Once I restart the game, after getting him prepared, I send my character back to Ponyville. But, he doesn't get much further than past his front gate before he's once again greeted by Princess Celestia.

The regal-looking alicorn, standing a few steps to my character's left, says, “I'm really worried about the holder of the element of laughter. I suspect her senses are starting to fail her.”

I ask, “Is she alright? Where is she?”

Princess Celestia approaches my character and says, “That's the problem. I don't know if she's alright or not. Physically, the last time I saw her, she looked unharmed. But, I am fully aware of what she calls her Pinkie sense, and it's origins. Twice have i seen things fall next to Pinkie Pie, and neither time has her Pinkie sense forewarned her. Last I saw her, she was at Sugar Cube Corner. I know not why is happening to her, and I'm powerless to stop it.” The white alicorn lowers her head; and I can see her eyes start to water, as she concludes, "Perhaps you can succeed where I've failed."

In the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic animated series, I've seen Princess Celestia as the caring type. And, if she's a goddess among ponies in her kingdom, what kind of deity would not care about his or her subjects? And, in this particular case, it's one of the holders of an element of harmony, what I would figure is the equivalent to a prophet or an apostle. Thus far, I've had two visits from Princess Celestia in a short time, and both relating to Pinkie Pie. It's clear to me that, in a strange, morbid sense, my success may not be far away. I answer, “Thanks for letting me know. I'll go visit her now.”

Princess Celestia looks at me again and says, “I plead with you, do what you can to deter her from what I'm sensing is a course of destruction. If she kills a pony, I can do nothing for her. She is of great importance to her friends, to my student, to all Equestria.” And, before I can say anything more to her, she disappears.

No pressure.

My character proceeds through the Everfree forest, into Ponyville, and on to Sugar Cube Corner, where he meets Pinkie Pie on her way out, carrying a tray of cupcakes on her head. I can't help noticing one of the cupcakes nearly half-way off the back of the tray, and by itself.

I open my mouth to speak, but Pinkie Pie beats me to it, saying, “Hi. I'm surprised to see you here.”

I say, “I've heard you haven't been yourself lately. I came to see how you're doing.”

Then, through my character's eyes, I watch the isolated cupcake fall off the tray, onto Pinkie Pie's back. And, as Princess Celestia has suggested, there has been no preceding twitching from the pink pony's tail.

To be fair, I doubt a cupcake, especially one such a short distance above her, would pose a threat to her life.

But then, I see Pinkie Pie's right eye twitch as she says, “I don't know what you're talking about. I'm perfectly fine.” Again the eye twitches.

Now, even knowing that this is the game I plan to lose, I must admit, I'm getting concerned for the pink pony. I ask, “You didn't notice the cupcake falling on your back? You didn't even sense something was going to fall?” Like I said, the cupcake didn't pose a threat to her life. Which leaves me wondering, why did I ask those questions?

Pinkie Pie turns quickly to see what I was talking about, fast enough that the tray of cupcakes on her head tips and falls toward my character, who takes a step back to avoid it.

When she turns back to my character, she flips the tray upside down, smashing most of the rest of the cupcakes, and says, “Oh, that. I'll just eat it later.”

Now, it's not just the twitching eye; I notice her visible cheek spasmodically pulling back. So, she's also got a facial tic. And, what I find most disturbing of all is her mane and tail remain curly while this is happening. I'm beginning to wonder, where's Diane?

Before I can say anything about it, an orange earth stallion opens the door, turns to Pinkie Pie, and asks, “Are you alright? I heard a noise out here and … “ Then, noticing the overturned tray and flattened cupcakes underneath it, he stares at the mess for a few seconds, then turns to Pinkie Pie again and says, “Pinkie, this isn't like you. I don't know what your problem is, but it's clear you need some kind of attention as soon as possible. So, until further notice, I'm relieving you of your duties, all of them, effective immediately. Go see a doctor, I don't care what kind, just so long as you get this problem of yours solved. I'm sorry I have to do this, but you leave me no choice.” With that, he grabs the tray in his teeth and drags it back into the bakery.

Before Pinkie Pie can say anything about what has just happened, I say, “I guess that means you have some free time now. If you'll meet me back at the basement, we have some things we need to discuss.”

In the mean time, Pinkie Pie has been looking at the door to Sugar Cube Corner, then down at the flattened cupcakes, then back at the door. I can't even tell if she heard me when she says, “Mr. Cake's never talked to me that way before. Did he just … fire me?” The pink pony then turns to me and, snarling, says, “You did this to me. You want to meet in the basement? Let's get going then.” Evidently she'd been listening to me after all.

As we pass by one house, I can only guess someone accidentally knocks a potted flower out of a window above the pink party pony. The potted plant lands just inches away from Pinkie Pie, and the container shatters.

And, let me take note that not once did I see her tail twitch. And, Pinkie Pie has been ahead of my character thus far.

The pink pony, alarmed, rears up on her hind legs and whinnies long and loud.

My character approaches the frightened pink pony, and I ask, “Are you alright?”

Pinkie Pie brings her front hooves down forcefully, producing a relatively quiet thundering sound. She turns to my character and answers, “I'm just fine. No need to worry about me.”

I continue, “You should've sensed that coming. I'm beginning to think Mr. Cake is right. There is definitely something very wrong with you.”

The pink pony growls at my last statement, then screams, “I told you I'm alright! Why do you keep bringing up such nonsense?”

I ask, “Is it nonsense?”

At first the normally happy-go-lucky pink pony is silent. Then, after a few seconds, she starts trembling. The trembling increases, and Pinkie Pie begins to remind me of a volcano. Then she points her head up toward the sky and shrieks; and I'm sure I can see, through my character's eyes, flames coming out of her mouth. She then looks at my character, takes a few steps backward, then runs and tackles him, knocking him to the ground. Putting a front hoof on each arm and a hind hoof on each leg to hold him down, she shouts, “Will you just shut up! I'm sick and tired of hearing your voice! Just shut up already!”

