[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 face In the scroll this time is... familiar, yet different? It was a Unicorn, sure, and the colour was different, but... odd. He was outside, somewhere in the town center of Ponyville, but out of the way of the other Ponies walking around. He looked pretty confused and more than a little worried.]

Ah... excuse me, everyone.

[His voice however, was a dead ringer for a certain in-trouble pony. He bowed his head lightly in apologies, but also allowing the viewer to see-- yeah, you weren't seeing things, he definitely had a horn on his head.]

My name is Souji Seta- and I'm from-- [There was a slight pause there, like he was wondering if it was right to say what he was going to mention] --Inaba, a small country town in Japan... on Planet Earth? [Might as well be specific]

I, ah... I'm not sure if I'm dreaming or not, but I've never had a dream like this before... And I tried hitting myself, and didn't wake up.

[It hadn't been easy, either. He couldn't walk too well like this... that's why he was sitting on his butt until he could get some answers.]

Can someone tell me what's going on, and where am I?

...I really cannot keep doing this.

[Rarity sighs as she steps out of the kitchen at the boutique. It's very, very early in the morning, earlier than anyone would have thought the fashionista would be awake. Beauty sleep be damned, it was getting tiring trekking from her current living arrangements to the boutique.. or the Night Market... or well, anywhere else. Though traversing the Everfree was definitely getting easier and easier.

Lets just say that for now, she looked rather frazzled by the longer trips. Though that doesn't mean that she's going to stop. Rarity hated to admit it, but she rather liked living at the castle and the privacy it provided.  If she had to choose between that and the boutique, she really wasn't sure what she would choose....

Eventually she sets down the now empty mug and heads upstairs to freshen up and get herself ready for the day just as the scroll closes up.]

[Ooh~ This is certainly a brand new dream setting! Usually she's in her castle being served by her emu butlers, or fighting off thousands of Boarbatusks and making ALL the lien!

And... Ren's usually there. Scratch that, ALWAYS there.

That's the part that makes her realize that this ISN'T a dream! And it's not long until she starts frantically fiddling with this weird, actually-made-of-paper Scroll and the feed turns on.]

Oh, FINALLY! Stupid Scroll, why would you use PAPER to make one, that's just stupid! OKAY! Aaaaanybody who sees this, tell me RIGHT away if you know ANY boys with a black ponytail with a pink streak in the bangs and a green jacket! Tell him... the Queen's Castle is Empty and Needs More Syrup!

Is on, Alpha! [Someone calls from out of the frame of the shot that shows a massive, St. Bernard-esque Diamond Dog sitting atop a stone and crystal throne. His collar is studded with intricate gem patterns, and his green and much less ratty than the ones that the average Diamond Dog might be seen in. He lifts his snout regally before speaking.]

I, Alpha, extend greetings from the Kingdom of the Diamond Dogs to all of Equestrian ponies. Many years we have lived beneath the lands, minded its gems, worked hard to tunnel and explore and build our culture. But maybe we stay too far from the sunlight. Is long time coming, but We have talked with the pony princesses, all pony princesses, and arrange for diplomacy. Dogs trade gems and goods, allowed to travel safe above ground, and ponieses are safe below where we call home.

I say thank you to all ponies for help with sleeping sickness. But thank you most to Luna, Captain Celestia, Wondrous Bolt, Littlepip, and Pyrrha. Will always be friends to Diamond Dogs and are welcome to call on Alpha at all times.

As ambassadog, I name Ruby. [He makes a come-hither motion and a grinning Irish setter-esque Diamond Dog appears. Her collar is, helpfully, studded with rubies for identification purposes.] If ponies come to mines and have questions or want things, Ruby gives directions and helps. All Dogs will help if they can, but some maybe are not enthusiastic like Ruby. [Ruby's tail is wagging as she waves.] It takes long time to build bridges over deep ravines. We will try, though. And hope that all is well. Ponieses have Dogs to call on as allies in fight against anyone, especially the one who makes Dogs disappear in rainbows.

[Ruby's enthusiastic waving halts along with her wagging tail. She droops a bit and Alpha seems very solemn.]

Good luck to all.


((OOC: Please see this post for more information on what's going on with the Diamond Dogs and Mines.))

(It's been only a few days, but even so...to her it felt like a lifetime had passed since she'd been gone. Everything she'd experienced, from being captured to the situation on the train that escalated to that anti-climactic battle with all those Grimm...

Ruby Rose can only look at her hooves in near-disbelief as she regains her focus and surroundings back in her room in the Communes. For those who can hear her, it's pretty late but even so...it's unmistakably, undeniably her.)

