Fluttershy felt as though her trip to the hospital was a waste of time, and from the report she got back from them the feelings was mutual. All of her vitals turned out okay. She was showing signs of stress, but nothing required intervention yet. As for her missing cutie mark, well, they couldn't even classify her condition, let alone do anything helpful about it.

She also brought up the matters of her nightmares and relayed Twilight's findings on her magic level. Nurse Redhat wasn't interested in being a psychologist and Dr. Stable was more concerned about the abuse Twilight put the magic measurement machine through than he was about the fact that Fluttershy's value was so high. In the end, they gave her a clean bill of health and the standard generic, ignorable advice.

Fluttershy pushed through the double glass doors and walked back into the waiting room.

“Well, how'd it go?” Rarity asked.

Fluttershy passed her the slip of paper and let Rarity read it for herself. Rarity's eyebrows furrowed, but her eyes lit up once she got past the medical jargon to the part she could understand.

“Oh, so everything does check out. Your numbers look good. That's a huge relief. I guess Cadance was wrong and there really is nothing to worry about after all.” Rarity looked up at Fluttershy who wasn't smiling.

“I don't know, Rarity. It's not always about the numbers, is it?” Fluttershy turned away from her to look at a poster depicting a healthy circulatory system. She pointed a hoof at it. “This, all of this–” she made a sweeping motion to include the other posters in the room “–might be what I am, and it might be working right, but it's not who I am. I-I just don't know. I still feel like I'm at the end of my rope. I-if I can't get my cutie mark back soon...” She choked up.

“Oh come now, dear. I know you're worried, but aren't you exaggerating a bit too much? We are flesh and blood. We can't help it. It is who we are. As much as I'd like that to be otherwise, it's just the way the world works.”

“But–”

“You're right, of course. We're not mere beasts; we are more than just the sum of our parts. We've transcended our existence to a certain point, but even if the tip of the pyramid is crumbling, you've still got a huge foundation to stand on. You're not going anywhere, Fluttershy. I know things are bad, but they're not that bad.”

Fluttershy turned and grabbed her bill of health. “I guess you're right. Perhaps I am worrying too much.” She looked at the document again. “So, should I start on that eight glasses of water now or...?”

Rarity giggled. “Nopony drinks that much water. Not when we can drink tea instead. Come on, let's see if Twilight's gotten permission to search Linky's house yet.”

“Okay.” Fluttershy rolled up her document and stuffed it under a wing. Her dress had no pockets. “I would like a second opinion, though. After this investigation, I'm going to visit Zecora.”

Twilight Sparkle was losing a staring contest with the mayor. The elder tan earth pony furrowed her brows and slammed her hooves on her giant mahogany desk. The piles of papers stacked on either side and the mayor glaring down from the middle was too imposing a sight for the young unicorn, who shrunk down and wilted under her gaze.

“Twilight, I know how much you've helped this town, and that you come with good recommendations, but there's a procedure that has to be followed. I can't just bend the rules every time some pony has a hunch or there'd be complete anarchy. I'm sorry to say that no matter how nicely you phrase your request or how many times you ask, the answer is still going to be 'no.' ”

“But–”

“Please, Twilight–” Mayor Mare sighed and leaned back in her oversized swiveling chair. “–don't make this harder than it has to be. I've already given you as much leniency as I can. So unless you can–” The mayor stopped talking when there was a knock on the door. “You might as well come in. We were just finishing up in here.”

“Um, did I come at a bad time?” Fluttershy poked her head in the door.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight ran over and dragged her forcefully into the room. “Please, Mayor, we're doing this for her. Can't you see how weak and helpless she is?”

“Um, what?” Fluttershy was totally confused.

Mayor Mare leaned forward in anger. “Twilight, I've had just about enough of–”

“Wait. What's going on?” Fluttershy asked. She pulled free from Twilight and locked eyes with the mayor, who sighed.

“Twilight keeps begging for a search warrant for Linky's house and I can't give it to her. She's not on the police force and such approval would have to come from a higher authority than I have. No matter how many times I explain that, she just doesn't get it.”

“Why would you ignore orders from Shining Armor and Cadance?” Fluttershy asked.

