As I resume the game, my character wakes up to pounding on his door, and Pinkie Pie calling out, “Mormon, wake up! We need to get going as soon as possible!”

I have my character get out of bed, then head to his bedroom door to open it. As he's reaching for the doorknob to open his door, I hear a groan from Pinkie Pie, as though she's losing or lost her balance. But, considering I don't hear a thud, I assume she regained her lost balance before she could fall.

My character opens his bedroom door to see Pinkie Pie maybe a pace or two away from it. I immediately say, “Let me guess. Princess Celestia's coming to Ponyville, and you want to get there as soon as possible to help with the preparations.”

As my character walks out of his bedroom and closes the door behind him, the pink earth pony leads him into the kitchen as she answers, “I need to be there as soon as possible, but yes, it is to help with the preparations. But, I'm guessing that letter you got from the princesses last night told you about that.” Turning to the hallway, she concludes, “Let's just get going. Lyra, Weed Whacker and I have already eaten, and we've prepared your breakfast for you to eat on the way.”

I say, “That's really thoughtful of you. Thanks.”

In the mean time, Pinkie Pie goes to the nearest counter, grabs a paper bag from it, tosses it to my character, then gallops to the door, saying, “No time to talk. We need to hurry. Let's go.”

I follow the pink earth pony into the front room, where Lyra and Weed Whacker are waiting on the closest couch. They jump off the couch to join the group, and after approximately a minute we're on our way through the Everfree forest to Ponyville.

Weed Whacker, noticing my character's just carrying the paper bag, asks, “Well, aren't you going to eat that now?”

I answer, “I'm thinking I'll wait until I get to Ponyville.”

Pinkie Pie whines, “You won't have time to eat when we get there. Just go ahead and eat on the run.”

I haven't programmed my character to get sick from eating something while running, which is what he'd be doing if I had programmed that into him, and he were to start eating now; but I still wonder if he'll be able to hold onto an item of food while running, much less eat it. On the other hand, considering how this day is likely to turn out, my character's food may get eaten by something else before he has a chance to eat it. So, I have my character go ahead and take items out of the bag and eat them.

I'm pleasantly surprised to see that my three friends have packed a sliced apple and a sliced pear for my character. I suppose it's just as well that no summer fruits or other particularly juicy plant products were packed in the paper bag. The apple and pear are enough, both sliced into eighths.

I don't think it takes even half an hour, at the rate the group runs, to get to Ponyville. And, by the time they get there, it's clear the town is making a big deal of the visit from the daytime princess.

Trees are decorated with flowers, bells and tied ribbons, and attached by loose-hanging streamers. Various ponies are grooming the lawns, watering gardens, or hanging other decorations on or cleaning buildings, or otherwise sprucing up the town.

Two earth ponies, one pink with a magenta mane and the other yellow-orange with an orange mane, are preparing a banner for the arrival of their daytime princess. The one problem is it's reading, “Welcome Princess Celest.” The valentine shape over the “i” in "Princess" is a nice touch; but they either need to add a little more to the banner to make room for the last two letters in Celestia's name, or make the letters on the banner just a little smaller to accommodate the two missing letters.

Pinkie Pie runs off, saying something about helping the Cakes at Sugar Cube Corner.

Lyra decides to help tend to some flowers.

I see the banner as an opportunity to offer some assistance. And, it seems that Weed Whacker had the foresight to bring the enchanted clipboard with her.

I have my character walk up to the two earth ponies as I ask, “Is there some way I can help?”

The two ponies, who I recognize as Berry Punch and Carrot Top, jump and scream as they hear my voice.

I watch the two run head-first into each other before I say, “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Are you alright?”

The two, sitting canine-style on the ground and rubbing their foreheads, turn to my character and simultaneously say, “We're fine. Who are you?”

I answer, “You may call me Mormon.”

Next to my character, my herbivorous dinosaur friend says, “I'm Weed Whacker.”

The yellow earth pony says, “My name's Carrot Top,” then pointing to her pink friend, adds, “and this is my friend, Berry Punch.”

I state, “It's nice to meet the two of you.” As is normal, I don't feel it necessary to let them know I already know their names. I continue, having my character gesture to the sign, “I can't help noticing you seem to have a problem with your banner.”

It's Berry Punch who, now rubbing the back of her head with a front hoof, sheepishly says, “Yeah, we kind of ran out of room.”

I answer, “That's alright. I think I can help you there.” As I have my character pan over the banner, I ask, “Do you think you could erase this sign and start over?”

I immediately get the idea that I said something wrong, as the two earth mares look like they're about to cry.

Carrot Top says, “We ran out of red crayon making this sign. We wanted to make it as big as we could, and then this happened.” And, with that, the two start whimpering.

I think aloud, “Well, let's get the banner up and see how it looks.”

In response, the two mares stop whimpering and immediately hoist up the banner on the two wooden poles.

I have my character take a few steps back so he can have a better look at the sign. As far as I can tell, other than the message, the banner looks really good.

And, that's when Twilight Sparkle shows up. She takes one look at the sign and asks, “What happened to the rest of her name?”

Carrot Top answers, “We couldn't fit it all in.”

Twilight points to the two mares and says, “You can't have a banner that says, 'Welcome Princess Celest.' Take it down and do it again.”

As I watch the purple unicorn gallop past, I say, “Uh, Twilight, if you wouldn't mind helping us for a moment, … “

I think I may have startled her. As she stops, then turns around and looks at my character, she says, “Oh, Mormon, I didn't see you there.”

I continue, “Could you conjure up a red crayon and erase the message on this sign with your magic?”

Having fully stopped, the purple unicorn looks ahead of her, then behind at my character and the two mares, then turns back and trots up to me as she says, “Alright.” It almost sounded like she was growling when she said that.

Anyway, she fires magic at the sign, causing the message on it to disappear, then fires more of her magic at my character's hand, causing a red crayon to appear in it. She then turns and gallops off.

I have my character turn to her and call out, “Thanks!” then turn to the two mares and, accepting the clipboard from Weed Whacker, I put it down in front of Carrot Top and say, “Now, first let's have you write the message you want here, just big enough so we can see how big and tall it needs to be.”

Carrot Top nods, then proceeds to write the message out on the parchment, “Welcome Princess Celestia.”

Just then, I hear Lyra's voice next to me say, “Oh, I think I see what you're trying to do.” As the attention of the rest of the group turns to her, the pale-green unicorn continues, “You want to make sure the message can fit on the banner, right?”

Berry Punch answers, “That's right. Do you think you can help us?”

I answer, “I'm thinking we just need this parchment as something of a stencil to write the message on the banner. If we can get it stretched just enough that all the words in the message fit on the banner, then we can get to work and complete it. So, what do you think?”

The pale-green unicorn grunts with interest for a moment, then closes her eyes and points her horn, which starts to glow and sparkle.

