[Hol Horse is fiddling with the scroll, lightly poking at it now and again. It's almost as if he's rather indecisive as to what to do with it. Frowning, he heaves a sigh and shakes his head.]

So, supposin' one of ya could help me out? Just a little question, gotta get things right again.

[He idled waved a hoof in the air as he looked away while speaking. Within seconds he returned his attention to the scroll.]

Pretty sure I won't get the answer I'm lookin' for but doesn't hurt t' try, right?

Eh... heh. If I'm gonna be stuck here, might as well get used to things...

[Hol Horse wasn't exactly the most happiest looking individual on this day. Partly because he was stuck in the body of a tiny horse. Again. Without having an answer for his current state of being, the once cowboy simply made his way toward the edge of town. He swayed from side to side as he walked, but it's nothing unusual when one's not normally a small talking pony.]

Psh, with any luck no one's gonna remember me.

[Which may or may not hold true! For those who remember this stick in the mud, maybe a familiar face or two would lighten his mood.]

'S embarassin'... Bah! Now what d' I do?

[For those who don't recall this one, don't worry... he's not all that bad. Coming to stop at the base of a tree, he finally takes that scroll of his and glares down at it. Without so much as another word, he simply pokes it a few times before lying down to face away from it. What a friendly guy.]

[Hey there, fillies and colts! Its Celestia again, this time, back in her bedroom. Her scroll is positioned so those who see this and respond can tell she is hard at work. And also see her room, which is just as bright and golden as ever. Even the mirrors seem to glint gold on the edges at least from the scroll angle.

Anyhow, she isn't calling to make you all jealous of her kick-flank room. The old symbology book is on her desk.]

Well, it appears I've figured out what the symbol is. I almost feel rather silly not remembering it, but the last I saw it was a long time ago.

[At this, she holds up a picture she drew herself.]

This is a symbol of a legendary alicorn in the old Unicorn Kingdom, who was said to be friend to all living creatures, especially children and the downtrodden. The very first alicorn at the beginning of time, in fact, and also said to be the last alicorn at the end of time. She was supposedly a beautiful, all white filly with long, dark, shiny hair. We called her the Pale Pony. That's what the P is for. Its her banner.

[Paper down.]

Back when I was a filly, when there was a sick pony in a household, the family would carve one of these symbols and affix it to their house. This was the means of communicating to the Pale Pony that she was to bring a pony to one of her domains. She'd come up with a sled made of sparkling gems and adorned with her banner, I was told, and would shoot across the sky to her kingdom. Then, she'd place ponies to where they were supposed to go. Good ponies went to Sunnyside, where children were given candy and adults didn't have to work. Bad ponies would go to Downpour, where it always rained and made everything soggy. That's what the arrows symbolize.

[A pause. A small, sad smile flashes across her face, before it disappears.]

Of course, I wanted to go there, not realizing the deeper implications. But only because of the candy. I had such a sweet tooth as a child!

[What do you mean "had"-]

Ah! That being said, my ponies, what have you found? And...well, have any of you gone into the basement? As I've said, it can be quite dangerous, so please, if you decide to take such a risk, make sure you're prepared. I will be disappointed if I found any of you disappeared because you fed the zombies pudding on accident!

[Hey there, everyone! Here's someone who hasn't been on the network much; He seems to be working on painting the panel!]

Ok...and...done!

[...Wait. Why is Don's voice coming from behind the scroll. As Don's voice speaks, his body starts awkwardly trotting in several different directions, as if it were indecisive.]

Ok, now that I'm...done...nope, right, go right...turrrrrn around...Ok.

[And as Don's body turns, well...be prepared, Equestrians, as his head tilts around - finally - looks at the camera.

He has no face.

No.

Really.]

So, uh...I'm just wondering. Those who...might know something about equine medicine. Is it normal for your face to float away from the rest of your body while you sleep? Because...that happened. And...every time I try to get my body towards my face it...randomly starts floating towards another part of the room. I can...mostly control my body, but since it can't see where it's going...you can see where problems would start.

[There is a sheepish chucking at this. The body, meanwhile, is tilting its head and scratching its back with its back hind leg.]

