"The south side of town is clear of debris. What's next boss lady?"

"Well," began the bespectacled, grey-maned earth pony before she was cut off.

"Great job Rainbow Dash, can you send some flyers up- and down-river? We want to make sure there's nothing damning the flow. Get everybody else working on the north side with Cheerilee's team."

"On it!" The cyan pegasus zoomed off. Sighing, the Mayor turned to the interrupter.

"Well Twilight Sparkle, I'm glad we can rely on you during this difficult time. Is there anything that I can do to help?" Like run my town, maybe?. The purple unicorn smiled back, her attention half on the clipboard levitating in front of her.

"No thank you, Mayor. I think we have things in hoof here. Besides I'm sure you'll have plenty to do when we get your office cleaned up. There'll probably be a pile of paperwork taller than town hall!" Chuckling, Twilight turned to address another of her team leaders, leaving the Mayor to stalk off, fuming.

Hah. Hah. Hah. She thought bitterly, What 'fun'.

~~~~~~

"Howdy Mayor, we're back from Canterlot. It all went great. Princess Celestia sends her thanks......uh, Mayor?"

"Rackum frackum lackum my town, not hers but nopony calls me boss lady rackum frackum." Completely oblivious to Applejack and Fluttershy, the Mayor's grumbling continuing until she vanished round a corner. Concerned, the cream-coated pegasus turned to her stetson-wearing friend.

"The Mayor seems down, do you think she's okay?"

"She's fine. Probably jus' tired and stressed from dealing with this all day. Best thing we can do is find Twilight and see what we can help with."

Soon enough the pair caught sight of their friend, working with two other unicorns to lift a runaway cart clear of the house it had crashed into. When the cart was safely removed, Applejack spoke up:

"Hey there sugarcube, nice work. Ah reckon it'd take me and Big Macintosh all day to shift that big mess and you took care of it jus' like that."

"Applejack! Fluttershy! Good to see you," she panted, wiping sweat from her eyes, "how did things go in Canterlot? Did you get to see the Princess? Hey, wasn't Zecora with you?"

"Everything went just fine Twilight, the Princess was very pleased. The zebras loved the gift apples Applejack brought and Zecora did a great job acting as interpreter. Princess Luna even made an appearance."

"Well that's good. We still don't see enough of her. Is she still TALKING LIKE THIS?" The three giggling at the memory.

"Naw, she's doin' fine. Actually it seems like she's takin' on a few more duties. Tryin' ta help her big sister I guess. Speaking of helping, anything we can do? We didn't rush back from Canterlot so we're still pretty fresh."

"Actually there was something you could do. Applejack, could you find your brother and get him working with the others on the east side of town? I sent him off a while ago and haven't heard back."

"Yeah sorry, we actually met up with him on the way back but he got sidetracked helpin' Pinkie at the edge o' town. He'll be along soon Ah'm sure."

"Helping Pinkie? What's she doing? I haven't seen her since she finished helping out at the hospital."

"She's just doing her part like everybody else. She said she 'n' Big Mac'll join Cheerilee just as soon as they're done."

Looking over her checklist, Twilight ticked off this new information, grimaced at what was left to do, then turned to Fluttershy.

"I dunno how to tell you this Fluttershy but...uh.....you know the storm came in from the Everfree Forest, right?"

"Yes? Is there a problem?" Twilight flinched at her friend's sincerity.

"Well......your cottage is right on the edge of the Forest." Twilight averted her eyes as the information sunk in. Pretty soon she and Applejack were diving for cover as Fluttershy rushed frantically about.

"Oh no oh no oh no! The animals! Are they okay? ARE THEY OKAY?"

"We-ll w-e do-n't kn-ow h-ow b-ad i-t i-s. Plea-se st-op shak-ing m-e!" Dropping Twilight as she was tackled by Applejack, Fluttershy still struggled to get free. Brushing herself down, Twilight continued,

"We don't know how bad it is yet. Rarity took the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Winona and Owluicious to try to round them all up. They could probably use both your help though. Why don't we head over that way? I need to check on Cheerilee's crew anyway."

~~~~~~

"Okay now we'll just make a quick stop off to see Cheerilee then we'll go to your cottage."

"Oh please hurry Twilight, I need to make sure they're all okay. All the birdies, and the critters, I want to see them all."

"Calm down sugarcube, if something was wrong Owluicious would have told Twilight by now, or we'd have the Cutie Mark Crusader Message Deliverers bouncing around."

