Applejack stood crying over the bed her brother rested in while Twilight laid a comforting hoof on her shoulder.
"What happened Big Mac?" Applejack sobbed into the sheets. "What happened after ya left this mornin?"
"I had Spike send another letter to the princess," Twilight said. "Too much has been happening and I still don't know what to do." Twilight's shoulders sagged, "I still haven't heard back from her on the other letter though. I was hoping she'd write back right away."
"Darling, I'm sure there's a good reason she hasn't written back yet." Rarity said consolingly. "I imagine we're not the only ones she worries about."
"I know," Twilight slumped down on the floor. "I just feel so lost right now."
"Ah'm not hearing anything that brings us any closer to helpin poor Big Mac," said Applejack, not once taking her eyes from her big brother.
"Ooo," said Pinkie as she began to hop through the room. "Maybe that super special magic that Twilight just got can help us somehow." She held up two hooves. "The stuff that was over here," she shook one hoof. "Is now over here," she shook the other hoof. "Maybe they're connected like a BIG piece of bubblegum," she held her hooves out wide and slapped them together. "I once got some gum stuck in my coat once. It was the worst. Not near as bad as that time it got stuck in my mane though." She ended with a big smile.
"Anyone else have trouble following that?" Said Rainbow. Everyone else in the room nodded along.
Pinkie gave an exasperated sigh, "ugh. It's like when you know there's a cake being cooked somewhere and you just gotta follow your nose until you find it."
"Forgive me, darling. But why are we now talking about baking?" Asked Rarity.
Pinkie stomped a hoof on the ground in frustration, "why do you girls gotta be so difficult sometimes." She got up behind Twilight and grabbed her head with both hooves. She then bodily dragged Twilight until she was standing right beside the bed and facing her head towards the stallion lying on the bed.
"Pinkie!" Complained Twilight. "What are you..."
"Less talking, more glowy magic voodoo eyes," ordered the bouncy pink menace.
Twilight's eyes grew wide once she realized what Pinkie was getting at, "you're a genius!" She exclaimed
"No I'm not," said Pinkie as she stepped away, annoyed. "I'm Pinkie Pie. Geez, Twilight, I figured you'd get my name right by now."
Twilight shook the madness from her head and refocused on the figure on the bed, "I'm gonna try it. Maybe we can get a clue."
"What exactly are ya tryin, Twi," Applejack looked up, only to jump back when she found two brightly glowing eyes looking in her direction. "Whoa nelly!" She exclaimed. "Warn a mare when you're gonna be tryin crazy stuff like that."
Twilight looked down and into the still form of Big Macintosh. It was strange. Unlike the other ponies she had looked at with this ability, his body seemed strangely hollow. It was like someone had removed all the magic from his body. Well, almost all of it. She could see a little bit of it still left deep in his center, probably centered around his vital organs.
"How strange," she noted aloud.
"What is it, Twi? What do ya see?" Asked Applejack as she watched with growing concern.
"The way the magic has been removed almost seems clinical. It's like whoever did this purposely stopped right before going too deep." Twilight said as she continued to inspect him.
"Can Ah get that in proper equish?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Big Mac's not in any immediate danger. There's just enough magic left in him to keep him breathing." Twilight amended.
Applejack sagged backwards as she breathed a sigh of relief, "you don't know how relieved Ah am to hear that."
"Hmmm," Twilight thought aloud as she continued looking at the magic lingering inside him. "That's odd."
"What? What is it Twi?" Applejack stood back up at full attention.
Upon closer inspection, Twilight could see a small tether of magic leading out from his center and it was making a straight line through a nearby wall. She walked along the line and looked back at the bed, "some of his magic is forming a path of some kind. What's in this direction again?" It was hard to tell while they were indoors.
"I think the park is in that direction," said Rainbow Dash.
Twilight nodded, "we might learn something if we follow this." She gestured to the line of magic that only she could see.
"Well let's not waste anymore time then," Applejack said as she adjusted her hat.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay here. We would understand if you did." Said Fluttershy.
"No can do," Applejack said firmly. "Ah'm not gonna mope around here when Ah can go out there and do something about it. That bein said, can Ah ask ya a favor, RD?"
"What is it, Applejack?" Asked Rainbow.
"Can you quickly swing by Sweet Apple Acres and tell Granny what happened to Big Mac." She said. "Ah need her to come up with somethin to tell Apple Bloom and Ah sure as shootin don't want my little sis seein her big brother like this."
Rainbow looked into Applejack's eyes, and saw how much her friend was hurting. "You can count on me AJ. I'll swing by there really quick and then meet up with you later."
"Thanks pardner," said Applejack. "Ah appreciate it."
"So you didn't find him there?" Twilight asked Fluttershy as they ran down the path.
"Not that I could tell," Fluttershy shook her head. "Cloud Kicker said he wasn't there, but she did say that Blossomforth has been a bit sick lately and that Random has been helping take care of her."
"Fluttershy dear," said Rarity. "Do you think she may have been lying?"
"I dunno, maybe," Fluttershy reflected. "Rainbow Dash was giving her that look like she was ready to start a fight."
Twilight would've facehoofed at that except that all four of hers were being used to run. She caught a look of Pinkie out of the corner of her eye, who actually was facehoofing and still keeping up with just three hoofs. The effect was ruined by the goofy smile she had though.
"Do I want to know what you're smiling about?" Twilight dared to ask.
"Cherry Chongas," she said as she kept smiling.
"Sorry I asked," she said, but she still found herself smiling at the response.
They continued to follow the trail that Twilight was following, her eyes lit up the whole time. They drew a few curious glances from the other ponies they passed on their way into the park. However, most of Ponyville had learned by this point that if those ponies were running together like they had somewhere to be, it was best to just stay out of their way. Trouble managed to start up around them a bit too often.
The trail eventually led to a small hill with a tree atop it. Laying beneath the tree was a pony they had never seen before. He had a light green coat and a blonde mane. They could easily see his cutiemark despite the fact he was lying on his back. It was a strange one though. It looked like vines with smoke curling around them. That may explain why he currently had a cigarette sticking out of his mouth as he relaxed in the shade. Next to him was a folded up lab coat with a pair of silver spectacles laying on top of them.
"Twilight, do you see that," Rarity said. "The doctor said something about an out of town physician that smelled like smoke."
However Twilight wasn't listening. The trail she was following pointed directly at the earth pony laying there. Not only that, her magical sight revealed him to be completely hollow except for a brown crystal she could see inside him. What really caught her attention though, was the sight of Big Mac's cutiemark suspended inside it.