[The video function comes on right as a dollop of dark blue paint falls on it, nearly obscuring the entire viewing area. There's quiet muttering, too low to hear, and then the paint is wiped up (mostly), to show pony!Michiru, wearing an expression of tried patience. Her teal coat is liberally speckled with paint as well, and there's a large half-finished painting propped up against the wall behind her.]

While I can not claim I've gained enough experience with my new-found levitation powers to paint to my satisfaction, I have found that one can do quite well with a brush held in one's mouth. It is... a touch distasteful, I will admit, and as you can see, far messier than I prefer. But...

[A pause, and a remarkably graceful equine shrug]

It is better than nothing.

I am willing to take commissions, both for barter and bits. Portraiture is a bit beyond me at the moment, but otherwise I am sure I can manage something to please. If nothing else, it keeps me occupied. This place is less eventful than what I am used to. Not that I am complaining mind you. Just an observation.

[A pause, and she lifts her hoof to end the transmission, but hesitates]

Would it be considered too forward to bring a small painting with me to the Gala? As a hostess gift? I am unsure of proper etiquette here.

[Hello, Equestrians, both new and old! Your scrolls come to life, revealing a smiling Celestia. Behind her are several ponies, clearly moving tables and banners and even the occasional circular pan around.]

Good morning, everyone! There are a few days left until the pizza contest, and I am most interested in seeing who might be coming to Canterlot and participating. I am certainly looking forward to seeing what you've all come up with, and trying them all out.

[That smile widens, ever so slightly. She is totally not rubbing her hooves and licking her lips drooling when no one's looking at the prospect, oh no.]

Oh...I almost forgot! I'd like to extend to everyone who owns a scroll a special offer. You see, the prize for participating in the contest is a golden ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, but I would really like to meet all of you up close and personal. So, I am extending a golden ticket to all of you, and hereby invite you all to the Grand Galloping Gala, which shall occur in three weeks' time.

I admit it is a little bit short notice, but I do hope to see you all here in Canterlot for the biggest party of the year-!

[The sounds of crashing glasses, wood thumping, and cats screeching suddenly echo through the background.]

-excuse me for a second. I hear an accident.

((OOC: Pizza contest update here!))

So...just heard about that pizza thing going on. Just gonna tell you guys know in case you haven't tried it already: pizza is awesome. It totally counts as a vegetable, too; I read about it somewhere, so it's legit.

So as the resident pizza expert, I can tell you whatever you need to know. It's pretty easy food, but it's one of those things you can pretty much make however you want. And you know, in case anyone wants to be a real pal and spare me a few slices, that'd be great.

(Don't worry; he's being melodramatic.)

Oh, and to a certain someone: you're welcome. You know who you are.

(The dragon gives the scroll a wink before ending the video.)

While I wish to return home and reverse this unwelcome species transformation as much as anyone else, I shall not waste everypony's time by complaining right now. Better to focus on more immediate things. Is there anyone here who's seen another recent arrival answering to the name of Haruka? I would offer a physical description, but as it seems this rather odd change is universal, I fear I am less helpful than normal in that regard. Though I would not be surprised if she was a pegasus. It could account for why I have not found her yet.

I would also appreciate if someone more used to this whole... pony situation might be able to help me, as I am both an artist and a musician. While neither are my career, they are enjoyable hobbies to pursue in the mean time before I am able to return home, and both currently seem a little difficult due to the limitations of my current form. And yet there is evidence of both artistic and musical influences all around me here. Thus, I would appreciate instruction in how one is supposed to surmount the physical limitations.

[Darkness shot through with flames! Billowing clouds with rumbling lightning deep inside! Then rising up into view, the silhouetted form of Zetta, his powerful body looming over the scroll as he glares down into it, blank white eyes shining and a malicious grin on his face.]

[...yeah, he was always like this, but he's been watching Trixie's shows to get a handle on the magic involved...]

Hyaaa ha ha ha ha! Tremble with terror and respect, Ponyville, for I, Zetta, the most badass freaking Overlord in the cosmos, have come to give you a lecture on how the multiverse works!

[The clouds and flames and lightning and stuff puff away like they'd been hit with a strong breeze. Zetta, of course, retains his flaming mane and blank eyes. Those are, alarmingly, natural.]

