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.

[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.]

[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?

Maybe I'm just homesick, but knowing that this party is only a few weeks away, I've been wondering how strange it would be to attend in ...a mask.

[Because if there's one thing a party needs, it's a tiny fox in a mask.]

...I never thought I'd ever have to ask something like that, it's almost hard to imagine a large event without masks. You see, back in Clock Town we held a similar yearly Carnival and mask wearing was simply tradition. Seeing as I missed...ours, I thought it could be...fun...to make more masks with...others.

[He almost sounds hesitant, but it's Kafei so who's even surprised anymore.]

Unless it's too strange, of course, I wouldn't want to ruin your own traditions. ...And provided I even attend.

Some would say that I'm rather late with this statement, but I say I'm being fashionable. I'm quite glad that that insidious centaur Tirek got exactly what he deserved! Grrgh, I offered him quality scientific genius under the conditions I could manage and he poo-poo's it like last week's chili dogs!

[Oh, yes. Some people wouldn't take too kindly to trying to team up with supervillains.]

... Ehh, not that I didn't give him the ol' what for! Don't look at me that way, I was completely on your side.

What was I saying... oh yes, having been sent flying over town gave me a good view of the place. It's, to put it politely, a backwaters dump! What you all need is mechanization. Industry!

Science!

So that some magic-hungry goat doesn't get the better of us ever again, I, the ingenious Dr. Rrrrrobotnik, am announcing plans to start up an ironworks, for metalry and robot-building! Well? This is your big break! I could use some mini-err, partners for this noble venture. So who's in!?

[Oh look, it's a little dumb dragon in a big dumb hardhat, a set of blueprints rolled up under his arm.]

So yeah I get that the last several weeks - hey, lets call it, the last month - has sucked pretty bad, but you know what doesn't suck really bad?

Video games~

See, since there's a lot of dumb, empty land around the place, we're taking some of that dumb empty land outside town and making it awesome by putting an arcade there. It should be up and running by this time next month, but hey since this place is lame and not like there's much else to do...

You can come and test some of the machines my boys and I made so far. You know. Get a chance to play a few games for free. I'm a pretty nice guy, so I think I can spare that for you, cause you'll be coming back when it opens in proper next month.

Though if you're gonna send a few bits my way, hey, I don't mind.

[With everything settling back down again, it should be the best time to relax. But it apparently was the opposite for Tadashi, who could be seen pacing around his room at the commune. His tail flicked with every turn, and the expression on his face was more agitated and troubled than normal for those who had seen him before.

Another passing turn had him pausing, finally noticing the scroll was open. And for a moment he almost seemed to glare at it, his hardened expression persisting as he debated whether to simply roll it up.

But it only lasted a moment before his expression softened, and he managed a small, if somewhat weary smile.]

Anyone feel like grabbing a drink?

...Or taking a walk. Or...something.

[It just seemed like he could use the company.]

So, hey. I've got a question, now that th'world is back to what passes for "normal" 'round here.

What do you do if it turns out that you've been livin' a lie all your life? Not, like, in the Mayfield sense, but... what if you thought you were a hero and you turned out to only be hurtin' people, or...

[Flare goes quiet, and glances away.]

...or what if you believed you were cursed, only t'find out it was all in your head, and you were only holdin' yourself back? What do you do when you find that sorta thing out?

( [Private to Zetta] )

[Just by a couple homes, a giant, metallic, futuristic bed has found its way smack dab in the middle of the road. It's clear to see that the bed, ominous and imposing with its dark purple color and 'face', though offset just a bit by the pig snout emblem above it, is occupied. Lying in the bed, protected by a glass capsule, is a familiar boy.

... Boy? Was it appropriate to call him that?

He had all the features of a fat, young boy, but over them were all the features of a decrepit man: wrinkled, pale skin and gray hair.

The man lied there, gasping for breath, lounging underneath the sunny blue sky with not a single means available to him to escape it. If anyone approaches him, he'd turn his head, weakly, and say in his tired, scratchy, though bratty voice...]

