It was evening by the time they'd returned to Ponyville. They were all exhausted and weary, but it was still too early to call it quits and head for bed. Twilight tracked down Spike to send her letter off. He was supposed to be at Fluttershy's cottage watching the animals, but she found him back at the library in the kitchen indulging in star-sticker flavored ice cream. He claimed he was just taking a break and Twilight was too tired to argue with him. He sent the letter and she sent him off to finish the job he'd been assigned.

“Girls, we can do more than just wait for a response. There are a lot of questions that I'd like an answer to and for that we'll need investigation and research. Like, what is Linky really after? She's got to have a bigger goal in mind than just one cutie mark and a stroll in a forest. How did she even remove Fluttershy's cutie mark in the first place? Hmm, if we can answer that, we might be able to reverse the process on our own.”

“Are you thinking that we should search her place for clues?” Pinkie asked.

“That would be a good place to start, yes.” Twilight rummaged through her reading desk and pulled out a magnifying glass.

“Twilight, isn't it a bit late to get a search warrant?” Rarity asked. “Town Hall is closed for the day.”

“We could break in,” Pinkie suggested.

Twilight frowned and put her magnifying glass back. “No, Pinkie. Getting ourselves in trouble won't help. Linky's already gone. Any evidence she left behind isn't going to go anywhere.”

“What about ways to replace a lost cutie mark? Is there some way to get her a new one?” Applejack asked.

“Um, Applejack, I know you're trying to help, but I don't want a new cutie mark. I want my old one back.”

“Hmm.” Twilight tapped on her chin. “We'll chalk that up as plan 'c', or 'd'. For now, we should try to learn all we can about Linky and her plans.”

“Do you think she's stolen any other cutie marks?” Applejack asked.

“I doubt it.” Twilight shook her head. “News like that would travel fast.”

“What about something that's not a cutie mark?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, we could ask around–”

Pinkie threw open a window and yelled outside, “Hey! Has anypony had anything stolen recently!?”

Twilight facehoofed. “Pinkie, that's not going to work.”

There was a knock on the door.

Twilight dropped her hoof. Pinkie shrugged. “Come in.”

The door opened, and they were greeted by a lilac unicorn with wide magenta eyes and a trim two-toned blue streaked mane.

“Um, hello there Miss...” Twilight smiled.

“Sea Swirl. I'm so sorry about what happened to Fluttershy, but when I heard Pinkie yell just now that reminded me of something that happened a few weeks ago. I was out vacationing along the beach and went swimming like I usually do. Amongst the manegroves, I discovered an odd piece of driftwood. It was actually a wooden sword, surprisingly well balanced, and it didn't look weathered at all. It was about this big–” Sea Swirl measured out its size with her hooves. The distance she measured was far too long to be practical. “–and it had an inscription on it that called it the 'Master Sword.' I was going to donate it to the Star Swirl the Bearded Traveling Museum, but–”

“Wait a minute,” Twilight interrupted, “Star Swirl the Bearded had many talents, but he wasn't into swordplay. What makes you think that would be connected to him?”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot to mention that the inscription also said it belonged to him. Anyway, Shoeshine took an interest in it and asked to borrow it. That was a few weeks ago and she hasn't given it back yet and after what just happened...”

“We get the idea. Thank you for bringing this to our attention,” Twilight said.

“No problem, and good luck.” Sea Swirl stepped out and magically shut the door behind her.

“Ya think that's worth looking into?” Applejack asked. “Sea Swirl's known for her fish tales, and that does sound rather farfetched.”

Twilight shrugged. “I guess if we run out of other things to do we can investigate that. I'd look into it sooner, but all of the books about Star Swirl the Bearded that I haven't read yet are locked away in the restricted area of the Canterlot archives.”

The door creaked open again. Spike walked in trailing loose feathers behind him. He stopped to brush himself off.

“Um, Spike, why are you covered in feathers?” Fluttershy asked. Her question was more from idle curiosity than actual concern. Spike wasn't the best animal caretaker, but he wouldn't do anything to hurt them.

