Author's Notes:

It took some time, but here it is! The continuation of The Search for Derpy Hooves

Episode 22 (Part 2): The Search for Derpy Hooves
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As the bright, shining sun begins to lower in the late afternoon sky, Chupa lets out a sorrowful sigh at the seemingly hopeless endeavor they're facing. It's been a long, tiring day of non-stop searching for these four little fillies throughout the entirety of south Ponyville, and not a hair nor feather pointing to Derpy Hooves' location has been discovered. She's had the help from the members of the CMC MkII, save for Majus who's keeping the party in the center of town going, and has looked everywhere that she could possibly think of. They've asked shopkeepers, random passersby on the street, and even visited the post office where Derpy worked. Nopony knew anything, and it was beginning to seem pointless. From Glass Jaw at the fine china shop to the mare's closest friends and co-workers, all of their options have been thoroughly exhausted.

Just ahead of her, the other three are running around asking everyone in the near vicinity if they know anything. Even those who they've already asked. By this point, a faint rumble begins to build deep within the pits of Chupa's stomach, and she realizes that she hasn't had anything to eat or drink in hours now. She's sure that the other three have to be just as hungry as her, if not more so. So she decides that it's as good a time as any to take a quick break for some food. Maybe they can even formulate a new plan while doing so.

She shouts out to them, and within a second they stand before her at full attention, asking if she'd found anything. Their disappointment upon learning that she hadn't is heartbreaking in and of itself, but at the same time, it's also encouraging to her. To see these three young ponies this determined to help find Derpy, and this sad at hearing no news, is amazing in this day and age. Most fillies wouldn't even give this kind of thing a thought. They'd only care about having fun and stuff that concerns them. The CMC MkII are certainly a step above the rest it seems.

"Listen girls," Chupa says to them with a gentle smile, her tone mature for her age in an almost big-sister like fashion, "we've been looking for quite a long time now. I think we all deserve a little reward for our efforts. How about I take you down to the south market and get us all something to eat?"

Realizing their own growing hunger, the three giggle slightly and then in unison, shout out, "YEAH!" So she begins to lead them away, heading about a ten minute trot directly south to where the stands of the marketplace are set up. When they arrive amongst them, the wafting smell of the fresh fare coming from each makes all four fillies drool in anticipation. One specific stand captures their attention. Behind it sits a burly stallion selling some delicious, hot, butternut squash soup in bread bowls. However, as they rush over, a sudden soft voice steals away all of their ears.

Walking up to them is a yellow pegasus pony. On her head, resting over her long pink mane that's braided to one side, she dons a green headband adorned with some small, yet very beautiful, flower caps. They retain their freshness and lovely smell, most likely through an enchantment. On the mare's front hooves are multiple bracelets of varied colors, and three pink and blue butterflies seem to radiate from her flank. This is the first time Chupa's seen Fluttershy dressed in such a manner. It's odd for sure, but yet still somehow undeniably beautiful. It's almost as if she were embracing the very essence of nature itself, becoming one with it.

"Hello Miss Fluttershy, what are you doing here? You certainly seem dressed up today," she says to the older mare.

Blushing in embarrassment, Fluttershy explains, "Oh...well, uh...this was my friend Tree Hugger's idea. She says it'll help release my inner chakras and make me feel at one with nature. Oh, but I'm here just to get some food for my animal friends. They just love the fruits and veggies that the south market sells. Heh, I remember this one time when I came here to get some ingredients I needed to make a special salad for Angel. I ended up meeting Rarity and Pinkie Pie here, and it became, well, an interesting day to say the least..."

The sudden mention of her long lost friends causes the pony to tear up. It's been a decade since she's seen Pinkie or Rarity, and even if Pinkie does some day return to town, she'll never see Rarity again. Seeing this, Chupa quickly changes the subject and asks the mare, "Have you heard about Derpy Hooves? She's been missing from her home for some time it seems, and her daughter Amethyst has asked us to help find her."