... Like what you see...?

Friggin' finally!

[The teen stretches on screen of the scroll, doing it if just because he could. The differences between Pokey as a twelve year old and as a fifteen year old, from the start of Mayfield and the few years of peace in the better town to his start here are pretty miniscule and would only be noticeable to the few who knew him back in the digital town - he's taller, maybe a bit thinner though it's hard to really tell, and he has the start of a scraggly beard, something he had fought to keep under control before giving up on it when he could.

Not many differences, but for a boy who was never supposed to make it to his teenage years anyway, enough of one.

He intertwines his fingers and pops them, obnoxiously, because God. Human body. Wonderful.]

Great as it was to be a dragon [let him stress that world, he was a dragon] I was getting tired of that crap. Kind of done with it, though I'm pretty sure this dumb place isn't going to let it last. But hey, for now, if you're like me? You've got a problem. And that problem is that the dumb baby furniture here doesn't work for you anymore.

Well, lucky for you I'm here and can solve that. I've got your beds, your tables, your nightstands, whatever stupid crap you need, I can make it.

[And make it indeed he does, one of each piece of furniture appearing behind him as he mentions them, just waving his hand a little to make them materialize. He had kind of gone to Zetta's to become his minion just because it had sounded like a sweet deal at the time; with danger pretty much being inevitable, more power sounded great. Thing was, Pokey was never a fighter, and he damn sure wasn't going to just go and run at this centaur that was tearing everything up, power or not.

But using the mana boost as an accessory to strengthen the dumb little creation powers Mayfield had left him and any of its survivors with? That he could do.]

In fact, I'm such a nice guy, the first piece of furniture you need? I'll mark 40% off! Hey, easy as this is for me it isn't free you know. Guy's got to eat even in this dump. This offer is good for all you weirdos just getting here too.

Oh. Hey.

If any of you weirdos are from Mayfield and know me....hey.

Just let me know you're here, alright?

[They haven't seen each other since the dream incident and he had to count his lucky stars that the boy hadn't stumbled into his like the rest. One could only imagine what narcissistic thoughts Pokey had when sleeping and altogether, it was better that neither knew. So it seemed all of a sudden when a visual of the white rat appeared on Pokey's scroll.]

Those mines are a part of this world nobody in this town were allowed admittance into until now, correct? Accompany me there.

Yeah hey hi. So, I don't really have a horse in this idiot race but I've got a question for a bunch of you. You know. You guys who want to jump back into the monster that has us here to get your friend back?

Are you idiots?

...Okay. Maybe that's a bit harsh even if it's probably true! Cause you've got every right to want to tear this thing apart. I mean I sure want to. But hey let's consider something. So you get inside to find your friend.

Then what?

Let's say that you somehow don't find yourself in an environment you know nothing about, that this thing doesn't have several layers of terrifying defense you know nothing about, and that you aren't helpless before this thing. Assuming all that miraculously happens to be true and you do find her?

How do you know this thing hasn't done something to her? How do you know it hasn't done something to all of us for that matter, but specifically the person it got its hands on? How do you know, if you can get to her beyond all odds, the thing keeping us here didn't want you to find her?

I've seen this crap happen time after time after time, and I don't care what super duper powers or junk you think you have, going back into this thing is a terrible idea that at best is just going to end in you getting caught or at worst is going to make this dumb thing angry enough to decide it needs to punish all of us.

I'm not saying don't be angry or want to do something, just don't do something that can only get you killed because you're so pissed you decide you're not going to care what you do, just that you're going to do something. You can't win in this. Only chance you got is maybe appealing to it like whatever nerdlinger wrote that sappy note here a day or two ago. The thing doesn't seem to actively be trying to kill us, so maybe it'll listen to you trying to beg it. Maybe.

