Once again I resume the game to the sound of pounding on my character's bedroom door. But, this time it's accompanied by the voice of Vinyl Scratch calling out, “Mormon, you'd better come out! Something's wrong with Pinkie Pie and Lyra!”

I already know what Pinkie Pie's problem is going to be. Lyra on the other hand? Well, my character and I are just going to have to go and find out.

As my character gets out of bed, there's really no change. Then he exits his room, running into Vinyl Scratch, and that's when things start changing for him. I can already tell what's happening, as, while he closes his bedroom door, the hallway seems to get bigger. But, I know it isn't the hallway growing; it's my character shrinking. And, I don't need the expression on Vinyl's face to tell me there's something different about my character. I ask her, “Are you alright?”

The white unicorn answers, “I'm fine. The questions is, are you alright?”

Evidently the effect of the poison joke on my character is what makes him shrink to approximately half his original height, and probably length and width as well. I answer, “I don't mean to be short with you, but I think I need to see Pinkie Pie and Lyra right now.”

Vinyl grunts and clears her throat, then says, “Of course. Just follow me.”

As I hear her giggling in front of me, I say, as though I don't care, “Okay,” and start following the white unicorn. While I'm sure Vinyl doesn't understand the Oddworld reference, I still can't help making it.

In the kitchen, the first thing I see is a worried-looking Pinkie Pie sitting at the table with her tongue, covered in blue spots, sticking out. A little further in, I can see Lyra's head, or the back of it anyway, sticking up over one chair.

I ask, “Is everything alright?”

It is indeed the curse of Daffy Duck on Pinkie Pie as she answers, “Nol, ich isthhnth.”

I have my character turn to Lyra as I ask, “What about you? Are you alright?”

The pale-green unicorn turns to me, and while she appears to be crying, mouthing words, no sound's coming out of her.

So, these are the effects of the poison joke on three of the characters so far: my character's turned into a midget; Lyra's become a mute; and Pinkie's tongue has been paralyzed, or at least it doesn't work properly. When we get to the library with the rest of the Mane Six, I can expect to see Twilight Sparkle with a limp horn, Rarity looking like an untrimmed poodle, Applejack about the size of a kitten, Rainbow Dash with inverted wings, and I can expect to hear Fluttershy's deep bass voice. And, something tells me we're going to meet up with Fluttershy first.

In the mean time, Trixie nearly runs into my character as she enters the kitchen through the door, prompting Pinkie Pie to warn her to “Wat-th outh!”

Trixie grunts in curiosity and confusion, then turns toward my character. Presently she jumps back and screams, then whimpers, “Who the hay are you?”

I answer, “It's alright, Trixie. It's me, Mormon.”

The now surprised blue unicorn walks up to my character and sniffs at him, then asks, “Mormon, what the hay happened to you?”

I answer, “Long story short, eight of us stepped into some blue plants, and now I'm not half the man I used to be.” And, for your curiosity, no, I do not sing out that last part.

Now once again confused but also somewhat skeptical, Trixie tilts her head and asks, “Wait, eight of you stepped into some blue plants?”

I hear Pinkie Pie answer, “That'th weithth?”

I add, “Pinkie Pie, Lyra and I, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy.”

Now, the unicorn magician-turned-puppeteer straightens her head again and, with an expression of mixed alarm and anger, asks, “Do you know what those blue plants are called?”

I answer, “As a matter of fact, I do. They're called poison joke.”

I hear Pinkie Pie ask, “Poithon thoakth?”

I continue, “It was growing across the pathway further up the road. Zecora introduced me to it when she was helping me build my house here, and warned me to stay away from it. She talked about it liking to play tricks on ponies, and at least one zebra, that walked through it. Evidently humans aren't immune to it, either.”

I then hear Weed Whacker say, “Neither are dragons, at least not dragons that eat plants. I ate some, and it nearly killed me. But, that was before I became an assistant to Mormon, Pinkie Pie, and Lyra.”

I conclude, “So, some time soon the three of us are gonna go visit Twilight Sparkle in Ponyville, first to see what effects the poison joke has had on the other five ponies, then to figure out what to do next.”

I hear Pinkie Pie say, “Withth oiy thung weich thithth, I khanth eath; ththo I ththay we go ath ththoon ath poththiboe.”

At this point, Trixie sighs before saying, “So, Pinkie Pie's tongue is paralyzed, and you're half your normal height. What about Lyra?”

I answer, “The poison joke seems to have paralyzed her vocal cords. She's unable to talk, or make any vocalization.”

Trixie closes her eyes and, frowning, says, “Well, with my friends afflicted like this, I can't leave. Not until the problem's solved.” She opens her eyes again and adds, “Zecora must know of a cure for the poison joke. If she's had problems with it as well, she must have a cure. You three go ahead to Ponyville, and I'll stay here until you come back.”

I say, “Agreed. And, since Pinkie Pie can't eat until she can use her tongue again, or at least pull it back into her mouth, I'm thinking we'd better go as soon as possible.” What I don't say is that I already know we'll be back on a course to Zecora's home, further up the road and past the patch of poison joke. I ask, “So, shall we head out now?”

Pinkie Pie asks, “Momom, you noch humgwy?”

I turn to her and answer, “Right now, there are more important things than food. You need to get your tongue working again, Lyra needs her voice back, and I need to get back to my original height. The sooner we get these problems solved, the better.”

Lyra doesn't bother trying to say anything, she just jumps out of her chair and canters toward my character.

Pinkie Pie follows Lyra's example and says, “Ueu, wethth gho.”

My character heads to the door between the kitchen and the front room as I say, “Well, I guess that's it then. We're off to see the librarian of Ponyville.” And, with that, my character reaches upward to open the door, then proceeds to the front door and outside, then to the gate, all the time followed by three ponies and one dinosaur. While my character doesn't bother closing the doors behind him, as it turns out, he doesn't need to. It turns out that Trixie has been using her magic to close the doors behind the group.

As the blue unicorn mare closes the gate behind my character and his three followers, the four leaving wave goodbye to her, as she waves back; and one pink earth pony, one pale-green unicorn, one herbivorous dinosaur, and one human head through the Everfree forest, headed for Ponyville.

Not much more than half an hour later (All things considered, it's surprising we've made such good time.), we're passing in front of Fluttershy's cottage. There, we see that the yellow pegasa has just exited her house and is closing the door behind her.

I know what to expect, but I still call to her, “Fluttershy, how are you?”

And, that's when we hear a masculine, deep-toned shout of surprise from her.

Presently, Pinkie Pie calls out, “Fuowoththy, ah uou oweithth?”

The yellow pegasa, her head lowered, wanders to the bridge in front of her house and asks in the deep, masculine voice, “Pinkie Pie, are you alright?”

I answer, “As you can see, almost all of us have problems. Pinkie Pie's tongue is paralyzed, as are Lyra's vocal cords. As for me, well, suddenly I'm not half the man I used to be.” Yeah, I know, I used the same line on Fluttershy that I used on Trixie. But, I still don't sing it.

Flutterguy, as most, starting with Spike, have called the poison-joke-afflicted yellow pegasa, says, “Well, I'm not much better off. I'm a bass now.”

Something tells me that if Lyra had a voice right now, she'd be laughing about this.

If my character weren't a hobbit, I'd likely be laughing as well. I say, “Well, let's get going to Twilight's house. Pinkie Pie needs a new tongue, Lyra needs new vocal cords, and I need to grow up again. And, evidently you need your old voice back.”

Flutterguy nods and says, “Alright, let's get goin'.”

And, with that, we're back on the road to the Ponyville library. And, by the time we get there, we're just in time to see a flight-impared Rainbow Dash ram into the wall of the library.

I have my character run ahead to stop the reckless blue pegasa as I say, “Woah, Rainbow Dash.” Then, having gotten the now spinning pegasa's attention, I continue, “Now, just land.”

In response, Rainbow Dash folds her wings and just drops, landing on her back.

I have my character help her to her hooves, then open the door for her; and I say, “Now, just follow me, on hoof, into the library. You're not the only one with problems.”

As I watch, through my character's eyes, the blue pegasa's wings on each side of her rib cage have folded upside down, I hear her say, “I guess not.”

But, before my character can enter the library, Rarity, looking either like a French poodle or an unshorn sheep, moves ahead of me, saying, “Ladies first.”

Deciding to allow the shaggy unicorn to enter in front of my character, I notice the line of ponies behind him has grown to include Applebloom, carrying a miniature Applejack on her back. At this point, I rethink my decision, and decide to allow the ponies to enter the library ahead of my character, then have him close the door behind him once he's entered.

And, wouldn't you know it, Rainbow Dash gets the idea to try to fly up to her normal perch, which results in her crashing into the ladder, thus getting herself tangled in it.

The evident effects of the poison joke on each of the ponies causes Twilight Sparkle to emit a gasp of surprise, and Spike to cry out in shock and fear.

Twilight, looking at each of the ponies in the room, asks, “What happened to all of you?”

As my character pushes his way through the ponies, I answer, “Maybe I should be the spokesman.”

Rainbow Dash, still stuck in the ladder, groans and says, “Isn't it obvious? It's that curse that Zecora put on us!”

Then Pinkie Pie says, “Moh, ich iththn'th. Momom eththpuainth ith thoo uthth. It wath the poithon thoakth we ththepth intho.”

Spike, who got the brunt of Pinkie Pie's speech, says, wringing out his tail, “Woah, Pinkie Pie, say it, don't spray it.”

I have my character put a hand up to the pink earth pony as I say, “Let me speak for you.” Then, after she grunts in somewhat defeated agreement, I have my character turn to Twilight Sparkle; and I say, “Now, as Pinkie Pie was trying to say, this isn't Zecora's fault. In fact, she did try to warn us about the plants we walked into.”

Rainbow Dash manages to flip herself over, ladder and all, before she says, “I don't think so. It has to be Zecora. How else do you think we got this curse?”

At this point, my character starts pacing around as I say, “I'm thinking we have better things to do with our time than argue about how we got our problems. Now, if I were in a superstitious hobbit, uh, habit, but with the knowledge I do have, I'd say we were cursed by that poison joke plant." My character looks around and shows me, through his eyes, that most of the ponies in the room have opened their mouths to ask questions. Instead of giving them the chance, I continue, "I mean, look at us. All of us who walked into that plant now have problems. I'm half my normal height. Pinkie Pie's tongue and Lyra's vocal cords are paralyzed.”

Before I can say anything further, Twilight turns to the pale-green unicorn and asks, “Lyra, is what Mormon said true?”

Lyra doesn't even bother opening her mouth, just closes her eyes and nods.

I continue, “Applejack's body is now the same size as her mind.”

The orange earth pony shouts, “Hey!”