"Oh! That's terrible," Flutershy squeaks out in shock, hooves raised to her mouth, "and I was wondering why another pony from the post office was delivering my mail for the past couple of days. Oh, I so wish I could do more to help, but I honestly don't know where she could've gone. She's a good friend of mine from when we were younger too. Me, her, and our other friend Bulk once even helped Rainbow Dash out with qualifying for the Equestria Games, and later on, competing in them."

"Bulk?" Chupa quickly asks, not wanting Fluttershy to begin sulking over saying Rainbow Dash's name too.

"Bulk Biceps, right!? He's a professional body builder!" Honeysuckle suddenly pipes up out of nowhere. Everypony turns to look at her in surprise, which only makes the young filly blush before explaining further, "Bri had come home one time from a trip to Trottingham. She told me this story about him, and said that he used to compete in the Equestria Games every year, always competing in different events. She also said he once tried to join the Wonderbolts, and even helped raise water from the Highland Reservoir to Cloudsdale for the weather team."

"That's right," Fluttershy affirms with a warm smile, "but don't let his outward appearance deceive you. He may be big and tough looking, but he's very sweet and kind. Unfortunately though, while he may have been a good lead long ago, Bulk moved to Trottingham eight years ago. He hasn't been in much contact with us back here since. That's probably how your sister heard about him. She might have even met him during her trip. Even if you were able to get there within good time to find him, he wouldn't be of much help. Have you tried the post office or Sugarcube Corner yet?"

"We have checked the post office, but nopony there has heard anything. We haven't gone to Sugarcube Corner though. Would the Cake twins know anything?" Chupa asks.

"Well, Derpy always did love muffins, and Sugarcube Corner is known for having the best in all of Ponyville. It'd be all of Equestria if it weren't for Sugar Belle over in Our Town. So that'd be the best place to look. I don't think Derpy would've gone all the way to get muffins from Sugar without telling anypony."

"Thanks for all of the help, Miss Fluttershy," Chupa says with a smile. She turns to the others and adds, "We don't have anypony currently checking out the central part of town actually. We'll be sure to head there and find out what we can from whoever we can. After some soup of course."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck. I wish I could help more, but my little animal friends need me to get back there." As she heads off to continue her shopping, waving to the four of them, the cogs in Chupa's mind begin to turn. Sugarcube Corner then? At this point they've more than exhausted their efforts with this part of town, so they don't seem to have any other choice. But wait, aren't the Cake twins at the party? As she steps into line, the other three following closely, she continues to think about what they're going to do. They didn't ask anyone at the party now that they think about it. They have to find out something, even if they have to crash the party to do so.

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Bitter tears stream down Star's reddened cheeks as she watches the actions of her two friends. One newer, and the other, her oldest and best friend, roll around on the hard ground throwing their hooves at each others faces. Screams of uncontrollable rage echo throughout the streets as they attack with vicious tenacity, the likes of which she's never seen before. She knows it isn't their fault. This is all Oblivion's fault. His influence is powerful, controlling the minds of those weakened by fear, even without them realizing it. But even though she knows not to blame her friends, she can't help but hate the sight before her. So with a loud outcry, she suddenly climbs to her hooves and rushes forward, ramming right in between the two and knocking both Bri and Scatter apart.

The two look at Star, anger etched into their expressions, and then to each other. Something seems to break in their minds right then, and their eyes widen. They look from themselves back to Star, and then once more to each other. It's as if they had awoken from a terrible dream, and at once, their eyes too begin to water. As they cry, Scatter and Bri hug each other and yell out their apologies, mortified by what they had been doing. Then, as they finish, a laugh escapes the earth pony mare as she turns to face her best friend.

"And I thought Chupa was the Element of Peace."

