Ggghkkk.

(It looks like it's taking Josh everything he's got to NOT lash out at everyone and anyone in reach. That, and he looks hurt - the skin on his cheeks is not slashed but actually abraded.)

Thought I could try - thought that if friendship kicked their ass so bad, I'd let em taste fifty feet of weaponized friendship, let them chew on it.

No dice. Should have known better. 'Weaponized' trumps 'friendship.' And trying to kick those thing's plots? Just makes em laugh. They WANT people to come in looking for tail to kick, even theirs.

As long as this blizzard is goin' on it's not safe for me to launch my ANIMa. At least I got out in time.

For a given value of in time.

If you'll excuse me I gotta try to swallow a bunch of anger I KNOW I have no rational reason to feel. Motherbu-

(He cuts the feed.)

Captain Joshua Preston of the ANIMa Corps and the Royal Dreamguard reporting for duty after involuntary haitus.

Someone please give me a status report.

Preferably HRH Luna, Harvey, Nephenee, Tails, or Kyouko inclusive. I missed you guys.

P.S: AJ, if you still want a farmhand I still want a room.

[Action]

When Coco went to sleep last night, she was working on the finishing touches on costumes for Nightmare Night. She knew it would get busy but she didn't expect to get this busy. It wasn't a bad thing since that meant a lot of money, but it's been making her work late at night. So she had dozed off on her desk in the Boutique.

When she did wake up, she somehow found herself in some stable. She can't even remember how she got there.

What was worse is that she was not in her body, but rather the body of a red pegasus stallion.

So in her freaked out state, there was only one reaction she could make to all this: She screams.

[Visual]

[The video starts up in what appeared to be a stable in Sweet Apple Acres. Although a little time has passed, there's a red pegasus stallion freaking out.]

C-can somepony please tell me what's going on?! Why am I in a stable?! Why am I a stallion?!

Kreutzer! Clover! Fluttershy! Anypony?

Help?

"Hey. If, uh, anyone here's been having unusually nice dreams lately, it's thanks to Princess Luna."

Pause.

"The one that is currently in Zebrica? Y'know what, let's just give her a nickname, or this'll get confusing. So. If you've been having nice dreams, it's because Woona apparently feels like she needs to do something to make our lives a little brighter after all the recent nonsense we've been put through."

...Mako's ears are flat against her skull. That is a bad sign.

"So now I come to the bad news: last night, I had a chat with Woona in the dreamworld, and, well...some kind of dark spirit of nightmares has latched onto her fear and self-doubt and is working to trap her in the dreamworld forever. So! I'd like to know if there's any way to physically enter the dreamworld and save her, or if I just have to hope there are enough of us capable of lucid dreaming to defeat the spirit on its own turf. Mako out!"

[It's really no surprise that Nephenee is...more than a little unhappy about attempt #217 by the resident Overlord to take over the place. But this time it's worse, and he made the mistake of doing something that threatened the crops, and by extension, the populace at large.

Yeah, no.]

So as most of y'all've no doubt noticed, a certain demon decided to threaten the place. Again. Unfortunately, he's also threatening the crops if he goes through with this, and as much as Ah'd like to demonstrate to him what he can do with quite a few lances...we've got to get things stored up in case this goes south. Ah'd really appreciate the help, since there's a lot to be done. We're gonna need help cannin' an' perservin' stuff, an'...it might be a long shot, but when Ah was at Rakuen City, Ah read ya can make lights that simulate the sun...if there's anyway we can get somethin' similar, that would help a lot.

Likewise, Ah'll do my best to help y'all over at Sweet Apple Acres, too, an' anywhere else Ah can.

( Filtered from Cirno )

[Andrew looks frazzled -- following a partial soul donation up with a near-immediate dungeon dive might not have been his best move, but he'd really believed he needed to act before anything else could happen. He'd been sort of right, too, going by how much has come to light in the interim. With how thoroughly everyone's lives have been falling apart lately, perhaps it's little wonder nopony thought to make an announcement re: Pollo. In a way, too, it's good to have put several days between them and the event, and it's easier to be sure it really worked.