I continue, “Fluttershy now has this beautiful bass voice.”

The yellow pegasa smiles and says, “Thank you, Mormon, I guess.”

I add, “Rarity looks like an unshorn sheep.”

The white unicorn grunts indignantly and, under her breath, says, “There's no need to be cruel about it.”

I conclude, “Rainbow Dash's wings are inverted, and Twilight's horn is more like a rattlesnake's tail, but quiet. I'd say we wandered into a plant with a rather cruel sense of humor.” Then, I remember what I said about Fluttershy and add, “Well, for most of us.”

Presently, Fluttershy says, “Well, Mormon, as much as I appreciate what you said about me, I'm still a mare, not a stallion. This is not the voice I'm intended to have. The fact of the matter is, whether it's your poison joke plant or Zecora, I'm still as badly cursed as anypony else here.”

I state, “Well, Zecora's only role in this one is she tried to warn us about it.”

Applebloom says, “That's right. She warned us about the plant.”

Applejack chooses to ignore her younger sister and instead turns to me and says, “Good gravy, Mormon, why are you defendin' Zecora? What, are you two friends or somethin'?”

Isn't is wonderful how good things like that can become incriminating? I answer, “As a matter of fact, yes, I am. Zecora and I are friends.”

At my announcement gasps are heard around the library, and Rarity dramatically faints.

I continue, “When I first moved to Equestria, I built my home on the edge of the Everfree forest, on the opposite side from Ponyville, and pretty much the rest of your country. And, Zecora helped me build my house. She'd go to your town to get supplies like hammers and nails, and she'd come back talking about how the only one who'd help her was a filly from a nearby farm. At any rate, because of that we became friends; and she visited me frequently until I decided to visit Ponyville. The last visit I got from her was yesterday. And, I'm sure you're pretty much familiar with the rest of the story.”

At this point, Applejack asks, “So, what you're sayin' is you've been workin' with Zecora?”

I answer, “Zecora and I are friends. And, yes, she and I did work together to build my house.”

Now, Pinkie Pie says, or spits, “We mow wuh kime ovhh who-mum Momom ith. An, he'th fuenth with The-koa. Ththo, tha muthth meem The-koa ith no ueu neo ath evo ath evuypony'th been ththayin' ththee ith. Ah meem, Momom'th a good who-mum.”

Fluttershy, glaring at the pink pony, asks, “Oh, yeah? And what about your song?” Presently she starts doing her own rendition of Pinkie Pie's “Evil Enchantress” song, which, I might add, sounds better coming from Flutterguy than it did coming from Pinkie Pie.

That is, until Pinkie Pie gallops past me toward her, shoves a forelimb into her muzzle before she can get to the trances part, and roars out, “Thath'th enuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhph!” When she's finished, she pants for a few seconds before continuing, with a sad look on her face, “Ah thuud neua how megh up tha' ththupid ththong! Bu', Ah wath onuy uepeetin' wha' evuypony eothth wathth ththtayin'. An, Ah'm ththowy abou' tha'.” And, with that, she removes her front hoof from Fluttershy's muzzle and slowly walks back to where she was, and sniffles.

As she walks past me, I ask, “Pinkie Pie, are you alright?” But, I don't get an answer. Still, I can't help thinking about what she'd said to Octavia yesterday, and again to this group of ponies just now: 'No friend of Mormon can be anywhere as evil as everypony's been saying Zecora is.' I must admit, it made me feel good, and it does again now, to think that Pinkie Pie thought of me, and still thinks of me, as that kind of positive influence on my friends.

In the mean time, Rainbow Dash, who has finally managed to free herself from the ladder, says, “Whatever. I say we go to Zecora's house and demand that she take this curse off us.”

The only ponies who don't voice agreement with the blue pegasa are Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Lyra. But, they still follow Rainbow Dash and the rest of the element bearers as they leave, headed for Zecora's place.

Pinkie Pie, before she leaves, turns to my character and says, “Ah'm we-we ththowy, Momom.” And then, she follows the other ponies.

All they're missing are torches and a hanging rope.

As they leave, I notice a book with a hard, green cover on the floor. As I pick it up, I notice on the cover a picture of some type of herb. As my character flips through the pages, he stops at a chapter on the poison joke; and I notice it seems to include a cure for the problems the weed causes, what it's been causing.

From behind my character I hear Applebloom innocently ask, “What's that?”

I answer, “It's a book Zecora donated to the library, called Super Naturals. It's a book about various herbs and the effects they can have on different creatures. It includes information on the poison joke plant, and a cure for its effects.”

I find myself surprised to suddenly hear sniffling from Applebloom's position, and to hear her cry, “Ah'm so sorry, Mormon. If Ah hadn't tried to follow Zecora, none of this would'a happened.”

My character turns to the grieving yellow filly and starts stroking her mane as I say, “Now, it's alright. My friendship with her would've come out eventually. It's probably for the best that it came out the way it has.”

Applebloom can't help sobbing at least once. Then she swallows, sniffles again, and asks, “So, what do we do now?”

I answer, “There's just one thing left to do. Follow the yellow brick road.”

This causes the yellow filly to stop immediately and emit a confused, incredulous grunt.

Yes, I made another reference to the Wizard of Oz. And, while my character is the size he is, you can expect me to make more. And, while I knew Applebloom wouldn't understand it, I didn't let that stop me. What I say afterward is, “Never mind. Let's just follow the other ponies before they get themselves hurt or lost in the Everfree forest.”

As Applebloom follows my character to the door, she states, “Considerin' they know their way to yer house, Ah don't see that happenin'.”

As my character reaches for the doorknob, I answer, “It's true they know their way to my house, and they know their way to that patch of poison joke. But, as far as I can tell, they've never been further than that. They don't know about the short path around the poison joke, and they don't know exactly where Zecora lives. They could very likely find themselves lost outside the forest, who-knows-where.”

My character opens the door to an angry-looking herbivorous dinosaur, arms folded, and tapping a foot on the ground. The posture is surprisingly human.

I then realize that my character had closed the door on Weed Whacker, not allowing her to enter with him. With my character still focused on the little dinosaur, I say, “Oops. Sorry about that, Weed Whacker. I guess I was so occupied with the ponies I'd forgotten about you. Will you forgive me?”

In response, the little dinosaur stops tapping her foot and looks down for a moment. Then she looks up at my character again and says, “Alright.” She then jumps onto my character, climbs onto his shoulder (or so I assume), and says, “Just don't let it happen again.”

I answer, “As long as you do something to remind me, I won't.”

Before the little dinosaur can say anything further, a curious Applebloom asks, “Do you think they'll find the human civilization where you came from?”

I answer, “I doubt it. My original home is nowhere near that close. They'd have to walk a lot further than just outside the Everfree forest.”

The yellow filly nods and says, “Well, at any rate, we'd better catch up with them.”

I can only assume that Weed Whacker is nuzzling my character's face, based on the movements his head seems to be making, as I say, “Agreed. Let's get going.” Then, as we start running toward the forest, I ask, “Applebloom, who do you suppose has your sister?”

The future crusader answers, “Ah don't know. But, she's pretty resourceful. She may be flyin' Rainbow Dash.”

I state, “Sounds like all the more reason why we should get to them as soon as possible.”

We say no more as she and my character make their way into the forest and catch up with the herd of ponies. As it turns out, they haven't made it too far past Fluttershy's house before my character, Applebloom, and Weed Whacker catch up with them.

Applebloom and I call out, “Hold on! Wait for us!”

The herd immediately stops, and Twilight circles around them to my character and asks, “Alright, Mormon, what is it now?”

As my character and Applebloom come to a halt in front of the purple unicorn, I say, “If we're going to Zecora's house, then you're going to need me and Applebloom to guide you there. We know the way.”

At this point, let me state for the record my surprise that Rainbow Dash is on the ground with the rest of the group, and no longer trying to fly.

From Lyra's position I hear Applejack's voice call out, “Applebloom, have you been to Zecora's place before?”

I turn to the yellow filly, who looks like she's going to cry again, and say, “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

She nods to me, then turns to her sister, who is actually riding on Lyra's back, and, with determination in her voice, says, “Yes, Ah have.”

Gasping, Applejack asks, “Applebloom, do you know how dangerous that is?”

I answer, “I know.”

Applebloom's little big sister says, “Mormon, you're a human, and you can defend yourself.”

I state, “I've never needed to.”

Applejack continues, “But, you, Applebloom, you should know better than to talk to strange horses.”

At this point, I have my character maneuver through the herd to Applejack's position and kneel down before I say, “Applejack, that's enough.” Having effectively silenced the orange earth mare, I then have my character stand up again and move to the front of the herd before I add, “Now, if we're going to Zecora's house, then I'll lead the way.” And, with that, I have my character continue on the path, ahead of the herd of ponies, with Applebloom trotting to catch up to him.

It's a few seconds later that I hear Twilight, not far behind me, say, “Well, you heard him. Let's get this mob moving again.” And, soon after that, I hear the cacophony of hoof-falls behind my character, indicating that he is indeed being followed by the herd of ponies.

I have to say, I find it almost funny how Twilight referred to the herd as a mob. Almost funny because that's how I described it earlier.

My character leads the group past his house, and back into the forest, to the patch of poison joke. But, before we get close enough, again I notice the pathway that leads around it. I have my character point it out as I say, “If we take this pathway, we can avoid the poison joke altogether.”

As my character leads the heard along the alternate path, I hear Applejack ask, “Why didn't ya tell us 'bout this pathway b'fore?”

I consider telling them about how my way there was blocked, but then I think better of it. Instead, I ask, “Would you have listened?” I never get an answer to that question.

Past the alternate route, after rejoining the main path, we make our way; and I have my character look around to see if I can spot a tree that doesn't fit in with the rest of the forest. And after a few minutes, I find one that's a lot wider than the others, lighter in color, and with windows.

Applebloom sees it too, and runs toward the front door, calling out, “This is it, this is it!”

Presently Applejack calls out, “Applebloom, you get back here!”

My character turns to the herd, to see them turning away from me and entering the trees, evidently maneuvering to some position behind Zecora's house.

I have my character stop walking before I ask, “What are you doing?”

Flutterguy answers, “We wanna see what we're up against.”

I sigh and say, “Very well. You go back there and argue some more, and I'll go to the front door and knock.”

As my character proceeds to the front door of Zecora's house, I hear Twilight whisper, “Mormon, what are you doing?”

I decide if they're not going to listen to me, I won't listen to them either.

My character reaches the front door and knocks, and it's a few seconds before Zecora opens the door and, seeing me, says, “Mormon, I heard that you had spoke.” Then, with a look of horror on her face, she adds, “You walked into the patch of poison joke!”