“This just came.” Spike held up a scroll in his claws that Twilight grabbed with her magic. “I was busy feeding the chickens when it arrived and that really spooked them, sorry.”

“It's okay, Spike. A few singed feathers won't hurt them.” Fluttershy peaked over Twilight's shoulder. “What does the letter say?”

Twilight stopped scanning the parchment and looked up at them. “It's from my brother. This is more serious than I'd thought.”

“Your brother? But isn't he still on his honeymoon?” Rarity asked.

“Not anymore. Listen to this:

Dear Twily,

I am terribly sorry to hear about the loss that your friend has suffered. Fluttershy was such a nice pony at our wedding. Her bird choir was very lovely.

Cadance and I just got back from our honeymoon when we heard the news; I guess it was fate that your letter arrived the same time we did. I'd tell you more about our trip, but that will have to wait for another time.

Celestia tasked us with the job of hunting down 'Linky' and bringing her to justice. Magic theft is a very serious offense, especially when cutie marks are involved. Those are not meant to be tampered with. Please keep a close eye on your friend to ensure her continued health. We will do our best to recover her stolen cutie mark as quickly as possible.

If you happen across any further information regarding Linky's motives, skills, or whereabouts in your investigations (I can't imagine that you'd sit idle on this), please sent your report to Celestia and she will ensure that it reaches us. Rest assured that we will do everything we can to ensure that this wrong becomes righted.

Hoof-bump and head-rub,
Prince Shining Armor

Twilight, this is Cadance. My husband wasn't kidding when he said to keep a close eye on your friend, Fluttershy. I wish I had more to go on than just an uneasy feeling, but her destiny's been severed. Time might be running out for her. I'm sorry that sounds so gloomy, but the ways of the heart can be fickle.

Your assignment is just as important as ours: please keep your friend safe. I hope to see you again soon with much better news.

I still can't thank you enough for saving us on our wedding day.

Wish us luck,
Princess Cadance.

PS. Tell Spike that we appreciated his gift. We got a really big kick out of his 'bachelor party'. We had no idea you could put something like that in a box.”

“M-my time i-is running out?” Fluttershy choked. She looked pale.

Hackles rose around the room as ponies started to panic.

“Oh, no! Fluttershy!” Rarity dragged in a fancy, ornate couch from nowhere. It had soft, red velvet cushions trimmed with gold thread. “Please, sit down. You want to be as comfortable as possible in your last moments, don't you?”

Fluttershy didn't have a choice. The couch floated over with Rarity's magic and scooped her off her feet. She flopped over on it, stunned. “L-last moments?” she squeaked.

“Heh, I knew they'd love my exploding bachelor box,” Spike said, oblivious. “Uh, well, I wasn't sure what a 'bachelor' was so I just used a lot of confetti and made sure it made a lot of nose. I wrote the word 'bachelor' on everything. That's close enough, right?”

Nopony paid Spike any attention. Pinkie Pie ran over and gasped. “Are you cold? Oh no! We wouldn't want you to be cold.” Pinkie tossed a blanket over Fluttershy.

“Um, Pinkie, I'm not–”

“What? You're not cold?” Rainbow Dash said. “Oh no! You must be stifling in here. I'd better whip up a breeze, and fast!” Rainbow Dash flew around the room. Pages rustled in her wake and some books fell off the shelves when she got too close and bumped them.

“Uh, Dash, I'm not–”

“Oh no! Now you're too cold!” Twilight stuffed a thermometer if Fluttershy's mouth, who drooped her ears. “We'd better take your temperature to make sure you don't catch a cold.”

Applejack gasped as she saw the thermometer climb (it was still adjusting to Fluttershy's normal body temperature.) “Oh no, it looks like yer coming down with something. Ah better mix up some chicken soup to help ya feel better.” Everypony gave Applejack strange looks. “It's made from chicken feed, not actual chickens.”

“Ooh. That makes much more sense,” Pinkie said.

Spike was annoyed about being ignored, but mostly he was confused. “What's all the fuss about?”

Twilight slapped the letter Spike's face. “Didn't you hear? Fluttershy's running out of time!”

Spike grumbled and tore it off. “Running out of time for what?”

