[Well, this is unusual. The scroll comes on, revealing a middle-aged, stocky green stallion, with slicked back dark brown hair and a pencil mustache. He would seem tobe an otherwise normal pony - nothing outwardly odd or ominous. For those who deigned to go to the movie premiere, however, there is no doubt who this is.

This is Tom Shanks.

And he's beaming.]

Howdy, my friends! That's how Ponyville talks nowadays, right? Well, in any case, this is Tom Shanks, owner of Placeton and Quarterhorse Quarterly, with a special announcement! We're expanding again!

[Why does he look so happy. Why is he telling the off-worlders.]

And we've found the perfect place to do so. See, I've wanted to expand my business to the smaller towns, spread the truth and beauty I've come to find recently, but I just can't seem to do it without a significant presence. So, I've decided to buy up some lands that were in lien - don't worry yourselves about what that means, by the way - to make a brand new production lot right here in Ponyville!

[Waving his hoof, he moved aside, revealing a curtain. An unlucky assistant pulled it, revealing a large sign with a before and after picture. The after picture is a sprawling mecca of buildings, studios, and even a mini theme park clearly designed with Quest for Canterlot in mind. Its, for pony standards, impressive and advanced?

The before side?...looks...an awful lot like Satyagraha Farm.]

We'll have the legal niceties wrapped up by the end of the week. I've already put a bid on the place, and I believe I'll be able to bring my dream of truth to Ponyville at long last.

[A pleased, deep breath of contentment. Then he comes back to the scroll again, his voice flat as he stares.]

Oh, also, to the squatters on my land? You have a week to pack up and leave before I start razing. Nothing personal, just progress.

[It's Marla again, fluttering in front of her scroll. But she sounds... a bit different.]

HELLO EVERYBODY my name is Marla and...okay, like, are there any negative consequences to this besides my voice being all WHOOAAAAAHOAOAOAHA...?

Because like, I keep talking to myself all day and I kind of want to draw this out for as long as I'm not bored of it. I mean, I guess my vocal cords might wear out or maybe my voice changes to something really embarrassing, but so far I think I can deal with this, but I dunno. Having it SUDDENLY GET WORSE would kind of put a damper on the whole thing.

...uh, is there even a cure by now, anyway?

[Much like several others, especially those in the Commune area, Nephenee had found herself stumbling upon some unusual plants at some point. Or, rather, run through them chasing one of the chickens that'd gotten out of the hutch and decided she really wanted to go on an adventure.

It didn't take long for the symptoms to show, as evidenced by her leaving a pelorus blue pony and coming back a brown, striped-and-mottled pony, a polka-dotted chicken that sounded more like a cow on her back! Which had to be quite a shock for those that knew her, especially with the fact that she smelled like an apple pie now.

When the scroll comes alive, there's a brown pegasus and polka-dot hen staring at it, and about all the clues others get before she speaks that this isn't a newcomer is that A) those green-blue eyes look pretty familiar, and B) That cutie-mark, blue and silver contrasted against the cinnamon-sable of her coat, only belongs to one pony...]

Uh....Alright, so...Um...this is Nephenee Knight....an'..uh...Ah think Henrietta here an' Ah have...run into a problem.

[Gee, ya think?]

Ah'm not right sure what happened, but she got the idea in her noggin to go explorin', an'...dang if Ah can figure it out, but somewheres along the way, we both got a lil', uh...changed. Suddenly Ah'm smellin' like cinnamon an' nutmeg an' stuff, not to mentioned funny colored, an' poor Henrietta...well, try cluckin'.

[The distraught chicken flicks her head around.] Really? It's embarassing enough as it is!

[Seeing the no-nonsense look the farm mare gives her, Henrietta, sighs, and clucks...or, rather, moos.

It's exactly as sad as it sounds.

Nephenee pats her on the back.]

See? No self-respectin' chicken should be soundin' like a cow! Anypony know what can cause this sorta thing? Or, better, how to fix it? Ah mean, Ah like apple pies, but that don't mean Ah wanna be an apple pie pony!

U-Um... s-so I saw the arcade open yesterday... Wisteria - the other Fluttershy who lives at the cottage - and I saw it, and it looked so very crowded... s-so um... I don't think... I'll be going... s-sorry...

