[Second time this month she was using the scroll like this. It's not so private this time....]

I never did report my discoveries in Canterlot, and it doesn't appear as though Kanji did either before his untimely disappearance. What it was, I cannot say openly over the network; however, I am requesting assistance from anyone with extensive knowledge on magic and alternatives methods of performing it. I'll explain the details in person.

Besides that, I must inquire something else. Has anyone else, in their world before this one, had regular contact with ghosts before? I need some help in that matter if you have.

[That's all she has to say... or is it?]

( Private to Homura )

[A. Visual]

[Well here's a face that hasn't been on the scrolls much recently; you'd be forgiven for assuming she disappeared, given that the only sign she was still around was the tangible lack of Harvey Finevoice losing his damn mind. She seems to be mostly unchanged, though, aside from a bit of tiredness around her eyes and her hair being more than a little nappy.]

Hey. Someone mind telling me what I missed over the last month or so? I got the latest tabloid trash, but past that and the wedding, something is bound to have gone wrong in that time frame.

[There's a long pause as the pegasus tries to remember what she was originally going to add, but after a minute she seems to get it, looking aside awkwardly.]

And... hey. Anyone know how to take care of birds? There's... uh... one around here that got in real bad shape because of the bad winter we had, and then the whole thing with Tirek, and... [Cough.] ...look, what I'm saying is that it doesn't have the feathers left to fly any more, and I was trying to find out if there was any way to help it heal faster. Not magic or something silly like taping the feathers back on, but... I dunno.

Anything.

[And just as awkwardly, Flare shuts off the scroll.]

[B. Action - Ponyville streets/Night Market, daytime]

[Some time after her post, the pegasus is skulking through town with a singular destination in mind - a cart that she's seen set up in the Night Market. That wouldn't be too out of place, except it's the very end of spring - temperatures are getting higher, the sun is getting brighter... and Flare is huddled up in a thick, full-body cloak. She had to give credit where it was due - Nephenee's Hearth's Warming giff was indispensable. She might be drawing a bit of attention, though, in her desire to avoid it.]

You know what? I miss my dog.

He's not technically mine, but he's a really good dog. Just the biggest, smartest dog in the world.

I think I need a pet. Like there's something I need to do with my time other than stop crimestwiddle my hooves.

Any place I can adopt a dog the size of a large VW Bug?

*It's a castle day again, but Alastor isn't in her throne. No, she's standing on a balcony, looking out into the distance. She's not bothering with her helmet today, and her eyes are glowing harshly. Her ears are flat against the sides of her head, and her tail is swishing around in irritation.*

I think I can safely speak for all of us when I say all this 'offworlders get nothing but negative attention' thing has been going on for long enough. But I guess I can concede one point: we don't generally get involved in this world's affairs unless it has something to do wit Calice or there's an active threat. We don't have anything we can point at and remind them that we've done good that they can't claim was just because we were in danger too.

( OOC cut for tl;dr )

I'm sure by now you're wondering what my point is. The short version is, I want to have a 'chat' with the head of the Griffon Council both to keep her from postponing the elections and to find out just what er beef is with Equestria. Uh...no offense to anyone with bovine friends. But anyway, I have a way to catch her alone after a meeting, but I don't want to go alone, just in case something crops up that isn't quite in my area of expertise. I was going to bring Dante, but...

*She shakes her head.*

I'm looking for about four people to come with me, ideally including a couple that are good with negotiations and a couple that can handle security if she manages to call them in. Everyone involved should be able to pull of stealth. We don't want the entire secret service kicking in the door while we're trying to talk politics.

So...uh. That's it. Anypony who wants to know details about what happened with Ironclaw's family can talk to me in person, but besides that...any takers?

[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.]

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.

Um...

[If Kafei was hesitant the last time he made a scroll message, then right now he's just a ball of nerves. That dragon thing got him laughed at, and then his last in-person meeting was...less than stellar. It's hard to trust people, okay? But right now he really doesn't have much of a choice.]

...I had planned on going to those mines once they opened, and now that the time has come, I'm in need of an...escort. I know I was told that the path would be safe, but at least in Termina, it's incredibly unwise to leave town unprepared. Really, I have no idea how this town gets away without having any guards...

Which means I find myself forced to reach out. I'm afraid I have nothing to pay anyone with, so I can understand if this sounds less than ideal. After all, I don't have to go...

[He begins to shrink back, the second-guessing commences; ABORT. ABORT.]

This was a bad idea, I apologize.

[Doc appears on the scroll very casually. He's trying to play chess with a rather fluffy puppy, a Yorkie with a bow in her hair.]

Yes, yes, Miss Curie, excellent work! Now some positive reinforcement for your training---have at it!

