fourthgenerationprincess | First Checklist Item [Misc Journal Shenanigans / Action]

[ In the middle of the day, Luceti is treated to the following eloquent series of letters: ]

DDDDD

[ So this is what happens when a hoof gets ahold of a drawing-to-text synthesizer. This is followed by a voice post about three minutes later: ]

... triangle, a couple of straight lines, and a square have to do with...

[ Several minutes pass, and then a video materializes. The viewer may be greeted with a pair of huge, intense violet eyes. ]

A-ha!

[ The sight of this particular creature might seem out of place to anyone who doesn't know Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash. You can now see a purple pony with a horn protruding from her mane. The horn is bathed in a magenta glow, as is a pointy stick that is way too close to the camera. Like mankind before her, Twilight is learning how to use tools. ]

Hi, um... anypony who's watching this! I'm Twilight Sparkle, and... I don't recognize these woods at all. [ She looks around, probably for the umpteenth time. Twilight's found herself deep within the forest, to the southeast. Not that she knows this. ] It doesn't look like any part of the Everfree Forest I've been to. [ A cloud parts and the sun shines in her face through the unseen treetops. Twilight shields her face with a hoof. ] Oh. Actually, I guess I could...

[ She looks back at herself and spreads her wings. Not her small Luceti wings, though. A huge pair of alicorn wings, of the same purple as her fur. She prepares to take off, then remembers the journal and hits it again with the stick. Video feed switches off. ]

---

[ Following this recording, the population of Luceti may witness a purple shape flying around the sky, observing the village from above. She'll circle a few times, trying to orient herself, before deciding to alight in the fountain square.

Two areas will grab Twilight's interest fairly quickly. First, she'll see her coronation outfit in the window of the clothing shop. She'll find this strange enough to go inside and consider buying it.

The other building she'll notice is the library (with a squee of excitement). Good luck extracting her from perusing the many, many, many tomes that now litter the floor. This is why Twilight needs an assistant librarian. What she wouldn't give for Spike right about now.

Feel free to interact with her in the square, at the clothing store, in the library, or in the air: she's several yards up but not out of shouting distance. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Huh? Rainbow, what are you talking about? Weren't you just in Canterlot with me and everypony else? I only got these last night.

[ Don't freak her out, Rainbow, she's still getting used to them after all. ]

...Uh.

[Oh, duh! Time differences, that's gotta be why. That explains a thing or two, and Dash visibly relaxes. At least a little.]

See, the thing is, I'm kinda... behind on the times. And believe me, it's not 'cause I wanna be. This place just has a habit of sucking people in from all sorts of different times.

Like, I don't know about anything that happened after the Gala.

[ Some of this is going over Twilight's head, but what she registers is that Rainbow's lost some of her memory. ]

Behind on the times? Have you lost your memories? I can fix that with a memory spell! [ Her horn glows obligingly. ]

[Dash hovers backwards at the sight of Twi's glowing horn, shaking her head and holding out her hooves.]

It's less about memories and more about timelines. Let's just say things aren't exactly consistent here.

[ The glow around her horn dissipates, as if Twilight's lowered a weapon, and she looks around uneasily, still flapping to stay aloft. ] So... where is here... exactly?

It's a place called Luceti. And if you haven't heard of it, that's because it's kinda its own world. Not even close to Equestria.

[It's said with a straight face, despite how crazy the concept may seem. By now, Dash has totally adjusted to the idea.]

I... haven't heard of it. And the library has three atlases.

[ A sudden thought occurs. ] If I ended up in the forest... where is everypony else? Are they here, too?

[ Dash, you get to deal with Confused Twilight! This should be interesting. ]

Well, Pinkie's here, but all the others left. Even Princess Celestia was here for a little while.

[She frowns, looking the other way just briefly. Dash doesn't like showing weakness, nope.]

So, it's... just us three? [ The horror of being separated from most everypony she knows and loves starts to set in. ]

For now, anyway.

[She sighs. By now, Dash is used to it, but Twilight? Man, it's gonna be an adjustment. She can already tell.]

But, hey, if we're lucky, the others will pop up before we know it. You never know who'll turn up here during a New Feather cycle.

[ Biting a lip, but with some hope that there's a way to keep control of the situation: ] There isn't a way for us to go and find them... is there? [ Gotta check off all the options. Like. A checklist.

SPIKE. ] Is Spike here?

[...Ope. And there's someone who hasn't even been in Luceti.

Though Dash hesitates, she ends up shaking her head after a few seconds.]

No on both counts. Spike hasn't popped up even once while I've been here, and there's this stupid barrier keeping us trapped. I already tried busting my way through it, too.

[ She looks up at the sky. Can't see anything, but presumably the barrier is invisible. ]

Hmm. There's got to be some way to...

[ She experimentally sends a blast of magic skyward. ]

Twilight, there are people here who're super tough. Even their powers haven't dented it, and my speed sure didn't.

[She sighs, following the magic blast with her eyes.]

Plus, I heard that breaking the barrier would put us all in danger thanks to these creeps called the Third Party.

[ The magic hits the barrier and ricochets back in the exact same direction. Twilight's pupils shrink. ] Look out! [ She executes a decent dodge in time for the magic to pass her harmlessly and hit a tree below... which is vaporized. Twilight stares after it. ]

Who's the Third Party? I need to start writing all of this down. This isn't anything like what I've read at home.

First Checklist Item [Misc Journal Shenanigans / Action]

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