...I'm not saying don't miss her. I'm just saying that maybe if you're at a point where you want to get back something you lost so bad that you're that fixated on it, it...isn't really about the thing you lost. It's just about you. And if that's the reason you're going into this monster, that's a pretty terrible reason. I dunno why people were jumping into it in the first place, I'll be a nice guy and give the benefit of a doubt that it was for a good reason. So do you really wanna negate her good reason with a bad one?

You can't brute force something like this. No matter how hard you try. That's it. It'd be a good idea to learn that.

Jeez.

[The scroll opens up to the probably the most pleasant sight you'll see all day: a salivating yogurt zombie, mouth agape as it just stares at the scroll, yogurt on its muzzle and dripping on to the parchment. The zombie makes a throaty, hungry sound as it starts to bite at the scroll, trying to get the yogurt that it missed. It isn't long after this display that an angry voice rings out at it.]

Hey! Stupid! Don't eat that!

[And soon enough the little dragon shows up, apparently wielding a rolled up magazine and using it to swat the zombie in the face a few times until it lets the scroll go. The kid is either brave or stupid, with the latter seeming far more likely. Still, the zombie eventually lets go of the scroll, it rolling to the ground and giving a shot of a cave ceiling, as the zombie begins to moan and growl at the swatting.

Pokey, for his part, just sounds annoyed.]

Yeah, yeah, shut up and get back to your side, Facesmasher. Look, see, over there? Look what's waiting for you.

[There's the soft groan from 'Facesmasher' as it shambles towards it's corner, and shortly after the slorping sound of it as it chows down on its food of choice. Pokey just snorts at it.]

Y'know, you'd be a lot cooler if you were an actual zombie, but beggars can't be choosers, whatever that means. Still probably one of the coolest things here.

...Dunno what I'm gonna use you for. Could pull a chariot for me, but eh. Just one zombie horse isn't going to cut it. And it's not like you're any good as an attack dog...horse. Whatever. Not unless I slather someone in yogurt somehow.

....Huh. Yogurt weaponry....

[There could be something there. Enough so that he'll just continue pondering the usefulness of yogurt based weaponry, if just to annoy others, oblivious to the fact that his scroll is open.]

[Late at night, when everyone has gone to sleep, one may open their scroll and see a picture of the moon. The windigos may have done their damage, but the still night of winter makes the view as clear as crystal. Aside from this, there's nobody that can be seen there. Just the night sky and the slow drift of clouds across the moon.]

*sigh* Hello, father.

I've been missing you. Even though I know you're not actually there. But maybe you can still hear me?

It's been almost two months since I left from home. I've made some friends! The ponies here are here are very funny. They laugh and get upset, but deep down I can tell they're just like people back... home.

I can't help but wonder why I am here, father. Something must have happened. And I want to go back home. And yet, I find myself conflicted. These people, they need help. They are strong, and noble, and kind, and they are in great peril. There are dangers here. Can you forgive me if I choose to stay?

Please understand. I don't want to be alone, and yet... I don't want to leave them either. They are too precious to have these bad things happen to them.

I'm finding myself falling into bad habits again, too. Maybe you taught me too well? I wonder, though. I wonder if it is safe enough. I would very much like to be honest. But... maybe I should wait, just a little longer.

[Suddenly, there's a voice that goes throughout Ponyville. It's only as strong as a talking voice, but curiously only being heard in the right ear. For those curious enough to open up their scrolls to see what's going on, they would see a white unicorn with red eyes in their visual port. As they did, they would also find that their normal hearing has returned.]

[The message that is being said is the same for both.]

Greetings. Is what I am supposed to say to implicitly suggest that I come as a non-threat. I know this is the first time I have communicated with everypony this way. Do not be alarmed. I will be brief.

I have given the matter of our current circumstances some thought and I have devised two ideas that may be useful to you. As you may not be aware, beyond the reach of your universe there is a deep beyond that is intractable to you. It is a land of perpetual chaos which does not follow any known law save for the beings that reside there. Between these lands of order and chaos there is a narrow ring where the two touch. Consider a bubble; it would be the soapy suds swirling and ready to pop.