I answer, “Me and seven ponies.” Then, after I watch, through my character's eyes, the zebra's expression morph into one of anger, I continue, “I know, I should've been looking where I was going. But, now I'm not the only one with problems. Pinkie Pie's tongue and Lyra's vocal cords are paralyzed, Applejack's more of a toy pony than normal, Fluttershy sounds like a deep-voiced stallion, Rarity reminds me of a poodle, Rainbow Dash can't fly very well because her wings are inverted, and Twilight's horn is limp.”

Zecora sighs and turns away from me and, cantering away from the door, says, “I see. Come in. I'll make a brew that shall work to cure all of you.”

Applebloom, Weed Whacker and I follow the zebra into her house, and I continue, “Thanks. I don't blame you for those problems, but the afflicted ponies think you've cursed them. Or, at least most of them do.”

The zebra stops for a moment near her cauldron, then turns her head to look at my character and says, “You say, most of the ponies do. Those that don't, are there one or two?”

I answer, “Pinkie Pie and Lyra know that we're friends. Pinkie Pie sees me as a good influence on my friends, and thus believes you aren't as evil as the other ponies were saying you are.”

Zecora nods and says, “So, Pinkie Pie thinks that I am good because of your influence, and she should.”

Just then, the herd enters, led by Rainbow Dash, who snarls, “We demand you remove this curse from us this instant, Zecora!”

I can see the blue pegasa heading straight for Zecora's cauldron, so I have my character step in front of her and catch her before she can knock it over. Once he's caught her, I state, “Zecora had nothing to do with your flying problem, or any of the problems the other ponies are facing; or mine for that matter. It was the poison joke.”

Rainbow Dash glances up at my character and says, “Oh, yeah? Then prove it.”

I answer, “There were only two who were smart enough not to get into that patch of poison joke yesterday: Applebloom and Weed Whacker. And, they're just fine.”

At this point, I hear Twilight say, “Mormon's got a point, Rainbow Dash.”

The rainbow-haired pegasa turns to the purple unicorn and says, “Don't tell me your taking sides with Zecora.”

Twilight answers, “This isn't about taking sides. The fact of the matter is eight of us wandered into that patch of blue plants. And now eight of us have problems that we wouldn't normally have, that we shouldn't have. Applebloom and Weed Whacker stayed out of contact with those blue plants, and they're not having problems, not like what we're having.”

In the mean time, Zecora, using her own copy of the Super Naturals book as a guide, has been gathering ingredients to produce the remedy. After hearing what Twilight said, she smiles and says, “It is nice to see, in this crisis, that I have pony friends beyond Pinkie Pie. But, now I need time to make the cure that you from the poison joke may be pure.”

Since my character is still facing the ponies, I say, “You heard her. So, you have a choice. You can be helpful, or you can be obstacles. But, any of you who chooses to be obstacles will have to wait outside.”

Presently, Rainbow Dash starts struggling as she says, “Let go of me!” And, before my character can react, she frees herself from his grasp and knocks over Zecora's cauldron.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that Zecora hadn't had a chance to start on her potion yet.

But, since it's clear that Rainbow Dash has made her decision, I have my character grab her again as I say, “Alright, Rainbow Dash, you've just earned yourself a time-out,” at which point I have my character take the rainbow-haired pegasa outside of Zecora's house and set her on her hooves and, before she can follow him back inside, closes the door behind him.

Seeing the leader of the mob now outside, it's Applejack who speaks next. She says, “Ah won't be much of an obstacle, but Ah won't be much help neither. If it's all the same to you, Ah'll wait outside with Rainbow Dash.” And, at that point, she jumps off of Lyra and moves toward the door. But, she has only managed to land on the lowest step, and is unable to jump up the next ones.

Rarity is next to speak; and she says, “I simply can't do a thing with my hair this way. I shall wait outside as well.” And, with that, a white aura possesses the orange earth pony, lifts her up, and puts her on Rarity's back, while the white unicorn makes her way to the door.

While Applejack expresses gratitude to Rarity, Pinkie Pie says, “With uie tongue wike thithth, Ah'o juththt be a methth. Ah'o wait outththithe with Daththie.” And, with that, she proceeds to follow Rarity out the door.

As my character opens the door to allow those three to exit, I can't help noticing the group that entered is a little more than half of what it was when it entered. I ask, “Anyone else choose to go outside?”

I guess it's taken Twilight Sparkle this long to notice the book that Zecora's been working from. She marches towards it, saying, “Wait a minute,” and, placing a front hoof on an open page, she uses the other one to close the book somewhat to get a look at the cover. Recognizing the picture on the cover, she says, “This is that Supernaturals book that Spike showed me at the library.” Opening it again, she looks at the picture of the poison joke and says, “Why does it have information on this blue plant?”

I answer, “It's not Supernaturals. It's Super Naturals. The title is two separate words. It's a book about various plants and their many different uses and effects. Don't you have a copy of it at the library?”

Sheepishly, Twilight Sparkle answers, “I do. But, I didn't look inside because the title was so weird.”

At this point, Zecora chuckles before saying, “Maybe next time you'll take a look, and not judge the cover of the book.”

Twilight forces a laugh before saying, “Yeah.” Then she asks, “So, what do we have to do with it?”

Applebloom answers, “You just have to take a bubble bath.”

I add, “I'm thinking the first thing we need to do to help out is get Zecora's cauldron upright again.”

When Twilight turns around to her friends, I can see the determined look on her face as she says, “Alright, let's start there.”

After that, it's just a matter of seconds before the ponies have the zebra's cauldron upright again. Then, following Zecora's instruction, each of the remaining ponies assists in some part of making the potion. It doesn't take very long before it's ready; and the group, this time including Zecora, returns to Ponyville.

And, on the way there, I can't help singing, “We're Off to See the Wizard,” and the ponies, and even Zecora, join in on a repeat of the song. Also, the group follows that alternate course around the poison joke in the main pathway.

Once back in Ponyville, Rarity leads the group to a spa with what she says should be a tub big enough for the entire group.

It makes sense that Applejack would raise concerns, which she does, at this point, that she could get lost, drowned, or stepped on in a tub large enough for all of them to bathe in. So, a bucket is provided for her.

In the mean time, once we're in the spa and while the tub is being prepared, I sing another song from the Wizard of Oz, or at least part of a song, which starts with the line, “We represent the lollipop guild.”

When the bath is ready, Pinkie Pie is the first to jump in and swim for a bit. When she surfaces, I can't help noticing the blue spots melt off of her tongue; and she's able to use it again. I'm not sure she quite notices her ability to use her tongue again until she says, “Ah, that feels good.” But, then, noticing her ability to talk again without slobbering, she cheers, “I can talk again! I can talk, I can talk, I can talk!”

Next is Rarity, whose thick coat of fur also melts away as soon as she enters the tub. She sighs with relief as she says, “Ah, it's so nice to be rid of all that fur.”

Rainbow Dash jumps in, or more like stumbles in, and I watch through my character's eyes as her wings right themselves again. She then looks at her wings and, seeing them right-side up again and attached to her back, flaps them and rises above the tub. Hovering in the air, she stretches her limbs out in joy and shouts, “Yes! I can fly again!” Then, she carefully lowers herself back into the tub.

As Twilight enters the tub next, she lowers her head into the bubbling water. When she surfaces again, I watch through my character's eyes as, just like Pinkie Pie's tongue, or like Rarity's thick fur coat, the spots on Twilight's horn melt away; and it straightens out again. Even sparks of magic fly off of her horn; and Twilight, groaning in relief, says, “It's so nice to have my magic back again.”

Fluttershy seems uncertain about entering the wooden tub with her friends. But, eventually she slowly walks into it, then turns to Zecora and asks, “Do I have to fully submerge for it to work?”

Applebloom answers, “If you want to get rid of the poison joke spores, you do. And, in your case, you'll probably have to gargle some of the water, too.”

Rainbow Dash starts to react, but Fluttershy isn't paying attention to her as she sighs and says, “Alright.” She then disappears under the water. When she surfaces again, she coughs and spits out the water. Groaning, but in her normal voice again, she asks, “Did somepony do something in the water? It tastes awful.”

Most of the ponies look at each other, except for Rainbow Dash, who grimaces, until Applelbloom answers, “That's probably just the cure. Medicine usually tastes yucky.”

I have my character turn his attention away from the tub and grab Applejack and put her in the nearby bucket.

As he does so, Applejack says, “Mormon, your hands are cold.”

I answer, “Well, you know the old saying, cold hands, warm heart?”

At that point, with Applejack in the bucket, I hear two familiar-sounding voices grunt in curious response to what I said.

As my character looks for the source of the voices, I see through his eyes two unicorns, the stallion blue-green in color, and the mare a nearly-white-pink, both in a tub of their own. I have to admit, I'm surprised to see the parents of Snips and Snails there at the spa; but they seem equally surprised to see my character there.

As my character holds out a hand, palm down, to them, I say, “So, one of you is Cold Hands.”

The stallion nods and says, “That's me.”

Then, as my character points to the mare, I conclude, “So, that must mean you're Warm Heart?”

The mare answers, “That's right.” She then asks, “So, why are you here, and what happened to you?”

I answer, “It's kind of a long story.”

Then, before I can say more, I hear Lyra groan in disgust and say, “Fluttershy's right. Something's not right with this water. It tastes like sompony messed herself in it.”

Before my character can turn his attention to the pale-green unicorn, I hear Applejack call out, "Woah!” and he looks down and behind him to show me that the orange earth mare, now back to her full size, is lying on her back outside the bucket.

I state, “Well, I guess that just leaves me then.” At that point, my character proceeds to ascend the stairs next to the tub, then descend the stairs into it. As my character baptizes himself in the water, eyes open, I can't help noticing, while down there, a mess evidently forming under Rainbow Dash's behind. Once my character resurfaces, I can see, through his eyes, things seeming to shrink. I have my character focus on the rainbow-haired pegasa as I ask, “Rainbow Dash, are you defecating?”

Her ears droop, and she smiles weakly as she forces a laugh and says, “Sorry.”

Presently, the five other ponies in the tub jump out of their closest sides and start groaning and complaining about having to swim in poop.

I have my character evacuate the tub as well, leaving the way he entered.

One of the attendants, a pink earth mare with what looks to me like a white bandage on her head, growls, “Well, that's just great. That's one tub that won't be in use for the rest of the day. Not until we get it cleaned out.”

At that, Rainbow Dash's smile fades; and, disgraced, she lowers her head into the water.

Zecora chuckles again and says, “I hope you have learned your lesson well, that no baseless stories should you tell.”

The other ponies laugh for a bit, but then Rainbow Dash, raising her head out of the water again, says, “Yeah, I'm sorry, Zecora. I shouldn't have accused you of anything without getting to know you first.”

