"Nope! Sorry, Phil, but I haven't seen any new ponies in town recently!" Pinkie Pie said, balancing a tray of fresh cookies on her back as she trotted out of the kitchens of Sugar Cube Corner. She set the tray down on the counter; instantly, Rainbow grabbed three and started wolfing them down. "If there were any new ponies here, I would've known!" Pinkie continued. "Because I would've thrown them a Welcome To Ponyville Party, just like I do with everypony who comes to Ponyville! Even you, even though it wasn't until two months after you came here, so it was actually a Welcome To Ponyville Two Months Late Party and—"

"Thank you, Pinkie," Phillip interrupted, turning and leaving. Rainbow finished her last cookie and followed him out.

"Where to now?" she asked, licking her lips.

"Tavern," Phillip answered.

"Why?"

"Information. See if anypony there knows anything."

"You really think there's a bunch of ponies who're following Turner around?" Rainbow asked skeptically.

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Phillip answered.

The two continued down the streets until they reached the Midnight Oil, one of the more popular watering holes in Ponyville, even if it was a bit seedy. The name of the tavern was proclaimed on an old wooden sign decorated with a candle, its rusty hinges creaking in the low wind.

Phillip and Rainbow walked up the steps and pushed open the old oak door. The darkened room smelled of cider and cheap cologne. An old phonograph in the back played a scratchy blues record; the quiet bellowing of a trumpet punctuated by static mixed with the quiet, constant barroom chatter, tinkling of ice and the clack of billiard balls. The customers looked up at the two ponies walking through the door, their curiosity tempered by sullen indifference.

Phillip approached the bar, where the unicorn bartender, who was using his magic to wash a glass cider stein, acknowledged him with a grunt of "What'll you have?"

"Can't. Working," Phillip replied. "I'm looking for some new ponies in town."

"I see a lot of new customers," the bartender replied, continuing to wash the stein. He held it up with his magic, examining it for any marks.

"These would be unique," Phillip said. "They would've been asking about Ditzy and Time Turner."

At a table behind Phillip, a muscular stallion with a hammer and screwdriver cutie mark wearing a construction worker's reflective vest turned to his drinking buddy. "You hear that? They're asking about the brain case and her twitchy husband! Wonder what she bucked up this time."

"Shut up, dude," the other stallion hissed, but it was too late; Rainbow had heard him. She flew over to the table and landed atop it, glaring down at the construction worker.

"You talking about Derpy?" she growled.

"So what if I am?" the stallion snapped back, his shock replaced by standoffishness. Heads began to turn towards the two as the chatter died away. The record started skipping, but nopony noticed.

"Derpy's one of my friends, and I look out for my friends," Rainbow Dash replied.

The construction worker let out a grunt of a laugh, his reeking breath assaulting Rainbow's nose. "Anypony who hangs around with that defective is just as bad as her," he said, the slightest slur in his voice indicating his inebriated state. "Everypony knows the ponies in this city just puts up with her for the laughs and because the softies feel sorry for her. She and everypony like her should be locked away!"

"And you and everypony like you should have your stupid, ugly teeth knocked down your stupid, ugly mouths!" Rainbow shouted, raising a hoof. The stallion stood, his chair crashing to the floor.

"That's enough!" the bartender interrupted, his horn lighting up in a threatening manner. "I don't care if you two want to fight, but take it outside!"

Rainbow caught Phillip's gaze over the other pony's shoulder. His face showed no expression, but he shook his head firmly. Rainbow looked down at the stallion, then, with a grunt, flew off the table and over to the door. Phillip followed her. The construction worker resumed his seat and called for another cider as the bartender fixed the record player. The background chatter resumed once more as Phillip and Rainbow exited.

"Wanker wasn't worth it," Phillip told Rainbow as they descended the steps and headed back down the street. The slight terseness in his voice and increased step betrayed his irritation.

"He was badmouthing Derpy!" Rainbow protested, flying alongside him. "I couldn't let him get away with that!"

Phillip didn't answer for a moment. "Didn't think you two were friends," he said. "I've seen you yelling at her."

Rainbow lowered her gaze a little, rubbing the back of her head. "Well, yeah, she can get kind of...frustrating sometimes. But she always means well, and does her best to help. And besides, I've known her almost as long as Fluttershy."

"She's from Cloudsdale, too?" Phillip asked.

"Yeah, we were all in flight school together," Rainbow explained. "Derpy was one of the top students, straight As in everything except flying. But she had that eye thing, even back then, so she was bullied daily. Other ponies called her stupid and weird and even worse stuff; sometimes she'd lock herself in the bathroom and cry for a while. I stood up for her because nopony else would. That's how we became friends."

"Why do you call her Derpy?"

Rainbow shrugged. "I dunno. I just started calling her that one day and she thought it was kind of funny." She gave a small chuckle, but her smile quickly faded. "But look, the point is, I stick up for my friends, including Derpy. So if one of her family is in trouble, then I help."

Phillip nodded. "Right. We've still got a lot of ground to cover before—"

"Look out!"

Phillip looked up too late: Ditzy collided with him at top speed, sending him sprawling. "Ow," he muttered.

"Sorry!" Ditzy squeaked, retrieving Phillip's hat as he got back to his hooves with Rainbow's assistance. "I didn't mean to run into you, but it was really important and I've been looking all over for you!"

"What happened?" Rainbow asked urgently.

Ditzy looked up at her: her eyes were both focused on Rainbow, and they were wide with terror. She hesitated for a moment before allowing the words to come tumbling out of her mouth.

"Time Turner's disappeared! I think he's been kidnapped!"

Author's Notes:

The clock is ticking...

(Speaking of which, I really need to work on finishing these faster)