Immediately, the parchment rises and grows; holes develop in the parchment where the red crayon was; and the parchment stretches over the banner. In a matter of seconds, the message is stretched over the banner material.

Immediately Berry Punch gets to work, drawing the message through the stretched parchment. In a matter of a minute, the message is written on the banner. And, this time, there is a valentine over the i in "Princess," and over the i in "Celestia." The banner clearly says, “Welcome Princess Celestia.”

Again the two earth ponies raise the banner, and, as far as I can tell, it looks perfect. I don't know if Twilight Sparkle will see the banner again, or if Princess Celestia will even see it, but it's nice to know it's finally ready for the daytime princess when she arrives.

In the mean time, Lyra has shrunk the parchment back to its original size, and returns it to my character. Then, as soon as she sees the banner, she says, “That's just what it needed. Good work, Mormon. Good work, everypony.”

At this point, Carrot Top says, “Yes, thank you, Mormon. I don't think we could've gotten the banner ready in time without your help.”

I answer, “I'm glad I could be of service.”

Lyra says, “Well, it looks like that's the last thing that needed to be done. Any idea what we should do next?”

Just then, a yellow blur topped with pink gallops past the four, on its way to Sugar Cube Corner.

Knowing that this day is based on the episode 'Swarm of the Century,' I already know it's Fluttershy, on her way to show her new-found friend to the Cakes, as well as Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle, who should be there by the time Fluttershy arrives.

I say, “I'm thinking it's time for us to head to Sugar Cube Corner now.”

Lyra answers, “Well, alright. If you think we can find something to do there, then let's go.”

In a few minutes the pale-green unicorn and my character have arrived at the bakery, in time for Fluttershy to mention some kind of discovery she's made at the edge of the Everfree forest.

I decide the best thing to do is wait a few footsteps outside the door while we listen to what's going on inside. Unfortunately, much of the conversation is muffled.

On the other hand, the voice of Pinkie Pie is suddenly loud and clear as she grunts in disgust and says, “A parasprite, are you kidding?”

In a few seconds, the front door opens; and Pinkie Pie looks back at Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle and growls in frustration and says, “Now I've gotta find a trombone.”

Confused, Twilight asks, “A what?”

Pinkie Pie answers, “A trombone. You know.” And then, while playing an air trombone, she does a really good approximation of the voice of the brass instrument before running out the door, and nearly into my character. Screeching to a stop, she looks up at him and says, “Mormon, I'm gonna need your help.”

But, before the reunited group can get going, Lyra looks inside and sees the little creatures. She says, “Oh, how cute!”

Again Pinkie Pie growls as she runs and grabs Lyra's tail, saying, “No, Lyra, no. We're not getting a parasprite.”

Just then, a brown sphere with green eyes that are large for the size of the sphere, a smile, four legs and a pair of compound wings zooms, then hovers into my character's view.

Presently and automatically, my character swats the little arthropod away.

Instantly, Fluttershy, who I hadn't realized until then was at the back door, gasps, then says, “Mormon, how could you do such a thing to such a cute little creature?”

I answer, “Oh, yeah, it's all ooh, and aah, at first. Then, there's running, and screaming. Besides, they remind me too much of houseflies.”

In the mean time, the parasprite my character swatted away flies to Fluttershy and hides in her mane, trembling. It looks like it may also be crying, although I can't be sure of that.

Fluttershy, seeing the little flying arthropod's reaction, turns to me with a look of mild anger on her face and says, “Well, if you're going to treat one of my new friends like that, then I suggest you leave now.”

I have no intention of responding vocally to that suggestion.

But, even if I did, Pinkie Pie wouldn't have given me the chance; as presently she asks, “Well, Mormon, are you coming or not?”

My character turns to her and shows me she's a few steps ahead of him, waiting to start galloping again as soon as he's caught up to her. I choose to have him run to and with the pink earth pony as she makes her way to the outskirts of Ponyville.

During this time, she says, “I've been all over Ponyville, and there are some musical instruments I haven't seen that I need. I don't know if they're anywhere else in Equestria, but there wouldn't be anything left of Ponyville if I were to go looking for them and found them by the time I got back. So, Mormon, if you have these instruments modeled in a folder or something like that, and just haven't converted them, or maybe haven't even modeled them yet, I need them now.”

Most of the ponies are still busy in the park making final preparations for the arrival of Princess Celestia, leaving the streets of Ponyville largely unoccupied. So, Pinkie Pie and my character really have no reason to stop for any traffic.

My character and Pinkie Pie have crossed two intersections by now, and are heading toward another one, when I say, “You can give me the list of musical instruments you haven't seen, that you need, and I'll be happy to get to work on them.” The two reach and cross another intersection before I ask, “So, I'm guessing you've had experience with parasprites, perhaps back on the rock farm?”

It seems we need to stop at the fourth intersection away from the bakery to wait for Big MacIntosh to cross ahead of us with a wagon-load of apples.

Given such a moment to take a break from running, Pinkie Pie turns to my character and says, “It won't be too much longer before we're out of town. I'll fill you in then.”

I have a sneaking suspicion that Pinkie Pie already knows that I know what her back story is on the subject of the parasprites; but, she also understands that I'm asking so she'll tell her story for the benefit of those who read these notes and/or play the game. She doesn't say that; but, knowing Pinkie Pie, it's highly likely.

Indeed, it looks like we have one or two intersections to cross before we're out of town. And, having an opportunity, I have my character look back; and I can see through his eyes that Lyra is following us, and carrying Weed Whacker on her back.

By the time my character has turned back around, Big Mac has already moved past us, and Pinkie Pie is already galloping ahead, leaving the rest of us to run to catch up with her. But, with no further obstacles, my character, PInkie Pie, and Lyra, still carrying Weed Whacker, make their way out of town in a matter of a minute or two.

Once there, I speak up and say, “Now, before you get to your story, Pinkie, I just want to mention now that I have gotten three tickets to that Grand Galloping Gala event. One for me, one for Lyra, and one for Weed Whacker.”

Weed Whacker seems indifferent about it.

Lyra, on the other hand, pauses for a moment to clap her front hooves as she says, “Oh, that's so cool! I've gotta tell Bon-Bon about this!”

Presently I have my character U-turn, run in front of Lyra, and stop, before I say, “No, Lyra, I don't want you telling anyone about it.”

The pale-green unicorn comes to a screeching halt grimacing with enlarged eyes and shrunken pupils, even backpedals, to avoid running into my character. As she comes to a halt perhaps an inch away from him, she sighs with relief that she didn't run into him before asking, “Why can't I tell my best friend?”