Pinkie Pie reared up on her tail. “Running out of time to live. She could drop dead at any moment!” She threw a foreleg up over her head and dramatically fell over backwards. She landed with a thud and more books fell down.

Fluttershy whimpered and buried herself under the blanket so completely that she was little more than a quavering blob of tea and comfort.

Spike picked up a fallen book and stuffed it on a nearby shelf so it wouldn't get trampled. This was going to be one of those days. “Are you sure that's what she meant?”

“Does it matter? This is Fluttershy we're talking about. She could be wasting away as we speak.” Rartiy gave the quavering blob a great big hug, which meeped.

Despite the forelegs wrapped around it, Spike grabbed the blanket and yanked it off. Fluttershy squeaked and grabbed Rarity to return her embrace. They huddled together on the fancy couch. Spike pointed at Fluttershy. “She looks fine to me.”

Applejack pushed in a steaming bowl of broth on a rolling cart. It smelled like corn and sesame. “Here ya are, sugarcube. Be careful, it's still a bit hot.”

“But we already know she's not fine. Her cutie mark's missing.” Rainbow Dash walked over and sniffed at the soup. “Wow, that really does smell good.”

“Not having a cutie mark isn't going to kill you,” Spike said. “None of you are even born with them.”

Fluttershy released Rarity, who reluctantly let go as well. “That's different. Our talents exist even before we discover them. But now I don't have one.” Fluttershy frowned. Her nostrils couldn't resist the scent in the air. She picked up the bowl, blew off the steam and took a sip. “This really is good. Thanks, Applejack.”

Spike scratched at his spines. “But you have plenty of talents. What is all this cutie mark business about, anyway? I don't get it.”

“Spike, didn't they teach you about that in magic kindergarten?” Twilight asked.

“Er, maybe? I kinda-sorta tuned it all out when I learned I wasn't going to get one. It was more fun to flick pencils and get them stuck in the ceiling.”

“What? I thought you kept eating them.” Spike blushed from embarrassment and turned away to reshelve a book. Twilight glanced at Fluttershy, who carefully sipped her soup, and looked back to face Spike. “Anyway, cutie marks are one of the three major types of magic that ponies have. Ponies are meant to be in control of our world and, to that end, each of us is born with a talent capable of influencing it in some way. Once that talent is discovered, the mark of our destiny, known as a cutie mark, appears.”

“But if you're already born with your talent, then why do you have to wait until it's discovered to get your cutie mark? That seems unnecessary. Isn't your destiny predetermined?”

“No, it's not quite like that. I summarized too much. While it's true that we have our talents at birth, the way in which we use them is up to us. Rarity, for example, has a talent for finding gems. She's decided to use that talent to be a fashion designer. She could easily have been a miner, or a jeweler, or something else instead. So it's not until we discover our special talent and decide on how we want to use it, that our cutie mark appears.”

“Since yer giving a lecture and all, what are the other two types of magic?” Applejack asked.

Twilight raised an eyebrow but didn't make any comment about Applejack's education. She'd have to remember to have tea with Cheerilee at some point and discuss the subjects typically covered under Ponyville's curriculum. What Twilight considered common knowledge might be limited to advanced studies in the earth pony school. “Well, there's also racial magic, such as earth pony strength and pegasus flight, and the last category is known as eminence. It's a bit of a catch-all for outside influences. It covers everything from dark magic to the magics of love and friendship. Our connection to the elements of harmony fall under that category.”

“That's fascinating and all, but I don't see how any of it is vital,” Spike said. “Even without a cutie mark, you still have plenty of other magic, so what's the big deal?”

Twilight tapped on her chin and watched Fluttershy place her empty bowl on the tray. She didn't look like she was dying. “You're right, Spike. Cutie marks, while important to us, aren't necessary to live. That's not to say that removing one won't have other consequences, though. It's up to us to make sure that Fluttershy stays healthy. We should give her a thorough examination to ensure that nothing else is wrong with her.”

Fluttershy frowned, but nodded. Despite what Spike said, she had more faith in Cadance than him. If she was going to drop dead soon, she'd at least want to know why.