Under normal conditions, I'm sure, it'd be a real struggle for a human to get out from under a pony like that. But, this is a video game. I suppose that's as much of an explanation as I can come up with for my character being able to free himself from the furious Pinkie Pie in such a short time. But, that's not all. He also grabs the pink pony in his arms, gripping her front legs in one hand while restraining her hind legs in that arm. With his other hand, he holds her head to his chest.

Pinkie Pie struggles and whines, “Let go of me. I'm gonna scream, and the cops'll come and stop you.”

I answer, “I'll let you go when we've reached that basement. Until then, you'll have to calm down. And, considering Celestia is also worried about you, and thinks I'm the only one that can help you, I don't think any form of law enforcement is gonna try to stop me.”

The pink pony stops struggling, but continues whining, as though that high-pitched sound would have the power to change my mind. And, she continues whining until she and my character arrive at the factory, and enter the basement.

My character kneels down and starts repositioning Pinkie Pie, preparing to release the pink pony into the room, only for her to kick-jump out of his grasp. Now that his hands are free, my character turns to the door and closes it.

In the mean time, I can hear Pinkie Pie turn around and say, “Well, you've got me down here. So, what do you want to talk about?”

As my character turns to Pinkie Pie, who's now showing evidence that Diane is taking over, I ask, “Earlier, you promised you'd repay a debt you owed me. What debt were you talking about? Does it have something to do with this basement, and what you did to Gilda?”

Diane Pie answers, “If you're asking if my sister plans to do to a pony what she did to Gilda, then the answer is yes.”

My character kneels on one leg in front of the door, and I say, “I don't need your help getting meat. I can get my own. And besides, I don't want you to start killing other ponies. For that matter, I don't want you to kill any more creatures.”

The way Diane Pie stammers for a period of time, one would think she was arguing with herself. And, for all intents and purposes, one would be right. Then, it seems the pink earth pony finally settles on the question, “Well, how is my sister supposed to restore balance between you and her?”

I answer, “She doesn't have to. There's no imbalance between us.”

Diane Pie jumps at my character and shouts, “You lie!” Then she starts pacing in front of my character as she says, “When you told that story to those stallions, and one of them got sick from it, my sister wanted vengeance; and she would've gotten it if you hadn't escaped. Then you proved that you were a good human by helping Fluttershy with the family of ducks she was guiding through Ponyville, and she started to believe she owed you twice over. You said you liked the taste of the griffon cupcakes, but Ponyville's only had one griffon visitor since your arrival. Pinkamena hasn't completely paid you back yet.” Somehow, she's ended up back in front of me. Looking at me again, she asks, “Why won't you let her pay you back?”

I pause for a moment, then say, “This's been a long time coming, but I think, I hope, you're ready to hear the rest of the story. You were probably gone before I told the stallions that I was more interested in making friends than meals of the ponies that live in Ponyville. That is to say, I want to make friends with them, not meals of them.” Focusing more on Diane now, I continue, “If you want to pay me back, just prove yourself another of my friends. Go back to being the party pony. Regain your lost Pinkie sense. Just go back to being the Pinkie Pie I remember you to be. And, whatever you do, don't kill any of your fellow ponies.”

Diane glares at me and says, “You seem to have forgotten that I'm not Pinkamena Pie. I'm Diane Pie.” Looking away from me, she continues, “Besides, I think it's too late for that now. Pinkamena has changed too much to go back to being the party pony. You saw her earlier, first with the cupcake, and then with the flower pot. When she's in control, she now takes full control; so I can no longer warn her of any possible threat. She won't listen to me anymore. Besides, look at the cement bed where she had you strapped.”

My character looks in the direction of the cement slab, and I see that, in place of the leather straps, there are now metal bonds. Not only that, but they're closer together, as though they're meant to hold a creature far smaller than me, perhaps a griffon, or a pony.

From Diane's position, which seems to be moving away from me, I hear her say, “Now, look at what she's done to Gilda's bones.”

I already know what I'll see there, but my character looks anyway; and I can see the griffon's skull resting on a table made from bones, no doubt those of a griffon. He then turns to see where the pile of bones used to be, and all suspicions are confirmed when I see the pile gone. After that, my character returns his attention to Diane Pie.

The pink pony with straight mane and tail walks towards me and says, “I'm willing to be your friend, but I'm not altogether sure that's what Pinkamena wants, at least not anymore. She's informed me that she plans on making a banner that reads 'Life is a party.' And, whatever she's planning after that, I have a sneaking suspicion she plans on continuing her murders. And, I don't think your friend Derpy Hooves, whom you call Beautiful, is safe from her. If you really want to stop Pinkamena, you've got to kill us now.” And, with that, she drops a butcher knife I just realized she was carrying in her mouth, and bows in front of my character, evidently offering him her neck.

Indeed I could stop this pony by having my character kill her. But then, I have to wonder, what would happen to me, or, that is to say, to my character? Of course I know this isn't real, and it'll end with the death of Pinkie Pie; but that still doesn't stop me from wondering. Would a human that kills a pony in Equestria be held to the same laws and standards as a pony that kills a pony in Equestria? On the other hand, if my character spares Pinkie Pie, while it would mean the loss of pony lives, it'd also mean I'd be successful in failing to divert Pinkie from her destructive course, the objective of this playthrough of the game.

My character leaves the knife alone, and I finally say, “I cannot. Please understand, I'm not here to kill ponies, but to make friends with them. And, whatever it means to the future of Ponyville, I won't kill any pony that holds an Element of Harmony.”