Just my luck I'd end up someplace where no one understands a thing about ANYthing, so hopefully this will clear up some misconceptions about the whole Overlord thing. Normally I leave the opening narrations to Pram, so you should all be freaking grateful I'm doing this.

[With his horn glowing a deep purple, Zetta pulls up a piece of paper with a crayon image on it: a deep black space with lots of little spheres on it. Zetta leans into the image, tapping this picture with a pointy stick.]

There is, of course, more than one universe. Your planet here is just one backwater speck in some pointless galaxy in some lesser existence. But the uselessness of your world isn't the point here. The point is...

[The picture flutters away, replaced by another -- this one featuring a gothic tower, an Earth-like world, and (way off in the corner) a stupid-looking angel with Xs for eyes.]

Every universe has three important things. The one we care about is this one. [The stick points to the tower.] The Netherworld is the world of demons, the source of all evil in the cosmos... well, all the evil that matters anyway. The darkness in people's hearts and man's inhumanity to man and all that crap we're ignoring. This is the good kind of evil. Murder. Arson. Theft. Excessive Violence. Unwanted Destruction. Skipping School. Jaywalking with Intent to Loiter. Internet Piracy. What you call crime, we demons call daily life.

For the sake of completion, I'll add that every cosmos has a human world, for the sake of the inevitable dramatic comparisons of how demons and humans aren't that different and all that crap, and the world of good and light, which is called... [Zetta groans, slumps a little, and shuts his eyes.] Celestia. It's a freaking COINCIDENCE, people, don't read too much into it. It's a relatively common word! But that's not the point!

[The picture flutters away, replaced by another -- this one showing a stick figure with mighty, bulging muscles and flaming hair standing above a bunch of other stick figures (and what appears to be a penguin).]

Every Netherworld has a ruler, and that ruler is the Overlord. There's only one way to get the position of Overlord: you beat the demon who has the title. In other words, the Overlord is the strongest demon in the Netherworld. The strongest being in that universe, in fact. You want a guess at how strong they are, imagine something powerful enough to challenge your beloved princess and walk away mostly unharmed -- after mowing through all of you who threw yourselves in the way to protect her without a scratch.

But back to our cosmos. [The first picture returns.] Remember how I said there's more than one universe? That means there's lots of Overlords -- one for every Netherworld. Naturally, one of the jobs of the Overlord is to deal with other Overlords, which, since we're demons, usually involves gratuitous amounts of violence.

So what's the point? [Zetta tosses the picture and the stick away, then turns to face the scroll head-on. Purple light begins to gather not just around his horn, but all over his frame.] The point is that I, Zetta, am the strongest Overlord in the cosmos. Unquestioned, undisputed, acknowledged by all former contenders to that title!

[The power around Zetta becomes such that it begins to coruscate, flaring out and in as beams stab out from its core.]

I am the most badass freaking Overlord there is!

AND I SHALL CONQUER YOUR WORLD THE WAY I HAVE CONQUERED COUNTLESS WORLDS BEFORE IT! SOON, EQUESTRIA WILL BE THE HEART OF A NEW NETHERWORLD! HYAAAAA HA HA HA HA!

[The energy vanishes abruptly, the power outflow cuts off like a choked hose, and suddenly all is normal once again.]

On a related note, as thanks to Trixie for publicizing my amazing presence here, I'd like to encourage you all to go see her show. And hey Trix, if you're listening, that one yesterday was freaking sweet.

Alright. Testing, testing, one two.

[The sound comes in first, distant and echoing. Looks like Robo's still trying to figure out the scrolls. You can't really blame the guy. Magic didn't exactly factor into most of his studies. It's not something you can get a degree in. There's some more indistinct rumbling and the sound of rustling paper before the video kicks in. Robo's got the scroll pinned to a tree with his hooves.]

That's the ticket. Okay, introduction time. In case any of you don't know me yet, the name's Atomic Robo. That's not my full name, mind you, but I've got other things on my agenda right now. I didn't open this call just to make small talk. Not really much to talk about, given the circumstances.

In any case, I have a proposition for you all. While Princess Celestia is, to my knowledge, working on a way to get us out of here as we speak, we need to prepare ourselves in the event that she doesn't come through. It's already been a few days and we haven't heard a word, progress-wise. It's about time we do something for ourselves. Therefore, I'd like to propose a meeting of the minds. Scholars, scientists, magicians, doesn't matter. As long as you're willing to lend ideas or resources, anypo... anybody's welcome. I know this might come off as a little premature, but I've had about enough standing around. It'll be something to occupy our spare time, at least. I know I've had plenty on my hands over here.