She can't help it. A laugh escapes Star as well, and soon after, Scatter. Before long, the three of them just sit there in the middle of the road laughing together, garnering more attention than they had been when fighting. It's good that their fight hadn't lasted long, Star thinks to herself, she probably would've broke if it had continued after that. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Star notices a mare she hadn't seen before. They certainly hadn't asked her about Derpy yet. So she points the mare out to her friends, who smile and nod, agreeing that it's worth a shot.

"Excuse us," Star says as they approach. Dark blue in coat, similar to that of Star actually, the pegasus mare has a mane of gold and sky blue. Her purple eyes travel constantly from place to place, as if looking for something. She glances over at the three, but returns to what she was doing before, seeming to ignore them.

"I'm sorry, are you busy right now?"

Sighing, the mare turns to look at Star and explains, "I'm surveying the town for a project, alright? I'm sorry that I can't talk much right now. So can you hurry it up?"

"Of course, my name is Star Rider. These are my friends Bri Happer and Scatter Brain."

"Star Rider? Interesting name. Mine is Starflight."

"Starflight," Star parrots, "that's beautiful. Anyways, we're actually searching for somepony. The mailmare, Derpy, is missing. We were just wondering if you might've seen here, or know anything about where she might be."

"I'm sorry, I actually don't live here. I'm just visiting town for this surveying job, so I don't even know who this Derpy pony is. If I knew anything, I'd tell you, but I don't."

Thanking the mare anyways, Star leads her friends away. So far, no luck at all. They have no clue where Derpy could have gone. Not even a slight guess. She just hopes the other teams are doing better than theirs, for Amethyst's sake.

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Sweet Apple Acres! Thanks to Walter Whinny, a friend of Cheerilee, they've gotten their first clue towards Derpy's location! Of course, he didn't say too much, just that he had seen a pony fitting their description flying off toward the farm this morning. But it's better than nothing, and much more than they had before hoof. Agelian is the most excited of all of them, considering how important this search is for him. After he was forced to murder his own fiancée by that bastard Oblivion, he'll do whatever it takes to make sure her mother is safe.

Terra understands his friends emotions well. He, after all, lost someone he loved because of that monster too. Though he never did get to tell Everglade how he felt. It's his biggest regret, but there's one thing he knows for sure now. She worked her brains out to serve and protect, to help the citizens of Equestria in every way. He would do the same in her memory, and it would begin with Derpy Hooves. He knows he has to save her, and protect her. Not just for Agelian or Amethyst. Not even just for his lost love. But for everyone who's lost somepony in these trying times.

Vinyl and Octavia came into this just today. They knew Derpy, but never closely, and never really knew Dinky or Amethyst at all. But when Agelian told Vinyl about his past with Dinky, and what he did to her, she understood. She loves Tavi with all her heart. She couldn't even begin to imagine losing her in the same way. She admires him for pushing past his sorrow and working to save somepony, and she wants to do what she can for him. Octavia was pulled into this by her marefriend. Vinyl didn't even warn her before just magicking her here from Canterlot. Yet she too finds the horror in what happened to Agelian, and the inspiration from him now. She doesn't truly understand, but she'll help however she can.

And now, the four of them have somewhere to go. No more endless wandering. Somepony from the Apple Family should be there to greet them, hopefully Apple Bloom or her husband. But anyone would be fine, as long as they can give whatever information they can on the missing mailmare. So they trot along, wondering why Derpy could've been headed to the farm in the first place. And why only this morning? Does that mean she's only been gone for less than a full day now? Or has she been gone for a while and only just today headed over here? So many questions, and only a hope for answers.

"So, I've never been to Sweet Apple Acres," Vinyl says, a slight chuckle escaping her, "is it cool? I mean, I'll go either way, but I'm just hopin' it doesn't cramp my mad style."

"Do you talk that way on purpose to annoy me?" Octavia jokingly responds, causing Vinyl to roll her eyes with a smirk. Agelian tells them both about the farm. It's fields of fresh produce, the gorgeous apple trees, and the well built barns. It's a sure sight to behold, and nothing like the city at all. Even homely little Ponyville is nothing as calming and serene as Sweet Apple Acres.