There is no visible evidence of animation from the pink pony. I do hear Diane say, “Knowing Pinkamena as I do, she won't let go of the element of laughter easily, especially considering it represents safety from you.” Then, Diane looks up at me slowly, reminding me of a kitten from a logo, which I've come to assume was a parody of the Metro Goldwyn Mayer logo, as she says, “But, at the same time, I know you wouldn't make a move to kill her, even if she didn't hold any of the elements. Very well. If you won't kill us, then I must urge you to leave now, and don't stop until you've returned to your home. I won't leave this basement until you've been gone for ten minutes; and when we leave, Pinkamena will once again be in control. Of course, if you have business anywhere else, go and take care of that. I won't ask, so you won't have to worry about me revealing your location or destination to Pinkamena. Now, go.”

As my character opens the door, I say to Diane, “I'm sorry about this. I hope you'll be alright.”

In response, Diane only says, “Just get out of here.”

I say no more as my character leaves. I consider “ki tahi au” pausing the game, but then decide against it. My character arrives a few minutes later at Ponyville, to meet Princess Celestia just on the outskirts.

She asks, “So, did you meet with Pinkie Pie?”

I answer, “I did, and things aren't looking good for her. Even her sister Diane isn't holding out much hope.”

The white alicorn bows her head and starts trembling, and I can see a stream starting from the one eye I can see and making its way to her nose.

Quietly, almost under her breath, she asks, “What do I do now?”

I ask, “If I fail, is there another pony that could take over Pinkie Pie's position as holder of the element of laughter?”

Princess Celestia answers, “I have yet to find another pony, mare or stallion, that could take her place.” She then shakes herself out, then focuses on me, and says, “But, that's not the only reason I'm here. My sister Luna and I suspect a threat approaching our castle in Canterlot. We could use your help taking care of it. Will you help us?”

I'm pleasantly surprised at the Princess' direct question. I ask, “Could you tell me more about the threat?”

The alicorn answers, “We suspect another acquaintance of yours, a unicorn named Lyra, may be planning to break into our castle. We are aware of her fascination with humans, and Luna has informed me of dreams she sensed from her, about going into the human world and leaving Equestria behind. She thinks Lyra could go so far as to make sure no one follows her.”

At this point, I must admit two things in turn came to mind: first, when Celestia mentioned the mirror, my thoughts turned to the fairy tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Then, when Celestia mentioned the hammer, my thoughts turned to a song, something about hammering in the morning.

I need to pause for a moment to regain my composure, covering it up by clearing my throat, then answer, “Sure, I'll help you. What exactly do you need me to do?”

Princess Celestia says, “Thank you. We just need you to do whatever you can to keep Lyra from getting to the mirror. We have lots of security equipment in the castle, but that doesn't mean we're completely secure.”

I pause for a moment, then say, “I have to get some equipment from my home, then I can join you at the castle, if that's what you want.”

The next moment, the Princess and my character are in front of his house on the other side of the Everfree forest.

The Princess says, “Here's your home. Go get what you need, then come back here, and I'll teleport you to the castle.”

As my character moves toward the door, I answer, “This shouldn't take too long.”

Once inside the house, my character makes his way to the work room, and it's just a matter of seconds before my character finds a tablet, a miniature audio transmitting device, a surveillance camera, and a somewhat primitive-looking microphone fastened onto a stand, along with a backpack to put them all in. After that, my character returns to Princess Celestia's position, and a split second later we're in a room in the castle.

It's strange to me that Princess Celestia only asks questions about what my character brought after we arrive at the castle. Then again, she doesn't see the items until my character produces them from the bag.

I explain the function of each item as the daytime Princess asks about it, which is as each item comes out of the bag. Then, as per my instruction, my character is teleported outside, at an entranceway to the castle, with the audio transmitter/receiver in hand. He puts the device on the ground, then is teleported in a second back to the room where it seems that Princess Luna has joined her big sister.

Another surprise for me is that either or both sisters seem to have chosen the room directly over where my character placed the devise. But, I can wonder about that later. I ask the sisters if there's someone who can mount the camera inside the last hallway before the room where the mirror is.

Luna volunteers, and I hand her the camera and tablet, giving her instructions on where the best place would be to mount the camera. I let her know the best place and position for the camera is where I can see the door to the mirror room, hopefully from where Lyra is most likely to enter.

Luna disappears for perhaps a minute or two, then reappears with the tablet. She hands the tablet back to me, and I can see the camera clearly shows the doorway to the mirror room, and indicating a position above the door where I requested it. After I confirm that the position and perspective are perfect, it's just a matter of waiting for the suspicious unicorn to show up.

And, it's only a matter of time after the sisters lower the sun and raise the moon before Lyra shows up, planting a fake bush near the one armored pegasus standing guard in front of the entranceway. And, more by design than coincidence, the position she takes is right over the device my character placed there. She fastens something from the bush to her ear, produces an audio-cassette player, and proceeds to drive the bush toward the doorway.

It's only after the unicorn disappears into the doorway that I place the remaining equipment on the desk in the room, with the microphone supporting the tablet behind it. Then, as the two princess alicorns take positions behind my character, we watch the screen of the tablet, waiting for the offending unicorn to make her entrance. Indicated by the chronometric reading on the upper right corner, it's all of ten minutes before Lyra shows up, dressed in what looks to me like a single-piece black pajama suit, and makes her way to the door that's the focus of the camera.

Celestia impatiently asks, “Mormon, why do you wait? Do something.”

My character turns to the daytime princess, and I say, “I'm just waiting for the right moment. Just watch.” Then my character turns back to the screen, turns on the microphone, and we continue to watch the tablet until Lyra reaches for the doorknob. Then I call out into the microphone, “Raira, kei te aha?”

The phrase is in Maori, and, translated into English, would be, “Lyra, what are you doing?”

The effect is just what I hope for, as the startled unicorn rears back on her hind legs and neighs.

Of the three of us, neither human nor pony can help bursting into laughter over Lyra's reaction, especially watching the hallway fill with guard ponies. I'm particularly surprised that the unicorn's startled neigh can be heard through the walls into this room, neither loud nor clear, but audible nonetheless. And, is it my imagination, or is there a translucent, shiny, rippling, yellow puddle developing between Lyra's hind legs? I speak into the microphone one more word, “Rattled.”