I can't tell if her expression of hurt is from my character jumping in front of her, causing a near collision, or if it really is that she's forbidden from telling her friend. Whichever the case is, I answer, “If she has her own ticket, then you'll likely see her at the event anyway. But, in case she doesn't, I don't see any reason to drive a wedge between you two. Besides, this isn't the time to be running off.” Seeing that Lyra appears to be satisfied with the answer, I herd her back toward Pinkie Pie, who has stopped running and has turned to watch the exchange between me and Lyra. Once we've gotten back to Pinkie Pie, I have my character turn to her as I say, “You can tell your story now.”

Pinkie Pie resumes her gallop into the forest as she says, “We don't know how it got there, but somehow, and I seem to remember it being a month or so before I got my cutie mark, we found one of those things eating the remains of a loaf of bread. At the time, all we knew about it was it was small and cute and had a taste for pastries. And then, it coughed out what looked like a hairball, except the hairball turned into another one of them.

“Still, we didn't mind. After all, it seemed harmless enough at that point. All it'd done was eaten some bread and reproduced. We decided to keep the little creatures, because they seemed even helpful.

“What we didn't realize was that the bread was enough to make one of them turn into a swarm overnight. And, even worse than that, they started eating all the food on the farm. That's when we decided to call them parasprites. We'd started farming rocks because my sister Maud couldn't eat anything else. But, thanks to the parasprites, we had to resort to full-time rock farming. Rocks were the only things we'd eat that the parasprites couldn't. To this day, we have no idea who or what their natural predators might be, and it was one miserable week we spent trying to drive off those little monsters.

“And, wouldn't you know it, our salvation came when a marching band passed by our farm.

“I'll say one thing about the parasprites: they have a great sense of rhythm. They followed the marching band away, keeping time by flying in circles while they maintained their distance from the sousaphone player at the end of the march.

“That's why I'd rather have nothing to do with those things. And since Diane and I have memorized all the instruments in that band, we know what we need to get rid of the parasprites.

“Now, thanks to Fluttershy, I know they come from the Everfree forest. If their natural predators are in there, maybe we can send those parasprites back there so we can be rid of them for once.”

I've noticed, while Pinkie Pie was telling her story, that Lyra seems to have been getting nervous. I ask her, “Are you alright?”

Lyra answers, “I'm f-fine. Let's just k-keep going.”

I guess I've been paying so much attention to Lyra that I haven't noticed Pinkie Pie grabbing the clipboard from Weed Whacker and starting on the list of musical instruments she needs. The pink pony, when she's finished, hands the clipboard to me and says, “Here's the list of instruments you can get for me. We don't have time to order these from all over Equestria; so, Mormon, you'll have to find or make these instruments yourself, then put them in your 'models' folder when they're ready. We'll wait at your character's house. You can come back to your game when you have these instruments ready for me. And, please have them in a box.”

By the time Pinkie Pie is finished talking, the group has reached my character's house.

My character opens the gate to allow the ponies to enter as he receives the list of musical instruments. I find myself surprised at how many I haven't modeled and made available in Ponyville. Perhaps more surprising is the number of instruments that aren't on the list, which are evidently already in town. The list of unavailable instruments includes a trombone, a bass drum, cymbals, maracas, and a recorder. There are maybe two or three other instruments, all of which, if I can't find in my folder models, I should be able to model easily enough.

I turn to Pinkie Pie and say, “I'll get to work on this list of instruments immediately. Ki tahi au.” Then, as soon as the game's paused, I have my character show me, through his eyes, the list, which I write out, then say, “Continue.”

Just then, I hear a strange chattering or trilling sound coming, as my character shows me, from Lyra's mane.

Before anyone can do anymore to react, a timber wolf, evidently young, jumps out of the trees near the yard, tackles Lyra, and starts sniffing at her mane, digging around for whatever might be in there.

Pinkie Pie watches in evident surprise, while I, through my character's eyes, watch in fascination; while the wooden dog scares out, then snaps up, some four or five parasprites as each one makes itself known by flying out of the pale-green unicorn's mane.

When Lyra's mane is no longer making trilling or chattering sounds, the timber wolf backs away from her. I can't help noticing the timber wolf seems to be smiling at Lyra as she stumbles to her hooves again.

After a few seconds of inactivity from the wooden canid, Pinkie Pie says, “I didn't see that coming.”

I have my character turn to the pink pony as I say, “Well, thanks to Lyra, we now know that the parasprites' natural predator, or at least one of them, is the timber wolf that lives in the Everfree forest.”

Pinkie Pie turns back to my character and says, “Well, we can't have a pack of timber wolves runnin' wild through Ponyville. They'd do more damage to the town than the parasprites would.”

I state, “I agree. I'm guessing the best plan of action is to get those musical instruments together, then maybe organize a band to perform and attract those arthropods away from Ponyville and back into the forest.”

Pinkie Pie answers, “Organizing a marching band would take too long. No. Either I'll have to play all the instruments, or you'll have to take some, maybe the percussion instruments; and we can join forces. Whatever we do, we need to get started as soon as possible.”

As I prepare to save and exit the game for the time being, I say to Pinkie Pie, “Agreed. I'll be back with the instruments in a box. And, I'm thinking the best place to have those instruments is in the house.” I don't give the pink party pony a chance to respond as I save and exit the game, then get to work searching for the instruments on Pinkie Pie's list.

It's been a few days now. I found several of the instruments on Pinkie Pie's list, all except for the cymbals and the trombone, in my folder of musical instrument models for Equestria. I had to model and animate the cymbals and trombone before adding all the required instruments on Pinkie Pie's list to the “models” folder, the “musical instruments” subfolder, placing them in a modeled box and putting them, with the musical instruments inside the box, in the front room. The modeling wasn't quite so difficult, especially the cymbals, as the animations, particularly the trombone. But, it's all complete now, and I'm ready to continue the game.

As I do so, the game starts paused.

I continue the game to hear Pinkie Pie say, “I'll go inside and have a look at the instruments. Knowing you, I know I'm gonna be happy with them.” And, with that, she proceeds to go into the house and have a look at the box of instruments.

In the mean time, I'm left with a sobbing pale-green unicorn and a happy-looking young timber wolf.

As I proceed to comfort Lyra, she screams, “Keep that wooden mutt away from me!”

Evidently the timber wolf understands what Lyra said, as presently it frowns and starts whimpering.

I'm at a loss for a moment until I remember that previously in the game Lyra had apparently brought a parasprite with her from Sugar Cube Corner. The little insect must have multiplied in her mane and made sounds when the group had gotten back to my character's house, causing the timber wolf still present to jump out of the woods and attack her, chasing the parasprites out one by one and devouring them as they appeared.

After that, I say, “Trust me, the timber wolf did the right thing. The parasprites would've been more trouble than they were worth.”

Now Lyra glares into the timber wolf's eyes and growls, “Don't you dare touch me again. Just go back to the woods where you came from.” Then, she turns and gallops back to the house.

As Lyra turns around, the timber wolf growls and prepares to lunge at her. That is, until I have my character grab it and hold it firm.