It takes them only about fifteen minutes to reach the farmland from the schoolhouse, and as they do, they are greeted by an air of, well, nothing. Not a sound reaches their ears outside of the clopping of their hooves on the dirt. Not a soul can be seen. Nopony harvesting apples, tending to the other crops, or even just hanging around. Thinking about it, Agelian doesn't remember seeing them at the party. But then, if that's the case, where could they be?

"Hmm, maybe they're at the house" Terra suggest, as if reading his friend's mind. They decide that it's worth a shot and head onward to the center of the land. A large farmhouse sits right there, surrounded by bales of hay and a few scattered trees. A small barn sits beside it, and a fenced in area for sheep sits not far away. As they walk up to the door, Agelian knocks a few times and backs up to await an answer. None comes.

He tries again, and even a third time. Only silence answers. Is no one home? Then where could they possible be? Were they at the party and they just didn't see them? No, thinks Terra, he would've seen Apple Bloom at least. She's one to stick out in a crowd. A bad feeling sends chills up their spines, and turning to the others, Agelian suddenly suggests, "Check the fields, look for clues. Not only for Derpy now, but for any sign of the Apple Family too. Something is clearly going on here."

They nod in agreement and spread out, heading to separate parts of the land. Agelian goes straight toward the orchard, feeling that it'd be the most probable place to find an Apple. Terra goes to the crop field, Vinyl checks the barns spread out around the farm, and Octavia searches the rest of the central area., as well as the paths leading every which way. For an hour, the four of them search and search as thoroughly as possible. As Agelian begins to come back from his overhead search of the orchard, feeling defeated and broken, a sudden shout awakens his attention.

"Oi! Everyone! I found something!"

Octavia's loud voice rings out through the empty farm, gaining the attention of the other three. They rush as fast as possible to the farmhouse where they find the grey mare awaiting them, holding up a grey feather. She smiles as Agelian shouts out in excitement, "This is hers! I'd know it anywhere! Where did you find it?"

"It was in the grass behind the barn here. I didn't notice it my first time over. I decided to double check and saw it there. It was good that I decided to check again, right Agelian? You had the same idea, didn't you?"

Looking at her, a confused expression spreading across his face, he asks her, "What do you mean?"

"Wasn't that you flying back over towards the orchard about ten minutes ago? I swear I saw a flash of blue."

"No...that wasn't me. I haven't been out of the orchard in an hour, not counting just now. But you're saying you saw somepony else then? A blue pegasus?"

"Could it have been part of the Apple Family?" Vinyl asks.

"No," replies Terra, "none of them are pegasi. Even those who marry into the family tend to be earth ponies. That means someone's watching us. Think about it. No one's around, and then as we near finish our search, one of us spots somepony mysteriously flying away. And then happens to find a feather matching those of Derpy? I have a feeling that you didn't see that feather there before, Octavia, because it wasn't there before. Whoever that was put it there for you to find."

"Could it be one of those Agents?" Octavia questions, remembering the incident with The Harad back in Detrot, and all the death and destruction caused by it.

"It's possible, but don't just assume," Terra replies, "either way, we have to take this seriously. This is definitely Derpy's feather, we know that for sure. The question remains of who left it for Octavia to find, and why."

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Running into the center of the town, Devlin and Zebasiz smile as they spot the large fountain right outside of town hall. The sun has just set, leaving an ethereal glow sitting on the horizon. As they approach, they see three ponies seated against the fountain. Looks of absolute forlorn failure adorn their faces. However, as they turn their heads up and see their friends galloping over, those expressions are replaced by that of excitement and hope. They stand to their hooves to greet the two stallions, hugging and laughing for a moment. However, neither Devlin nor Zeb can forgot telling them the horror that they discovered during their search.