"I hope you're right Applejack, I couldn't forgive myself if something happened because I wasn't here to take care of them."

"Listen to Applejack, Fluttershy. you know she wouldn't l-"

WHAM!

All three ponies were dazed for a few moments, only dimly aware of the brawling pair that had just run them over. Applejack recovered first and dived into the fray, trying to separate the two. It wasn't until Twilight used her magic that they were able to pin down Cheerilee's attacker.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK! HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT!" Flinching at the fire in her attacker's voice, as Fluttershy helped her to her feet, Cheerilee shakily responded:

"But Derpy, it's true. You don't have-"

"DON'T YOU DARE! IF YOU SAY IT AGAIN I'LL KILL YOU!" Still struggling, the cross-eyed pegasus was dragged off by two police stallions. Exchanging glances, the three fillies looked to Cheerilee:

"Don't look at me like that, I don't know either. All I know is we were working on cleaning up the town when Derpy drops out of the sky, barges her way into her home, which took a lot of damage by the looks of things, then comes out screaming for somebody called 'Dinky'."

"Oh no! Is she okay?" Confused, Cheerilee turned to Applejack.

"You know who that is?"

"O' course I do. She's a friend of Applebloom's. Ah'm disappointed in you Cheerilee."

"Me? Why?"

"Well ah thought you knew all them little foals you work with." Wincing at her sore ribs, Cheerilee now had a look of panic on her face.

"Applejack......I don't have any Dinkys in my classes. I told Derpy the same thing. Derpy said she was her daughter. I told her I didn't know she had a daughter, especially not one named Dinky. Next thing I know she's screaming and trying to buck my head in."

"I'm not surprised! She's..." Fluttershy coughed, interrupting Applejack's response. She looked Cheerilee in the eyes.

"Okay Cheerilee, can you follow my hoof with your eyes." Waving it back and forth, Fluttershy noted the reaction then had Twilight take the teacher to be looked over at the hospital. When they were safely away, the two began walking, Applejack soon breaking the silence.

"Now that's downright not good. Ah've never known Cheerilee to forget a student, ever."

"I know. From what I could see she could focus just fine so I don't think she's concussed. From what she said if sounded like she thought this way even before Derpy attacked her."

"But then what in the hay would make Cheerilee say that?"

"I'm not sure, maybe we should go ask Derpy for her side?" Tapping her chin, Applejack thought about it.

"Hmm....nah. At least not yet anyway. You saw the way she went off on Cheerilee. We should give her time to calm down.

We'll try tonight. In the meantime..." Fluttershy gasped, finally remembering where they were going.

"The animals!"

~~~~~~

After making the Cutie Mark Crusaders swear to never again go near her chickens, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack rendezvous'd with Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie at the library, Spike's snores floating down from the bedroom.

"How is miss Cheerilee faring, Twilight darling?"

"She's fine Rarity, a little shaken after what happened with Derpy but no lasting damage."

"Yeah, what was up with that anyway? I know she's a little loopy but I've never seen Derpy acting like that. You think you know a fellow pegasus, huh?

"Now hold on there, Rainbow. Derpy had a right to be upset! It ain't everyday someone you trust insults your family like that."

"What do you mean, Jackie? Who got insulted?"

"Pinkie, Cheerilee told Derpy that Dinky didn't exist. To her face! I don't think she meant to be hurtful but that's very cruel."

"Um, am I missing something here, Fluttershy? Who's Dinky?"

"Haven't you met her Twilight? I'm sure you had. Not even at Derpy's birthday last year?"

"Nooo, the name isn't ringing any bells. Who is she?"

"Yeah, tell us you two. I'll need to throw a new party if I've forgotten some pony."

Fluttershy and Applejack's eyes mirrored each other's. This wasn't some isolated incident, their friends wouldn't act this way unless something was seriously wrong. Unsure of what to do next, Fluttershy took a deep breath and turned to the four ponies.

"Girls, Dinky is Derpy's daughter."

~~~~~~

Their friend's worried calls still echoing behind them, the brash earth pony and demure pegasus hurtled at full sprint through the village streets.

"Applejack, I'm scared."

"Me too Fluttershy, this is serious. The girls, heck even Applebloom and her friends don't remember Dinky. There's just no way this can happen without some serious trouble a-brewin'. How in the hay can they forget somepony like that?"

"What can we do? If nopony remembers her, how are we going to find her?" Fluttershy was now gliding to keep up with Applejack, who sported a determined look.