Twilight rummaged through the stacks of fallen books, looking for the pile of medical literature she'd pulled out earlier. “Aha!” She levitated a blue book with the image of two snakes interwoven around a winged stick on the cover. She opened it. “Okay, let's see here. Breathing? Check. Pulse? Check. Temperature? What was your temperature when you took the thermometer out?”

“Um, around one hundred, I think,” Fluttershy said.

“That's normal, check. Say, does anypony know to take a blood pressure reading?” Twilight looked up from her book at numerous concerned faces.

“Uh, Twilight dear, don't you think that an actual medical professional should be doing this?” Rarity asked.

“Er, well, the hospital won't take walk-ins at this hour, but anypony can check vitals, right?”

“I think you've got first aid for professionals and first aid for layponies confused. None of us can read blood pressure.” Rainbow Dash tapped on her chin. “And I don't think blood pressure's something that's even helpful for first aid.”

Twilight flipped through a few pages. “Well, it says that it can help determine the extent of blood loss...”

“That's silly, Twilight. She's not bleeding,” Pinkie said.

Twilight snapped the book shut. “You're right, this is silly. Just because there's a book on it, doesn't make me an expert. I'll book an appointment for you tomorrow, okay?”

“Oh, okay.” Fluttershy sounded disappointed.

“Wait. There is one test I can do. If you're low on anything, it'd be magic. Come on, let's go down to the basement.” Twilight grabbed a doorknob in her mouth and twisted her head to pull the door open. The basement was dark.

“The... basement?” Fluttershy asked. She couldn't see anything past the bottom of the stairs.

“Ooh, that's where you keep all the blinky things with the straps and the wires and the knobs, and the levers, and the shiny, shiny buttons!”

“Pinkie, please don't touch anything.” Twilight magically turned on the lights and led them downstairs. She blew dust off her laboratory equipment and the buttons were, indeed, shiny. “It's been a while since I've used this. Fluttershy, please lie on the table there and spread your legs out. I'll get you strapped in.”

“Um, o-okay.” She reluctantly did as instructed. She winced as Twilight clamped on the cold metal restraints and secured a large metal helmet to her head with numerous wires and rows of lights on it. “Um, do I need to stretch out my wings too?”

“Only if you want to. It's usually not a good idea to restrain those. Give me a few minutes to get this machine warmed up and I'll let you know when I'm ready to start.”

Fluttershy nodded. Well, she would have nodded if her head wasn't stuck in that helmet. “Okay.”

“Ooh, ooh! Look at me.” Pinkie Pie held a hoof a hair's width away from a big, red button. “I'm not touching this. I'm so not touching this thing.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and went back to adjusting knobs and flicking switches. “You're right, Pinkie, you're not.”

“Uh, Twilight–” Applejack leaned over to whisper in Twilight's ear “–are you sure it's a good idea to let Pinkie do that? What if she slips?”

“It's fine, Applejack. That device isn't even turned on. And besides, it's not like it's a self-destruct mechanism anyway.”

“A... what?” Applejack frowned as Pinkie played her no-touching game with other buttons and levers around the room. “Now Ah'm even more worried.”

Twilight flipped on one last switch and the machine sprung to life. It whirred and hummed. Twilight frowned as she watched a needle swing back and forth erratically. “Aw, shoot. This gauge is broken. We'll have to take a manual reading. Fluttershy, you'll notice when the magic level of the machine starts to exceed your own. It's usually described as a tingling sensation, sort of like goosebumps. Can you let us know when that happens?”

“Okay, uh, I mean, not yet. I'll let you know when I feel something.”

“Right. I'm slowly increasing the power now.” Twilight adjusted knobs and shifted levers. The machine's humming steadily grew louder. “Feel anything yet?”

“No, not yet.”

Twilight continued adjusting the machine; she turned the knobs all the way and the shifted the levers into their full upright positions. “Anything yet?”

“No, sorry.”

“This is unexpected. The machine's already at maximum power. Spike, can you watch the light's on Fluttershy's helmet? I'm going to have to supplement the machine's power with my own.”

“Sure thing!” Spike nodded and fixed his stare at Fluttershy's helmet.

