. “I suspected as much, but in this particular case I'd advise against destruction if we ever got a hold of it. The bonding ritual... complicates things. Linky's the only one who can use it now. If anything happened to it the backlash would devastate her.”

“Um, I don't really care about her,” Fluttershy said. “Can you please do something to fix my blank flank? Apple Bloom mentioned 'heart's desire'. Would that work?”

“Heart's desire is the cause of cutie pox. Such a treatment would lead to a paradox. The very thing that you want the most would pepper your hide in a severe overdose. It's not an action that I'd recommend. Surely that's something you can comprehend.”

“Well, it doesn't have to be heart's desire. Don't you have anything else? Anything at all?”

Zecora narrowed her eyes in thought. “Perhaps if I might be so bold, you could have your fortune told?”

“Huh, how would that help?” Fluttershy asked.

“A glimpse of the future can give one hope. You seem to be at the end of your rope.”

“Are you sure that's a good idea?” Twilight asked. “What if we see something bad?”

“The risk for that is low, you'll see. I'll look for when she's happy with glee.”

“Well, okay. If you think it will help...” Twilight sounded uncertain, but Fluttershy nodded.

Zecora gently pushed Fluttershy away. She turned to rummage through her potions and picked up a vial filled with pink fluid, which she added a few drops of to her cauldron. The surface swirled and turned black. Zecora frowned and poked at it. The mixture rippled at her touch, but the only thing she saw was Fluttershy's reflection, who blinked at herself. “It looks like your future is dark. I cannot see you with a cutie mark.”

“I... I'm going to be a blank flank forever!?” Fluttershy stared in horror at the black liquid. Watching the surface ripple reminded her of something, but she couldn't place it. Regardless, her future clearly held no happiness for her and she curled up into a sobbing mass.

Twilight ran over and looked into the cauldron. Her ears flopped down. “Wha-what? Nothing? How can your future hold nothing?”

Fluttershy buried her head under her forelegs. “Oh no, I really am doing to die.”

Zecora frowned. She never knew what to expect when she delved into fortune telling but she never would have expected something like that. “I know that life isn't fair, but you don't have to despair. Nothing you see is set into stone. Even with magic the future's unknown.”

Fluttershy lifted her head up. He cheeks were wet with tears. “But, it's not just you Zecora, Cadance also predicts my doom. I-I...”

“Cadance too? What fate did she predict for you?” Zecora asked.

Twilight dug in her saddlebags. “She said that time could be running out for Fluttershy. I have the letter around here somewhere if you want to read it all.”

Zecora shook her head. “There's no need—perhaps we have erred. You have every right to be scared. But there's no need to acquiesce. You don't have to be a damsel in distress. Your future's really in your hooves. It's up to you to make your moves. Can you possibly say otherwise? Is this enough to galvanize?”

“Are you saying that your prediction doesn't have to come true? Has that ever happened before?” Twilight asked.

“Yes. There's tale from our lands. It's about a warrior who roamed the desert sands. His dream, his goal was to be the very best. He trained quite hard like a thing possessed. A tournament within one weeks time would crown a winner in his prime. The land, the princess could belong to him, but he felt his prospects to win were grim.

“Any stallion worth his hair would have doubled his training right then and there, but he had to know if he would win so he opted for a lazy sin. He begged a shaman to read his fate, who showed him his future on that date. The prediction was for him to win the crown, but the shaman clearly did frown.

“ ‘You mustn’t think the outcome's set in stone. By reading the future this can be thrown.’

“But the warrior didn't listen anymore. He celebrated victory a bit premature. Instead of training like he should, he imbibed in stuff that's good. So when the day came for him to fight, his first opponent beat him outright. He was shocked at his turn of fate. He should have heeded the warning, but he learned too late.”

“Oh, my.” Fluttershy stood up. She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and tried to put on a strong face. “I... I'd like to try but I still don't know what to do.”

Zecora shrugged. “I do not desire to sound sappy, but I sought a vision of you happy. So if death could end your pain, all you need do is refrain.”

“I-I...” Fluttershy narrowed her eyes. She snorted, snarled and locked eyes with Zecora. “You think that I'd have reason to kill myself!? How dare you!” Fluttershy kicked over the cauldron and stormed out the door.

Twilight's jaw dropped, but Zecora seemed unperturbed. “You should keep a close eye on her. A terrible fate could still occur.”

Twilight scowled at Zecora and ran out the door after her friend. “Wait, Fluttershy! She didn't mean it. At least, I think she didn't. Please wait up; you don't want to run into something nasty.”