Neither Celestia nor Luna understand the reference, but that doesn't matter.

A now enraged Lyra screams out incoherent epithets, or whatever she can think to say at that point, as four of the guards grab her by each of her legs and drag her away. Once again, they're quiet and garbled beyond comprehensibility, no more than audible through the walls.

As the two princesses cease their laughter, if for no other reason than lack of breath, my character turns to them; and I say, “Well, maybe I should go visit her now. I have some questions for her, and no doubt she has questions for me.”

Princess Celestia may not be laughing anymore, but that doesn't mean she's gained her full composure. In fact, her lack of composure is evident in her inability to talk at the moment.

On the other hand, Princess Luna does seem to have her composure back, as she says, “I can arrange it, but Lyra'll have to be under guard during the visit. Still, after the way you served us, I believe we owe you that much.”

It's just a matter of minutes traveling through hallways, getting permission from guards, and getting doors unlocked and open before Luna and my character, who is following close behind her, make their way to the prison cell where they're holding the pale-green unicorn.

As soon as she sees me, Lyra says, “So, it was your voice I heard in my ear. Where were you?”

I answer, “I was in a room with Princesses Celestia and Luna.”

Then, I notice the subtitles on the bottom of the screen reading, “The scent of ammonia is in the air.”

I ask the pale-green unicorn, “Lyra, did you wet yourself?”

Lyra gasps and looks away from me, but not before I notice her face turn a glowing red.

Luna leans toward my character and says, “Mormon, that's inappropriate.”

It's now that Lyra answers, “Nothing escapes you. Now I know what you meant when you talked about unicorn burglars being easy to rattle.”

The dark gray alicorn asks, “Unicorn burglars?”

I have my character turn to Luna as I answer, “It's a long story.” Then, I have him turn back to Lyra as I ask, “So did you come all the way to Canterlot just for seven years of bad luck?”

Lyra repeats, “Bad luck?” then continues, “I was going to get through that mirror so I could be a human. I was going to break it so I couldn't be forced back.”

I state, “Well, maybe it's for the best that you didn't succeed. I appreciate your interest in humans like me. But, I'm sure there are better ways to learn about humans than jumping into a strange world and leaving yourself no way out.” After a momentary pause I continue, “I'm sure you know humans are omnivorous.”

Presently Lyra says, “Yes, I know all about human eating habits. So what?”

I answer, “It might interest you to know that I've eaten horse meat before.”

I hear two gasps: one from Lyra, the other from Luna.

I continue, “I didn't know I was eating horse meat at the time; all I knew about it was it was a chopped-up meat in some type of gravy. I didn't even know what it was until I went for seconds and came back from finding it was all gone. And, I will admit if I could've had seconds of the horse meat, after having my first taste and then finding out what it was, I would've had seconds.”

By this time, Lyra is looking back at me again, a horrified look on her face.

I ask, “So, if such a thing were to happen to you while you were a human, knowing what you've been, how would you react?”

I'm so focused on Lyra that I don't expect gagging sounds to come from Luna next to me. My character turns to show me a view of Luna, and I can see her turning away, while her ribs and abdomen convulse, forcing her to empty her stomach. As my character turns back to Lyra, I see through his eyes the pale-green unicorn is also starting to gag.

I continue, “The chances of you having to eat horse meat are very slim. You'd more likely be eating, and enjoying, meats such as beef and chicken, perhaps some type of fish such as tuna. And, there are other foods humans can eat that horses, or ponies, cannot.”

Lyra, open-mouthed and panting, answers, “That's why I don't want to come back.” She seems to be dry-heaving, suggesting to me that she hadn't eaten anything before her escapade. Still, she seems to be getting weaker.

I continue, “There are other things about humans you might not be taking into consideration. Humans aren't limited to a particular time period to be able to reproduce. As a human, you, being a female, would be more driven all the time to start your own family, to have children. Males are more driven to perform the reproductive act with females, again not limited to one season. I don't know if you've felt the urge to reproduce up until now, but such drives start around the time humans enter their thirteenth or fourteenth year, and humans either learn to control them or don't learn and are controlled by them. Do you think you could learn to control such urges that generally don't go away for decades?”

I'm not sure what to think of Lyra right now. As close as she's been to vomiting, she hasn't actually done so. Does this indicate self-control, or simply the foresight not to eat anything before committing to what she was going to do, in case she failed and would have to listen to the story I've been telling her? Whichever it is, I can't tell. What I can tell is that Lyra is now trembling, silent except for what I think are dry heaves.

I conclude, “I've given you a lot to think about. While I suppose it'd be fun for you, as a human, to be able to hold a musical instrument with hands as opposed to hooves, there's more to being a human than that. That's not to say that being a human is not rewarding. I just question whether a spirit used to being a horse, or a pony, could adjust to being a human. And trapping yourself in a world you're not ready for just doesn't seem reasonable to me.” With that, my character stands up, turns around, and proceeds to walk away from the nauseated, frightened, pale-green pony.

There are at least two reasons I can think of why Princess Luna doesn't immediately follow me out. While she'd stopped vomiting sometime during my description of human reproductive urges, she was likely unable to focus for a while. Then again, it could also have been that my description of human omnivory could've made her frightened of me. Whether it's for any of these reasons, or something else, all I know is it seems to take a while before the nighttime alicorn catches up with me.

Eventually I hear hoof-falls as she catches up to my character, then I hear her voice as she asks, “Is it true what you said to Lyra, about having eaten … horse meat?” I hear her shudder before she mentions the horse meat.

I answer, “It is.” Then, anticipating her next question, I add, “And, just for your information, I'm here to make friends of the ponies here, not meals. I had a similar conversation with a trio of stallions when I first arrived. I have since made friends of them.”