"We were looking out for any information we could," Zebasiz begins, a sigh escaping him, "when we found a feather. I instantly recognized it as belonging to Derpy, as I had treated her in the past."

The news gains a gleeful cheer and joyous smiles from the others, but neither of the two stallions joins in with their friends. Bri, Star, and Scatter soon realize this and stop, waiting to hear the rest. Devlin then adds in, "We also found something else. Some kind of sand-like substance that wasn't native to Ponyville. So Zeb took me to visit Professor Siirak and see if we could find out what it was and where it came from."

"Who in the hay is Professor Siirak?" Bri curiously asks. Her already bright eyes seem to peak with a deep interest as she stares at her friend.

Zebasiz takes the question, telling her, "He's a friend of mine from overseas, but that isn't the point right now. We had the Professor analyze the sands for us, and through such we discovered that it's an organic substance that gave off an identical biological signature as a pony. It was a pony at one point. This is only a guess at the moment, but we believe that there must be another Agent here in Ponyville."

"The Harad!? Doctor Stangehooves!?" Scatter cries out in shock, thinking to those two and the other Agents of Oblivion, those they know and those they don't.

"I honestly don't know. It could be any of those we've already met, or even one we haven't. Either way, we have to be careful. If there is an Agent here, they could be after us. In the meantime, have you three learned anything regarding Derpy?" Devlin asks.

"Unfortunately we haven't," Star tells the two stallions, her look of sorrow returning, "we haven't found out anything."

Right as she finishes her sentence, they all notice four more ponies headed their way. A group of young fillies led by Chupa gallops up to them, joining their friends at the statue. They begin to give their report, and specifically mention what Fluttershy told them regarding Bulk Biceps and the Cake Twins. Noting that the later is a valuable lead they should definitely check out when they get the chance. Star smiles and nods in agreement, saying that it's definitely a good idea, but that they should wait for the others to meet up with them first.

As if on queue, Agelian's group comes up to them next. Alongside Terra, Vinyl, and Octavia, they reach their friends and after the same pleasantries, begin to swap stories. As their turn comes, Agelian explains the entire situation that led them to Sweet Apple Acres, and naturally, everything that happened when they were there. From the abandoned farm to the search, and finally, Octavia finding the feather and their belief that somepony left it for her to find. The last piece interests Zeb and Devlin most of all.

"So two of our groups found a feather. Do you think this mysterious blue pegasus left the feather for us to find as well?" Devlin asks. Everypony else shrugs and begins to contemplate what the significance of these feathers could be. Why would anyone leave them for their groups to find? And why only those two groups? Either way, they have to follow whatever leads they can. And as of now, it seems like that would be the Cake Twins.

"Wait," Chupa suddenly speaks up, "I just thought of something. If everypony at Sweet Apple Acres is missing, maybe it's tied in with Derpy's disappearance. If I remember correctly, Rich's Barnyard Bargains has a lucrative business relationship with the farm. Wouldn't it be a good idea to go there and ask if they know anything about the Apple Family? It might lead us to Derpy."

Everypony looks to Chupa in a mix of surprise and excitement. What she says makes sense. In fact, it's genius. The mysterious disappearance of not only Ponyville's most known mailmare, but an entire family who supplies the town with a good portion of it's food? This has to be connected somehow. In agreement, the now reformed group heads out to the large building that houses Ponyville's premiere wholesale market.

They soon arrive and enter right before the shop is set to close, all of them breathing heavily after the immense amount of running. As they catch their breath, they notice the shop's current owner, Diamond Tiara, standing not too far away. Judging from her tone and volume, as well as the look on the face of the pony she's speaking to, she's angrily lecturing him on what he did wrong or something of the sort. She's never been known for her tact, but her business sense is unbelievable. So the group heads over to her, and as she finishes with the other stallion, she sneers over at them and asks what they want.