...Is it vacation time already?

(A bark will be quite audible over the scroll itself, but as Ruby gets down off the bed to pet Zwei, it was obvious that the Corgi was brought back too, his memories just as intact as Ruby's.)

[There is a grim expression on Pyrrha's face as it appears on the scrolls. And when she speaks, it's with practiced composure, as she tries to keep the emotion from her voice.]

Whatever is happening here with those being unable to wake up...Yang, Ruby, and Jaune have been affected as the others have.

If there is a way for them to be trapped there, however...there must be a way to get them out.

[She doesn't say that she wants to try going in after them. But it might be clear by the look on her face.]

[There was an image of what looked like a big pair of light blue eyes, so light that they almost looked white. The eyes grew smaller as the pony with them backed up, revealing a very annoyed-looking white unicorn. She poked at the scroll before giving it a series of harsher pokes.]

So what this thing even do anyways? Hello? Can anyone hear me? Ruby? Yang? Blake? Can you three see me? Because if this is a joke then I swear, you three are going to get it when I find you! Ugh, this is ridiculous!

[The unicorn walks a short distance away]

I've lost it. I've lost it so much that I'm talking into a piece of paper. Yang and Ruby's craziness has finally made me snap. This is just perfect!

[She attempts to throw her arms uo in the air... only for her to fall straight on her face when she instead throws up her front hooves. She groaned, this was clearly not going to be ehr day.]

( Private Visual to Arcee )

~~~~

[When the Pegasus pops up, she's in an apron, in what seems to be a kitchen area, and there's some supplies out: flour, butter, sugar...just another day in her kitchen, sort of.]

Hey, everypony~ Since Hearts an' Hooves day's comin' up, Ah had an idea for somethin' folks might like for them an' their sweetie, or jus' for folks in general.

[Ducking her head underneath the counter, she brings it back up to reveal a lovely berry cake.]

We jus' got in some o'the fruits, an' Arcee an' Ah got the idea to make cakes for those who want 'em! Could be any berry, long as Ah can get it, could have writin' or chocolate shapes on it or anythin' ya might like...within reason, Ah mean. This is jus' a sample o'what she an' Ah can do. We'll have some special pricin' for couples an' such, too. So swing on by if ya want, or lemme know here if you're interested. An' don't worry, our lips are sealed; no spoilin' surprises here!

Hello again!

I have been told by some of the residents here that there is a holiday this month called Hearts and Hooves Day. And I was wondering...how does one celebrate it? I've read a little bit about it, but I'm...still not too familiar with the customs.

[The 19th:]

[It's shortly after the blizzard starts, that some rumors circulate that rainbow explosions have been seen again, and that one of the ponies that vanished is back. Weeeell, those rumors, and some others, are definitely founded, as the feed goes live on the scrolls. One Nephenee pops up, her head only in view, and she grins sheepishly.]

Uh...hiya, everypony...Ah'm back. Sorry for worryin' y'all...but Ah'm fine! For those who don't know me, Ah'm Nephenee..Ah help run the Commune, though Ah kinda got pulled into another world for a bit. Again. An' Ah brought a few friends with me this time...

[She motions to something, or someone, off-camera.]

Chrys, Myri, come over here.

[A large, yellow, extremely fluffy sheep pokes her head in the frame, as does a steely blue diamond dog, both looking curiously at the sheet of 'paper'.]

This is Chrysanthemum [A bleat..was that an electric charge you just saw? Nah, probably nothing.], an' Myrddin [The dog takes after his namesakes well, barking happily with a wagging tail.]...we met in a place called Kalos, in one o'them worlds with Pokémon, so Ah'm the trainer for these two.

Uh..that ain't the only thing that changed, though...

[The visual pans out, and the thing apparent to those familiar with her is...well, the wings she now has!]

Ah uh...seem to have wings now. Don't know why, but Ah do.
...If..somepony could help me learn to use these darn things after this darn blizzard's over, Ah'd sure appreciate it.

[She looks off-screen, rubbing the back of her neck, while one wing flares out without so much as a by-your-leave from her.]

...Somepony should really tell Cálice or whatever makes us be certain things here Ah'm a Sentinel, not a Pegasus Knight...

~~~~

[The 27th:]

[After the insanity of all that, Neph's had a chance to try to get some flight practice in, and to try to relax and help others do the same. But it seems there are those that were hit hard by the Windigos' spell, so after some talking and brainstorming with Lethe, the mare pops up on the scrolls, wrapped up in the blanket Morgan gave her for an anniversary.]