He squints into the scroll and clears his throat, gaze flicking only briefly to where Pollo sits nearby in the same room.]

Unless you're very very new you're probably aware of the return of the Mechakara personality in recent weeks. What you're probably not aware of is the fact that we've fixed it. Permanently. A team of us stripped Mechakara out the day after the slumber party, and it's only Pollo in there now. Sort of. No more bloodlust, no more flare-ups, nada, zip, zilch, one more crisis averted. Any questions?

[He looks just a tiny bit wild-eyed, as if that's a challenge rather than an invitation. And no, it's not just you, he really didn't explain a bucking thing about it just now.]

[Tails is outside, but he's got a determined expression on his face.]

Guys, I know things look grim and that it seems hopeless. But the moment we start giving up, the Pale Pony wins.

Yes we don't have the means to beat her and yes she's got several of our loved ones in there, but you know what? I don't think the ones trapped in there would want us to sit around all miserable and waiting for the Pale Pony to take us too.

Instead we should keep going and work harder to find a way to save everyone and beat her. Even if takes many more months to do so, I think we can find a solution of some sort. We can do this! We can win! We just have to keep trying. If we work together somehow, everything will turn out okay.

I realize there will be some ponies that will accuse me of being naive or trying to spread false hope, but my only response to that is this:

You have two choices. Either continue to wallow in self-pity or you can pick yourself up and deal with it. Quit trying to bring everyone else down. You're not helping yourself or any of us.

[He takes a deep breath to calm himself down.]

Sorry guys, but I'm just getting tired of ponies being such negative nancys. I don't usually make prep-talks, but I hope that helps. At least a little.

[Even though the scrollwork has cut on to a visual feed, the room is dark, with all the curtains drawn shut and only the faintest trickle of light shining through them. The mare speaking looks like she'd been run over by the 4:50 Express, and if the cups of water and...what appear to be a raw egg next to her are any indication, she knows damn well why she hurts so much. Her voice is a low, hoarse mutter, but loud enough to be audible.]

Flanks and fetlocks, I'm a buckin' idiot. First and foremost: you're all right, I'm a damn idiot. Let's just... let's just get business out of the way, yeah...?

First: I wish I could undo the crap I spewed at you, Hamato. You didn't deserve that, even if it felt like you were twistin' the knife at the time. We'd... we'd known for about a day by the time y'said anything. We.....we took it real well, Harv and I. You didn't deserve what we did t'ya.

Second: Just because I don't want to kill anyone anymore doesn't mean you don't deserve to have your face turned into abstract art, Goggles. You're an asshat and if there was any justice in th'world you'd be the Pale Pony's bitch instead of all the innocents out there forced to be sucked into her.

[Flare's voice lowers to a rough growl, but she cuts herself off with a fit of coughing before it goes too far.]

Third: Thanks for at least stoppin' us before we were dumber, Lyra. Sure felt like you were stabbin' us in the back and agreein' with Goggles sayin' Harv was useless when it happened, though. Dunno if he'll still think you feel that way when he wakes up, but he still did before he finally passed out.

[The pegasus glances over her shoulder, reluctantly, at the earth pony still passed out behind her. Ugh, she can deal with hangovers, but something told her she wasn't going to like the aftermath of this one.]

Fourth: Dust, if you're still around and don't mind fixing up a wrecked apartment, the place is all yours. I don't think I c'n stay there at the moment. Gonna be here with Harv for a while.

Fifth: Sorry, Rarity. Kinda totaled the apartment y'gave to me. Better than takin' it out on a pony, I guess. Dash, don't worry, that thing you got me is built t'withstand a rainboom, so at least it's still in one piece, though I gotta lug it here now.