The rest of the ponies also repent to the zebra, starting with the element bearers, and evidently including the ponies present in the spa that were not directly involved in the trouble with the poison joke, but had still spread rumors about the zebra.

It's during this time that Rainbow Dash, once her bowels are empty, also exits the tub of now-contaminated water, allowing the attendants to drain and clean the tub.

Once the group leave the spa, I mention that I may bring Trixie with me into Ponyville to test her new act with a familiar audience to see how well it goes.

The first question to answer is what kind of act Trixie will be performing, to which the answer is a puppet show based on a story from the Book of Mormon. After that, concerns are raised, including Twilight raising the concern that the residents of Ponyville may not accept the magic pony's new act despite not knowing the details of what it is.

While I can't deny the possibility of Trixie being rejected from Ponyville, I plan on having my character defend her during the performance, requesting that the audience withhold their judgements until after the show, and then they can offer all the opinions they want.

The concerns, while addressed, aren't completely relieved; but it is agreed to allow Trixie to make one more performance in town before she heads off to wherever she chooses to go.

With the poison joke debacle taken care of, members of the group go their separate ways, most of the group returning to their homes, no doubt among other things to take a bath, with the group led by my character being reduced to him, Weed Whacker, Lyra, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Zecora.

Once the six have passed Fluttershy's cottage, and the yellow pegasa has separated from the group and is on her way to her home, I have my character turn to Zecora; and I ask, “So, do you think you'll be joining us in the reading?”

Zecora answers, “Maybe I won't, maybe I will. I am now accepted in Ponyville.”

I allow my character to turn his attention back to the trail ahead of the group as I state, “I'm guessing that'll be the same answer for coming to see the puppet show?”

Zecora only nods.

No more is said between us, although the two remaining ponies in the group talk to each other about the events of today and yesterday, until the group arrives at my character's home.

At that point, with everyone else on my character's property, Zecora turns to my character and says, “Well, Mormon, I must thank you; for now I have pony friends too.” And, before I can answer, she canters ahead on the trail, toward her own home.

Pinkie Pie watches the zebra disappear into the forest, then turns to my character and asks, “So, shall we go inside and talk to Trixie about your idea?”

I answer, “I don't see why we shouldn't. But, first let's get cleaned up, and get something to eat.”

Immediately Pinkie Pie's mane and tail straighten out, and her mane falls to the one side of her face, indicating that Diane is taking over. She then says, “If you wish me to help with getting something to eat, I can try to buck some apples out of the tree.”

I find myself happy to see that Diane Pie, in spite of her first experience with the training, is still willing to try again. I agree, and the two of us head into the orchard to harvest a few apples.

As it turns out, Diane is showing signs of improvement. She manages to kick the tree with her back legs without doing splits or ending up straddling the tree. And, she manages to knock half a dozen apples out of the tree. So, it seems that the price of half a dozen apples has gone down a buck. And, that many apples should be enough for us.

In the mean time, Lyra and Weed Whacker have proceeded into the house; and are waiting for us in the kitchen with Trixie.

Once we arrive with the apples, and my character puts them in the sink; Trixie turns to my character and says, “Lyra and Weed Whacker said you have a proposal for me?”

My character turns to her as I say, “I'm thinking, since your stage is complete and you have an act that we here have enjoyed watching, you could try your new act out in Ponyville.”

I can't help noticing the blue unicorn starts trembling suddenly as she says, “Oh, I don't know about that. Last time I was there, my home got destroyed.”

I answer, “I'm going to be with you on this trip, and I'll defend you. I'll request that your audience withhold responses until you've finished your performance. I'll give them my word that your performance won't involve competing against your audience.”

Trixie seems to relax somewhat as she says, “I guess that helps a little. And, while my puppet show at your house did actually please both an Ursa Minor and an Ursa Major, I'm not sure I want to make comments on that this time.”

I answer, “Yeah, it's probably best that you not say anything about that. Whatever tone of voice you use, it'll still sound like boasting.” Then, I ask, “So, will you join me on a walk to Ponyville so you can put on a performance there?”

The blue unicorn grunts in uncertainty, then sniffs at my character, recoils, and says, “You'd better take a bath first.”

At that statement, Pinkie Pie, now back under Pinkamena's control, says, “Yeah, Lyra and I need to take baths, too. But, after that, can we go with?”

I answer, “As long as Trixie is willing to go, I don't see why not.”

Trixie, after a second in thought, says, “For you, it'll be my farewell performance. For the rest of Equestria, it'll be my debut. And, considering you, Mormon, are on my side, it should make things at least a little easier to perform for the ponies in Ponyville. So, sure, I'll go with you.”

I state, “Well, in that case, it seems to me that we need to get to work and get bathed. Then, after that, we can go ahead and guide Trixie and her new act into Ponyville.” And, with that, I have my character proceed to the nearest bathroom, the one across the hall from my character, to hear sounds indicating that it's not only occupied, but that the occupant is taking a shower. So, as my character turns back to the pink earth pony and the blue unicorn, I say, “Well, if I'm gonna take a bath, I need to find a different bathroom. This one's already occupied.”

It's Trixie that says, “I saw Lyra go in there while we were talking.”

I conclude, “That must mean she's the one taking a shower in there.”

Pinkie states, “Well, there's only one other bathroom. And, considering you're the one creature that wears clothes, I'm thinking you, Mormon, should be the one to use it first, so you can be putting fresh clothes on while I'm taking a shower.”

I agree with Pinkie's decision, adding that it may take me less time to dress, once I have my clothes ready, than it would for Pinkie to take her shower. Still, I have my character proceed to the bathroom facing the bedroom Vinyl and Octavia are occupying, and, finding it not already occupied, go ahead and occupy it and prepare and take a shower.

When my character is finished showering, he proceeds, with his dirty clothes, to leave the bathroom and return to his own room. There, he puts his dirty clothes in a nearby hamper, then chooses fresh clothes from some nearby drawers and proceeds to put them on. After that, he exits his room and returns to the kitchen to see Lyra waiting for him next to Trixie.

My guess is, after Lyra was finished in the bathroom across the hall from my character's bedroom, Pinkie Pie went in and started to take a shower.

Noting the two unicorn mares are sitting across the table from each other, I have my character occupy the chair closest him, putting him more or less between the two mares.

Once my character is seated, Lyra says, “I couldn't help noticing, as you were headed to your room, that you don't have a cutie mark?”

On his way back to his room, my character hadn't been wearing any clothing; so, any creature who'd seen him would've noticed.

I answer, “Yeah, humans don't get cutie marks.”

I watch, through my character's eyes, as Trixie recoils in fear before Lyra asks, “Why? Why wouldn't humans get cutie marks?”

I answer, “For humans, cutie marks are too much like tattoos or brands. And, besides, in human cultures, actions speak louder than cutie marks.”

Both Lyra and Trixie look at their own hips to see the pictures there, then turn to look at my character again.

It's Trixie who says, “I hadn't thought about it that way.”

Lyra agrees, “Neither had I.”

I add, “For you ponies, a cutie mark is part of you identity. And, I respect that. I don't want you questioning what is an important part of you just because for reasons of beliefs a different creature doesn't get the same thing.”

Trixie answers, “It wasn't that at all. I don't know about Lyra, but I was just wondering how humans identify themselves.”

I say, “Humans come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. While all humans have qualities in common, we also have things about us, besides shapes, sizes, and colors, that make one human different from any other human. And, while we don't get cutie marks, there are some humans that have gotten various types of pictures and messages on their bodies, and in such a way that removing them would be, I'd imagine, a rather painful process.”

At this point, Pinkie Pie emerges from the bathroom, evidently controlled by Diane for the time of the process of showering and drying off. As Pinkamena takes control again, she says, “Well, I'm ready to go when everypony else who's going is.”

And, wouldn't you know it, it's at this moment that I notice the apples, cut into perfect eighths, on a plate on the table surrounding various vegetables.

Trixie says, “While you were bathing, Lyra and I went ahead and cleaned and prepared the fruits and vegetables in the sink. If you're hungry, you can go ahead and eat.”

Considering it a very thoughtful action on Trixie's part, I smile as I have my character reach over and grab a piece of apple from the plate and start eating it.

Trixie then proceeds to use her magic to pick up pieces of fruit or vegetable and hand them to the other ponies and the dinosaur, then grabs a piece of carrot for herself.

As the group nibbles on their fruit or vegetable, I have my character lead the way through the door between the kitchen and front room, then from there to the front door, then outside and on toward Trixie's stage.

As I turn around to see who all is following my character, I notice Lyra isn't there. I ask, “Isn't Lyra coming with us?”

Pinkie Pie answers, “She's just going to get Weed Whacker. They'll be here as soon as possible.”

As Trixie uses her magic to form a line connecting her to her stage, then proceeds to drag it to the front lawn, I turn to see not just Lyra and Weed Whacker, but also Vinyl and Octavia, the two musical mares glaring as they approach my character.

Vinyl says, “We heard you're going to Ponyville with Trixie.”

I answer, “That's right. And, I'm guessing you want to come with us?”

Octavia answers, “If we can't see one more performance from Trixie here, then we'd like to go with you to Ponyville to see her perform. Is that alright?”

I have my character turn to the pink earth pony as I ask, “Well, Pinkie Pie, what do you think? Should we let them go with us this once?”

Pinkie Pie trots up to them, grunting uncertainly. She looks into each of the two ponies' eyes, sniffs their mouths, then circles around them, visually studying the two. Finally, she returns to my side and, looking up at my character, says, “Well, on the one hoof, they have made a lot of progress in breaking their bad habits. In the time they've been here, only Vinyl got back to Ponyville, and that was with the help of a couple of griffons.

“On the other hoof, they did Pinkie promise to stay, and they still have that music assignment you gave them. And, I'm just not sure they're ready to go back to Ponyville just yet.” Turning to Vinyl and Octavia again, she closes her eyes and shakes her head as she concludes, “I'm sorry, but I think you should stay here. You're just not ready for me to release you from your Pinkie promise right now.” Opening her eyes again, she stops shaking her head and just focuses on the two musical ponies as she adds, “When you're ready with your song, and you've performed it for us, then you'll prove you're ready to go back. Until then, you'll have to stay here. But, if you want to say goodbye to Trixie before she leaves, then now's the time to do it.”

I must admit, I agree with Pinkie Pie's decision. And, I'm guessing she's finished with her piece of apple.

In the mean time, Vinyl's the first to walk up to Trixie and say, “I didn't think I'd be saying this after your last magic show in Ponyville, but I'm gonna miss you. Mormon's been as much of a good influence on you as he's been on the rest of us. And, that puppet show you put on was the best show I've seen you put on.” As the two unicorns hug, Vinyl adds, “I hope you'll keep reading the Book of Mormon and be inspired to put on more puppet shows.”