While it struggles against my character, I say, “She's angry because you attacked her and killed her parasprites. She'll get over it. Just calm down.”

The wooden canid stops struggling against me as I hear the door to my character's house open and close, although the timber wolf continues to growl.

I continue, “Lyra thought she was bringing home a new pet. She didn't understand how destructive parasprites can be. My knowledge of their abilities comes from observation, not from experience. But, I still appreciate that you took care of them. Thanks.”

At this point, the timber wolf stops growling. It backs away from my character, sniffs at his face, tilts its head, and makes a sound that I can only interpret as the grunt of canine curiosity.

I add, “Since Lyra's going to be angry with you for a while, I'm thinking it probably won't be a good idea to let you into the house for the time being. But, you can still stick around if you want.”

Now, the timber wolf straightens its head again, smiles, barks once, then licks my character's face.

I'm wondering if this timber wolf is my character's new pet now. If so, then I'm going to need to learn more about it. Is this one male, or female? Somehow, I can tell that it's young, but exactly how many years has it lived? And, if I join in activities with Pinkie Pie and her other friends in playing with our pets, how will they react to my character bringing a timber wolf to their event? Finally, what am I going to name it? In the immediate future, I'm guessing I'll get to see how a dog made of wood and a toothless alligator get along.

In the mean time, I decide it's time to go into the house and see what Pinkie Pie thinks of the assortment of instruments I've provided for her.

The timber wolf follows my character up the steps onto the porch of his house, then settles down near the door as my character opens it and enters the house. Before he can close the door, though, a green streak zooms past him and out the door. I guess that means I should leave the door open just enough for Pinkie Pie's pet to come back in when he's gotten his fish for the day.

Lyra is the first to speak, as she asks, “Is that timber wolf gone now?”

I slowly answer, “I don't think so.” As Lyra starts to glare at my character, I add, “In fact, I think I have a new pet.”

It's Pinkie Pie who pulls her head out of the box, then claps her front hooves together as she says, “Oh, sweet!”

On the other hand, Lyra glares at my character and says, “Oh, no. We are not keeping a timber wolf around here. Especially not the one that attacked me.”

You know, I can't say for sure if Pinkie Pie was responding to my having a pet, or if she was just finding another instrument among those she'd listed for me to get. Maybe both. Whichever it is, I answer Lyra, “I haven't decided yet if I'm going to keep the timber wolf or not. But, if I do decide to keep it, it'll be my pet.”

In the mean time, Pinkie Pie has found and, I guess, tested, the trombone, cymbals, and maracas, and laid them out on the floor next to her. Now, she sets the recorder next to her and sticks her nose into the box in search of the next musical instrument.

Lyra's question, “What about me?” steals my character's attention away from Pinkie Pie for the moment.

I answer, “You're a friend, not a pet.”

Lyra, presently calmer, says, “Thanks, but that's not what I meant. What I meant is, you're going to keep a creature that attacked me?”

I answer, “The timber wolf only did that because you had parasprites in your mane. Don't bring home any more parasprites, and I'm sure the timber wolf won't attack you again.”

Sarcastically, the pale-green unicorn mare says, “Well, that's a relief.”

I add, “As I said to the timber wolf, what I know about parasprites comes from observation, not from personal experience. You had no idea what you were bringing home. Chances are, if it hadn't been for that timber wolf, the parasprites would likely have multiplied further, and eaten all the food in and around the house. It would've been a disaster for all of us. Thanks to the timber wolf, we don't have that potential problem anymore.” I wait, watching through my character's eyes for a response from the pale-green unicorn. When I get none, I continue, “One thing that should be clear to you is that the timber wolf meant no harm to you. It was only after the parasprites in your mane. As I said before, it's thanks to you that we know that at least one of the parasprites' natural predators is the timber wolf. Who knows but that we'll find more of the parasprites' natural predators as we guide them back into the Everfree forest?”

Again Lyra is speechless, although she does start sniffling. When my character opens his arms to her, she immediately jumps into them. It's then that she finally finds her voice as she sobs, “I guess I need to repent to that timber wolf.”

I answer, “It's still outside if you want to talk to it. But, I'm thinking if you do, I should be out there with you, just to be safe.”

Lyra pulls away from my character and says, “Yeah, you're probably right about that.” She then sniffles again, then rubs her nose, then sighs.

As my character turns to the door, I notice Gummy's head poke through it, a fresh fish in his mouth, as he pushes the door open enough that he can get inside. A few steps past the door, he points his head upward, jump-bites the fish, and manages to swallow it whole before running past Pinkie Pie and into the kitchen.

After watching that activity, I lead Lyra out to the timber wolf on the porch.

The timber wolf, on seeing Lyra again, starts growling mildly. To the credit of the wolf, it seems to understand when I hold my hand out to it, palm facing it, that it should calm down.

As soon as the wooden dog relaxes again, Lyra slowly makes her approach, head lowered and looking toward the floor in front of her, as she says, “Mormon let me know that you weren't trying to hurt me, and you were just after the parasprites. If I hadn't brought them here, you wouldn't have attacked me. Mormon also said he'd observed that parasprites are dangerous insects. If that's true, then you were right to chase them out of my mane. I'm not angry with you anymore. I just thought they were cute. But, if they are as destructive as Mormon says they are, then I need to ask you to forgive me for being angry with you.”

Presently, the timber wolf rises onto all fours and gently nuzzles Lyra.

The pale-green unicorn chuckles in relief and says, “Thank you.”

Just then, Pinkie Pie comes out of the house and says, “I just need a few more instruments, and some stuff to connect them, and I'll be ready to go.”

As the group proceeds to the gate, following the pink pony's lead, I can't help noticing the timber wolf is next to my character. I ask, “Pinkie Pie, do you think it'd be alright if just one timber wolf follows us into Ponyville?”

Pinkie Pie tilts her head as she responds, “Are you sure he can be trusted to behave himself?”

At that point, the previously smiling timber wolf droops and returns to his place on the porch. It seems that the timber wolf didn't trust itself to behave in a town possibly swarming by now with ravenous parasprites. In the mean time, if Pinkie Pie's suggestion is right, I know the gender of my new timber wolf friend.

As the group gets to the gate, I wonder for a moment where Weed Whacker is. Then, I look at Pinkie Pie and notice the little herbivorous dinosaur is on her back. I have my character turn back to the gate latch, only to find that Pinkie Pie has already grabbed it and opened the gate. My character follows her and Lyra out of the gate, closing it behind them.

A half hour later, the group is back in Ponyville; and I'm left in the area of the market place in town with Lyra as Pinkie Pie finds the rest of the instruments on her mental list. As she finds each one, she brings it to me and Lyra, who keep them safe while she searches for the next one. When some ten different musical instruments have been gathered from town, Pinkie Pie takes a moment to rest before dividing the instruments among the group, based on who can carry them most easily, then runs to the hardware store in town to get some metal rods and other items to make holders for the instruments.