If this is not normal, ah, just for the record, I am not allergic to penicillin. And...take your time getting here to check me out if you need to, I'm in my home and not...going to be going anywhere for...obvious reasons. And, uh, no pain. Just...this.

[At this, the horse body began to feel around for the scroll, in order to turn it off.]

Nope, wait, overeaching-

[Click.]

Greetings, mares! Greetings, gentlecolts! The Great and Powerful Trixie shall wish upon you all a good day! But there is something that many fear which has come to pass! Alas, The Summer Sun Celebration has been cancelled due to some unforeseen statue vandalism. But worry not!

The Great and Powerful Trixie has taken it upon herself to astound everypony with a very surprising announcement! In two days from now, she shall be holding a celebration of her own, in order to make up for the lost one! That is correct, my enthusiastic admirers! Trixie has written up a special story for just such an impromptu occasion, and shall be performing at sunrise!

So Come one, come all, my adoring audience! Come celebrate the very rising of the sun with the most powerful Equine to have ever existed! She awaits the look of all your eager faces and the sound of your appreciative applause!

[Is Trixie capitalizing on this just to boost her popularity or does she genuinely want others to be happy and is making the best out of a bad situation? You decide!]

...This message has been a long time coming. I should've made it sooner, but I was so caught up in my own problems, I didn't take enough time to realize that I'm not the only one with problems...and I'm sorry for that. Now that I've had the time to think things through, I've decided that I want to be more open with myself, not only for my sake, but hopefully for others.

(She sighs. A part of her doesn't want to go through this, but she's forcing herself to anyway.)

My name is Twilight Sparkle. While I'm a natural unicorn, I'm not the native Twilight to this Equestria; my true origins lie in a town known as Mayfield. For those who don't know, Mayfield was a virtual construct meant to house various individuals from any and all points in space and time. Everyone brought there was stripped of their abilities, forms and anything else that separated them from being "normal" and forced to live together as families. For now, I'll spare the details, but know that it was far from the happy place it pretended to be. Despite the numerous tortures we endured, the hardest one to endure was accepting that the entire town was simply a simulation in a computer...and all of us in it were digital clones of who we represent. They told us that despite our survival, we could never return home; that we would all vanish out of existence once the server ran out of power.

I don't know how or why it happened, but several Mayfield survivors, myself included, woke up here in Equestria...my other home of origin.

For the past two months, I've been struggling to figure out why my home doesn't feel like home, why I feel so inferior to the other Twilight and to a certain degree, why I don't want to be here. I might not have found all of the answers I'm looking for yet, but I remembered something I want to share with not just fellow Mayfield survivors, but anyone listening to me, whether you're a native or an outsider. Despite the horrors that town inflicted on us, it taught us one incredibly crucial fact: no matter what life throws at us, we're all family. We were brought there together, we lived together, we fought together and we survived together. Even when we were told our lives would be cut dramatically short, we all faced the end together. It might not have been what we wanted, but the fact that we all stood side by side and made sure each of us kept going made it all feel as if everything would be alright.

So after two months of feeling I don't belong anywhere, I've realized that I belong to both Equestria and Mayfield, that across both worlds, I have family in each of them. I know this will sound selfish, but after spending time getting reacquainted with my Equestrian family, I want to catch up with my Mayfield family. Even if we haven't had any interaction back then, being here now means we should stick together, just like we all did back then. We Mayfielders went through things others might never understand, so instead of trying to overcome it alone, I want to overcome it with you and help you all across, as well. It's what we've done since the very beginning; it's worked for us every time so far and I think it'll work here, too.

Even though not everyone came from Mayfield, I don't see why I can't extend the same offer to you. While we may group together with those who share our origins, I propose we also group together as one...because no matter where we came from, we're all here now. Whether we want to go back home or start new lives here, we're all moving forward, so why not move on side by side? We were brought here together, we're living together, we'll fight together and in the end, we'll survive together.

[On the scroll appears the face of a young colt with small golden glasses and truly obnoxiously large ears. He's new -- at least, you probably haven't seen him before -- but unlike most newponies he doesn't look confused or annoyed. If anything, he looks pleased.]