The windigo threat was another presence of chaos entering into this world. Our--their kind thrive on the energy of chaos. This Calice is similar as well - a being of chaos consuming into itself those of us she wishes to acquire. Yet we are also seeing many of the rules of order be in observance. Of course we have our Princesses to thank for this in part, but it would seem that the natural inclination of this world itself demands their intervention lest everyone succumbs to the darkness of chaos.

For those of you with the lack of intelligence to follow this locomotive of thought. We are in that narrow band between chaos and order. And it would seem the denizens of chaos has taken quite an interest in unbalancing this world into one that suits them.

If you have any questions about this, I will hear you.

[The voice then comes from everywhere.] Trust. Me.

[The images blinks and stares quietly into the scroll.]

You know even after being here like, half a year, I'm always surprised by the dumb crap you horses keep thinking up. I mean, I guess Valentine's Day isn't exactly a tradition you idiots have on your own, but it's still a dumb idea. But you know what?

I guess what it's meant to represent isn't, much as some people here think it's something to be scared of. And I guess it's scary. I mean, it is I guess, if you're a weeny. Or just...have never had it or...

Know what? Love is super important. Here's why. Stick with me if you idiots think you can, cause here's a good reason.

I'm a pretty mean guy. I don't really hide it. And I do pretty mean things. But if you met me before the last place I was you'd see how nasty I really could be. I don't mean like throwing pies in each others faces or tripping one another or whatever you all think are war crimes. I did stuff that'd blow your little pony minds. And I was pretty sure I'd always be that way.

But then, the last place I was? And yeah, this is cliche, I met someone. A girl.

It started off pretty great, too. I mean first time I met her she put a weapon to my head because I was screwing around in her back yard making a map of the town we were in, so it was pretty romantic from the start. And you know, I guess people wouldn't think she had the best temperament: she was loud, and bossy, and sarcastic and rude.

She was a lot of the things I was. But underneath that? She also had a decency to her. She was brave where I was a coward, and and patient where I rushed at crap, and even though a lot of people wouldn't see it? She could be kind, when she wanted to be, when I was just a cruel jerk. I related to her because of the immediate parts of myself I saw in her but, you know. I came to care about her because of the better parts of her, and how she treated to me.

Like I said, I'm not a nice guy. No one had really been nice to me before, aside from my brother. ...And my neighbor, though I screwed him over in the end. He was my friend; I was never really his. But anyway? The fact that she showed me kindness, that she actually wanted to be my friend, include me in things...that was the first time anyone ever had. I dunno. I think at first I just wanted to impress her, but as time went on I guess I realized...

She taught me how to care, even if she didn't know she was. And because of that I actually had friends for once. Had a home. And because I could see myself in her but also something better than me, I wanted to be better than I was too. If I had never met her, who knows. Maybe my luck would've been crappy like it always was and I'd never try and change. Your luck would be crappy too.

See. I want to improve because of the people I know back there, and because of her. Because I love them. I love her.

And the reason I'm telling you this, something none of you losers deserve to hear in a hundred years, is because the fact that I love her and want to be better? Is the only reason I haven't decided to slit your collective throats and push your dumb, metaphorical bodies in front of a freight train by trying to find someone who could help me get back to them for the cost of betraying you. And I'd do it to. Because I don't care about you. But I care about her. And because I care about her, I can't. I can't think about selling you out or, if there were no takers on that, just rampaging about and ruining you idiots day on a daily basis.

That and if history is any indicator? I'm going to end up spilling this crap anyway when Valentine's actually gets here. I hate these places for that.

So if you're a complete moron who thinks love and relationships are really that fragile, consider this. It's because it isn't that you have one less psycho to deal with screwing you here.

You're welcome.

[Private to Giegue]

Hey boss.

Let's talk.

[Because he can't imagine a rant like this wouldn't attract Giegue's attention. Or that he'd have to defend himself over it.

Might as well jump right at the lion and get it over with.]