Princess Luna and my character stop at the door leading out of the dungeon, and Princess Luna turns to my character and says, “I am pleased to hear that, and my sister will be as well. I can understand why you chose to tell that story to Lyra, but I would appreciate it if you give neigh-boring ponies a warning before you tell such a story again. Remember how I reacted.” And, before I can respond, Princess Luna calls to the guards that the visit is over, and there's a mess to clean up near Lyra's cell.

As the dark-purple princess and my character walk through the hallway away from the dungeon, I say, “I'm sorry for not telling you about that ahead of time. I didn't think you'd react the way you did.”

Princess Luna says no more for the rest of the journey back to the room, and I can't think of anything to say for that time either.

Back at the room, Princess Celestia is back on her feet again. As soon as she sees us, she asks, “I trust all went well?”

Princess Luna simply nods in response before saying, “I'm thinking we should hand Lyra over to this human. If she's so interested in humans that she'd attempt what she did, perhaps spending all her free time with a human will teach her all she needs to know about them.”

I see Princess Celestia about to say something, but this time I interrupt and say, “Begging your pardon, but I am a male human. If I get custody of Lyra, she'll learn a lot, if not everything, about male humans, about me anyway; but, to learn about female humans, she'll need a female human to learn from as well.”

The white alicorn eyes me and says, “We have no female humans available to assist you. But, if it'll keep Lyra from attempting to enter the human world again, and damaging royal property in the process, and if you can be trusted to respect her, then I will agree with my sister's request, and release Lyra into your custody.”

This is a decision that isn't really designed to have an effect on the final objective of the game. On the other hand, having a unicorn to assist me could likely give me some type of advantage. I could learn more about unicorns by having one to study. On the other hand, I have reason to believe that the conclusion of this game is really close. Would the effort be worth it?

Then again, I would be providing a service to the princesses by keeping Lyra out of trouble. But then again, on the other hand, what happens to her when I fail, this game, to keep Pinkie Pie from killing a pony? And then, and what happens to Lyra? Would it be worth it to Lyra, would it be fair to her, for me to accept custody over her just to end up, from her perspective, in prison with her later on? But, then there's one more thing to consider: whether I should let the game end with the end of Pinkie Pie's life, or end with Pinkie Pie repenting for killing Gilda and finding something far better to do with her time. Either way, the game will end; and and it won't matter if I take responsibility over the pale-green unicorn or not.

Both princesses are waiting patiently for my answer.

Finally, my character looks at Princess Luna, and I say, “Well, I suppose I could use the help of a unicorn where I live. Very well. I'll accept custody of Lyra.”

Princess Celestia turns to her sister and says, “Go get Lyra, but don't tell her why we're summoning her. For that matter, just tell the guards that she is wanted for an audience with you and Princess Celestia.” Then, as Princess Luna disappears, Princess Celestia turns to my character and asks, “What did you mean when you said you could use the help of a unicorn?”

I answer, “One of the basic talents of a unicorn is manipulating things with their magic, isn't that right?”

I think I can hear suspicion in the white alicorn's voice as she answers, “That's right?”

I continue, “Perhaps Lyra can help me find things that I've lost. Or, maybe she could help me in other ways. I promise to treat her with respect. You don't need to worry about that. But, treating her with respect doesn't mean she won't be kept busy. She'll likely be joining me on trips to Ponyville, and she will understand that humans do have limits on what they can do.”

I can sense Princess Celestia focusing on my last statement when she says, “I think you'll find Lyra will teach you that unicorns are also limited, or at least she is limited, as to what they can do.”

I can think of nothing more to say. Even if I did have more to say, Princess Luna appears with the pale-green unicorn, now appearing more relaxed, before I can say it.

As close as Lyra and I are, with not even Princess Luna between us, I'm surprised that Lyra doesn't notice me, at least not at first. Instead, she's focused on Princess Celestia.

The white alicorn says, “Lyra Heartstrings, by order of Princesses Celestia and Luna, you are hereby remanded to the custody of Mormon.”

That's when she finally turns to and notices my character right next to her. Presently, she says, turning to each alicorn she names, “Princess Luna, no. Princess Celestia, no. Don't do this to me. I promise I won't try to go to the human world again. Just don't leave me in his control.”

My character holds up a hand to Princess Celestia and turns his head to Lyra, and I say, “You don't need to worry. I won't do anything to hurt you. You're interested in humans? Well, here's your chance to learn from one firsthand, or first hoof in your case.”

The pale-green unicorn stops begging and just starts whimpering as Princess Celestia, seeing my character's hand lower, continues, “You will send us daily letters informing us of what you learn about humans, especially from living with one.” What looks like a clipboard with a parchment on it drifts toward my character as Princess Celestia continues, “This device has been enchanted so that it'll never run out of parchment. This way you can write as much as you feel you need to.” Then, to my surprise, from behind Princess Celestia a small, bipedal, herbivorous dinosaur appears as the white princess continues, “This dragon has been enchanted to send letters to me and my sister, and receive them from us. She will bite the letters you give her to send them to us, and letters from us will appear in her mouth. We will be making requests from time to time, offering assignments as opportunities arise. Are these instructions understood?”

Lyra is crying right now, and clearly unable to answer Princess Celestia's question.

On the other hand, I find myself having no problems answering, “Yes, we understand your instructions.”

The dinosaur waddles up to my character and says, “My name is Weed Whacker. I am honored to be of service to you.”

At once the questions about whether or not the dinosaur can talk, and what I'll be calling her, are answered; and there seems to be evidence of a sense of humor involved in the dinosaur's naming.

My character kneels on one knee, and the dinosaur reaches out a hand. He takes and shakes the offered hand, and the dinosaur sticks out her tongue and touches it to the knuckle of his middle finger.

He then stands up again and puts one hand on Lyra's head while accepting the clipboard with the other hand.