Mayor Mare's eyes opened wide. She raised an eyebrow and scrunched up her muzzle. “What.”

“What do my brother and his wife have to do with this?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow of her own. “Captain of the royal guard? Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?”

“Oh? Oh!” Twilight stood up in realization. “Spike, do you still have that letter they sent me?”

After the first hour in the mayor's office, Spike had gotten bored and curled up in a corner to read comic books. He jumped to attention when his name was called. “Yep. I've got it right–” He took a deep breath and let let out a gout of flame. It materialized into a scroll. He reached for it, but Twilight whisked it away with her magic before he could grab it. He flopped his arms to his sides and frowned. “–here.”

“Twilight, I can't believe you were holding out on me.” Mayor Mare skimmed over the letter and frowned. She pushed it aside and signed off on a document waiting on her desk. She passed both papers to Twilight. “Well, everything checks out. Here's the search warrant and your letter back. Please make a copy of your report for our record books.”

“Thank you, Mayor. I won't let you down!” Twilight collected the documents and turned to leave.

“Oh, and one other thing–” they paused and turned to face the mayor who was giving them a serious look with narrow eyes and flat eyebrows. “–good luck. From the look of things, you're going to need it.”

“Um, thank you,” Fluttershy said. Twilight nodded before stepping out.

The Mayor Mare waved them off and let out a heavy sigh after they were gone. She rubbed at her forehead, then swiveled her chair around and peeked out the blinds. “It's not even noon yet and I already have a headache. I'm going to need so much ice cream when I get home.”

“Weak and helpless, am I?” Fluttershy asked with a smile.

Twilight made a weak laugh. “Well, you usually are.”

“Did you say 104, Pony Lane?” Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight nodded. “Huh, this must be her place, then.”

The house in question was a small house with tan siding and a wooden frame. Unlike its neighbors, its roof was made from clay shingles instead of thatch. Most houses belonging to earth ponies had some kind of garden in their yards and Linky's house was no exception. She'd lined the walkway with rows of heart's desire and marigolds. The grass was a little high, but there were no signs of obvious neglect.

Twilight knocked on the door but got no response. She'd expected that and lit up her horn to unbolt the door. She frowned. It wasn't actually locked. “Alright, everypony, spread out and look for the obvious clues. We'll tear this place down if we have to, but for now we should respect the fact that this is still her home. Try not to make a mess and we'll decide what to do after a cursory inspection.”

They nodded and Twilight opened the door. The first thing that greeted them was a twisted tangle of metal lying on the floor. It had dent marks on it from where somepony had beaten it with a sledgehammer.

“What the hay is that thing?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Rarity levitated it with her magic and spun it around in front of her. “I... think it used to be a coat rack?”

“Why would anypony beat up a coat rack?” Applejack asked.

“Is that a clue?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight shrugged. “It's certainly something. Well, let's not dwell on that and see what else we can find.”

They set the poor, abused coat rack aside and filed in to search the place. Twilight and Pinkie explored the living room and kitchen, Rarity and Applejack looked in the work room, and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash went upstairs to check the bedrooms and closets. Spike stayed outside to search the yard.

Linky's workshop was connected, but it was different from the rest of the house. The addition was made from brick and had a cold, stone floor. Metalworking tools were piled up in a heap next to an anvil and a furnace. There were several bins lining the walls and all of them were piled to the top with horseshoes. Everything was covered in a layer of dust.

“What is all of this stuff?” Applejack asked. She poked her nose in one of the bins.

Rarity joined her and looked in the other bins. “Horseshoes, they're all horseshoes.”

“There must be hundreds of them,” Applejack said. “Why would anypony ever want so many horseshoes?”

Rarity left the bins and walked over to look at the tools. There were tongs and hammers and several things Rarity couldn't identify. “I think... she made them?” Rarity blew off a layer of dust from the anvil. “Everything is so dusty, though. Nothing here's been used in a long time.”

“What's this?” Applejack pulled out a sign that was wedged behind one of the bins. It was made for the market and had the word 'Horseshoes' printed on it in big, black letters. Beneath it was the price, 'four bits', which was crossed out and replaced with 'three', then 'two', then 'one', then 'free'. “Free? What the hay? Why would anypony want to give their stuff away for free?”