"Hello Miss Tiara, we could actually use your help. I don't know if you've heard, but one of the town's mailmares, Derpy Hooves, is missing. We've been searching for her all day, yet haven't found anything. We even checked out Sweet Apple Acres, but weren't able to find anything there either, as the Apple Family seem to be gone too. We just wanted to know if you might know anything about where Derpy or the Apple Family are," Agelian explains to her.

A wily smirk on her face, Di shakes her head and asks them if they have any money. The question catches them all off guard, and so she explains that she doesn't give out anything for free, not even information. "This is a business here, you know. If you want the goods, you gotta have the bits. Now pay up or you're welcome to leave."

As the others begin to lodge their complaints, Agelian steps forward and pulls his wallet out of his saddlebag. He opens it up and dumps every last bit inside on the floor in front of Diamond Tiara and then steps back, lowering himself to her and begging for any information she can possibly provide. Laughing, the mare begins to count the money, but then to Agelian's dismay, says that it isn't enough for information as prudent as this. Once again, everyone begins to complain, and rightfully so.

Walking up, however, a grey-coated mare with a silvery-white mane and glasses smiles and tells them, "Everypony from Sweet Apple Acres went to a produce competition in Appaloosa today. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it."

"SILVER SPOON!" Diamond shouts in anger, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"

"Helping some ponies in need, and not trying to cheat them out of all their money. Can't you stop acting like a spoiled, selfish bitch for once? We're adults now Di, not fillies. I've long since made amends with the CMC and turned myself around. Yet you still go about insulting ponies and treating them like fertilizer. What do you get out of this? Does it make you feel big or important? Guess what, you ARE big and important. And not because you act like that, but because you're an amazing business pony. But face the facts, your family's business is going to the dumps. Ponies don't want to shop here when the owner berates her customers."

Everypony, especially Diamond Tiara, stares at Silver with shock. And at least for the group who had come in, with a little admiration. They've heard of the relationship between these two, and could've never expected Silver Spoon to speak in this way to the pony she's always followed. But they got the information they needed, and so before any more heat begins to form, they decide to make their leave. So the Apple Family is out of town, all of them. It's odd that nopony stayed behind to watch over the farm. So what does this mean then?

"We still don't know about Derpy," Star quietly says as they leave the building, "all we know is of the Apple Family's disappearance."

"DAMN IT!" Agelian shouts out in an unstable rage. The others try to calm him down, but he continues to cuss out nopony in particular and thrash around. "We've gotten nowhere! All this searching and asking around, and it's led nowhere! What was the point of all of this!? I just can't take this anymore! I killed Dinky, and now I can't even do a thing to help her sister find their mom!? What good am I if I can't even do that!?"

"Agelian, please calm..." Bri begins. Agelian shoves her to the side and begins stomping at the ground when suddenly, a nearby couple look over.

Walking up, Sweetie Belle and Button Mash approach them, with the former asking, "Oh my, what's going on here? Is he...is he alright?"

"NO! I'm not alright!"

Still yelling, Agelian tells the singer and her husband everything that's been going on. All that their group has gone through over the course of the day, and how it's led to them learning absolutely nothing. As he finishes, to his surprise and anger, Sweetie and Button both begin to laugh. Running forward, Devlin, Terra, and Scatter work to hold the enraged Agelian back. In response, Button steps in front of Sweetie in a defensive stance.

Sighing, Sweetie says, "Agelian, you have no need to worry. Derpy's perfectly safe. She went with the Apple Family to Appaloosa today."

The sudden revelation breaks the pegasus out of his rampage. His sudden stop sends the three holding him falling back in surprise. He just stares at Sweetie for a moment as she steps back in front of Button, pushing him back with an eye roll and smirk. Walking up to the formerly agitated stallion, she places a hoof on his shoulder and tells him and everypony else exactly what happened to Derpy Hooves.

"I'm telling you the truth. She went with Apple Bloom and the others."