After the two unicorns separate and Vinyl backs off, Octavia steps forward and says, “Well, Vinyl said as much as I wanted to say. But, if I could add anything to what she said, it's just that it's been a pleasure helping you build your stage. It helped get my mind off of my withdrawal.” Then, as they hug, Octavia adds, “I hope you're successful.”

Once the two ponies separate and Octavia returns to Vinyl's side, Trixie shakes herself out before saying, “Thank you, both of you. Without your help, I couldn't have gotten my new stage built as fast as I did. The next time I come to Ponyville to perform, I hope you two will be there.” I think I even see tears in Trixie's eyes.

As the two musical ones return to the house, Lyra, Pinkie Pie, and I help Trixie, as much as possible, get her folded stage out of the gate. Then once it's out and on the path, we surround it and proceed on our way to Ponyville.

The ponies that worked on the mobile theater did a good job making it sturdy enough at least for the ride through the Everfree forest. Not once, on any of the bumps in the pathway, does the theater even threaten to automatically open up. Nor do any of the parts even threaten to come off.

It takes as much time to get through the forest and to Ponyville with the stage as I expected it would, approximately an hour.

Once there, Trixie chooses a spot, round about the middle of the town, unfolds her stage, puts a sign next to it, and announces her puppet show.

In response, ponies start gathering in front of the theater, a lot of them with skeptical scowls on their faces. Among the gatherers are the element bearers, my three stallion friends, the Cakes, Snips and Snails and their parents, and others in my growing reading group.

As my character focuses on the azure unicorn, I can't help noticing her growing discomfort with her growing audience. I'm not sure if it's because of the evident skeptics in the group, or uncertainty over her new act, or if there's a different reason I'm not thinking of. But, the fact that she evidently has stage fright is enough for me to take action.

I have my character step forward next to Trixie and turn to the audience, at which point I say, “I'm hoping I've given you plenty of reasons to trust me. Yesterday, before the reading, Trixie presented her puppet show to me and the ponies living with me, and I can tell you right now, she really brought to life a story that I really enjoy from a record that means a lot to me. For those of you who are worried that Trixie's going to start competing with you, I give you my word that, unless you start it, she won't be competing with any pony here. And, I encourage you to not compete with tonight's performance. Trixie's here to tell a story, not to try to make herself look good by making other ponies look bad.”

When I finish talking to the audience, and they start talking amongst themselves, I hear Trixie say, “Thanks, Mormon. Honestly, I don't want to make other ponies look bad any more.”

My character looks down at the blue unicorn, and I notice that, while she's still smiling, she also looks like she's going to cry. I state, “You looked like you were getting stage fright. Not only that, but not everyone in the audience looked friendly. I thought it'd help to have a friendly voice speak for you.”

Trixie forces a laugh before saying, “I appreciate that, too.”

At this point, I notice a change in color on the edge of my character's periphery. So, I have my character look at the audience again, and notice that there are still scowling ponies that remain in the audience; but other ponies that had been part of the audience, none of which include members of my reading group, are leaving, heading elsewhere. I can only guess as to their reasons. Some, having heard that Trixie won't be competing with her audience, might be disappointed, and leaving to cause trouble elsewhere. Some may be getting family and friends to come and watch the puppet show with them. Some may simply have business elsewhere, and have no time for the performance. Again, I can only theorize as to their reasons for leaving.

I have my character look up at the sky, to see, based on the position of the sun, that it's getting late in the afternoon.

Trixie seems to have noticed as well, as I hear a couple of quiet explosions next to my character, indicating that she's teleported herself onto the stage. As I turn to her, she says, “Now, Mormon, if you'll move back into the audience, I think it's time for the show to begin.”

I agree, and I have my character choose a spot in back of the present audience.

Once my character has taken his position and is facing the stage, Trixie announces, “Welcome to my first puppet show. This afternoon, I will be telling a story about a family of humans who left their home and traveled for a few days, before the God their father served told him to send his sons back to get some records they needed.”

Before Trixie can continue with her presentation, a stallion from the audience calls out, “Aren't you great and powerful anymore?”

In response, Trixie closes her eyes and looks down and says, “The fact of the matter is I was never anything great and powerful to begin with.” Opening her eyes again, she adds, “Somepony that's great and powerful has nothing to prove, and certainly doesn't do so by putting others down. If there's anything great and powerful here, it'll be the story I'll be telling.”

The stallion asks, “So, what, no fireworks? No magic tricks?”

Trixie, showing signs of becoming angry, answers, “I'll be telling a story here, not trying to dazzle you with illusions.”

The stallion fires back, “So, you're tellin' us you're a fake, then, is that right?”

Trixie now emits a groan of exasperation as she closes her eyes again, this time planting a front hoof between them. In this position shaking her head, she says under her breath, “I don't have time for this.” She then puts the hoof down and opens her eyes again, and, focusing on the stallion, says, “Alright, pony, let's just get one thing straight. I didn't come here to compete or argue with anypony. So, if that's the only reason why you're here, then you can just … leave, alright? Just … go.” Then, as the stallion separates himself from the audience and wanders off along one of the streets, Trixie focuses on her audience again and says, “And, that goes for anypony else that came here just to argue or compete with me.”

At this announcement, maybe two or three more ponies separate from the audience and wander off to wherever they choose to go.

At this point, Trixie clears her throat and continues with her introduction: “Now, as I was saying, it is a time of great trouble. The city where this family lived, known as Jerusalem, has become very evil, and will be destroyed; and the people living there will be taken as captives by another people known as the Babylonians. The story I will tell takes place before this captivity.”

Having finished her introduction, Trixie teleports herself to somewhere offstage; and the curtain rises to show a scene out in the desert, with a tent and a few puppets representing Lehi and his family on the stage.

To make a long story short, it's the same puppet show that Trixie showed me and the ponies and Weed Whacker living at my character's house. And, the puppets seem to be just as much alive in this performance as they were when Trixie showed us the puppet show at my character's house.

The ponies react appropriately as Lehi sends his sons back to Jerusalem; Laman goes in and tries and fails to get the plates from Laban; the four get their remaining possessions in Jerusalem to trade for the records, only for them to be stolen by Laban; and they especially react with horror when Nephi, commanded by God, finally agrees and kills Laban. From then on, the audience is in confused silence when, after Laban is killed, Nephi dresses up in his clothes, then, with the help of Zoram, Laban's servant, retrieves the records and returns to his brothers; and the group returns to their father's tent.

As the curtain closes on the final act, Trixie teleports again onto the stage and, as she did in the presentation for all living at my character's house, testifies that it was necessary for Lehi and his family to leave Jerusalem first, and then send his sons back to get those records. After repeating what I'd said about what would've happened if Lehi had gotten the records before leaving Jerusalem, she testifies that the God that Lehi served, "the God that Mormon serves," knows what He's doing. After that, she asks if members of the audience have any questions.

The only question that comes up is why it was necessary for Nephi to kill Laban.

With surprising confidence that I personally find pleasing, Trixie answers, “Laban left Nephi two choices. Nephi could either go back without the records and leave his descendants to dwindle and perish in unbelief in the new land where they'd be living, or he could kill Laban and get the necessary records, giving his descendants lessons to learn from, and laws to follow. And, as you saw, his God, who was also his father's God, had commanded him to kill Laban; so, he knew which was the right choice to make. And, you can see that he made the right decision. It's not one that we have to make nowadays, but because one human made that difficult decision so long ago, we have this record, the Book of Mormon, now.” And, as she mentions the book, with her magic she produces her copy of it and holds it up for her audience to see.

As I've already mentioned, this proves to be the only question from the audience. Satisfied, the ponies stomp their front hooves and cheer in approval, an applause that starts with the audience member in the front row who asked the question, and spreading through the audience until all the ponies are applauding.

I also clap my hands in approval of the performance and the way Trixie answered the question.

Again Trixie closes her eyes, but this time she smiles as she says, her voice trembling, “Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me.”

The applause dies down after at least ten seconds; and after the applause completely ceases, the crowd starts to disperse. The only ponies that remain are members of my reading group and maybe two or three more, including an orange pegasa foal wearing a helmet and guarding a skateboard with a handlebar. Standing next to the pegasa foal is the school teacher pony, Cheerilee, while hesitating on the edge of the dispersing group is a light-tan earth pony, who I recognize as Mayor Mare.

Choosing to ignore the potentially new members of my reading group for a moment, I have my character approach the front of the stage where Trixie, having opened her eyes now, is still smiling, watching the crowd disperse. When my character is close enough to her, I say, “It looks like your puppet show was a big hit.”

The azure unicorn takes a step toward my character and nuzzles him as she says, “And it's thanks to you and this book you gave me,” using her magic to hold up her copy of the Book of Mormon.

I respond, “I'm glad I could help.”

Presently, she grabs my character over his shoulder with her forelimbs and, sobbing, says, “You've been a bigger help to me than anypony I've ever met. I don't think I could ever thank you enough for that.”

At this point, I choose not to say anymore, just allow my character to pick the azure unicorn up off the stage and hold her for a while, until she teleports out of his arms and onto the ground again.

It's Twilight who, noticing how late it's getting, steps toward Trixie and says, “You can spend the night at the library, then head off in the morning if you want.”

Trixie answers, “I appreciate the offer, Twilight, but I think it's time for me to be going. The ponies of Ponyville have shown me how much they appreciate my performance, and now I need to go to other towns and perform for the ponies there. I'm grateful for the ponies here that have enjoyed my performance, and I'm grateful to Mormon for giving me a place to stay while I built a new stage.”

Before Trixie can ramble anymore, Twilight puts a front hoof in her muzzle and says, “I understand, and I won't keep you any longer.” Then, putting the hoof down again, she concludes, “You'll always have friends here.”

For some reason I don't understand until after the fact, my character looks around. Then, as he does so, I happen to notice one of the stallions, my unicorn stallion friend, is missing from the remnants of the audience. Then, as he looks some more, I notice Stunts next to the front of the stage, that is the side of the stage where the wheels are aiming ahead, evidently waiting for Trixie.

In the mean time, as my character looks back at Twilight and Trixie, the two have evidently been hugging, and are just now backing away from each other.

Trixie proceeds to the side of the stage where Stunts is standing, proceeds to make a line or pole with her magic, attaching herself to her stage, as Stunts says, “You, you be safe, little sister. Keep reading the book Mormon gave you, and find more stories for your puppet show. You're really good at telling stories that way.”

Trixie looks up at him and says, “Thanks, big brother,” then proceeds forward, dragging her mobile stage behind her.

Before she can get too far, I ask, "Uh, Trixie, shouldn't you fold your stage before moving out?"