B-but, I'm curious... wh-what kind of 'games' does it have...? I-I've never... heard of an arcade before yesterday...

The arcade is a scam. Or, uh. More of a brainwashing facility, if we're going to be fully honest.

The thing is being orchestrated by a creature called Giegue who came from the same place I did, kind of. Long story short, he's an alien warlord and a psychic. A powerful one. Really, really powerful, like things would get really bad if he ever went all out. His specialty is manipulating negative emotions, and the more powerful a set of negative emotions he can build and manipulate in others, the more powerful he becomes in turn.

So, uh, if you've been wondering why there's been a lot of hostility in the arcades, and why some people are even just kind of staying there. Giegue is influencing them through the arcade machines in order to build his own power and gain an army to try and challenge the big stupid death goddess that has us here. He's going into overtime because he's having a hissy fit since. Well. I guess he actually had a friend, and now that person is gone.

I've known what he was going to do for a while. I planned it with him. ...I didn't actually think we'd get to this point. I thought he'd realize by this point that he couldn't use brute force in places like this to succeed or get out. I thought he'd come to rely on people in...you know, a good way. To care about people. And, I guess he did but-

I guess I thought he'd change. I mean, hey, I know places like this change people. I'd seen it. I'd experienced it. I thought it'd happen just the same here, and that I wouldn't have to do anything to help it because hey, not like I'd be any friggin' good at helping people change.

I guess I could have told people about this earlier. I didn't really want to, because I don't really have the right to. I'm a pretty terrible person. I've done a lot of terrible things. I guess it felt like...I dunno. I owed him the chance to change without me doing something. Kinda screwed that one up, so uh. Sorry on that.

I need people to help me sabotage the place. I don't want to hurt him, and I've already had some plans on how to shut this thing down if it went to far. But I dunno if they'll be enough on their own. You can all piss and whine at me about this if you want, hey, I've heard it all before. But right now I really need help stopping this before it actually becomes dangerous.

[So many folks lately had lost others...and her own heart was burdened a bit by this, truth be told. But Nephenee was bound and determined to try to make the best of the situation...as much as she could, anyways. She wanted to help those who had lost loved ones recently, and while she ultimately wanted to do it for all that had, she needed to start somewhere small...]

[So there would be a pony knocking on doors today, handing out some gifts. When they open the door, they see a possibly-familiar pelorus pony there.]

( List of people inside; Find the peace within ourselves, No need for a cure )
[OOC: I'm sure I forgot some people who've lost some recently, so please poke me via PM or Plurk if you think of any!] 

[The scroll opens up, and once again it's a view of the moon. This time, however, the scroll seems to be intentionally opened.]

Hello Father.

When I look up into the sky I still remember the time when I was back home. Even though we were so far apart I knew that you were there looking down at me.

This time, I'm not so sure. And that scares me. I think I always knew this. Even though this is a magical place, with a lot of wonderful people, the fact that you might not be there? Was something I didn't even want to say.

But, I think... things will be okay. When I was at the Gala, there were people laughing and smiling and having a magical time. They were dancing across the floor like they were flying. And, best of all, there was nothing too terrible happening there.

So... father... I hope they can understand that... when I first met them I was scared. And I hope that they will be okay if... they find out that I wasn't being completely honest.

And I hope that, somehow, someday, you would be able to hear this. I want to believe you are still there, and I want to believe that there can be a place for me here, too.

[As fun as the Gala was, it did something for Kafei he never thought would be possible: Put things in perspective. The food, while very pretty and some of it absolutely delicious, had some...interesting ingredients to it. Namely flowers, grasses, hay, normal pony food. It was not something he could eat, and a part of him was very thankful for that, and yet there were people...people he knew weren't ponies before, eating them like it was no problem. Nothing wrong with that, in fact he was almost impressed.

...And then it made him think. A lot. If he were a pony, how long would it take him to start eating those sorts of things? Because right now? It sounded a lot easier than what his body craved. In other words, in desperation of trying to get some kind of protein, Kafei often found himself snapping at bugs. It was awful, demeaning...but would anyone else think so? So far he's been able to control himself just in time, but with the way he shows up on the scroll resting pathetically on one of his cushions and the way his stomach begins to growl, he almost wonders if he should stop caring.

