Both Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich galloped side-by-side through town, desperately attempting to keep track of the disorientated matriarch of their family without much success.
After all, she already had the advantage of a head start, and possessed the adrenaline of somepony who was in the throes of near-madness. As most ponies probably would be, if they'd woken up one fine afternoon in an unfamiliar location believing that they'd somehow aged enough to pass as their grandmother in the space of a day.
Nevertheless, they pressed on with firm determination, ignoring the puzzled stares by the sidelines of those confused that a formerly privileged brat and her often office-bound father were putting on such an athletic display of prowess.
Sadly, the speeding father and daughter had no time to answer their speculative shouts of whether they were in training for the upcoming Running Of The Leaves, or just trying to shift some of that lingering foal fat, as they carried themselves forward relentlessly.
Their only passable clue to follow was Spoiled's somewhat unique hoofmarks on the dusty ground: nopony else around ordered their hooves finely custom-pedicured to within an inch of their length, after all. Appearance above functionality, as always with her.
"W-Wow, dad gasp..." wheezed Diamond during their headlong rush, finally beginning to feel the impact of her until now sedentary lifestyle after a rapid start. "I-I never knew Mother could move this quickly. W-Well, apart from that time an overworked Olay Oil accidentally rubbed her with orange fur dye instead of moisturiser during one of her thrice daily dips. P-Poor Olay was chased through Ponyville the entire night, until the sun came up. And all because Mother hated looking like Applejack even a little phew..."
"Really? That's not how I heard it." Filthy was starting to get a bit tired himself, though not to the extent of slurring his words, having more stamina than his young daughter. "Spoiled just told me Olay took early retirement and took off suddenly one day. Said that she'd begged her 'dear' personal attendant to stay, even offered her extra vacation time, but she'd already made her mind up."
"And you believed her?" Diamond slowed down briefly to admonish her father with a raised eyebrow, as he himself began to feel a little silly. "Still, it could've been worse. She might've caught up with Olay the first few hours after it happened, then all Tartarus really would've broke loose. As it was, I think being given the sack and bribed to keep quiet about what happened was the best possible outcom... hello, what do we have here?"
What caused both Rich's to postpone their swift pursuit was unrelated to their amnesiac target, but it was still an unsettling spectacle laid out before them which demanded their immediate attention.
For there, right outside the Carousal Boutique where they'd just screeched to a halt, was a large grand-looking sofa with purple trim, and present on there was none other than Rarity herself, bawling her blue eyes out interminably.
This must be the infamous fainting couch I've heard so much about... Diamond mused, as she witnessed the many tears of the devastated unicorn pool into multiple streams of fluid on the ground before being filtered down the numerous drains by the sidewalk. Thank Celestia it was a central pledge of Mayor Mare's manifesto at the last election that Ponyville be properly plumbed, or we could be looking at a major flood situation. Of course, they were installed there for Rarity's benefit in the first place, but nopony is going to tell her that.
Nearby her inconsolable sister stood Sweetie Belle, clearly on comfort duty and not doing too good a job of it. The young unicorn was whispering into her older sibling's ear, gently patting her hoof, even brandishing Rarity's favourite brand of luxury chocolate with magic near her sobbing mouth.
Nothing seemed to work, and the blubbery hysterics from the crying mare were beginning to attract quite the mixed crowd, some of which were even now putting their umbrellas up. A lot of the curious onlookers were quite used to seeing the notoriously overdramatic Rarity this emotionally wrought, but her teary outbursts didn't usually last this long and weren't normally in such a public setting, either.
Despite the search for her AWOL mother being a clear and present priority, Diamond couldn't help but want to stop and help the seemingly desperate Sweetie Belle. After all, it was part of her new lifeplan to aid all those in need, and what better way to start than assist one of the trio who helped put her on the right path to redemption in the first place?
So it was with little hesitation that a smiling Diamond trotted over to a sweating Sweetie Belle to nudge her slightly, while the young unicorn still tried without much success to stem the endless flow of her sister's twin eye geysers.
"Hey there, what's up?" Diamond asked innocently, as her father stood by to observe. "Has something upset Rarity? Is there anything we can do to help?"
Sweetie Belle stopped dangling expensive sugary edibles in front of her older sibling momentarily in order to see who was doing the prodding, and upon learning their identity, quickly turned back in a huff. "Oh, it's you. Haven't you done enough damage already? What do you want, Diamond Tiara?!"
"Huh?!" The pink filly in question reeled a little upon hearing this unexpected chastisement from her usually unfailingly polite friend. "I was only asking to be nice, because I saw your big sister looking so distressed in middle of the street! If that's how you're going to be when I'm only trying to help, I shan't bother in the future! C'mon Dad, let's go and search for Mum again!"
Diamond swiftly left the unwelcome company of the young unicorn and had already grabbed the hoof of her father to walk away, when they heard the pitter-patter of little feet behind them, as a sheepish Sweetie Belle endeavoured to catch up.