When all the items have been gathered, the group returns to my character's house; and Pinkie Pie proceeds, with the help of my character and Lyra, to build the contraptions for holding the musical instruments. Evidently, at some point she's decided Lyra and my character can help her with her musical project.

At this point, two things surprise me: First, that I haven't seen more than one or two parasprites in Ponyville, and second, that it takes no more than an hour to put Pinkie Pie's contraptions together. As for the parasprites, it's most likely that they were less interested in the park than in the market place, where all the food would be. Although, considering we were there, I have to wonder, why was I still unable to see any parasprites? And, when it comes to Pinkie Pie's contraptions, it's more than just three characters working together. Pinkie Pie seems to know instinctively what part should go where.

After building the contraptions; one for holding the wind instruments and accordion for Pinkie Pie, one for my character to carry a complete drum set so he can easily play it, and one for Lyra so she can carry and play the remaining instruments, including a xylophone; we're finally ready to rid Ponyville of the plague of the parasprites.

Before heading back to Ponyville to perform, the group does a practice round of a piece that I'm familiar with, one from the Animusic series of videos, a favorite of mine called "Stick Figures." While I'm not sure if the parasprites will keep up with the change in tempo, the quartet performs the piece surprisingly well, giving it a definite ending the measure immediately after the music video faded the music out. When Pinkie Pie needs to play a different instrument, she calls it out. And, Lyra's talents with string instruments are just what the group needs to complete the ensemble.

The successful practice of the piece satisfies Pinkie Pie, who proceeds to lead the group back to Ponyville.

Once there, another hour later (With all those instruments, we couldn't be expected to run through the Everfree forest now, could we?), Pinkie Pie leads the group around to the other side of town; and the march begins. Pinkie Pie leads, my character follows immediately behind her, and Lyra is behind him.

My character keeps the rhythm of the march for a minute before Pinkie Pie calls out that it's time to begin playing. And, I'll say one thing for sure: it's as much fun to play through proxy in this game as I remember marching band being in reality when I was in junior high and high school.

I do happen to notice, through my character's eyes, parasprites, in swarms, leaving houses and other structures, bouncing rhythmically, then falling in, I assume, behind Lyra. It's clear that they enjoy the performance. With my character, it isn't a series of timed events, but a series of keystrokes based on lines of music that show up on the screen, indicating which drum is to be played at a particular time. And, as I hoped, the feeling is more natural, at least for me, than it would be with timed events.

As the group approaches the rest of the Mane Six in the marketplace, I hear Twilight Sparkle start to say, as she sees the human and another unicorn, “Mormon, Lyra, I can't believe that you'd … get … caught … up … in … Pinkie … “ She trails off as she notices parasprites leaving buildings, bouncing to the music, then joining the parade.

And, as it turns out, the parasprites change their rhythm with the change in tempo, keeping right up with the earth pony, the human, and the unicorn as they are lead out of town and back into the Everfree forest, where eager timber wolves wait to devour the flying menaces. The group even marches around the town once to make sure any parasprites that might not have heard the music during the performance through the town get to join in.

In the mean time, the marching trio follows Pinkie Pie's lead both in march and in music as she chooses when and where in the music to loop.

By the time we return to my character's house, other timber wolves have snapped up nearly all the parasprites in the parade, leaving maybe half a dozen for my timber wolf friend to finish off.

With the last of the parasprites eaten, Pinkie Pie calls an end to the performance; and we play one last extended note.

As fun as it was to be surrounded by the music, it's also made clear that all the performers are worn out. Particularly Pinkie Pie, whose legs collapse under her, and I can hear her breathing heavily.

My character drops the drum sticks and also collapses, but it seems that Lyra is the least tired of the group. Based on her groan at the rest of the group sitting there and trying to catch their breath, she still wants to perform.

After a few minutes of rest, I hear the voice of Twilight Sparkle, which draws my character's attention, as she says, “Princess Celestia wanted me to tell you that she really enjoyed the marching band's performance, but she's been called to Filly-delphia to take care of an infestation of flying insects there. Unfortunately, this means she won't be able to attend the reading with us tonight. But, Princess Luna will still be attending, and she'll bring Princess Celestia up-to-date on what happened during the reading.

“I've given her my report on what I learned about friendship. And, she looks forward to reading your reports, Mormon and Lyra, on what you learned from each other. By the way, what's a timber wolf doing on your property, Mormon?”

I answer, “Evidently, keeping it free from parasprites. Lyra brought some here in her mane when we first came back from Ponyville, and the timber wolf jumped out of the woods and took care of them. It meant attacking and scaring Lyra, but the good news is that we now know that the timber wolf is one of the natural predators of the parasprites. I'll have to include that in my report to the princesses, I think.”

It's then that I hear Pinkie Pie ask, “So, Mormon, does that mean he's gonna be your new pet?”

My character, as per my instructions, turns to the pink earth pony as she asks her question, then turns to Lyra afterward to see if she has anything to say about it. When it seems that she doesn't, he turns to Pinkie Pie; and I say, “Sure, why not.”

I can only assume that it's with the help of her sister Diane, but Pinkie Pie manages to jump out of her contraption without getting hurt as she squeals, “Yes! Yes! Now we can all play with our pets together!”

I then hear Fluttershy ask, “Does this mean you have a pet too, Pinkie Pie?”

I have my character turn to her as I answer, “She adopted a toothless alligator hatchling a few days ago, and called him Gummy.”

Then, from right next to my character, I hear Pinkie Pie's voice ask, “Oh, that reminds me. What're you gonna name your timber wolf pet, huh?”

As my character turns to her, I hear a bark from his other side, causing him to turn to the wooden canid whose nose is just inches from his face. After a double shock like that, I have to regain my composure before I can even think about the answer to my pink pony friend's question. Then, the idea occurs to me; and I have my character turn back to Pinkie Pie before I say, “I think I'll call him Scout.” What I don't say aloud is that I wonder if, considering the shape of the living pile of wood, I should treat him more like a dog or more like a plant of some kind. I'm guessing the answer to that question will come in time.

In the mean time, I think my new timber wolf friend is just happy to have a name. He barks once, then, I assume, based on the involuntary movement of my character's head, licks his, that is my character's, face.

At the same time, the pink earth pony watching says, “Well, it looks like he likes it.” Then she thinks aloud, “You know, that reminds me. I wonder how Gummy's doin'.” And, with that, she turns to the house and canters to the door.

As I watch, through my character's eyes, Pinkie Pie heading for the house, I begin to wonder what a timber wolf might think about playing a game of fetch with sticks. Considering the timber wolves in this game, and in the animated series for that matter, are composed of broken parts of trees, would they consider such a game offensive? Disturbing? Morbid? I have to wonder if I'd want to play a game of fetch with a timber wolf using anything composed of wood. Maybe I should model a disc in the modeling program I used to produce all the objects for this game, marking the disc as composed of plastic or something like that. I'll have to consider that the next time I close this program.