In response, the unicorn rears up on her hind legs and shouts, “Don't touch me!”

As soon as Lyra calms down again, Princess Celestia responds by saying, “Lyra, if you refuse, you will return to your cell where you will get only enough food to keep you alive. You're imprisonment will be as long as your time with Mormon would be, three years, during which time you will have limited contact from your friends. You will also be fitted with a device that'll keep you from using any of your magic.”

As my character watches the expression on the pale-green unicorn's face, I can see that she's more troubled by the loss of her magic than getting minimal food.

I hear Weed Whacker say to her, “Lyra, listen to me. I want to be of service to both you and Mormon, but I can't do that if you insist on serving your time in jail. Your human friend is a good one, and wants as much as I do what's best for you. So, do you choose no freedom in jail, or do you choose limited freedom with your human friend Mormon?”

As my character and Lyra stare at each other, I find myself unable to tell what's going through her mind, although it's evident she's studying my character. After a few seconds, she asks, “Do you promise not to eat me?”

I answer, “I promise I won't eat you. I only want to be your friend, or at least one of them.”

The pale-green unicorn turns to Princess Celestia again and asks, “If Bon-Bon wants to visit me, will that be alright?”

Princess Celestia answers, “That'll be up to Mormon. You'll be in his custody, meaning you'll be living at his house, and by his rules.”

Lyra turns to my character again, and I immediately answer, “I'd welcome visits from your other friends. And, as I said to a trio of stallions, I make it a rule of thumb to not kill and eat my friends.”

I get the feeling Lyra's chuckles are forced. But then she sniffles before saying, “Well, if that's one of your rules, then I can live with that.” She then turns to the white princess again and says, “Alright. I'll go with the human. And, I agree to send letters to you about what I learn about him.” After a momentary pause, she asks the two alicorns, “Are you also interested in humans?”

This time it's Princess Luna who answers, “Mormon has shown us a side of humans we didn't expect to see. Thou has shown a great interest in humans. What better way for us to learn about them than through thee? Will thou help us learn about humans?”

I do believe this is the first time I see excitement in Lyra's eyes. Not unlike a certain pink earth pony I also seem to have responsibility over, Lyra bounces up and down chanting, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Princess Celestia smiles, then turns to Princess Luna and nods.

The next thing we know, Princess Luna, Lyra Heartstrings, Weed Whacker, and my character, along with the clipboard Princess Celestia gave us, are in the front yard of my character's house, on the other side of the Everfree forest from Ponyville.

Before she disappears again, the nighttime alicorn touches Weed Whacker on the head with her horn.

It's dark enough outside that I can only make out shapes, not necessarily any colors. I head toward the door to my character's house and open it to allow my new companions to enter. But, before they can do so, I also turn on the light to the living room. And, it's only when Weed Whacker enters the house that I notice her holding a rolled-up parchment in her mouth.

Before my character can do anything to remove the message, the little dinosaur drops it at my character's feet and says, “I think this is the first assignment from the princesses.”

Again before my character can react, the letter, glowing with a pale-green aura, rises and floats toward Lyra, then unrolls.

Lyra's irises move back and forth in her head, reminding me of an old-fashioned typewriter head or an electric typewriter wheel moving either a page or across a paper. The main difference is that Lyra is absorbing the information on the page.

When she's finished, and as the pale-green-lit parchment floats to my character, Lyra says, “No, not an assignment. It's just a copy of the princesses' orders, giving you custody over me.”

As my character catches the parchment, the pale-green aura disappears; and the parchment rolls up onto my character's fingers. As my character unrolls the parchment, I can see that Lyra was telling the truth. This is a good sign for her. It means she's on the right path to repenting of her crime.

As my character lets go of the parchment, allowing it to roll up again, I hear Lyra ask, “So, what do you have for us to eat?”

Before I can answer that, I see a light flashing from the table between the two couches. I know what's going on; I'm just surprised that the tablet was evidently teleported into the house, while the rest of us were teleported into the front yard.

As I find the tablet, I say under my breath, “Uh, oh.” Then, as the image on the screen confirms my suspicions, and I see the gray pegasa chained to the cement bed with Pinkie Pie's back to the camera, I say, “Ataahua, no.”

Presently the tablet glows with the pale-green aura that controlled the parchment.

Before Lyra can take control of the tablet, I have my character press an area of the screen resembling a green button, ordering the tablet to record the video data it's receiving. After that, he carries the tablet to Lyra.

As my character tries to maintain control over the tablet, I say, “I'm not sure you're ready for this.”

Clearly confused, Lyra asks, “Ready for what?”

I answer, “This is really something that I need to handle. You really shouldn't see it.”

The pale-green aura disappears from the tablet, and Lyra says, “Well, if you're so sure about that, then go ahead and take it. But, I'm still hungry here.”

I guess I should be happy that Lyra's appetite is back after the story I told her in the dungeon; but, I'm more preoccupied by the drama unfolding in that basement, transmitted from the camera to my tablet. As I've already recorded, my suspicions have been confirmed concerning Pinkie Pie. I just need to record the evidence so that perhaps one of the pink earth pony's friends, maybe Fluttershy, can intervene.

I order Weed Whacker to get something for Lyra and herself from the orchard, the vineyard, the vegetable garden, or the grain field outside, taking Lyra's order first, then bring the food back inside for the two of them. After that, I withdraw my character to the bedroom where he took a nap while Lyra was recovering from whatever sickness she'd been facing not long ago to see the drama unfold on my tablet.

Isn't it intersting? We can become attached to fictional characters, even, or perhaps especially, characters we create, to the point that we can feel emotional pain when we see them dying, or something similar. Thus it is for me as I watch Pinkie Pie take a surgical blade and carve around the cutie mark on each of Ataahua's thighs, then pull it off. But, as I watch the screen, I begin to feel as though I'm there in the room with Pinkie Pie and Ataahua. And, not surprisingly, Ataahua is crying from the pain.