He could, you know, hunt, but that takes a lot more effort... Rabbits are way too fast.]

How...how long does it take to adjust to eating strange things here? Did anyone else have a difficult time with this, because I think I'm going mad.

[He says that so casually. But no, really, how long did it take for others to stop depending on cakes, because that information is important. For science.]

[A face shows up on the scrolls that hasn't been for awhile and she's sitting in her office at the Investigation Agency. With her hooves pressed together she sits up straight and looks at the floating parchment in front of her. It's funny about these eyes that look back at the item; clear and focused like she has a mission. And guess what? She does.]

Good afternoon to all of you, I hope the Gala was a wondeful time. Considering the recent developments, I'm also glad that nothing too crazy happened. But now there's something I want to discuss with you all...something involving the one who helped Tirek escape.

[She breaths slightly as she keeps her focus. She told Luna she would do this...and she refuses to back down from it.]

I know a lot of you are asking this: why would you help him? He deserves what he had gotten or let him rot away and move on. But that's only what WE know. While most of us were dancing or enjoying ourselves, I had another goal in mind: I went to see Princess Luna. She told me and a friend of mine what exactly was happening to Yu: that his guilt is overpowering him to the point where he's about to lose himself. I happened to see it myself on two occasions: during Minato-kun's session and at the Gala as he defended me from some of Shanks' supporters.

[His eyes were the thing that scared her the most...still haunt her. Keep going...]

The princess told me because of it...he cannot sleep. Yu's becoming more and more distant and...he's wasting away and she has no idea what to do at this point. And that's when we stepped in...and why I'm talking to all of you now.

[...she's not sure if this is right but this is the point of no return. This is her proof of friendship right here...]

Tirek told us...that friendship is meaningless. That when something goes wrong, we turn our backs on what hurt us and ignore it until it vanishes. Calice believes the same thing...and we've proven them both right. Even I turned my back on the man I said I would love until my last breath...but I'm stopping it. And I'm asking for anyone who feels the same way...that believes friendship can triumph over darkness and emptiness...please listen to what I want to do to help Yu.

A week from today, on the 25th...I and anyone else with Luna's permission will be making a dive into Yu's dreamscape and show him that the friends that he made were not due to murders or a portal to another world. It will be my howntown of Inaba as if none of it ever happened and we live the year as normal. We will know who we are...Yu however won't. If anyone wishes to join me, you can reply to this message and see me in Canterlot on the 24th to prepare. This is open to ANYONE who wants to do this...but it's delicate as well so be careful while making this choice.

I know there will be some who think I'm crazy and maybe naive...perhaps saying that he's too far from redemption. But I know of at least two who managed to get there for far worse things that have happened. I'm willing to use what I've learned and seen within the past two years, to show what friendship truly is and how powerful it can be.

And I know others are wanting that too. So...let's show the world what kind of magic it is.

[And that's it...publicly at least.]

( Private to Homura )

[There's a Breezie visible in the scrolls, all tiny and blue and adorable with her little pixie cut and displeased expression. Her pout somewhat worsens when she takes a look around and realizes that she's been in this exact place a few times before--not nearly enough to know all the ins and outs, but enough to at least know where the hell she is.

Maybe it's not too surprising that she turned up here again, but she's never been a victim of involuntary shapeshifting until now.]

Okay, maybe this is just me, but is anyone else like, super wigged out that we're not given the opportunity to at least choose what we want to be? It's just "OH HEY THERE, WELCOME TO FANCY PONY WORLD, YOU WANNA BE SOMETHING NOT TINY? WELL, TOO BAD."

And I don't know how I feel about that. I mean, sure, I guess this is a thing that I can get used to eventually, but I still think I would have made the best dragon or something. I'd have been like "FEAR ME MORTALS, FOR YOUR WORLD SHALL BURN" or some other kind of intimidating nonsense, mostly I would've just sat on a bunch of gold...

Um.

...I heard from a very reputable source that you guys are having some kind of gala?