Thus are my thoughts when I suddenly hear the voice of Vinyl Scratch at the door, saying, “Oh, hi, Pinks. I thought you should know, when I opened the door to go out and get some fresh air, your lizard ran out of the house and, I guess, to the pond. I guess he was hungry.”

As my character turns to see the white unicorn and the pink earth pony at the door, I notice Gummy, once again carrying a fish in his mouth, run next to the house, then U-turn to the steps, then easily scale each of them up to the porch. Seeing the two ponies in the way, he proceeds to swallow the fish, then look up at the white unicorn and twitch his tail.

Pinkie Pie, noticing her pet alligator next to her, looks down at him and says, “Oh, hi, Gummy. I was going to check up on you. You wanna see Mormon's new pet?”

The only reaction I can see from my perspective is Gummy turning to, and looking up at, Pinkie Pie.

The pink pony U-turns in place, being careful not to step on her alligator pet, then trots down the steps and bounces toward my character as she says, “Well, come on over. He's right here with Mormon.”

Obediently, the alligator follows Pinkie Pie down the steps and to my character to meet Scout.

In a matter of seconds, the alligator and the timber wolf are kind of staring at each other, with my character in the middle.

I have my character motion to the timber wolf, then to the alligator, then back again, as I say, “Scout, meet Gummy. Gummy, meet Scout.”

Taking my introduction as an invitation, Scout puts his front paws on my character's lap, then lowers his front half to sniff at Gummy.

In response, Gummy takes a step back, then jumps and grabs onto Scout's nose, holding on by his mouth.

At this point, Scout jumps back in surprise, but seems to notice that Gummy's grip on his snout isn't going to hurt him. But, he does start whining as he looks at my character.

Because of the familiarity of the situation, I wonder aloud, “Do you think singing Gummy to sleep would work?”

Pinkie Pie doesn't respond to my question. Instead, she approaches Scout, supports Gummy with her head, then starts stroking him gently with a front hoof as she says, “Now, Gummy, you can let go. Scout wasn't going to hurt you. He was just curious.”

Indeed, Pinkie Pie's massaging causes the alligator to relax, and eventually let go of the timber wolf's snout, at which point she backs away from him, her pet alligator nestled in her mane.

As my character strokes the wooden dog on his back, I again think aloud, "I wonder when guests are going to start arriving for the reading.”

Pinkie Pie freezes for a moment, then looks at me and says, “You know, you're right. We need to get ready for them.” She then moves to Lyra and starts freeing her from her instruments as she says, “We need to get the snacks ready for them.”

One by one, the rest of the Mane Six volunteer to help my character and Pinkie Pie with preparations for the night's reading.

I have my character stand up, then I say, “Well, Pinkie's going to have to separate all the instruments, then put away all the ones we own, and maybe hold the rest until we return to Ponyville tomorrow and return them. In the mean time, there's the orchard, the vineyard, and the vegetable garden where we usually gather fruits and veggies to prepare as snacks. We just get enough for the guests for the reading.”

Applejack and Rarity dismiss themselves to go back to get their families.

Twilight volunteers to help Pinkie Pie with the musical instruments.

Once Lyra is freed from the instruments she's been carrying, she and Rainbow Dash make their way to the vineyard to gather fruit from there for snacks.

Fluttershy and Weed Whacker make their way to the vegetable garden to gather veggies.

As soon as my character frees himself from the percussion instruments, he proceeds to the orchard to harvest apples, pears, and a few summer fruits.

In a matter of minutes, the instruments are put away; and fruits and vegetables are gathered in the kitchen for cleaning and making into snacks. Then, with the combined force of ponies, dragon, and human, it's another few minutes before the snack tray is made ready.

Twilight dismisses herself to go get her dragon assistant and their books, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy do the same.

With evident time to prepare, Lyra chooses to take a shower in preparation for the guests to arrive.

I have my character put a cover over the snack tray to keep the plant products as safe from the elements as possible until the guests arrive.

As it turns out, Lyra is finished with her shower before guests start arriving.

The first to arrive, as I expect, are my stallion friends, who have been joined by Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Applejack and her family.

I'm pleasantly surprised to see two faces I only remember seeing in Ponyville just today, Berry Punch and Carrot Top.

In the mean time, Pinkie Pie occupies herself greeting guests; while my character, with the help of Lyra, proceeds to carry the snack tray, of course after uncovering it.

By the time the two have made it out there, it seems that all the guests, including Princess Luna, have arrived. All that's left is to get copies of the Book of Mormon for Berry Punch and Carrot Top.

As my character takes another look at the guests, I find myself pleasantly surprised to see Mayor Mare here again. I also see, through my character's eyes, Cheerilee, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, in that order. I must say, it's good to see them again as well.

My character goes inside to the closet and retrieves two copies of the Book of Mormon, then goes back outside and hands the books to the newcomers, then takes his place between Lyra and Weed Whacker.

What I don't take into account is Ponyville's mayor pushing my herbivorous dinosaur friend aside to put herself between my character and Princess Luna, a maneuver that pleases neither me nor the nighttime princess.

I have my character turn to Mayor Mare before I say, “I appreciate you wanting to sit next to me, but that didn't give you the right to push Weed Whacker out of her place.” Then, as Princess Luna proceeds to agree with me, I have my character turn to the herbivorous dinosaur while I say, as Lyra and Bon-Bon move over, “You can sit on my other side.” Finally, as Weed Whacker takes her position, I turn back to the Mayor and say, “You can sit between me and Princess Luna this time, but next time you want to sit between me and one of your princesses, please ask us first. Don't just go pushing juveniles out of the way, alright?”

As the humbled mare looks down into her book, I have my character look around at the rest of the audience as I ask, “Are there any volunteers to begin the reading?”

At my invitation, Carrot Top stands up and asks, as if to be reminded, “Where are we reading, again?”

I answer, “We're beginning the reading tonight with chapter eighteen.” As I watch the yellow-orange earth pony with orange hair and her friend flip through the pages using their noses, I continue, “To bring you up-to-date on what's been going on so far, the people we'll be reading about are a man named Lehi and his wife Sariah, their sons Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi, as well as another man, Ishmael, and his family. They lived in Jerusalem more than six hundred years before the coming of the Christ, until Lehi was told by God to take his family and leave, as Jerusalem was going to be captured by the Babylonians. Lehi obeyed, and after a few days was told to send his sons back to get some records they'd need for when they reached their destination. After obtaining those records, and after Lehi looked through them, God told him to send his sons back, this time to get Ishmael and his family so his sons could take wives of his daughters and start families of their own in the new land. After they did that, the two families traveled for some eight years, and at this point have arrived at the coast where God has commanded Nephi to build a ship.