And I guess the last thing I gotta say is... well, if you don't understand why the two of us were such buckin' foals last night... give it time. Sooner or later, th'Pale Pony's gonna take away everyone you love, too. And it's gonna hurt. That's why I was so eager a few weeks ago.

Sorry.

[And with that, Flare rolls up the scroll with a quiet grunt. Maybe she can wallow in her idiocy for a few weeks, now.]

Guys, Liz is gone. I've been looking for her the past few days, and...I think the Pale Pony probably had a hoof in it.

Princess Luna, Harvey...uh, Dr. Linksano, if you need to talk, I'm in the artichoke patch.

( Private to Princess Twilight Sparkle and Maytwi )

--

( Private to TT!Don )

(...and backdated to before the Slumber Party.)

Dealing with the Pale Pony is a problem we can't tackle right now, so let's deal with the lesser of two evils. Let's not get sidetracked.

Have we got a plan to deal with screwing Pollo's head back on straight? I'm more than willing to help with a dreamwalk, if I need to.

Give me all the info you've got. Give me a game plan. Give me SOMETHING to work with, something I can DO to help.


( Private to Nephenee )

When the scroll turns on, Hayate is practically vibrating, a wide grin on her muzzle.

"Hey everyone! Lyra gave me the Works!"

...HAYATE NO

"It was amazing and I've had it four more times since then!"

NO STOP

"So, um, I thought, since I am the Guardian Angel of Ponyville and all us scroll-bearers, I'd just say, well...if you're here in the Crystal Empire you should totally get the Works too, and if you're back in Ponyville you should still come here and get the Works. Seriously."

WHYYYYYYYYY

[Joshua opens the scroll, and two large pink eyes greet you all. Smoke trails out of a blowhole in his large peach colored head, in the vague form of Nephenee's lance.

After a second with absolutely nothing to say, he says:]

Yeah, what is this I don't even.

At least it doesn't seem to be interferin' with my ability to Pilot at all, which raises MORE questions.

...I'm not the only one this hit, am I. What the crispy sharn is going on?

[He shakes his head.]

Aw Musharna.

( Action, private to Yukiko )


[Visual]

[After being found by one Yukiko, Neph had been ushered into bed, cold compresses all over, and so when she pops up on the scrolls, she's got one on her forehead as she lays in bed, face flushed and tired. For anyone who's seen her lately, it's probably fairly obvious she's managed to push herself too hard. Grinning sheepishly, she hesitantly speaks.]

Um...Ah, uh...need to write rain checks for a few folks...um, Ah...mighta worked myself too hard an' gotten a lil' sick an' passed out...Ah'm sorry for inconveniencin' folks...

[Can she hide under the covers now? It sounds like a good idea.]

Ah'll make it up to folks after Ah get better...But Ah'll be fine, honest!

[Dammit Neph, you don't get to say that AFTER you pass out!]

[Donna's expression is not a happy one when she appears on the scroll, but it is determined. Andrew isn't here right now, which means someone has to pick up the slack. She's addressing Celestia directly, but the scroll is open. Everyone needs to hear this.]

Princess Celestia, where exactly is Stalliongrad, and what's the fastest way to get there? If you've seen Zetta's message, we need to know immediately.

Or... Alastor. You're the one who can teleport, right? I remember seeing on the scrolls. Can you use Zetta's scroll message to get a group of fighters to where he is to stop him?

[The scroll flickers on to show nothing but white. Distantly, beneath a blowing wind, the sounds of whirling propellers and hard work press faintly through. Then crunching -- the unmistakable sound of hooves compressing snow.]

Aww, crap.

[The viewpoint jerks up to reveal the Overlord, snow spotting his coat but not his fiery mane, as he stands in the midst of a swirling blizzard. In the distance, barely visible, his minion horde marches off the airship he'd long ago stolen for Talk Like A Pirate Day and... neglected to return.]