Pinkie Pie had started with the gray pegasa's right thigh, carving an oval around the cutie mark with surgical precision so she wouldn't damage it, before pulling the piece of meat away. She then put it on the table made from Gilda's bones.

I have my character walk to the table to have a look at the cutie mark, only to see it starting to fade away. And, when Pinkie Pie does the same thing to the bawling Ataahua's left thigh, the difference in the quality of the pictures is clear.

When the pink earth mare picks up the pieces of the pegasa's thighs and looks at them, I hear her call out, “Hey!” She then carries the separated and disappearing cutie marks to Ataahua and holds them up to her, asking, “What's going on here? I thought these things weren't gonna fade like this!” Then, she just throws them behind her and says, “Well, whatever.”

The two almost completely faded cutie marks land strangely at the feet of my character, as it were, face-up.

Ataahua cries, “Why are you doing this to me, Pinkie Pie? What went wrong?”

I see the pink earth pony glare back at Ataahua (and, yes, I know she's glaring; just don't ask me how I know, because I can't say) and answer, “Derpy, shut up! I can do this so much more quickly and easily if you'll just shut up!”

It seems for the moment that Ataahua does quiet down, at least a little bit, if only to say, “Pinkie?”

The pink pony snarls, “What is it now?”

Through sobs, Ataahua answers, “I need to pee.”

Groaning, Pinkie Pie says, “I'll get it taken care of as soon as I can.” She then produces a hair pin, places it on one of her ears, then proceeds to cut open Ataahua's abdomen, around the crotch area. As Ataahua screams again, the pink pony cuts a line from the middle of the first line up the gray pegasa's abdomen to her solar-plexus.

Amazingly no internal organs fall out of the still-screaming Ataahua as Pinkie Pie reaches in under the intestines and searches for the bladder from underneath.

More amazingly, Ataahua manages to hold it in while Pinkie Pie is abusing her this way.

The pink pony makes it clear that she has found the organ she's looking for as she pushes inward with one front hoof and grabs the hair pin with the other one. And, once again, somehow I can see the pink pony reach into Ataahua's abdomen with the hoof holding the hairpin and manage to clip the end of her urinary tract closed with it.

Pinkie Pie groans, “Ugh, why didn't I bring at least one more bucket for this purpose?” She then proceeds to take the surgical knife and cut the urinary tube above the urethra, then hold the tube closed in one hoof as she holds it out away from her and Ataahua, then releases it.

At first nothing happens. Then, slowly liquid leaks from the relaxing tube, then pours faster until the opening at the end demonstrates its limit. The flow at this point continues for perhaps half a minute, then slows and stops as the bladder is finally emptied.

As she lets go of the tube, Pinkie Pie looks up at Ataahua and asks, “Is there anything else you need to do before we continue?”

As if on cue, I hear the zipper sound effect come from Ataahua.

Again the party pony groans, then proceeds to do with Ataahua's large intestine what she did with her bladder, save for cutting her open. And, she uses the same hairpin to close off the gray pegasa's bowels that she used for her urinary tube. This time, though, instead of letting the bowels release normally, after pointing the end of the large intestine outward, she reaches as far up as she can, then, not unlike pushing out the contents of any tube as quickly as possible, I suppose, pulls down on the once again screaming Ataahua's bowels, forcing them to empty as rapidly as possible.

Now that the gray pegasa's urine and feces are all over the floor of the basement, Pinkie Pie raises a front hoof at Ataahua's face and says, “If you start gagging, I'll tie your mouth closed. But, considering the screaming you've been doing, I doubt that'll be necessary.” And, with that, she proceeds to open the gray pegasa's abdomen the rest of the way. That means cutting a line across the second one, from one side under Ataahua's lowest rib to the other side, then unfolding the abdominal skin like some kind of strange soft-cover book.

I'm having to wonder if Ataahua can feel anything anymore. It's either that, or the pain of being further cut is just no more painful than having her bowels forcefully emptied. Whatever the case is, she isn't crying anymore, just whimpering, as she asks, “What happened to you, Pinkie, that you'd do this to me? Did I do something really bad to you?”

Pinkie Pie's next vocalization is a mix of a scream and a groan. When she's finished making that sound, she says, “Why can't ponies be as fun as griffons?”

Presently Ataahua falls silent, and Pinkie Pie looks up at her and snarls, “Ah, don't tell me you're dead already!”

After another second, Ataahua whimpers, “Pinkie Pie, you're not saying that you've done this to griffons?”

At this point Pinkie Pie starts removing Ataahua's organs as she says, “Just one. And, let me tell you, Gilda was a lot tidier than you. She at least had the foresight to empty her bowels and bladder before I could drag her down here. And, she wasn't as noisy as you, either, except that she had to be such a meany mouth. I had to cut out her tongue because she couldn't keep it civil!”

Each organ that Pinkie Pie removes she tosses into, and at times over, a nearby bucket. And, each time she hears a splat, indicating she's missed, she groans out the same phrases: “I can't believe I did that. Now, I'll have to hose it off.”

Strangely, the only time the pink earth pony gets splashed with blood is when she pulls out Ataahua's heart, at which point she gets the gray pegasa's blood on her face and front.

And, not long afterward, the now simply whimpering and sobbing Ataahua goes silent, and finally limp.

Noticing the gray pegasa suddenly motionless, Pinkie Pie makes attempts to wake her up, including calling out the names “Derpy” and “Ditsy,” but to no avail. Finally, and to my surprise, she calls out long and loud, “Ataahua!” And, when that doesn't work, she punches the corpse in the now-empty abdominal cavity.

