Oh my! What has Apple Bloom stumbled into? I guess we'll find out. I'll keep it short and sweet up here. So, thank you goes out to all those that have taken their time to read my story. Sorry. No shout outs this time around.

Chapter Sixteen

The Cutie Mark Thief

They just stared at her in disbelief. Their minds and ears were still absorbing what Apple Bloom had just said. She had spoken clear, but rather quickly. But there was no mistaking what she said. It had to come out; it refused to stay hidden. It rolled off her tongue like a 'hello' or a laugh. Apple Bloom felt guilty that she couldn't keep it to herself. At least until she could confirm what she saw.

"Okay…," Scootaloo was finally able to speak, "Soooo… you're telling us that you saw Trinny…"

Apple Bloom nodded her head.

"And she didn't have her blanket on," she went on, "and when you looked to her flank…," this was the hard part, "… you didn't see anything… nothing… nada… zip…"

"Yup…," Apple Bloom confirmed.

"How is that possible?" Sweetie Belle couldn't believe her ears, "Trinny has to have a Cutie Mark. All ponies do," she looked to every pony.

"Maybe there was lotion over her Cutie Mark?" Babs Seed suggested.

"I thought the same thing," Apple Bloom lowered her eyes, "but, there wasn't any lotion that I could tell on her flank… and the towel wasn't covering it either…"

All sorts of thoughts ran through their minds, but none of them seem plausible. Apple Bloom ran through a hundred scenarios. Each one more ridiculous than the last. There had to be a reason why Trinny didn't have a Cutie Mark. There just had to be.

"We're not going to find answers just standing around here," Apple Bloom stomped her hoof, "We have to do something."

"Maybe we should go ask Trinny?" Sweetie Belle proposed.

There was an uneasy silence. Every pony was thinking it, but none of them would dare say it. They could ask Trinny and clear up the whole matter. There was the 'what if' that bothered them. It was true that Apple Bloom could have just been mistaken, but what if she wasn't. What if Trinny… didn't have a Cutie Mark?

Apple Bloom thought for a moment, "Maybe we should do some research first?"

It seemed like the best thing to do. But who to talk to? Every pony they've talked to about Cutie Marks have only told them that they would get one when the time was right. No pony had ever said that they wouldn't get it. Every pony got their Cutie Mark; every pony.

"We could always try the library," Babs Seed thought it was the best place.

They all agreed. Surely the library would have something about why a pony wouldn't have a Cutie Mark. If anything, Twilight would be able to point them in the right direction. Of course, she was one of the ones that kept telling them to be patient. They were going to have to be sneaky if they wanted to find out any information.

As quick as their hooves could carry them, the Crusaders ran back to the Golden Oak Library. Spike was sweeping the floor as they entered.

"Hey Spike," Apple Bloom quickly greeted him.

"Back so soon girls?" Spike was confused to see them.

"We need a book…," Apple Bloom's eyes wander over the shelves and shelves of book.

"Well," he leaned on the broom handle, "You've hit the mother lode."

"We're looking for something specific," Scootaloo started to wander from shelf to shelf, "Something about Cutie Marks."

Spike smirked as he rolled his eyes, "Come on girls," he leaned the broom up against the wall, "You know that you'll get your Cutie Marks. You just have to give it time."

"It's not that!" Sweetie Belle almost yelled, "I mean…," she quickly thought of something, "We were interested because of… of… um…," she just couldn't think of an excuse.

Babs Seed picked up for her, "We were looking for other stories about Cutie Marks because the story that Twilight is reading. We wanted to… research… and stuff."

"Did some pony say research?" Twilight walked down the stairs, "Are you girls doing research?"

"Um… something like that," Apple Bloom wasn't sure what to say.

"I would love to help you girls, but," Twilight started back up the stairs, "I have my own research to do. Spike can help you find what you need. Good luck," she disappeared.

Apple Bloom looked to Spike, "What's she researching?"

Spike shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. She said something about a nightmare and the Moon in the middle of the Sun."

"The Moon in the middle of the Sun?" the idea sounded absurd to Scootaloo, "How would that even happen?"

Spike only shrugged his shoulders again.

"Anyway," Apple Bloom wanted to get back to what they were there for, "Are there any books that talk about why a pony wouldn't have a Cutie Mark or maybe how a pony would lose one…?"

Spike scratched his head, "Nothing like that… Oh wait!"

He ran over to Twilight's bag and rummaged through it. It took him a few moments to find what he was looking for, but eventually he was triumphant. Coming back to them, he opened the book.

Apple Bloom cocked her head to see the title of the book, "Isn't that the book that Twilight is reading to us?"

"Yup," he read through the table on contents, "I was looking through it… trying to figure out where it came from."

Scootaloo raised her brow, "What do you mean?"