"Nephi's older brothers haven't been making things easy for everyone else, and, otherwise, the group has been having some hardships. But, they've made it to the shore of the ocean, which is where this chapter begins.” As I see, through my character's eyes, evidence that the two mares have gotten to the right page, I ask the orange-haired mare, “So, Carrot Top, will you begin the reading with verse one?”

She looks at me and nods, then looks down into her copy of the book and reads, “And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship.”

I then have my character turn to the pale-reddish-purple earth pony next to Carrot Top and ask, “Berry Punch, will you read verse two?”

The earth pony looks at my character and nods, then looks down at her copy of the book and reads, “Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.”

Next, Berry Ground reads, “And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.”

Stunts reads, “And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord.”

Emerald Hill reads, “And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father, that we should arise and go down into the ship.”

Cold Hands reads, “And it came to pass that on the morrow, after we had prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in abundance, and provisions according to that which the Lord had commanded us, we did go down into the ship, with all our loading and our seeds, and whatsoever thing we had brought with us, everyone according to his age; wherefore, we did all go down into the ship, with our wives and our children.”

Snails reads, “And now, my father had begat two sons in the wilderness; the elder was called Jacob and the younger Joseph.” Looking up, he says, “So, now Nephi has younger brothers.”

I smile, which I'm sure doesn't translate through to my character, at the little orange unicorn colt.

In the mean time, Snips reads, “And it came to pass after we had all gone down into the ship, and had taken with us our provisions and things which had been commanded us, we did put forth into the sea and were driven forth before the wind towards the promised land.”

Warm Heart reads, “And after we had been driven forth before the wind for the space of many days, behold, my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and also their wives began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began to dance, and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness, yea, even that they did forget by what power they had been brought thither; yea, they were lifted up unto exceeding rudeness.”

Mrs. Cake reads, “And I, Nephi, began to fear exceedingly lest the Lord should be angry with us, and smite us because of our iniquity, that we should be swallowed up in the depths of the sea; wherefore, I, Nephi, began to speak to them with much soberness; but behold they were angry with me, saying: We will not that our younger brother shall be a ruler over us.”

Mr. Cake reads, “And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me and bind me with cords, and they did treat me with much harshness, nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the wicked.”

At this point, I decide to say, “Nephi brings up a good point here. God may not keep his servants from being attacked by others intending to do them harm. But, He has His reasons for that. If He prevented evil forces from doing evil, well, for one thing, that'd be intruding on their freedom. No one would know if the judgments that would come up on them were just, because they weren't able to act. We need our freedom to do what we intend to do; otherwise, we won't know if we, or anyone around us, is good or evil, and thus, we wouldn't know if we deserve the consequences. Not only that, but we wouldn't know whether or not we'd want to make changes to our behavior. That's what makes our freedom so important to us.” As my character turns to the red stallion, I say, “You may go ahead and read now, Big MacIntosh.”

He nods to me, then reads, “And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the compass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to work.”

Applebloom reads, “Wherefore, they knew not whither they should steer the ship, insomuch that there arose a great storm, yea, a great and terrible tempest, and we were driven back upon the waters for the space of three days, and they began to be frightened exceedingly lest they should be drowned in the sea; nevertheless they did not loose me.”

At this point, before Applejack can read the next verse, I have my character look up at the other members of the reading circle; and I say, “Now, before we continue the reading, I just have a few things to say. There's this one animated series I'm familiar with, called Pokemon, or Pocket Monsters where it originally comes from. In that animated series, which has run for several years now, there's this one episode which, in English-speaking countries, at least, is called 'The Big Balloon Blow-Up.' In this episode, the villains, again known in at least English-speaking countries as Jessie, James, and Meowth, in my opinion anyway, do the best reenactment of this story that I've seen outside a Latter-Day Saint performance. There are a few differences: they don't have a compass, the reenactment takes place in a hot-air balloon, it's just the three of them, and they don't make it to their destination as Lehi and his family and friends will do. But, it's a situation that could only take place among the three of them.

“It takes place when the trio, headed by Meowth, enter a hot-air balloon race, as Meowth wants to prove his skills. But, Jessie and James decide they can't win without cheating, and so that's what they do. But, Meowth, when he sees them acting against his plans, chews them out; and gets tied to a post because of it. They even run, or fly or glide, into a storm. As I said, they don't make it to the end of the race; but, as I also said, they did a really good job bringing this story to life. In fact, even if it wasn't perfect, because of their reenactment of this story, the first reenactment of a Book of Mormon story I've seen outside of a church publication, the episode, 'The Big Balloon Blow-Up,' is my favorite of all the Pokemon episodes, and the reason why I follow that show as closely as I do. I hope the producers of the show will bring more Book of Mormon stories, or, for that matter, more scriptural stories, to life. And, I hope to find out about other shows that have done something similar.”

Having said what I wanted to say, I have my character turn to Applejack as I say, “You may go ahead with the next verse.”

The orange earth mare nods, then looks down and reads, “And on the fourth day, which we had been driven back, the tempest began to be exceedingly sore.”

Granny Smith reads, “And it came to pass that we were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea. And after we had been driven back upon the waters for the space of four days, my brethren began to see that the judgments of God were upon them, and that they must perish save that they should repent of their iniquities; wherefore, they came unto me, and loosed the bands which were upon my wrists, and behold they had swollen exceedingly, and also mine ankles were much swollen, and great was the soreness thereof.”

Cheerilee reads, “Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions.”

Scootaloo reads, “Now my father, Lehi, had said many things unto them, and also unto the sons of Ishmael; but, behold, they did breathe out much threatenings against anyone that should speak for me; and my parents being stricken in years, and having suffered much grief because of their children, they were brought down, yea, even upon their sick-beds.”

Sweetie Belle reads, “Because of their grief and much sorrow, and the iniquity of my brethren, they were brought near even to be carried out of this time to meet their God; yea, their grey hairs were about to be brought down to lie low in the dust; yea, even they were near to be cast with sorrow into a watery grave.”

Rarity reads, “And Jacob and Joseph also, being young, having need of much nourishment, were grieved because of the afflictions of their mother; and also my wife with her tears and prayers, and also my children, did not soften the hearts of my brethren that they would loose me.”

Spike reads, “And there was nothing save it were the power of God, which threatened them with destruction, could soften their hearts; wherefore, when they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea they repented of the thing which they had done, insomuch that they loosed me.”

Twilight Sparkle reads, “And it came to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm.”

Fluttershy reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we sailed again towards the promised land.”

Rainbow Dash reads, “And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the promised land; and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents; and we did call it the promised land.”

Pinkie Pie reads, “And it came to pass that we did begin to till the earth, and we began to plant seeds; yea, we did put all our seeds into the earth, which we had brought from the land of Jerusalem. And it came to pass that they did grow exceedingly; wherefore, we were blessed in abundance.”