Or hooves, I guess. I seriously don't think I can handle the horse puns on top of everything else.

[He glances about for a second, then clears his throat.]

Also, if anybody's willing to offer me some shelter, that'd be great. I don't necessarily need to sleep, but I could do with a roof over my head.

[Hey, remember those scrolls everypony got yesterday? They come to life again, though this time you get the ever-so-pleasant image of a a salmon-pink hoof firmly prodding at the scroll combined with a frustrated, gruff feminine voice.]

Urgh... how am I supposed to get these bucking things working...

[The hoof prods a few more times, then the pony owning it lets out a sigh.]

Guess there's only one way to see if it works...

[The pony stands up, stretching out and looking down at the scroll, speaking up. There's no way to gauge her size, though she is a bit broader than most of the other ponies around.]

Oi! Newponies! I take it that someone around Ponyville has already filled you in on the specifics - what Equestria is, the fact that we don't have any idea how you got here or how to get you home. Hopefully by now you've learned how to walk on four hooves; if not, life's only gonna get harder on ya. There should be unicorns and pegasi willin' to teach you how to use your horns and wings, if nothin' else. Should come naturally enough with enough time, all of it.

ANYWAY. For those of you who didn't see me in that mess with you all, name's Flare Star. Freelance monster hunter, retired town guard. I notice it didn't take folks long to stick their noses where they shouldn't belong - I've heard rumors that an Ursa Minor got woken up, and there's been whispers of ponies wandering in all sorts of unsafe directions. If any of it's true, it's gotta stop.

I get it; a lot of you come from worlds different from this one. Where danger is a constant, not an exception. But the ponies in this world? They don't have any reason t'constantly fear for their lives. Don't give them one, don't muck up this world by fussin' with things you don't know about.

Look, what I'm saying is stay out of the forests south of Ponyville. The Everfree Forest is full of all sorts of nasty magic, and critters there can and will try to kill you, or worse. Stuff both bigger and more deadly than the dragon you woke up next to. If you decide to go in there anyway, you take your life in your own hooves, so if somethin' happens, for the love of Celestia DON'T DRAG IT OUT OF THE FOREST INTO TOWN WITH YOU, OR YOU'RE ENDANGERING A BUNCH OF INNOCENT PONIES.

If anyone's interested in learnin' self-defense as a pony, I can teach ya, but for now the best way to stay safe is to not go into dangerous areas. Th'trains travel between pretty much every town in Equestria, so there's no excuse for wanderin' off on your own outta ignorance.

I'm stationin' myself in a shack not too far from the edge of the forest to make sure no monsters get out of there, but I'd really rather not see any ponies headin' in there, either.

We clear?

[Sometime after the ponies wake up, scrolls and quills suddenly start raining from the sky. Don't worry, its not the ponypocalypse, its just a squadron of flying white ponies dropping them from above.

Once everyone receives one, the scrolls suddenly glow and come to life, its surface revealing the visage of a large white alicorn with rainbow hair and a golden crown, sitting on a large, velvet-upholstered throne. She has a calm, reassuring, regal smile on her face as she speaks, though those who know her better can see the light of worry and concern in her eyes.]

Good afternoon, newponies! I am Princess Celestia.

I've heard of your arrival in Ponyville and of some of the more interesting stories that have come from it. We're...not certain how this phenomenon has occurred, but we here at the royal castle will put our efforts into solving this mystery, and I hope you will help us out as we wish to help you out!

Rest assured, no harm will come to you. Nor, as some of you have worried, are we holding you against your will. On the contrary, you're free to move about Equestria as you please, be it through Ponyville, Los Pegasus or anywhere in between. I only request that you use the scrolls we have provided you to check in from time to time, so that we know where you might be when we figure out the solution to this current situation.

If you have any questions, you are free to ask them of me. If I am not available - and, I will admit, there are times when I can be quite busy - there are many other ponies willing to help you, including the other princesses of Equestria. We are all in this together, after all.

[And then she smiles a little more. Its a much more relaxed smile. The concern is still there, of course.]

But, in the meantime, I'd also like to get to know all of you! I always like to meet new people, after all. I hear we even have a dragon?