Boy, Ah sure am glad them Windigos are gone...hopefully things'll be quiet for a bit.

Ah was talkin' with Lethe, an' we figured that folks could use somethin' to help 'em unwind a lil'...an' Arcee gave me an idea at the party. Why not have a lil' get together at my house, with pillows an' blankets an' snacks? We could make lil' 'forts' with 'em an' jus' hang out an' stay warm. Wanted to see who'd be up for that.

Also, now that it ain't super windy, Ah'd like to try to learn to use my new wings. [She forces one to peek out from under the covers, just barely visible. Darn muscles.] Ah've been tryin' to get them movin' when Ah want 'em to, but the new muscles are real weak. Most o'the time, they jus' pop out when they feel like it. An' Ah probably should try to get in some trainin' soon, too.

[Nephenee winces as she tries to fold the wing back in, and frowns.]

...Maybe not today on the lessons an' trainin', though. Ah reckon Ah need to go to the spa for a spell...

[This past week had been very trying on the students of Beacon Academy. Short tempers flared, mistakes were made, ponies may have been frozen… it was altogether not a fun week.]

[But now, the blizzard has died down and the windingoes have been chased away. Tensions may still be high, however, so Ren decides to fix that by inviting everyone over for pancakes and hot chocolate. The powdered kind. Best he could afford and get on such short notice.]

[Of course, the scrolls can’t leave some friends well enough alone, so Ren’s manages to unroll itself and hang over the counter just enough to give a good view of the group sitting around a table in Ren’s room at the commune.]

[The group whiles away the time waiting for the water to boil by talking, catching up and remembering times at Beacon. Somewhere along the line Jaune got up, deciding he might as well spend the time by getting mugs ready.]

Okay, how much does everybody want?

[A chorus of replies follows, with Ruby of course piping up ”Double for me!” and earning a warm laugh from her sister. Conversation picks back up while the mugs are prepared, but it’s Pyrrha who notices Jaune staring thoughtfully at the container.]

Jaune?

I wonder what happens when you try to eat the powder by itself?

[The suggestion is initially met with silence, then mixed replies. Pyrrha, of course, warns him not to but is overshadowed by Yang’s enthusiastic ”Do it!”, Ruby’s bright curiosity, and Ren and Blake’s… silent observation (This is gonna be good).]

[True to form Jaune decides to do it anyway, picking up a generous scoop of the powder and sticks it in his mouth. One… two…]

[He whips his head back and coughs out a huge cloud of powder, which is enough to send ripples of laughter through the group.]

I hope you realize-[Pffft-] -you’re cleaning up the ceiling.

[Jaune would reply, really. Verbally anyway; he manages a nod before another cough, a raised hoof doing absolutely nothing from keeping the powder going everywhere. At least everyone’s still laughing.]

Okay- [Hack, powder spilling.] -Note to self, never aga- [He exhaled a whuff of it and shook his head, at least laughing through the tears.] It’s in my eyes!

[Safe to say the group is completely and absolutely gone. Even Pyrrha’s giggling hard, almost as much as she had at the dance, no matter how much she was trying not to.]

Oh Jaune…

Still the life of the party, as always...

[It’s at this point that Ren, in the midst of a laughing fit, looks over to see the scroll on and broadcasting to the town at large. The realization makes him cover his face to hide the fact he’s laughing even harder now. Everypony just saw that. Even if he could say something, he decides against it. They’ll find out soon enough.]

[OOC: Replies will come from... whoever the heck's not laughing at the moment. Or more than one of them. Or all of them. It's a grab bag, really.]

[The scroll turns on to a black screen, with a muted sound of the storm somewhere outside. Closer is the sound of a fire, and juuust audible behind that is the sound of tinkling and crackling every few seconds, noises associated with ice.

After a short while a voice speaks, which is recognizable as Pyrrha, to be answered by Jaune.]

( Cut for colored text conversation )

((OOC: Most answers will be from Jaune, but Pyrrha may cut in from time to time. They'll all be Visual~ Unless someone wants to come to them, of course))

[Sunset appeared on the scroll, her expression dead serious.]

Everypony, I'm sorry to bother you when the winter is like this, but I think that especially ponies form other worlds need to know something. Pinkie and I were talking, and I think I may know why we have a sudden storm. It could just be something un-schedules that nopony got told about, but... I think this could maybe be due to Windigos. I don't know for sure, I may be wrong entirely, but if I'm not then you need to be warned. Windigos feed off hatred and fighting, they could completely freeze over Ponyville in no time if they get enough power. They are very dangerous and almost unbeatable

As I said, I'm not for sure. I could just be over-thinking it. But I'm following my gut, and that's what it's telling me. If I'm right then be ready, because the Windigos won't stop until it's finished feeding off our anger and there is only one way to stop them, one that's gonna take a while to figure out how to create if we don't act soon."

