Early afternoon in the Everfree Forest was as it had been for millennia. The cool breeze whistled through the gnarled trunks of the trees, the smell of damp earth from the recent rainfall wafted through the brush, and the long grass was alive with the movement of unseen critters scuttling on their way, disturbed only by the sound of a single set of hooves and a gentle voice.
"We're not flawless," Princess Twilight Sparkle sang to herself as she trotted down the path to Zecora's hut. Despite the trouble publishing the journal had caused, it had brought about a renewed understanding of each other, and rereading the book brought about nostalgia that she welcomed. The alicorn began humming her way through the rest of her song when a rustling in the underbrush caught her attention. She stood to her full height, ears swiveling to and fro in an attempt to locate the sound.
The rustling stopped and was replaced by a moan of pain. Twilight immediately broke into a gallop, veering off the path and into the depths of the forest. "Hello? Are you alright?" she called out as she approached the source of the sound.
Twilight rounded a tree and skidded to a halt before a Pegasus mare, ensnared in a bush. Twigs stuck out from her pink and white mane and tail, the bows tied in each torn to shreds. Her pale olive coat was matted with leaves and scratches from what had clearly been a violent crash landing. Her left wing was bent and held at an awkward angle, clearly broken. She looked up at Twilight with a dazed look.
"Wha' happened?" She murmured groggily. "Where am I?"
"That crash must have been a doozy," Twilight said, helping the mare stand and strip herself of the twigs and leaves. "I'll help you back to town. I'm Twilight, by the way. What's your name?"
The Pegasus opened her mouth to answer, then closed it, a confused look spreading over her face as her vermillion eyes roved back and forth.
"I don't remember," she whispered, some panic showing through. "I can't remember, I don't..." She fluffed her good wing and Twilight got a clear look at the mare's flank, where the cutie mark was.
Or should have been, rather. A round, ragged scorch mark covered the area on both flanks. At first, she thought this was the mare's cutie mark, till she saw the reddened flesh and shriveled fur. Twilight sucked in a breath with a sympathetic hiss.
"Let's get you out of here," the Princess declared, unfurling a wing and draping it over the Pegasus, whose confusion was turning to panic and fear. "I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this, but you need that wing patched up first. My friend Fluttershy's cottage isn't far from here."
As they walked, Twilight remembered an entry on amnesia from her studies and how it could be caused by physical or emotional trauma. It could be temporary or semi-permanent depending on the method of induction and severity. She hoped that this was only a simple case of emotional repression and not physical trauma.
But she had never heard of a case where the pony's cutie mark would vanish as well. Sure, there were ways to disguise a cutie mark, and she herself had had her own tampered with twice, but she couldn't fathom how this particular one had been removed.
The Pegasus walking alongside her was silent, but as they passed out of the forest and into the sunlight, Twilight saw that she was crying, tears streaming across her face.