“I'm not touch—oops.” Pinkie pressed a button. Nothing happened. Applejack nearly fainted.

Twilight affixed a helmet to her head much like the one Fluttershy wore, except that it had a hole for her horn. With it strapped on, Twilight channeled magic and her magenta glow snaked through the wires into the machine, and back through the wires again to envelop Fluttershy.

Fluttershy's eyes darted around at this development. “Still nothing.”

Twilight's horn started to spark, and the machine whirred to the point where it sounded like screeching.

“Nothing ye—wait, I do feel something. It kind of feels like I'm covered in bugs.”

Twilight canceled her magic and hit the shutoff switch. The machine whirred down to a stop. “Spike, which lights were on?”

“Seven on the top row, none on the bottom.”

“Seven point zero!? That's absurd! That reading makes no sense.”

“Why doesn't it make sense?” Rarity asked.

“Why doesn't it make sense? I'll tell you why! The normal reading is only a four, that's why.”

“That's only a three point difference. Is that really a big deal?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It is on a logarithmic scale. Three points is three orders of magnitude. That's a thousand times more magic than she should have. If anything, Fluttershy should be below normal since she's missing her cutie mark, not leaps and bounds above.”

“Ya think the machine's broken?” Applejack asked.

“Uh, well, maybe, but you saw how much magic I put into it. Even if the calibration's off, it still had to be at least a six.” Twilight unclasped Fluttershy's bonds and she hopped down from the uncomfortable table.

“Too much magic—is that... bad?” Fluttershy asked.

“Um, now that you mention it, I don't think so,” Twilight said. “If it was, then I'd be in a lot of trouble.”

“That still sounds off, though. Where is all that magic coming from?” Rarity asked.

“It can't be from her special talent; that's gone. No offense, but Fluttershy's never been a strong flier, so that rules out her racial magic. That just leaves outside influences, but...?”

“Is the Element of Kindness really that strong?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“What? Heh-heh, of course, I'm sure that's what it is. There's nothing to worry about, after all. Congratulations, Fluttershy, you're as healthy as a horse.” Twilight smiled.

“Um, okay, if you say so.” Fluttershy frowned and rubbed her back.

“Shouldn't you be happier to hear that?” Rarity asked.

“Well, it's just... for a moment I felt like I was covered in bugs. They were crawling under my skin.”

“That is an unusual reaction, yes, but it's probably just stress. I'd recommend getting a good night's sleep and you'll feel better tomorrow.” Twilight started yawning and couldn't seem to stop. She yawned for a long time. “Yikes, in all this excitement, I'd forgotten just how tired I really was. Let's try to get a good night's sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow, after all.” Twilight ushered them out of the basement and turned the lights off behind her. She then walked up to her own room and fell over on her bed, comatose. Spike had to tuck her in because she was already asleep.

The others dispersed as well, but Fluttershy stopped Applejack on her way out. “Applejack? I know the numbers came out fine, but, I'm still very worried. I know you don't put much faith in all this magic business, so...”

“Aw, sugarcube, you can trust Twilight. Ah don't much care for the pampered unicorn lifestyle but that don't mean she's off about other stuff. She's got a good head on her shoulders and ya can trust her to do her best. Heck, I'd even be the one twistin' the knobs and pullin' the levers if she asked me to.”

“Thank you, that does make me feel better, but there is one other thing–” Fluttershy walked out the door and pointed her hoof at the southern sky “–I can't help but wonder how Linky's doing out there. I don't like her very much at all, but at the same time, I still hope that she's doing okay. Is that wrong?”

“Well, she does have yer cutie mark. If something terrible happens to her ya might never get it back.”

“So you think I'm selfish? Is that it?” Fluttershy's eyes narrowed and Applejack recoiled at the sight of them.

“What? No. Ah don't mean it like that. Don't, er, yer animals depend on your cutie mark too?”

Fluttershy burst into tears and ran off crying.

“What? No, don't cry! Ah'm sorry. Wait, Fluttershy. Please don't cry.” Applejack couldn't keep up with her as she flew off into the night. “Sorry, sugarcube.”