I didn't know the Doom Bell did that! Existential despair I was prepared for, but an entire transdimensional shift including severe changes to my own physical makeup was quite beyond what I was expecting. I shouldn't be surprised, though, I told myself when all this started, Theopholous DuMedd, you're in a Heterodyne story, chances are your brain will wind up in a squirrel before it's over. I think I like this far better than a squirrel, though.

[He flicks and swivels his ears, seemingly delighted by the fact that they move.]

And think what a story this will make when I get back.

Presumably that's a possibility.

[His expression lapses into a small frown for a moment, and then he hitches a smile back on.]

I think I may need a drink, though. You know, to settle my newly equine nerves. Is there a bar or inn and if so would one of you be so kind as to direct me to it?

So we've all been here in this Ponyville for a while, right? But I just totally realized we haven't even talked about one of the most important things we need to know!

[She whips out a calendar and a pencil from somewhere.]

When are all of your birthdays?


(( There's a column for this on the spreadsheet now, please feel free to update! ))

[Here we see a very worried pony looking into her scroll. She had a bag next to her with what looked to be four red and white balls.]

Guys this is important. My pokemon are missing.

Listen, I honestly thought that they didn't come here with me but after I checked my bag and found four pokeballs, I realized that four of my darlings might be wandering around this place looking for me.

[She anxiously taps her hoof at the ground]

Pokemon are like creature companions in my world. There I had a team of six so I don't really know who came here with me. But I have a dragon, a sea snake, a giant flying egg, a dog with a chest spike, a purple spirit haunting a rock and a giant pink slug.

I already met a pony who's going to help me with my missing dragon. But if anyone sees ANYTHING that resembles the creatures I described. Please PLEASE tell me.

(Adapting back to life in Ponyville...it wasn't easy. Technically, this was her first time in the small, lively town, but that didn't stop her from remembering her time here. Those memories she treasured and the assurance of Twilight still being here to make more memories gave her the strength to persevere through Mayfield.

...What she didn't count on was living with her. The only one who was hesitant about it was the unicorn, who, even days after voicing her concerns to Twilight, Celestia, Zecora and several others, was still uncertain of what the future would hold. After all, Mayfield forced her to expect the worst out of times and going back to her simple, almost ideal life, would take significantly more than a week. Could she ever get readjusted? Will she spend the rest of her days looking over her shoulder? Will Princess Twilight...

...No. She needed to silence those thoughts. They kept her from thinking straight, they kept her worrying and she would get nothing done if she let all of that weigh her down. Even if it only lasted a while, she needed to get her mind off of her doubts; she needed balance...

...And at the same time, she needed to practice her lessons from Patchouli. After all, if she could find balance in the elements of nature, then what's a little inner peace by comparison?

Twilight made for Ponyville's outskirts, a fair distance away from town where things were relatively quite and peaceful. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and her horn began to glow with a purple aura. Five orbs of magic appeared around her -- red, blue, green, yellow and silver -- each emitting a faint glow as they orbit the unicorn. As she was slowly lifted into the air, a familiar voice echoed in her head:

"Trust your instincts..."

A deep breath...then an exhale. The orbs all turn green as a collection of small, grass-shaped magic bullets begin to dance around Twilight. Gracefully they twirl and skate around the unicorn, guided only by the wind. The orbs turn red and those little leaves are set ablaze. Just as they did before, the embers rhythmically rotate around her before before they fall to ashes and to the ground.

With the orbs glowing yellow, the ashes return to the air as pebbles and specks of dirt, chasing after each other in an orchestrated pattern. As the orbs' color transition into silver, bits of the rock and dirt break away, revealing the bits of shimmering metal within. The sunlight reflects off of their surface as they proceed without worry or hesitation. The metal bits are soon engulfed in water as the orbs shift to blue. The droplets swirl around Twilight, doing what's most natural to them and letting the world around them guide their every action. The clear spheres of water, just as suddenly as they appeared, fall to the ground as rain. The orbs then turn green and the grass swirls around the unicorn once more.

The pattern repeats from there as Twilight cycles through the five elements. Curious ponies wondering what she's doing or how she's doing it can certainly approach and ask. She's keeping the number of projectiles to a minimum and even then, she's restricting them to her immediate proximity.)

[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?