[Now she could only hope that she was wrong.]

[It's not long before the film festival that...well, this happens, and so the next day, Nephenee decides that the folks at the Commune might need a reminder about their home's...reputation with Hoovesweek. So, appearing in a jade t-shirt that reads 'Lancing Queen" at the moment, Neph sighs tiredly. She didn't get a lot of sleep thanks to the events.]

Mornin', all.

Um, so...most o'y'all probably heard 'bout the explosion last night. Ah won't say who dun it, and thankfully no one was hurt. But please remember to practice safety at all times.

..An' well, this ain't jus' an announcement that that was a thing.

As most o'ya are aware, Hoovesweek is sponsorin' that "film festival" on the 9th [She might have done 'hoof quotes' at that title, because hush up, Hoovesweek, York did it first.], but...some o'ya may not realize that...well, the Commune's got a bad reputation with Hoovesweek, an' things have happened here in the past that they've always used to attack us with.

Now, if nopony listened to 'em, that wouldn't be a problem. But Ah think some do...an' it's possible this place has a reputation with newponies, too. Rumors spread easy, ya know?

So...for now, Ah ask that any experiments an' such not be done in the main area, for safety reasons, an' o'course, that everypony remembers to practice fire safety. This is a safe place despite what they try to say, but we still gotta do our best to lessen the chance o'accidents. An' if folks ask, that's all this was, an accident, an' that's the truth o'it. Ah want folks to know that, since we're one o'the best ways for folks to get on their feet here.

An' because word's gonna get out 'bout this...please, everypony, be on your best behavior if ya go to the Festival. We're already treadin' on thin ice as it is with Hoovesweek. The last thing we need is them tryin' to rile somethin' up, an' maybe even succeedin'.

...Though Ah wonder. Does anypony know if it'd be possible to gt this place fireproofed magically? Ah think that'd be somethin' worth investin' in, if so.

Anyway, be safe an' warm, everypony.

~~~~~

( Locked to fighters in the Commune, Donna, Andrew, Pollo, Applejack, Arcee, Cirno, Crmsn, Dame Rarity, Dante, Gwen, Hayate, Jou, Lethe, Minato, Morgan, York )

[Somebody looks incredibly pleased with herself. ...Okay, Yang usually looks pleased with herself, but somehow she looks even more so today.]

Hey Happy New Year, everybody!!

You all know what that means, right?

[...Only 358 more shopping days left until Hearth's Warming?]

That's right! You're looking at the soon-to-be newest, full-fledged Night Market guard.

[Princess Luna did say she'd be instated as a full guard at the turn of the new year. Apparently, Yang is hoping that was meant in the most literal sense. Either that or she just really wanted to remind everybody of the fact.]

I think that calls for a little celebration, eh? Who wants to join me for dinner and a few drinks at the Decanter tonight, hmm?

[She definitely means the non-alcoholic apple cider drinks there. ...Ruby, she'll bring a juice box of milk for you or something.]

Speaking of celebrations! I'll be attending that film festival in Canterlot next week. Anybody else coming with me?

[There's an actual pause as she squints at her feed, as if looking for her friends.]

Ruby? You'll go with me, right? Blake, I know you're coming.

[That's followed with a wink.]

Oh! Jaune! How 'bout you? Wanna bring your team along? I do owe you a fun time.

[She grins cheerfully.]

Come on! Who wants to start this year off with a Yang!?

[She's been sitting on that pun since yesterday.

...Good luck trying to talk her out of any of this, guys.]

Tis the season everypony.

[Dame Rarity appears on screen wearing a marvelous pale purple sweater with accenting amethysts added to the collar and cuffs. She does a pose, showing off the comfortable sweater from every angle before taking a step back to reveal various other sweaters in numerous sizes and colors. Along with the sweaters are comfortable winter coats and scarves that obviously match.]

You could say this is my winter collection for this years Hearth's Warming Eve.  Of course, each sweater is made with a material created by yours truly to resist collecting dust or pet hair

And for those of you who are more....battle oriented, I can design warm clothes that are still stylish and battle ready if so desired.

If any pony is interested, please contact me directly and we can discus what you would like.

( [Private to Zetta] )