Trixie looks back at my character as I ask, then looks at her unfolded stage, then chuckles and says, "Oh, you're right, Mormon."

At that point, the stage, possessed by her blue magic, folds and shrinks to its more compact form.

Once the stage is, I'd say, a third of its height and length, the blue unicorn turns to me again and says, "Thanks for telling me about that." Then, she moves forward again, dragging her stage behind her, evidently on her way to Canterlot.

As I watch, through my character's eyes, the azure unicorn and her mobile theater move ahead along the road away from the Everfree forest, I hear a voice behind me, the voice I recognize as that of Cheerilee, say, “Uh, Mormon, may I have a few words with you?”

My character turns to the reddish-purple earth pony mare, and I answer, “Sure. What would you like to talk about?”

Cheerilee answers, “Well, I've noticed a sudden improvement in Snails' reading skills, and Mrs. Warm Heart has had all sorts of good things to say about you. I've been wondering if you would help another student of mine, Scootaloo?”

I wonder aloud, “Is he having troubles reading, or anything like that?”

Cheerilee answers, “All the other students in my class have been getting their cutie marks, and Scootaloo's getting discouraged because she hasn't gotten hers yet.”

It's my turn to answer, “Well, I'm not sure how I can help with that. I'm a human, and humans don't get cutie marks.”

The teacher pony says, “Mrs. Warm Heart has been talking about how you've been encouraging her son Snails to read, and I can see it's been really helping him. If you could include Scootaloo in your readings, I'm hoping she'll find support in your group, and maybe she'll cheer up.”

It's then that I notice Rarity behind Cheerilee. The white unicorn says, “That's not such a bad idea. I have a little sister visiting me right now, and she doesn't have her cutie mark either. I suppose I could bring her with me, and you could bring Scootaloo, and the two of them could read together with the rest of us.”

I state, “Since I've started the readings, the group has grown at a steady pace. I welcome those who want to join in the readings, although there's an increasing need for the newcomers to catch up. Tonight, the group will be reading First Nephi chapter sixteen, or at least starting there; and we may read further, depending on how things go. If you and Scootaloo and any pony else want to join in, you're quite welcome.”

And, that's when, from the edge of my character's periphery, I notice Mayor Mare approaching. As my character turns his attention to her, she stops and hesitates for a moment, then says, “Well, um, I've heard what those ponies have been saying about you, and, uh, … “

I conclude, “And, you want to join in the reading, right?” Is it just being in the presence of a human that's making her so nervous?

The tan earth pony says, “Well, if it's alright with you, yes, I would like to join in.”

I answer, “Sure. The more, the merrier.”

I'm having to wonder if, based on her sigh of relief, the mayor pony thought I was going to attack her or something.

Presently, Rarity says, “Well, if everypony will wait here, I'll go get my little sister.”

My character looks and shows me that Carousel Boutique is just a short walk away from where the group is standing. Unless Sweetie Belle decides to be difficult, it shouldn't take very long.

And, as it turns out, Rarity comes back with her little sister in approximately one minute. After that, the group heads out of town, on its way through the Everfree forest, to my character's home.

An hour later they arrive; and I can see, through my character's eyes, the two princesses waiting for us with a prepared snack tray.

As the group enters the front yard, led by my character, Princess Celestia says, “We took the liberty of preparing a snack tray for you, since you seemed to be running late.”

I answer, “Thanks, that was very kind of you. I just need to go inside and get some copies of the Book of Mormon for the newcomers to the group, then we'll get started. And, Trixie has had a successful performance in Ponyville, and she's already headed off to perform for other audiences.”

Princess Luna says, “Well, then, go thou on inside and get copies for the newcomers. We shall stay out here and welcome guests.”

I have my character nod to the two alicorns, then head inside to retrieve four copies of the Book of Mormon, one each for Cheerilee, Mayor Mare, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. But, before my character can enter the house, I hear Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle say, simultaneously, “You don't have your cutie mark either?”

It doesn't take long for my character to get the copies of the book from the closet, then go back outside to hand them out to the newcomers to the reading.

The group forms a circle, at which point I have my character turn to Cheerilee; and I ask, “Will you start by reading verse one?”

The teacher mare answers, “I think Scootaloo should read the first verse, and I'll read the second.”

As the little pegasa foal flips nervously through the pages, I have my character nod in affirmation; then I say, “If it helps any, the chapter starts on page thirty-three.”

Scootaloo looks up at my character and says, “I know. I just wanted to see where it ends.” Then, she looks down at her book and reads, “And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.”

At this point, I have my character raise a hand to pause the reading; then I say, “I'm thinking it's a good idea right now to summarize what's been happening up to this point, for the benefit of the newcomers to the reading.

“The main characters in this story are Lehi, his wife Sariah, and their four sons, from oldest to youngest Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. This family lived in a city called Jerusalem more than six hundred years before the birth of the Christ.

“Lehi was one of many prophets at the time who were warning the people of Jerusalem that they needed to repent of their evils, that or face destruction. When it was clear none of the prophets were going to get through to the people of Jerusalem, God told Lehi to take his family and what supplies he needed, and leave Jerusalem; and He'd lead them to a new land. So, Lehi did so, and traveled for a few days until God told him to send his sons back to get some records they'd need. You already know about this story from Trixie's puppet show.

“Anyway, after that, God told Lehi to send his sons back one more time to get another family, so his sons could marry the daughters of the other family, and they could raise families of their own. And, once that was done, in fact shortly afterward, Lehi had a dream which he talked about with his family. I won't get into details of what he saw, you can read that on your own in the four chapters preceeding the one we're reading tonight.

“Nephi, wanting to see what his father saw and know what it all meant, asked God about it and got his answers. Then, when he saw his brothers arguing about their father's dream, he explained the symbolism of the things his father had seen. And, that's what leads up to this point in the story.” I then turn to Cheerilee and say, “Alright, you can go ahead and read now.”

Cheerilee nods, then reads, “And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.”

Next, Sweetie Belle reads, “And now, my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.”

Rarity then reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.”

Next, Spike reads, “And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.”

Twilight Sparkle reads, “Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in the valley which he called Lemuel.”

At this point, Cheerilee speaks up and says, “It's interesting that Lehi named a valley after one of his sons. Did he really have that much respect for Lemuel?”

I open my mouth to speak, but Stunts beats me to it as he says, “He not only named the valley after his son Lemuel, but he also named a nearby river after his son Laman.”

At this point, I decide to hold my peace, to see if another of the ponies will provide further input.

And, sure enough, it's Emerald Hill who adds, “Lehi named the fountain after his oldest son because he hoped Laman would be like the river, always flowing into righteousness. He named the valley after his second oldest son, hoping Lemuel would be firm in the lessons his father was teaching him, solid in faith toward his God.”

I must admit, I'm finding it exciting that my stallion friends are learning so well the lessons taught in these stories. When it's clear there's no further input, I have my character turn to the yellow pegasa; and I say, “You may go ahead and read now, Fluttershy.”

She nods and reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife, and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.”

At this point, I speak up again and say, “It may interest you to know that in the Book of Mormon Movie, it portrays Lehi holding something of a mass wedding for his sons and Zoram. I guess it would've been more economical, time-wise, to hold all the weddings at once than to hold individual weddings for each son and for Zoram.” I then turn to Rainbow Dash and say, “You go ahead and read the next verse.”

The rainbow-haired pegasa nods and reads, “And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly.”

Next, Pinkie Pie reads, “And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take his journey into the wilderness.”

Applejack reads, “And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship, and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles, and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.”

At this point, Berry Ground speaks up and says, “You know, this religious record of this ancient people, this Book of Mormon, is to us as the 'round ball of curious workmanship' was to Lehi's family. Just as one of the spindles in the ball pointed the way where Lehi and Ishmael and their families should travel through the wilderness, in the same way this Book of Mormon has directions on how we can best travel through life.”

It's a connection any inspired creature could make, and Berry Ground just made it. What I've heard from each of the three stallions, in my book anyway, bodes well for all of them.

Applebloom, taking a gentle nuzzling from her older sister as a cue, reads, “And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us, and we did take seed of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness.”

Next, Big MacIntosh reads, “And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman.”

Granny Smith reads, “And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again, and we did call the name of the place Shazer.”

Cold Hands reads, “And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families, and after we had slain food for our families we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea.” Looking up, the blue-green unicorn stallion says, “Their God is taking good care of them. I don't like the idea of hunting animals for food, which I'm guessing they're doing; but, then again, I'm not a human.”

Snips reads, “And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, slaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our stones and our slings.”

Snails reads, “And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness.”

Snails has gotten really good at reading. Now, I'm thinking that hearing him make comments or ask questions on this verse, or some future verse he reads, would be a good step in his learning process.

In the mean time, Warm Heart reads, “And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our families.”

Next, Princess Celestia reads, “And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel, and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food.”

Presently, Rainbow Dash says, “I don't know what Nephi's brothers are so mad about. After all, don't they have their own bows and arrows to work with?”

I answer, “We'll read later on that they do. But, it could be that Nephi was the best with the bow and arrow, and his brothers were just not having very good luck with theirs. I can only guess that they were good with those items, and probably didn't have much luck with their hunting.” I then turn to Mayor Mare and say, “You may go ahead and read now.”

The tan earth pony nods and reads, “And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food.”

Next, Weed Whacker reads, “And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness, and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord.” The little dinosaur looks up at my character and says, “Now, that's just sad.”

Mayor Mare states, “But, it is understandable. After all, their God had supported them up to that point. Couldn't He have preserved Nephi's bow, seeing how important it was to them?”

I answer, “I suppose he could've. But, if there's one thing that's constant about life, it's that it's not going to be easy. If, for even one creature, life were easy, that is to say, if even just one creature could sail through life into Exaltation without any effort whatsoever, then life wouldn't be fair. On the other hand, if everyone could sail through life into Exaltation, would there be a point to living? With that in mind, just because someone has God on his or her side doesn't mean life is going to be easy for that someone. Having said that, God often sees fit to test His children, to see if they'll prove faithful to Him.”

At this point, Rainbow Dash asks, “Are you saying Lehi's God was testing the faithfulness of him and his family by letting Nephi's bow break?”

I have my character turn to the rainbow-haired pegasa as I answer, “Him and Ishmael and their families, yes. And, we'll see in the following verses how Nephi reacts to the test.” I then read, “Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food.” I then have my character look up as I say, “Evidently Nephi's brothers did have bows after all, and they'd just worn out.” I then say, as my character turns to the pale-green unicorn, “Lyra, you may go ahead and read now.”

She nods and reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto complaining against the Lord their God.”