Who the hell designs a magic scroll that's so easy to accidentally turn on?

Hmph. Looks like the cat's out of the bag. [Smirking, the Overlord sweeps a hoof out as he turns the scroll to reveal great mounds of snow lumping up across an otherwise featureless plain. Closer inspection shows that these lumps are in fact ruins, crumbled buildings in various states of decay.]

Stalliongrad. The site of an ancient battle between ponies and windigos, and if Princess Celestia's dreams are anything to go on, the Frozen Fire of Friendship just might be here somewhere. Once I find it, I'll have all the power of ice and snow that the windigos have... and then Equestria will either be mine, or a frozen hell of ponies in ice blocks, trapped and wishing their Princesses had surrendered instead of condemning them! Hyaaa ha ha ha ha!

[Zetta flicks his tail at the scroll as he turns to match towards the ruins, shutting it off.]

When the scroll turns on, it shows Hayate, sitting in her cloud shack and looking thoughtful, her wings rustling in contemplation.

"So, uh...today I realized something. It's been eight months since I showed up here, you know? And in all that time, I haven't died once. This is the longest I've ever gone without getting killed!"

Her wings shudder briefly before fully extending.

"It's actually kind of weird, really, and I'm not sure how to deal with it. Like, what if I get out of the habit? I mean...I'd have to relearn how to fight and everything! So, uh...anyone got any good tips? Where can a girl go to get killed around here?"

...uh-huh.

Joshua Preston pegasus teenager of ACTION is doing what he can to harvest apples from Sweet Apple Acres, and to scout out overhead for any breaks in the fence, or anything else.

"Sup, Equestria. Any more chores to be done at the Acres, guys? We're - eh, I'm trying to get stuff at the farm ready in case I'm needed for any reason. I might be heading away for a while on a trip, and I wanna follow the old Boy Scout rule 'bout leavin' the place better'n I found it."

Visual:
[There's another scroll visual on this day, fairly early actually, but this is certainly intentional on Nephenee's part, if the fact that she's clearly holding it is any indication. For a few moments, she doesn't actually say anything, seeming unsure of what to say as she looks away. And really, it's not like it's an easy topic to speak of, not after the past year -time traveled or not- on her end. When she does speak, it's not her usual happy, or even anxious, tone, and she doesn't make eye contact with the magic paper.]

...[Bloody heck, how does she even start this?]
...Um...so Ah heard today's Father's Day here an' in a few other worlds. Ah...don't want to get everypony's spirits down, but...Ah...realized there are some folks like myself that have lost a parent, or both, an'...after...relivin' losin' mine while Ah was away, Ah wanted to do somethin' for those who've lost theirs.

[That doesn't sound good. She quickly turns the scroll to show the area behind where she's standing, a large willow with painted wooden displays around it, each different colors -sky blue, earth tones, and the largest is burgundy-, each with items inside. A few might recognize them as the memorials from February, and the items are exactly as they had been then, if a few added. Preservation magic is rather useful like that. There's also a small pile of wood and paint nearby.]

These are memorials for folks that have passed on...the burgundy one is for anypony to leave items at, an' Ah wanted to remind folks it's here, if they wanted to make use of it. Or, if ya want, Ah can help make small memorials to hang from the branches.

Ah'll be here for a few hours to do rites an' such...

[Even with her out of view, her voice is strained enough that it's fairly easy to know she's holding onto calm with a slipping grip, so she decides to quickly finish.]

So...come down if ya need anythin', or lemme know if ya can't make it but wanna do somethin'...or even if ya need a shoulder.

...Thank ya for your time.

Action:
( For those receiving flowers and coming to the hill, or onlookers )

[OOC: Known CR with at least one parental figure passed to get flowers include: Bertie, Mae, Dante, Vergil, Female!Dante (she assumes), Utchy, Morgan, Yayoi, Minato, Don, Josh. Please let me know via plurk or PM if I've missed someone you think she'd know.]