10 - video/action; (post-event)

[wannabolt]

[Dash's day starts out just like any other: waking up bright and early, dashing out above the village at hundreds of miles per hour and leaving rainbow streaks in the sky, all while occasionally twirling clouds around, moving them low to the ground just for fun, and practicing skateboarding just for kicks. ...No pun intended.

But around mid afternoon, she swoops down over the farmland only to find an alarming sight: no sign of Applejack. No matter where she looks, that hard working farm pony's nowhere to be seen, and the same goes for her belongings, for that matter.

Dash's heart sinks. She makes a retreat up into the clouds, which is when she finally addresses the journal. For once, this big-eyed, rainbow pony lacks her confident air.]

...Hey, so I don't know how many of you guys know her, but it looks like Applejack's gone back to Equestria, which means all those apples she's been growing have kinda been left unattended. Not to mention the animals and other crops. So, uh. If any of you other farmers could check into that, that'd be totally appreciated. You guys'd probably be way more experienced than me!

[...heh. Heh.

Man, even her phony laughter sounds depressing.]

Guess Luceti's pony population's shrinking again. Even after a year, there's only ever been a handful of us. And I mean, to most of you guys that's probably not a huge deal. But try imagining getting plucked into a world where you're one of, if not the only hue-man... or whatever species you are and surrounded by a majority of some species you've never even heard of before.

I've lucked out because a lot of the hue-mans I've met are generally pretty cool. And sure, it's still crazy dealing with weather, seasons, and... well, everything that happens by itself, but it's not as scary now.

[But... and though she hates to admit it. Showing weakness is not her thing--]

But sometimes, I guess I can't help but get a little homesick. Especially at times like this.

[And with that, she'll push the journal closed with one of her hooves.

For a little while, she'll hang around the farmlands, just wandering around for a bit. Eventually, she'll return to the village and, after a short trip to the bakery to drag home some cupcakes, quietly fly towards house 45. If she spots a familiar face she'll try and greet 'em with her usual spunk. Those that know her well enough, however should be able to tell that something's a little... off.]

[ooc: Feel free to encounter her before or after her announcement! She can be found just about everywhere before she slips over to AJ's and after she'll mostly be around town.]

Comments

[mysicksadlife]

<>[And Daria is here talking to her. The world definitely works in weird ways at times.]

I've got to admit, that all sounds pretty far-fetched. [To put it extremely mildly, which she's learning to do in Luceti where everyone seems to take the impossible for granted.] What are parasprites anyway?

[wannabolt]

They're these weird insects that look like cotton balls with enormous eyes. At first they seem harmless enough. Bit cutesy, but nothing dangerous...

And then they start eating everything and reproducing by budding.

[She shudders.]

Let's just say things got a little hectic.

[mysicksadlife]

I've heard of asexual reproduction. And an invasive species can be just about as bad as what you described. But I'm having trouble picturing menacing fluffs of cotton. You just need a good, strong wind.

[wannabolt]

Well, they did have wings... Still, what made 'em so horrifying was the way they started eating the whole town! Needless to say, it was a huge disaster.

[mysicksadlife]

How did you end up getting rid of them? [The biggest invasion she's faced was the vending machines and advertising Ms. Lee put all over the school.]

[wannabolt]

My friend Pinkie Pie led them away by playing polka music on a ton of instruments.

[She's 100% serious. No, she still doesn't understand how that worked.]

[mysicksadlife]

Did the name of your town used to be Hamlin by any chance?

[wannabolt]

Naaah. Just Ponyville. Petty straightforward, honestly.

[She's probably missing a joke or thinly veiled reference here.]

[mysicksadlife]

[It's Daria's fault, not Dash's, of course. And largely intentional.]

I guess Lawndale's pretty straightforward, too. [Bunches of nothing but typical suburban houses and lawns.]

[wannabolt]

Most places in Equestria have pretty cleat-cut names. Canterlot, Cloudsdale, Appleloosa... I never thought to question it before, though.

[mysicksadlife]

You mean Camelot, Clydesdale, and Appaloosa? [That, or these worlds are kind of parallel or something. Creepy thought.]

[wannabolt]

No, I definitely mean Canterlot, Cloudsdale, and Appleloosa.

[mysicksadlife]

Is the first one a magical perfect kingdom ruled by King Arthur?

[wannabolt]

Nah. It's ruled by Princess Celestia and her sister Luna. Plus, they kinda rule over the rest of Equestria for good measure.

[mysicksadlife]

[It's like some freaky Twilight Zone, just similar enough to be disconcerting when it's supposedly different.]

It sounds like we mean pretty different things. But the names sure are similar.

[wannabolt]

It's gotta be a coincidence, though. I mean, every place I can think of has some kinda pony-theme to its name. Manehattan, Trottingham, Los Pegasus...

[mysicksadlife]

There's a lot of them to be a coincidence. Manhatten, Nottingham, and Los Angeles come to mind.

[Daria's not particularly sure where she's going with this. It just seems like any connection between the weirdness of Luceti and the stability of what she considers normal should be followed. Even if it's a tenuous as similar names.

... Did she ever, in some brain-addled moment as a child, want a pony?]