“That is pretty generous of her, but she still has so many...”

“What do ya suppose that means?”

Rarity shook her head. “I don't know, but do I get the feeling that this is part of her past that she'd rather leave forgotten.” She dusted off a metal work bench and promptly sneezed. “Ick, the old grime in here is starting to get to me. As interesting as this place is, I doubt that we'll find any relevant clues here. I do hope the others are having better luck.”

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy opened one of upstairs doors and walked into a bedroom. It wasn't well furnished; there was only a bed and a nightstand. The bed was disheveled and unmade and there was a pile of books on the floor.

“So, uh, what are we looking for?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It feels really awkward walking in on somepony's private life like this.”

Fluttershy glanced around the room. There weren't even pictures on the walls. “Well, um, I don't know. Anything, really. I guess we'll know when we see it.”

Rainbow Dash stepped in and picked up a book. “Hey, Daring Do and the Temple of Time. That's one of my favorites.”

“She has all kinds of Daring Do books. She must really be a fan.” Fluttershy picked up a thicker tome. “An encyclopedia on cutie marks? I didn't even know they made those.” There was a strip of cloth dangling out. Out of curiosity, Fluttershy opened it to the bookmarked page. She frowned. “Hey, that one's mine.”

“Ouch. She really did single you out, didn't she?” Rainbow Dash looked around for a place to put the Daring Do book and grumbled. “Why does she not have a bookshelf? Daring Do is too awesome to just sit on the floor like that.”

Fluttershy was too engrossed in reading about her cutie mark to respond. The book didn't mention her specifically but it was eerie just how accurate the entry was. The only part that didn't match was the bit about enjoying tulips. She preferred poppies.

Reluctantly, Fluttershy closed the book and left the pile of literature to peek in the closet. Linky had a grand total of three dresses, all of which were moth-eaten. Fluttershy frowned. When she got her cutie mark back she'd have to remember to scold those moths. Also in the closet were stacks of posters, paintings and family photos. Strange, why were they piled up in the closet instead of hanging on the walls?

“Well, there's nothing useful in here... I think.” Fluttershy closed the closet. “Any other interesting books?”

Rainbow Dash set the Temple of Time book on the nightstand and rummaged through the pile again. “Well, aside from the Daring Do books, there's some self help books on improving one's destiny, a collection of poetry by somepony named Maud, a rhyming dictionary, what the hay is Feng Shui?...” Dash's voice trailed off as she sorted through titles that didn't look relevant. “Wait, what's this? The Terracanium: Magic for Earth Ponies? I've never heard of anything like that before.”

“But earth ponies already have magic. Why would—?” Fluttershy stopped talking when she saw the cover. It was bound in a plain, tan fabric but it had some reddish-brown splotches on it. “Is that... blood?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed at one of the splotches. She cringed when dried flakes came off. “Sure looks like it. Think this is what we're looking for?”

Fluttershy nodded. “That has to be it. Let's check the other rooms up here before heading downstairs, though—just in case.”

Back downstairs, Twilight and Pinkie Pie looked through the living room. Twilight was immediately drawn to a writing desk that was fully stocked with quills and ink. She shifted through the stacks of paper, but all of them were blank. She frowned.

Also in the room, the dining table was bare except for a dirty plate and a recent copy of the newspaper. There was a bookshelf that was mostly empty, a cabinet full of fancy dinnerware for entertaining guests, and a large grandfather clock. The pendulum was unmoving, though. It was broken. There was also a trash can that had swallowed a certain pink pony up to her waist.

“Pinkie, get out of there.”

The trash can fell over and Pinkie managed to pop herself out. Wads of discarded paper rolled all over the clean floor. Her eyes popped open and she shook her mane, flinging bits of dirt around the room.

“Ack, Pinkie. Why don't you go search in the kitchen?”

Pinkie grinned and hopped off. “Okie, dokey, loki.”