Next, Bon-Bon reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food?” Looking up, she asks, “Now, just a minute. Wasn't Lehi also complaining against his God? So, why is Nephi going to him?”

I answer, “One of the commandments God had given to His people through His prophet Moses a few centuries earlier was 'Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' I'm sure this was one of Nephi's motivations. And besides, Lehi was still a prophet, even if he wasn't as faithful at this point as he should've been. It could be that Nephi was trying to motivate his father to trust in his God again.”

Before I can ask, Princess Luna says, “That makes a lot of sense, especially when we read what happens next,” before reading, “And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words, for I did say many things unto them in the energy of my soul.”

Next, Stunts reads, “And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against the Lord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.”

Emerald Hill reads, “And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written.”

Berry Ground reads, “And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and their wives.”

Octavia reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.” Looking up, she asks, “I wonder, what was written on that ball that scared everypony so much?”

Vinyl Scratch reads, “And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.” Turning to the gray earth mare, she asks, “Does that answer your question?”

Octavia answers, “I guess it'll have to do, although I was hoping for more detail.”

Before Mr. Cake can read, I say, “It may interest you to know that this ball will prove to be a valuable compass to Lehi and Ishmael and their families later on.” I then have my character turn to the orange earth stallion and nod for him to go ahead and read.

Mr. Cake nods back, then turns to his book and reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball.”

Mrs. Cake reads, “And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families.”

Scootaloo reads, “And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained food, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him.”

Cheerilee reads, “And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning; and after we had traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we might tarry for the space of a time.”

Sweetie Belle reads, “And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom.”

Rarity reads, “And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father, because he had brougth them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger.”

Spike reads, “And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and they were desirous to return again to Jerusalem.” Looking up, he says, “You just can't satisfy some people.”

After a ripple of laugher around the circle, Twilight Sparkle reads, “And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold, let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren.” She looks up, and I can see her glare as she says, “Alright, now they're taking it too far.”

Fluttershy reads, “Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that angels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure. And after this manner did my brother Laman stir up their hearts to anger.”

Rainbow Dash reads, “And it came to pass that the Lord was with us, yea, even the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did chasten them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord did bless us again with food, that we did not perish.” Looking up, she says, “Kind of interesting. Laman got everypony riled up, then Lehi's God calmed them all down again.”

I answer, “There's a saying I'm familiar with, 'Man proposeth, and God disposeth.' This saying is used to describe situations where someone plans out something very carefully, then something happens to make the plan fall completely apart; or the entire plan hinges on an event that never happens. But, in this case, it happened quite literally. Laman tried to use the grief of Ishmael's family to turn everyone against Nephi and Lehi, and then God stepped in and called them to repentance.”

At this point, I have my character look around the circle; then I say, “So, since everyone's had a chance to read at least one verse, I have a question for you. Shall we stop at this point and pick up the reading tomorrow, or shall we read one more chapter?”

As the rest of the ponies, aside from the princesses, start talking at once, Princess Luna says, “Please take into consideration that the next chapter is fifty-five verses long.”

At that announcement, the voices I'm hearing are really neither positive nor negative, just uncertain.

Then, Pinkie Pie rises to all fours and says, “Yeh, I say we go ahead and read chapter seventeen.”

As the pink pony settles down again, the voices I'm hearing are sounding more positive.

After a few seconds, Princess Celestia says, “The ponies seem to agree with Pinkie Pie. So, we shall keep the sun in its present position, and go ahead and read chapter seventeen, as Pinkie Pie proposed.”

Excitedly, the pink party pony settles bacl into a sphinx-style position and starts reading, “And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth. And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness, and our women did bear children in the wilderness.”

Next, Applejack reads, “And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.”

After a grunt of interest from the orange earth mare, Applebloom reads, “And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he had commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.”

Big MacIntosh reads, “And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness.” Looking up, he says, “That's quite a long time to be travelin' in the wilderness.”

Granny Smith reads, “And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which he called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters.”

Cold Hands reads, “And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the seashore; and notwithstanding we had suffered many afflictions and much difficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place Bountiful, because of its much fruit.”

Snips reads, “And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been in the land of Bountiful for the space of many days, the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying: Arise, and get thee into the mountain. And it came to pass that I arose and went up into the mountain, and cried unto the Lord.”

Snails reads, “And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.” He then turns to my character and says, “I have a question.” Then, when he sees my character turning to him, he asks, “Shouldn't the families of Lehi and Ishmael have crossed the ocean, these many waters, before they got to Bountiful? Or are there two or more places called Bountiful?”

I had hoped Snails would start making comments or asking questions about verses he'd read. And, while this isn't in reference to the verse he's just read, I do like that he's making a contribution beyond just reading verses. On the other hand, he has brought up a point that I'm surprised hasn't been brought up by the ponies who read those verses already. Still, considering his question does deserve an answer, I say, “I did say those two families would be going to South America, which they'd be calling Bountiful. But, that isn't the only land that they call Bountiful. They do have to cross an ocean before they reach their final destination. Good question, Snails. Nicely asked.”

Next, Warm Heart reads, “And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?” She then grunts with interest and says, “God tells Nephi to build a ship, and his first question is where he can find materials so he can make tools for the construction.”

I answer, “It certainly shows Nephi's mindset.”

Princess Celestia reads, “And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools.”

Mayor Mare reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make a bellows wherewith to blow the fire, of the skins of beasts; and after I had made a bellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two stones together that I might make fire.”

Weed Whacker reads, “For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not.”

I read, “And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments, wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.”

Lyra reads, “Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem.”

Bon-Bon reads, “Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord, and I did exhort my brethren to faithfulness and diligence.”

At this point, Vinyl Scratch says, “So, up to this point, God made it unnecessary for them to use fire, and told them not to use it, is that right?”

I don't mind ponies commenting or asking questions about verses that other ponies have read. I answer, “That's correct.”

The white, blue-haired unicorn continues, “And, now He says it's alright for them to use fire again?”

I answer, “Evidently so.”

Vinyl Scratch nods and says, “I just wanted to be sure I understood what was goin' on.” She then turns to the nighttime alicorn and says, “You may go ahead and read, Princess Luna.”

The dark-gray alicorn nods and reads, “And it came to pass that I did make tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock.”

Stunts reads, “And when my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to murmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters.” He then grunts angrily and says, “I'm beginning to think Nephi's brothers just look for things to complain about.”

Before I can respond to Stunts' comment, Emerald Hill reads, “And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.”

Berry Ground reads, “And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work.”

Octavia reads, “And thou art like unto our father, led away by the foolish imaginations of his heart; yea, he hath led us out of the land of Jerusalem, and we have wandered in the wilderness for these many years, and our women have toiled, being big with child; and they have borne children in the wilderness and suffered all things, save it were death; and it would have been better that they had died before they came out of Jerusalem than to have suffered these afflictions.”

Vinyl Scratch reads, “Behold, these many years we have sufferd in the wilderness, which time we might have enjoyed our possessions and the land of our inheritance; yea, and we might have been happy.”

Mr. Cake reads, “And we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people, for they kept the statutes and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses; wherefore, we know that they are a righteous people; and our father hath judged them, and hath led us away because we would hearken unto his words; yea, and our brother is like unto him. And after this manner of language did my brethren murmur and complain against us.”

Mrs Cake reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake unto them, saying: Do ye believe that our fathers, who were the children of Israel, would have been led away out of the hands of the Egyptians if they had not hearkened unto the words of the Lord?”

Scootaloo reads, “Yea, do ye suppose that they would have been led out of bondage, if the Lord had not commanded Moses that he should lead them out of bondage?”

Cheerilee reads, “Now ye know that the children of Israel were in bondage, and ye know that they were laden with tasks, which were grievous to be borne; wherefore, ye know that it must needs be a good thing for them, that they should be brought out of bondage.”

Sweetie Belle reads, “Now ye know that Moses was commanded of the Lord to do that great work; and ye know that by his word the waters of the Red Sea were divided hither and thither, and they passed through on dry ground.”

Rarity reads, “But ye know that the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea, who were the armies of Pharaoh.”

Spike reads, “And ye also know that they were fed with manna in the wilderness.”

Twilight Sparkle reads, “Yea, and ye also know that Moses, by his word according to the power of God which was in him, smote the rock, and there came forth water, that the children of Israel might quench their thirst.”

Fluttershy reads, “And notwithstanding they being led, the Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them, leading them by day and giving light unto them by night, and doing all things for them which were expedient for man to receive, they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds, and reviled against Moses and against the true and living God.”

Rainbow Dash reads, “And it came to pass that according to his word he did destroy them; and according to his word he did lead them, and according to his word he did do all things for them; and there was not any thing done save it were by his word.” Looking at my character, she says, “I read through this earlier. It seems to me that Nephi's making the people he's talking about sound like a bunch of ingrates.”

I open my mouth to respond, but Emerald Hill beats me to it, saying, “Well, they were ingrates. God had provided all those things for them, and they turned around and complained against Him and Moses. But, God was evidently patient with them, and continued to give them what they needed.”

Pinkie Pie reads, “And after they had crossed the river Jordan he did make them mighty unto the driving out of the children of the land, yea, unto the scattering them to destruction.”

Applejack reads, “And now, do ye suppose that the children of this land, who were in the land of promise, who were driven out by our fathers, do ye suppose that they were righteous? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.”

Applebloom reads, “Do ye suppose that our fathers would have been more choice than they if they had been righteous? I say unto you, Nay.”

I don't say this aloud, but at this point I'm thinking that if ponies or horses had been answering these questions, the answers they gave, sounding as much like these negative answers as we seem to think they do, would've been ambiguous.

Big MacIntosh reads, “Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God. But behold, this people had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of God was upon them; and the Lord did curse the land against them, and bless it unto our fathers; yea, he did curse it against them unto their destruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining power over it.”

Granny Smith reads, “Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited, and he hath created his children that they should possess it.”

Cold Hands reads, “And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked.”

Snips reads, “And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes.”

Snails reads, “He ruleth high in the heavens, for it is his throne, and this earth is his footstool.”

Warm Heart reads, “And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he remembered the covenants which he made; wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.”

Princess Celestia reads, “And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.” Continuing to look down at her book, she says, “They didn't even bother to look.”

I answer, “Frequently that's the way people are. Even in situations like that, they expect to take on some major task. And, when the job they have to do is something like looking at something, or maybe being dunked in water, they think it's too easy, and refuse to believe they should do it.”

Mayor Mare reads, “And they did harden their hearts from time to time, and they did revile against Moses, and also against God; nevertheless, ye know that they were led forth by his matchless power into the land of promise.”

Weed Whacker reads, “And now, after all these things, the time has come that they have become wicked, yea, nearly unto ripeness; and I know not but they are at this day about to be destroyed; for I know that the day must surely come that they must be destroyed, save a few only, who shall be led away into captivity.”