"Wait!" she yelped, in a voice tinged with regret. "I'm sorry, I'm just so annoyed about what happened a few minutes ago, that I just took it out on you without thinking first. I should've remembered it was just an accident to begin with, the way she is now. After all, I was there during the incident at soccer practice."
Diamond shot her father a look, before turning back to Sweetie Belle with just one question on her lips. "You're talking about Mother, aren't you?"
"T-T-The fiend! T-T-The brute! T-T-The saboteur! H-H-How could she do this to me, after all the things I've made for her over the years?!" Rarity seemed to confirm the pink filly's suspicions, as she took long gulps between loud sobs. "S-S-She comes into my store, naked as the day she was born, looking like she's been dragged through a hedge forwards and backwards again. I-I-I can accept that, not all of our clientele are the elite of society, even though it was a surprise to see Mrs Rich that scruffy and smelly. B-B-But then... t-t-then... WAH!!"
Realising her sister was in no fit state to finish the rest of the sordid yarn, a frowning Sweetie Belle duly filled in. "Then, your mother starts yelling at the top of her voice in that weird new accent of hers at all of our wealthy customers. About how they should be 'ashamed' at wasting so much of their valuable bits on 'overpriced tat', how 'ridiculous' they looked in their 'stupid costumes', why they'd be much better off investing their money in a patch of land where they'd know a 'hard day's graft for once in their cosseted lives', and so on. It was just like the time Applejack judged my sister's fashion show, only worse. Much much worse. I don't think I have to tell you, everypony soon left in a hurry after that."
" I-I-I tried to rush outside and get them to come back, but they just wouldn't listen." Rarity paused briefly to daintily blow her nose on a perfumed hoofkerchief, before resuming her tale of woe. "I-I-I've had to close up an hour early today, for the first time ever! Your mother is a menace who shouldn't be allowed out in decent society! Oh, what am I to do?! It is my firm belief that everypony in there today will never ever return, and they'll tell their important friends to do the same, until eventually... I-I-I'll have to shut all three of my shops permanently! I-I-I'll never see my face in the Equestrian fashion pages ever again! N-N-No more parties! N-N-No more galas! I-I-I won't even be trusted to sow a button! M-M-My life, as I know it, is over!! This truly is, the WORST. POSSIBLE. THIN..."
"Okay Sis, I think we get the general picture." Sweetie Belle, like everypony else watching this tragic melodrama unveil, couldn't help but feel the distraught unicorn may be overstating her upcoming financial ruin a tad. "Just try to relax, and settle down. Everything is going to be okay. Let's get you inside, and have Opalescence come and sit next to you so you can pet her. That always calms you down, remember?"
"S-Sweetie Belle, I can't apologise enough for this! You too, Miss Rarity..." Diamond expressed genuine remorse for what had occurred, and her sincere words were backed up by a gravely nodding Filthy. "The thing is, as you already know, my mum is very sick. We need to get her specialist help as soon as possible, then we can clear all of this up later. Tell me: which direction did she go when she left here?"
"She went thaddaway." Sweetie Belle announced with little thought, pointing to her right. "And it's okay, I'm not blaming you or Mr Filthy. Or even your mother, as strange as it sounds. Who'd have thought she'd be even more destructive as her new weird self, than she was as Spoiled Rich? Well, gotta go. I hope it all works out for you, but I have a big sister to cheer up. Judging by the outpour and density of moisture this time around, it'll probably take a few hours at least. Be seeing you."
"It's not a 'new weird sel'... oh, never mind." Diamond rolled her eyes as she realised it would take too long to explain her mother's true predicament. "Hurry up, Dad. If we're going to catch her, we have to get a move on!"
"Hang on just a moment." the pink filly's male parent suddenly seemed cross about something. "Did she just call me 'Mr Filth..'?!"
"Oh, get over yourself, Father! You know that not everypony is always going to remember how you want to be addressed all of the time." Diamond gave out a frustrated sigh, before trying to pull him along. "Anyway, don't you think finding Mother is a bit more important than massaging your bruised ego? Come on, shake a leg, and let's get after her!"
"Y-Yes, of course, darling!" Filthy felt a bit embarrassed at being shown up by his own daughter in terms of maturity, and wasted no more time in proceeding at a steady gallop with her in their apparently endless quest to snag their elusive mind-addled prey.
Behind them, as the bored crowd dispersed and Sweetie Belle began to drag her sniffling sister back into the boutique, plush sofa and all, the morose fashionista had a question for her younger sibling.
"H-How can you be so sure, Sweetie Belle? T-That everything will be alright, I mean?"
To this, the little filly glanced up gleefully at Rarity, before reminding her of one salient fact.
"Did you forget already, Rarity? Tomorrow, the Big Sale starts!"