"But why would she do that?" Star suddenly asks for Agelian, who can't seem to speak at the moment.

"She needed to get away. After learning about her daughter's death, she was distraught. It was the worst pain she's ever felt and she spent quite some time locked away, crying. When she was in her room at one point, a bird delivered a letter to her window. Apple Bloom had heard about what happened and invited Derpy to come with them. It was a last minute invite though, and so Derpy didn't have the chance to tell anypony about it."

"They should be returning in the morning," Button adds with a smile, "we only know this ourselves because we were at the acres seeing them off. Derpy realized right as they were going that she forgot, and asked us to tell Amethyst. We actually just got back from doing so. We had forgotten before now, shamefully."

Tears begin to fall from his eyes as Agelian hears all of this. A smile covers his face as he lunges forward and hugs the two, thanking them over and over again as if they somehow saved his life. Sweetie manages to use her magic to force him away, after patting him gently on the back, and apologizes for this not coming to light sooner. She tells them that they have to head back home though, and bids the group farewell. They do the same for the couple and begin to cheer in relief and joy as they hug Agelian. They can't believe it. They've finally found Derpy.

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The sun begins to rise over the tops of the Sweet Apple Acres treeline, illuminating the bright blue sky. Fluffy white clouds slowly pass overhead as a rooster somewhere close by crows. Trotting along, the Apple Family begins to arrive back in Ponyville, and specifically at Sweet Apple Acres. Leading the group is Apple Bloom, Fuji, Babs Seed, and of course, Derpy Hooves. The bubbly mailmare smiles over at her friends, once again thanking them for inviting her to come along. This trip was just what she needed. She still hasn't fully gotten over the pain from her daughter's death, but the fun of the competition has at least allowed her some momentary relief.

As they pass over the hill, a deafening roar fills their ears and the sight of all their friends standing in front of them takes them all by surprise, Derpy most of all. Banners and delicious foods everywhere, ponies ready to have fun and party. It's all so much. As they trot up to everypony, the grey mare asks them, "What's going on?"

"MOM!"

The sudden cry comes, of course, from Amethyst Star, who runs up at full speed, tackling her mother in a tear-filled hug. Though still confused and surprised, Derpy smiles down at her daughter and holds her tight, wanting to never let go. She lost Dinky, but she still has one daughter. And though this pain won't go away that easily, she'll have someone to help her through it. In fact, judging from the sheer amount of ponies here, maybe more than just Amethyst.

"We were so scared for you mom," the mare says to Derpy, smiling up as she rubs against the fluff of her chest. "You just disappeared without any warning. We only found out last night from Sweetie Belle and Button Mash."

Stepping forward, Agelian tells Derpy everything that happened. How Amethyst had asked them to help search for her, what happened to everyone in their selective searches, and of course, the news that there might be an Agent of Oblivion in Ponyville. The news is so expansive for the mare to take in, but she listens intently and understands the gist of it. She worried all of them with her departure. It was wrong to just up and go without even letting her own daughter know. She knows that now, and will never do anything like that again.

"Agelian" she says to the upset stallion, "I understand. I don't blame you in the slightest. It wasn't your fault. I know that it's Oblivion who's behind Dinky's death."

She then turns to Terra and smiles, adding, "I want to join the task force. Oblivion and those working with him...they stole Dinky from me. I want them to experience the pain I did, tenfold."

"We'd be happy to have you," Terra replies, smirking as the others cheer in agreement.

Over on the outskirts of Ponyville, Starflight smiles and hums a little tune as she trots down the road. As she gets about a mile out, she suddenly stops as the air before her shimmers. It morphs and transforms into the manifestation of a demon-like pony head. Looking directly at her, the being's eyes glow red. A growl escapes it as the mouth opens, followed by the question, "How was the surveillance, Starflight?"

Bowing before the ghostly apparition, Starflight grins maliciously and tells him, "Ponyville will soon be ours, my lord."