I read, “Wherefore, the Lord commanded my father that he should depart into the wilderness, and the Jews also sought to take away his life; and ye also have sought to take away his life; wherefore, ye are murderers in your hearts and ye are like unto them.”

Lyra reads, “Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.”

Bon-Bon reads, “And ye also know that by the power of his almighty word he can cause the earth that it shall pass away; yea, and ye know that by his word he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and the smooth places shall be broken up, O, then, why is it, that ye can be so hard in your hearts?”

Princess Luna reads, “Behold, my soul is rent with anguish because of you, and my heart is pained; I fear lest ye shall be cast off forever. Behold, I am full of the Spirit of God, insomuch that my frame has no strength.”

Stunts reads, “And now it came to pass that when I had spoken these words they were angry with me, and were desirous to throw me into the depths of the sea; and as they came forth to lay their hands upon me I spoke unto them, saying: In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall wither even as a dried reed; and he shall be as naught before the power of God, for God shall smite him.”

Emerald Hill reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto them that they should murmur no more against their father; neither should they withhold their labor from me, for God had commanded me that I should build a ship.”

Berry Ground reads, “And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth, and if I should say it, it would be done.”

Octavia reads, “And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?”

Vinyl Scratch reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said many things unto my brethren, insomuch that they were confounded and could not contend against me; neither durst they lay their hands upon me nor touch me with their fingers, even for the space of many days. Now they durst not do this lest they should wither before me, so powerful was the Spirit of God; and thus it had wrought upon them.”

Mr. Cake reads, “And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thine hand again unto thy brethren, and they shall not wither before thee, but I will shock them, saith the Lord, and this will I do, that they may know that I am the Lord their God.”

At this point, I say, “I remember seeing how this was portrayed in the Book of Mormon movie. I was curious to see how they'd portray it. As it turns out, in the movie anyway, when Nephi reached out to his brothers and shook them, it appeared very much electrical, like translucent bolts of lightning had come out of Nephi's fingers and hit his brothers.”

I turn to Mrs. Cake to nod to her, but she's already reading, “And it came to pass that I stretched forth my hand unto my brethren, and they did not wither before me; but the Lord did shake them, even according to the word which he had spoken.”

Finally, Scootaloo reads, “And now, they said: We know of a surety that the Lord is with thee, for we know that it is the power of the Lord that has shaken us. And they fell down before me, and were about to worship me, but I would not suffer them, saying: I am thy brother, yea, even thy younger brother; wherefore, worship the Lord thy God, and honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee.” Looking at my character, she says, “That last part sounds like what you said earlier, that quote from Moses, which you said was part of what motivated Nephi to ask his father for directions on where to find food.”

I answer, “That's right. I'm not the only one that's familiar with that scripture.” Then, noting that's the end of chapter seventeen, I say, “Well, I'm thinking we should call an end to the reading for tonight. As enjoyable as it's been to read with you, and talk about what we've been reading, it's getting late enough that you should be going back to your homes now.”

At this point, the ponies start rising and talking to each other.

As my character walks over to the gate to open it for the ponies and Spike to leave, I hear something from my stallion friends about cutie marks. And, when my character turns so I can see them, I notice Vinyl Scratch stumbling backwards away form them, then turning and galloping off. I notice Berry Ground indeed has a picture on the hip of his that I can see, what looks to me like a mathematical expression, something on the order of calculus.

As ponies start heading for and leaving through the gate, my character starts approaching my three stallion friends; while Octavia, concerned for Vinyl, follows her to wherever she galloped off to.

Berry Ground, the first to notice my character approaching, turns to me and says, “The three of us have gotten our cutie marks. But, we don't understand them.”

By this point, the other ponies that aren't living with me have lined up to exit through the gate.

I have my character turn away from the three stallions and head for the front porch of his house, as I say, “Follow me. You can show me your marks when we get to the front porch, and we'll discuss them then.”

It doesn't take very long for the group of four to get to the porch, and during that time it's made clear that the images on the flanks of one of my stallion friends hasn't gone unnoticed by Pinkie Pie, who says, “Stunts, you've finally gotten your cutie mark. You should show that to Trixie when she comes back.”

By the time Pinkie Pie's finished talking about Stunts' cutie mark, the group of four has made it to the front porch.

I have my character turn to my stallion friends and sit on the top step of the porch as I say, “Now, let me see your cutie marks, and I'll see if I can explain them to you.”

The three stallions line up to show me the images on the hip each one chooses to show me, and I can see that Stunts has the image of an internal hard drive for his mark, Emerald Hill has a similar image to that of Stunts, except his includes the numeral two above the hard drive, just to the right; and Berry Ground has an image similar to that of Emerald Hill, following a lime symbol with the hard drive followed by an arrow and the infinity symbol underneath them, perhaps half the length and height of the rest of the image.

Remembering how they'd talked during the reading, I say, “While we were reading from the Book of Mormon, I couldn't help noticing something.”

I then have my character turn to my blue unicorn friend as I continue, “Stunts, you recited what you remembered from what we'd been reading. You demonstrated knowledge of what you'd been reading. The image on your flank is a hard drive, which is basically the long-term memory of a computer. And, what is knowledge, but what we hold in our long-term memories from what the holy spirit has taught us?”

I then have my character turn to my green pegasus friend as I continue, “Emerald Hill, you demonstrated understanding of what Stunts was saying when you explained why Lehi had named the river Laman, and the valley Lemuel. Your cutie mark represents understanding, which is knowing the meaning of what is known.”

Finally, I have my character turn to my red earth stallion friend as I continue, “Berry Ground, you demonstrated wisdom when you talked about how the scriptures are useful to us now. Your cutie mark represents wisdom, which is knowing how to use what you know for the greatest good.”

As my character divides his attention among the three stallions now, I conclude, “The three of you represent the three components of intelligence: knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Keep working together to study and learn from the Book of Mormon. The three of you are on the right track.”

The three, demonstrating understanding of what I've said, nod, then turn and proceed to join the other ponies in the line exiting through the gate.

As they do so, I can't help noticing a few copies of the Book of Mormon left on the lawn, and with them the little orange pegasa filly and the reddish purple earth pony mare.

I have my character approach the two before I ask, “Is there something wrong?”

Cheerilee looks up at my character and says, “Nothing in particular. We just want to know if we can keep these copies of the book.”

I answer, “You're quite welcome to keep your copies. I have plenty more.”

Scootaloo's smile demonstrates excitement while Cheerilee's smile demonstrates relief.

Cheerilee says, “Thanks. I noticed the Mayor has already left with her copy, and I was just wondering if that was alright.”

I answer, “If she wants to take her copy home and study from it, she's quite welcome to do so. Each of the ponies who've come here to read leave with a copy of the Book of Mormon. Even Spike has his own copy, which he brings with him to the readings.”

Cheerilee asks, “So, is everypony in your reading group required to come here to read?”

I answer, “I hope not, except for a couple of special cases living here with me. They should be the ones to tell you what their reason for being here is that they need my help with. Other than that, I don't force anyone, pony, dragon, or other creature, to come to these readings. I'm hoping that those that come to these readings are coming because they want to. I'm sure it's working that way for Princesses Celestia and Luna.”

Cheerilee asks, “Is there a part of the book we should read?”

I answer, “You may read any part you want. There's an introduction that includes three testimonies that may interest you. You may start wherever you want in the book, and you may end wherever you want. If you want to be a step ahead of the reading, then start with chapter eighteen. And, if you have any questions, please feel free to come to the next reading and bring your questions up then. One of the ponies or dragons may have the answers that I don't have.”

Cheerilee asks, “So, this group will be reading chapter eighteen of First Nephi next time, right?”

I answer, “We'll be starting there, yes. And, depending on if others haven't had a chance to read, or if there's a question that requires further reading, or if the group just wants to read another chapter, or even if the next chapter is just really short, we may just read more.”

At this point, I can't help noticing how dark it's gotten.

Cheerilee has also noticed, not to mention that the rest of the group is waiting for her outside the gate. She says, “Well, it's getting late, and we must get home now. I do look forward to coming to the reading tomorrow. Thanks for letting me join in. I look forward to coming tomorrow to join in the next reading.”

I welcome her thanks, then have my character follow her and Scootaloo to the gate. At the gate, I thank her for attending, which she welcomes. I watch, through my character's eyes, as the group proceeds into the forest on their way back to Ponyville, lit throughout the group by unicorns using their magic to light the way. When they're no longer in view, I have my character head back to the house.

It seems that while I was out dismissing guests, the ponies living with my character, along with Weed Whacker, were gathering food for dinner that evening. While I may not be able to speak for the guests, it is evident that the ponies and dinosaur living with me weren't filled up on the snacks provided.

After dinner, we proceed to our rooms, and I proceed to have my character write the letter to the princesses while I dictate. While I can't say that I've really learned much more about Lyra, it's evident that Lyra has learned something more about humans, or at least about my character. Still, I find it worth mentioning that my three stallion friends have earned their cutie marks, based on the components of intelligence they demonstrated in this last reading. I also write about Trixie's first successful puppet show in Ponyville, and that she's headed off to wherever she wants to go next, which looked like Canterlot. In fact, Trixie's successful puppet show and exit are the first things I write about.

Once the letter is finished, I head to Lyra and Weed Whacker's bedroom so the little dinosaur can send the letter to the princesses. When I get there, I find that Weed Whacker has a letter for my character, from the princesses. So, we trade letters, and my character returns to his room with the letter the alicorns sent him.

In the letter from the princesses, I read that Princess Celestia is planning to visit Ponyville tomorrow. I'm guessing this will mean that Pinkie Pie and Lyra will want to leave as soon as possible, to help make preparations for her arrival.

I have my character put the letter in his inventory, then go to bed.

Today has been one of the longer days I've had in this game. Based on what I've learned from the characters in this game, as well from the conclusion of the incident with Zecora as from the puppet show and the night's reading, I must say I'm looking forward to the next time I play this game. At some point in the near future, I'm going to have to find out how Vinyl and Octavia are progressing on the musical project I've given them. In the mean time, before I get chewed out by Pinkie Pie again, I'd better save and close this game.

Author's Notes:

In the next chapter, which'll be based on the episode "Swarm of the Century," Fluttershy brings a parasprite to her friends in Ponyville, which bothers PInkie Pie. Clearly Mormon has some influence in the situation, but you'll have to wait for the release of Chapter 10, "We'll Always Have Parasprites (or not)," to find out what that's going to be. And, unlike the episode, the chapter will just cover the incident in one day.

The reading at the end of the chapter will be the First Book of Nephi, chapters eighteen and nineteen.