[He tosses her a treat, which she catches expertly. He smiles---then stares wide-eyed at the glowing scroll.}

I've activated this blasted scroll too early again. My apologies for the mundane display, but I was hoping to address everyone this morning, so I hope it won't trouble you if I continue. I've been discussing the matter with my current companion, but as she is a canine and I have yet to invent a speech translator, as you can imagine our conversations haven't been as illuminating as I would hope.

[He scribbles a note to himself on a nearby paper. Looks like he'll be trying to invent that translator---and he's smiling when he looks back, sounding as casual as he can.]

I've lived a relatively long life, and as we all have, I've made mistakes. And lately, as I'm prone to do, I've been pondering a rather pointless hypothetical scenario: if you had the opportunity to alter your past, would you take that risk?

Hey, what's shakin'? Name's Dandy, but you already knew that.

[WINK]

Hey! So, I got a game. Time to sit your asses down and listen up. For anyone who went on our little cosmic field trip, I need a list of names of all the GOD DAMN BASTARDS WHO YELLED AT THE FRIGGIN' DEATH HORSE SO I CAN SHOOT THEM IN THE FACE.

Bonus points if you're a cutie.

['NOTHER WINK]

Think you can do that for me? Because nothing, and I mean nothing, is gonna keep me from getting back to BooBies, baby. There is no way in hell I'm letting any of you colorful horse bastards ruin what I got going so far, you hear me? You jackasses just set me back way too far, there's a damn good reason why I screen my Team Dandy members.

You, uh, failed. So yeeeaaah...

[Seriously, gonna have a loooong talk with little miss Jappleack when she gets back.]

Oh, uh, Leatherhead? Try not to make any plans this weekend, you and me are going out, baby! OH YEAH!

[Dandy outtie]

[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.]

Oh... oh, it's goin'! [Wow, crap, how does he do this!?]

Uhh- yo! Name's Kanji. Been here for a little while. Took me a while to work this scroll stuff out, but I-I got somethin' to ask.

[A hoof lifted and went behind his head, ruffling his mane as he looked away.]

I went a little overboard back when I was makin' Hearth's Warming presents for my friends here, and wound up with some extra stuff that needs a home. Anybody want these?

[He turned his body, and on his back are three plush dolls: A deep purple rabbit, a light blue dragon, and a tawny brown sparrow. They're very elaborate.]

Cute, right? Makin' stuff like this is just a hobby of mine, nothin' pro... but I can make clothes and stuff too if peop- er, ponies want 'em. I'm takin' a couple days off next week for my birthday, but other than that I'm pretty free whenever to put stuff together.

[An awkward pause. His eyes shift up, then left as he tries to think of something else to add.]

Uhh... Yeah, that's it.

[This is the heir to a small family business, folks.]

[Blues eyes stand out from white fur and nearly as pale mane. One can only imagine how this unicorn appeared before arriving. Around her neck hangs a simply beaded necklace: creme, black, red-orange, repeat save for the middle one instead appearing much like a pendant.]

With most of the holiday excitement cooling down, I've decided to take this opportunity to introduce myself. For those I've already met, good day. As for everyone else, I am Naomi Kimishima and it appears, prior to my arrival, another here mentioned my involvement in an... unfortunate event.

I will clear this up now and say yes, that happened. However, since then, I've been running a private clinic and attempting to live relative peace. I do not feel like going into extensive detail over the network and, if you wish to discuss such matters, you can find me at the communes for now.

Besides introducing myself, the reason I've decided to address the network now is I wish to inquire about medicine. I have been a general surgeon and medical examiner and I would like to know the matter of importance in both fields in regards to this place so I can begin my medical research here in regards to antibiotics, magical remedies, and vaccines. Us off-worlders have other pressing matters as I understand, and I would prefer to clear up if I need to learn how to wield a scalpel in this form, or if I focus on learning curative abilities and techniques attributed here, and further expanding them.

Er...

[There's a bit of fussing with the scrolls before it actually goes to show who's actually using it...and when it does, what everyone sees is a sleek emerald dragon in a thick wool cloak and tricorn hat.

A very nice tricorn hat.]

I ah, think I've got it. There's no shortage of questions that I have concerning where I am and why I'm suddenly a mount worthy of Her Majesty's Thirteenth, but honestly? I'm sure any answer I get will only raise further questions.

[There's a very pained, puzzled sigh from her before she tips her hat to a presumed audience, in some flustered, vague attempt at courtesy.]

I only want to know whether anyone has seen any walkers about--or Risen, whatever you want to call them. The laws of my world have...likely been abandoned, for now, but I need to be sure.

And gods, if they are here, don't come close to one if you see it! [There's a hint of panic in her voice now, but she's still fairly controlled.] Use guns, or pitchforks, or fire if you must, but know that their embrace means death if you're daft enough to let one touch you.

[Okay, okay. Calm down, Kaj...]

I'll be looking for a place a twenty-foot wyvern could possibly stay in this village, if any of you happen to be about. I should like to find one by the morrow, but this is far from the worst that's happened to me.