"The most important person remembers her, Fluttershy, and we know exactly where she is."

~~~~~~

Soft sobbing was the only sound to be heard from the dark cell. A bundle of grey and gold lay huddled in the corner. Applejack, feeling the mood, let Fluttershy lead. The pegasus put on her kindest, most comforting smile and gently rapped a hoof on the bars.

"What do you want? Another pony going to tell me that my little filly was never born, that I'm not a mother, that my little muffin is all in my head and not out there, scared and alone? I don't want to hear it. Just......go away."

"No Derpy, I would never say that. I wouldn't hurt you like that, and Applejack wouldn't tell a lie either."

Having tensed, the bundle shifted enough to reveal a mismatched pair of eyes, red and tearful. Still smiling, Fluttershy continued:

"Derpy, we know about Dinky. We seem to be the only ones who do, just us three. We don't know why. We need your help. We have to find out the cause of this so we can find her." Lifting herself gingerly from the floor, the grey mailmare limped to the door, weakly grasping the outstretched hoof as hope crept into her eyes.

"You believe me? You remember my baby?" Desperate eyes focused on each pony separately as Applejack laid her hoof on top of the others.

"You betcha. We swear to Celestia we'll get your little girl back, safe and sound." Derpy collapsed, tears falling fresh from her eyes.

"Thank you! Oh Celestia, thank you!"

"Any time darlin', but we need your help. We gotta figure out why nopony else is speakin' the truth." Rubbing her eyes, the captured pegasus dragged herself to her feet.

"I...I don't know. I only arrived back in Ponyville a little while ago after a long distance run. After seeing the damage the first thing I did was head home to make sure that my little muffin was okay, but....but....I couldn't find her! The door was busted out and there was no sign!"

"Busted...out?" Warning bells sounded in Applejack's head, she opened her mouth to ask a question but Derpy continued:

"She wasn't anywhere! Her room was in shambles and the whole place was a mess. None of the neighbours had seen her leave, not even Carrot Top. I always told her to go to Carrot Top if she's worried and I'm not around. I tried asking around some more, then I ran into Cheerilee and..." Falling silent, the pegasus seemed to shrink in shame and despair. Fluttershy patted her hoof lovingly.

"We understand. You were worried sick and she told you that what you were worrying about wasn't real. You still shouldn't have attacked her but you can apologise later. Right now we need to find Dinky. She might not be the only pony missing either."

"Of that you can be sure. These beasts did not visit only your door." The zebra seems to appear out of thin air, her grey-on-grey providing the perfect camouflage within the shadows and slate.

"Zecora! Please tell me you've got some news."

"I bring a tale of beasts of the wild, I fear they are the ones who have taken your child."

"My Dinky! Who has her?"

"Devilish creatures born of the mist, they make their home in the Everfree Forest."

"Well what're we waitin' for? Let's go git 'er!"

Suddenly, two titanic sounds began to battle each other for dominance. The earth-shaking GONG of the clocktower matched might with the blood-chilling, demonic howling of unseen beasts.

Grimacing, Zecora bolted for the door, calling to those after her:

"Alas, I was too late. We must leave now or share Dinky's fate!"

"What about Derpy? We can't just leave her here. She can't get away!" Applejack tried to force the cage door, but the cell's occupant batted her hooves away.

"What happens to me doesn't matter right now. Applejack, you promised to get my daughter back, and I'm holding you to it. Now get out of here! I'll be okay so long as Dinky is safe."

"But-"

"APPLEJACK! Haven't you heard the saying, 'mother knows best'?" The conviction of those roaming eyes, stronger than any steel, all but forced Applejack out of the door. Grimacing, the earth pony reluctantly nodded.

"I understand. Stay out of sight, sugarcube. We're not bringing that filly back to an empty house, ya hear?" With that she dashed out after Zecora and Fluttershy.

Swiftly catching the pair, the workhorse voiced her concerns. Zecora nodded sympathetically but didn't change her heading.

"I have methods in play that fool their senses but only my home has adequate defenses. For the moment you two must be my guests, then we shall we about the mother's requests."

The trio vanished into the Everfree Forest as chaos reigned in Ponyville.

~~~~~~

A big crowd had gathered around by the time they got the cell door open. As it clanged to the floor, the grey pony within the box stood firm against the wraiths. With a cocky smile, she spread her wings as wide as she could.

"So you took my little girl did you? Don't you know not to get between a mother and her child?"

Still smiling as they closed in, Derpy Hooves charged.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3 Estimated time remaining: 34 Minutes