Finally, she says, “Well, whatever. I got what I want, what I need, from you.” Turning toward the wall with the implanted camera, she continues, “Now, I can make cupcakes again. No, not cupcakes. Not in your case. No, I shall make … “

But, before I can hear what Pinkie Pie plans to make of Derpy's internal organs, I hear a knock at the door behind my character, followed by Lyra calling out, “Mormon, are you alright in there?” Then, I realize my character is back in the bedroom. I cannot tell for sure if what I saw was a vision, or a dream brought on by what my character was seeing on the tablet as he watched. But, right now it doesn't matter. The video feed has stopped at the sight of Pinkamena Pie, angry eyes and an unnaturally broad smile, covered from that one curl in her forehead down her front in blood. So, I order the video to end there, then save and close.

After that, I turn to the door and call out, “I'm fine!” But, the fact of the matter is I don't feel fine. I just watched Pinkie Pie murder another pony in a very cruel manner. Now that I think about it, I have to wonder if this isn't the closest an Equestrian pony will come to the abomination committed by the Nephites, which lead to their destruction. I can only hope it is. And, Pinkie Pie did it to Ataahua.

And, now it seems that my character is rebelling against me, as he refuses to do anything I order him to do. I have to order him several times before he obeys me.

I hear Lyra call out again, “Well, we've got dinner ready out here when you're ready for it.”

Even getting my character to stand up, walk to the door, open it, then head to the kitchen to eat something, proves to be a major ordeal; as I have to order him, as I said, several times to do so.

Weed Whacker is the one who notices my character's sluggish movements when he finally leaves his room. She asks, “Are you sure you're alright?”

I'm the one who should be speaking for my character, and I suddenly find myself without a response for the little dinosaur.

My character, refusing to respond to my orders, won't stop a curious Lyra from entering his bedroom and finding the tablet on the floor. At least he'll allow me to hear her say, “What's this?”

Weed Whacker, hearing the question from Lyra, decides to follow the pale-green unicorn into my character's bedroom.

Now, for the first and, as long as I can help it, the only time, my character acts on his own, standing up and following the dinosaur and unicorn to his bedroom and calling out, “Leave that alone. It's not for you to watch.” But, it's too late.

By the time he gets to his room, Lyra and Weed Whacker are watching the silent drama unfold on the tablet screen.

Disasters are fascinating to humans, and evidently no less so to Equestrian ponies, or, for that matter, Weed Whacker.

My character either can't or won't separate the two from the tablet, as the two watch Pinkie Pie violate Ataahua. Then the video ends, showing an evil Pinkamena Pie.

It's several minutes before either of the two creatures can speak. To my surprise, it's Lyra who speaks first, as she says, “I'm not hungry anymore.”

Weed Whacker speaks next, answering, “Me neither.”

You know, I can't help thinking right now that what Lyra said would be funny if it weren't said at such a poignant moment.

After a few more seconds, my perspective through my character's eyes seems to bounce once, and I hear Lyra say something about being sorry. After that, the view through my character's eyes lowers, then blurs to near blindness. I can only imagine that if I had allowed a camera to view the scene it'd be one of the more touching among scenes in video games: a pale-green unicorn and a little blue dinosaur with yellow stream-stripes snuggling a human, trying to comfort him.

It's a few minutes before I can see clearly through my character's eyes again.

Once my character can focus again, I hear Lyra ask, “So, what are you going to do with that recorded event?”

I answer, “I recorded it to show to one of Pinkie Pie's friends. Seeing that I failed to help her, maybe one of them can succeed where I couldn't.”

Lyra circles to the other side of the bed from my character, then comes back around with it in her magical aura, then says, “I don't know. Once one pony kills another, there's generally not much hope for him or her.”

After a momentary pause, I answer, “Maybe you're right. But, I could at least use advice from one of her friends. If there's any hope for Pinkie Pie, it'll rest with one of them.”

Presently Weed Whacker asks, “So, which one of her friends do you plan on showing this event to?”

I answer, “I'm thinking the best one to show this to is Fluttershy.”

Now it's Lyra's turn to speak. She says, “Pinkie Pie has thrown more parties than I can count. She's acquainted with everypony in Ponyville, including me and Bon-Bon. And, I'm acquainted with her as well. But, the pony in that video I don't recognize as Pinkie Pie. She simply doesn't do things like that.”

My character focuses on the pale-green pony as she props herself on his closest leg by her front limbs, and I can see, through my character's eyes, the sadness in her eyes as she continues, “If you think you can help her even after she's murdered another pony, then I'll help you as much as I can. And, while I don't know how a murdering pony thinks, it seems to me that such a pony would likely turn on anypony that, by him- or herself, approaches him or her professing to know what that murdering pony had done. If you want Fluttershy to help Pinkie Pie, then I suggest you go with her for the safety of both of you.”

Lyra offers good advice. Whatever her purposes were in attempting to invade the human world, her heart is, right now anyway, in the right place.

I answer, “You're probably right. But, right now it's late; and we need to rest and get something to eat. Let's go eat dinner. I'm sure there are enough bedrooms for each of us.”

And, with that, human, dinosaur, and unicorn go to the dining room and eat the food that Lyra and Weed Whacker gathered and prepared. During this time, we talk about different things, including what Lyra plans on putting in her report to the princesses, all the time avoiding the subject of the event recorded on my character's tablet. No doubt, enough has been said already on that subject. Then, after tossing the inedible refuse in the garbage, it's time to decide who wants what bedroom.

Oh, and by the way, I am fully aware that my character is no longer rebelling against me.

There are two bedrooms at the end of the hallway, which each of the two creatures claim.

As the three of them retire, I decide to save and quit. Because I choose to save as my character falls asleep, I know the game will resume on its tomorrow.

Author's Notes:

So, there we have it. Pinkie Pie has committed her first pony murder. And, Mormon has refused to stop her on the basis that she holds an element of harmony. And, we're pretty much past the midway point of the story now.

In the next chapter, Mormon decides to give Pinkie Pie one last chance to repent of what she's done. Will she decide to do so? The answer will come in the next chapter, One Last Chance, and thereafter. So, until then.