"There are no records of this book existing in the library," he explained, "And Twilight didn't know where it came from. Oh," he found was he was looking for, "There's a story in here called The Thief of Destinies. I read through it," he handed it to them, "It's about a Unicorn that steals Cutie Marks."

"WHAT!?" they all yelled at the same time.

Spike placed his claws over his ears, "Shh! This is a library."

"Sorry," they apologized quietly.

"Thanks Spike," Apple Bloom took the book from him.

"Yeah. Thanks," they started to head out the door.

"Hold on there," he blocked their path, "How do I know you're not going to read ahead? And we're going to need that later," he tapped his foot up and down.

They looked to one another.

"How about if we read it here in the library?" Sweetie Belle suggested, "The book stays here and we stay in your line of sight so you can make sure we don't read the end of the story."

He thought for a moment, "Alright, that will work," he agreed.

"Thanks Spike," they set the book on a pedestal.

Quickly looking through the table of contents, they found the story Spike mentioned. Turning to the page, they started to read…

A long time ago, there was a Unicorn mare with an extraordinary talent. She could see a pony's Cutie Mark before it appeared. Ponies from far and wide would seek her out and beg for her to see their foals' Cutie Mark. At first she would do so willing. As time went by and more and more Ponies came to her, she grew greedier and greedier. Instead of freely telling the destiny of the foals, this gifted mare started to demand a tribute. Ponies would bring gold and jewels so that she would tell them what she saw. Soon she had more riches than she knew what to do with. Upon her piles of treasure she sat high and mighty.

One day an elderly mare came to see the Unicorn and ask if she would see what her granddaughter's fate held. All she had to offer was a small red apple. The gifted Pony looked down on the measly offering and laughed. Turning her back to the old mare, she exclaimed that she would never waste her abilities for such a paltry gift. She turned the old mare away and told her to come back with a pile of gold or large jewel. The elderly mare just clicked her tongue and went on her way without a word. The Unicorn soon forgot about the old mare and continued to wallow in her riches.

One day when she awoke, she was horrified to find that her Cutie Mark was gone. She didn't know what to do or why it was gone. There wasn't time to ponder though, ponies with their young foals were lined up outside her door. Throwing a blanket over her blank flank, she began to see the waiting parents. All day long she looked at foals, but she couldn't see what would be on their flanks one day. Growing tried and frustrated, the Unicorn closed her doors and refused to see anyone else. For days she paced back and forth trying to figure out where her Cutie Mark had gone.

"A wasted gift is no gift at all," a voice whispered to her.

She looked around to find the old mare that had visited her days before was sitting on her largest pile of gold and jewels.

"I knew you would be a very special pony," the old mare continued, "But to see your amazing ability be twisted," she began to grow, "I cannot allow this precious gift be in the hooves of a selfish pony like you…"

There stood, not an aged mare, but a large Alicorn with three heads. She looked like the night sky, filled with stars and the moon. Towards her flanks sat what looked like the rising sun.

"I had hoped that the innocence that was in your heart would remain," the Alicorn shook her three heads, "Greed has taken its place and there is now no room for anything else. You were blinded by your vices and therefore your gift has been pushed out," she spread her mighty wings, "Soon you will forget who you were. Only if you can find the innocence that you have lost will your destiny return. Abandon the riches of the Earth and look to those that you were once like. Find what you have lost in those that have yet to find theirs. Return to who you once were…," the Alicorn faded.

The Unicorn, so scared by what she had just seen, ran from her home. She ran and ran until she couldn't remember why. She couldn't remember who she was or what she had done. All she could remember were whispery words.

"… Find what you have lost in those that have yet to find theirs…"

She knew that she had lost something that she had found when she was young. It was in the young fillies and colts that she would find what she lost. From town to town, the Unicorn would go; searching for fillies and colts that had just found their special talent. Into their rooms, she would sneak at night. To steal away their Cutie Mark. She would hope that theirs would fill her empty heart. The Mark would stay for a day, but soon fade as hers once did. Once again, she would go in search of another. The colts and fillies that had their Cutie Marks removed, would run to the Everfree Forest, not knowing who they are and filling empty. They would never be heard from again.

As for the selfish Unicorn, she still wanders to this day; looking for a Cutie Mark that will stay. Beware the friendly Unicorn, this story does warn. She looks not for a friend; only her heart does she want to mend. Your Cutie Mark she will take; when she leaves, your heart will break. Respect the gift that is in your heart; be not like the Unicorn who thought she was smart; less you wish for your Cutie Mark to part.

They looked to one another. The story they just read… about a Unicorn who had no Cutie Mark. She wore a blanket to hide it. She moved from place to place in search of her next Cutie Mark. She was friendly to fillies and colts. She sounded a lot like…

"Trinny…," Apple Bloom gulped.