Twilight frowned at the mess. “Great, now I need to clean this up.” She started to sweep up the refuse with her magic, but curiosity got the better of her and she uncrumpled one of the papers. At first glance, it looked like it was full of gibberish, but it was a familiar gibberish. Twilight narrowed her eyes. On the margins of the paper were notes that had been crossed out. “Those are Eponia's notes! It looks like Linky's been trying to decode them.”

Twilight sat down at the table and gathered up all of the papers that had been thrown away. None of them held the secret to decoding that old adventurer's notes, but they could still be useful in that regard as examples of what not to do. If Linky had managed to decode that journal, it would be more important than ever for Twilight to decode it as well. She took advantage of the writing desk to make notes of her own.

Pinkie Pie wiped crumbs off her cheeks. Her 'interrogation' of a carrot cake proved unfruitful, but tasty.

Twilight was still at work when the others returned. She gathered up all of the notes and set them aside to take with her. Rarity and Applejack mostly shrugged and shook their heads at their findings, but Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash produced a book that made Twilight's eyes bug out.

“The Terracanium!? That book's been missing from the restricted archives at the Canterlot library since my junior year at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. They made such a big fuss over it when it went missing that I thought the world was going to end.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Sure, it's unusual and all, and a little creepy—what's with the blood? But, uh, isn't it just a book that teaches earth ponies how to use magic? Isn't restricting something like that a bit racist?”

“Dash, you don't understand. It's hard enough for unicorns to manipulate magic and we're born with the ability to do so. Whenever something like this pops up, it either doesn't work at all, or it does work but has horrible side effects. If this is the type of magic Linky used to steal Fluttershy's cutie mark, then she could be in some serious trouble.”

“Who's in trouble? Linky or Fluttershy?” Rarity asked.

“Uh, I don't know. Linky, probably. I'd have to read the book and find the spell she'd used to know for sure.” Twilight flipped the book over and frowned. “It would have been nice if she'd used a bookmark.”

“How do you even know she used it?” Dash asked.

“The book has blood on it. It's no guarantee, but bloodletting's typically a requirement for ritual magic like this.”

“Ah.”

Twilight winced and gently pushed the book away. She stuck out her tongue. “Eww, it has actual dried blood on it.”

“Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes?”

“If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Zecora. Um, that is, unless you need me here.” Fluttershy scratched a hoof on the hardwood floor.

“Huh? Oh!” Twilight's eyes popped open. “That's a good idea, but you might want to wait until I've had a chance to look in this book. If we know what was done, we'll have a better chance at finding a remedy.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Okay... I'll wait until after lunch to talk to her. I'd like to check on my cottage. Even with Carrot Top there, I'm still a little worried about the kids.”

“That's not much time. Did anypony happen to notice where the ritual might have taken place? If I can match the props with the diagrams it would help a lot.” Twilight hesitated to touch the book and magically levitated it with a pinch of her magic on the book's spike. She flipped through the pages looking for signs of dried blood or anything stuck between them. She didn't see anything.

“Try the guest bedroom,” Rainbow Dash said. “We saw several candle nubs around the room. The floor was cleaned recently but there were some stains on the carpet.”

“Ah. That will help, thanks. If anypony wants to stay here, you're welcome to keep searching for clues. Otherwise, you can do as you wish. I'll meet up with Fluttershy at her cottage after lunch.”

Fluttershy nodded.

Applejack glanced at the door. “Uh, if it's just the same, Ah'd like to bow out and get back to work on the farm. I'm running behind on my chores recently and with Apple Bloom at Fluttershy's place it's a bit much for Big Mac to handle everything.”

“Of course, dear. We understand. Why myself, this dust has really messed up my coiffure.” Rarity pawed at her mane and stirred up some dust that had collected on it. “I'm going a for a relaxing trip to the spa, myself.”

“Wait, aren't we forgetting somepony?” Pinkie asked. They all looked at each other and raised eyebrows at her. “Somepony short?” Pinkie added.

“Oh!” Twilight ran over to a window and forced it open. “Spike, did you discover anything interesting outside?”

Spike had discovered that Zapp was crushing on Saddle Ranger, but blamed her attraction on being exposed to Mane-iac's pharomorphic perfume. He quickly stashed his comic book in a bush. “Uh, no, sorry. There isn't anything interesting out here.”

After that, the group split apart and they went their separate ways.