Vinyl Scratch reads, “And it came to pass that we did find upon the land of promise, as we journeyed in the wilderness, that there were beasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow and the ox, and the ass and the horse, and the goat and the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals, which were for the use of men. And we did find all manner of ore; both of gold, and of silver, and of copper.” Looking up, she says, “Nephi noted that there were horses in this 'land of promise.' Do you think there were also ponies there?”

I answer, “That is possible. Nephi notes that among the creatures they found were 'the horse.' It could mean that they found equines there, not strictly horses. In my time, zebras have been imported from Africa to zoos where I live. I've even heard zebra vocalizations near my own home, so it's possible that they've been farmed near there. And, who knows but there was some South American variety of zebra, as well as ponies and other equines? If I understand what I've read correctly, there has been, it seems, fossil evidence of some striped equine in the Americas.”

From outside the gate I hear Zecora's voice say, “Yes, Nephi did testify that they found 'the horse.' It could be that pony and zebra were in his course.”

As my character turns to her, I have him stand up and walk to the gate to let her in while I say, “Zecora, it's nice to see you here. Did you come to read with us?” I do notice a copy of the Book of Mormon on her back.

Zecora answers, “I did come to visit you, but still, if I am welcome to read, then I will.”

As my character opens the gate, I hear Luna say, “Carrot Top, wilt thou move over and give Zecora a space in the circle?”

Then, as Zecora enters, smiling, I hear rustling behind me; and my character turns to the sound to show me that Carrot Top and others have made enough room for two zebras Zecora's size to sit in the circle.

The zebra, seeing this, chuckles and says, “Please, Carrot Top, I am not that wide. But, I am honored to sit at Princess Luna's side.”

As Zecora takes her place on the side of Princess Luna opposite Mayor Mare, and my character takes his place between the Mayor and Weed Whacker, I say, “We just got finished reading chapter eighteen, and haven't gotten completely around the circle the first time.” I then have my character turn to the gray earth mare, and I ask, “Octavia, will you read verse … “

Before I can finish the question, Mayor Mare rises and backs out, saying, “Well, if that zebra is going to be part of this circle, then count me out.” She then turns to the gate and trots towards it.

Just as she is opening it, though, Princess Luna disappears from her position and appears outside the gate, nose-to-nose with Mayor Mare. Pushing the gate open while, at the same time, pushing the now alarmed Mayor pony back inside, she says, “Thou hast cast Mormon's dragon friend from her place, and now thou backest out because thou wishest not to read with a zebra? Thou wilt return to thy place and read when it is thy turn, or thou wilt be mayor no more!”

As my character watches the conflict, I can see the glare in Princess Luna's eyes; and I can hear the thunder in her voice. Seeing the two ponies in conflict this way, it kind of reminds me of when Fluttershy humbled that dragon, except the size difference isn't so great, and it's a larger creature humbling a smaller one. And, while it is rather entertaining to see the tan earth pony stumbling backwards away from the nighttime alicorn, still, it wasn't my intention to coerce any member of the circle to read, unless they live with my character in his house. And, even then it's persuasion, not force. On the other hand, it is true that Mayor Mare hasn't been nice, pushing Weed Whacker out of her place, and now discriminating against a zebra. But, still, if Princess Luna was wanting to punish the Mayor pony, she could've chosen a better penalty than this reading. I may have a talk with her when we're finished reading this last chapter for the evening. But, right now, I decide to turn to Octavia again and once more ask, “So, will you read verse one of chapter nineteen?”

As Mayor Mare takes her place next to me, and Princess Luna between her and Zecora, Octavia nods, then looks down and reads, “And it came to pass that the Lord commanded me, wherefore I did make plates of ore that I might engraven upon them the record of my people. And upon the plates which I made I did engraven the record of my father, and also our journeyings in the wilderness, and the prophecies of my father; and also many of mine own prophecies have I engraven upon them.”

At this point, before Bon-Bon can begin reading verse two, I speak up and say, “It seems that when Joseph Smith Junior was interpreting the Book of Mormon from the gold plates, he was dictating while a friend of his, Martin Harris, wrote down what he said. When a hundred sixteen pages worth had been interpreted, comprising the Book of Lehi, Harris wanted to show what he'd written to some friends of his, to prove that this ancient, religious record was indeed being interpreted. Eventually Joseph agreed, on the condition that Harris not let the pages out of his hands. Well, as it turns out, Harris' wife somehow got a hold of the pages, leaving Harris with nothing to return to Joseph. Needless to say, Joseph was not happy, and for a while the interpretation of the record was stopped. With those pages in evil hands, if they had been reinterpreted, the original pages would likely have been changed, making the interpretation look false, and bringing the work to an end before it could get started.

“Eventually the interpretation of the record resumed, but starting with the First Book of Nephi. Yet, I have to wonder if either those hundred sixteen pages are going to turn up some day, or if they have been or will be destroyed, and we'll get the Book of Lehi at some point in the future. I think it'd be interesting to get these stories from the point of view of Nephi's father. Who knows? Maybe we'll find out about a conversation between Lehi and Ishmael, or between Lehi and one of Ishmael's sons, in which we find out that, in the process of stopping Nephi's brothers from rebelling against him, he did say that they, that is the sons of Lehi, had killed Laban.” I then turn to the yellow earth pony with the pink and blue hair and say, “You can go ahead and read the next verse now, Bon-Bon.”

She nods and reads, “And I knew not at the time when I made them that I should be commanded of the Lord to make these plates; wherefore, the record of my father, and the genealogy of his fathers, and the more part of all our proceedings in the wilderness are engraven upon those first plates of which I have spoken; wherefore, the things which transpired before I made these plates are, of a truth, more particularly made mention upon the first plates.”

Lyra reads, “And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon these plates; and that the things which were written should be kept for the instruction of my people, who should possess the land, and also for other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord.”

Weed Whacker reads, “Wherefore, I, Nephi, did make a record upon the other plates, which gives an account, or which gives a greater account of the wars and contentions and destructions of my people. And this have I done, and commanded my people what they should do after I was gone; and that these plates should be handed down from one generation to another, or from one prophet to another, until further commandments of the Lord.”

I read, “And an account of my making these plates shall be given hereafter; and then, behold, I proceed according to that which I have spoken; and this I do that the more sacred things may be kept for the knowledge of my people.”

Mayor Mare reads, “Nevertheless, I do not write anything upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the weakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself.”

Princess Luna reads, “For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would speak in other words—they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his counsels.”

Zecora reads, “And behold he cometh, according to the words of the angel, in six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem.”

I think it's noteworthy that Zecora demonstrates, at this point, that she can speak without rhyming. The Zecora I've programmed into this game, at least, is capable of speaking without rhyming, and it's just a preference of hers. As for the Zecora in the animated series, well, I'm guessing that's for the producers of the show to know, and for the rest of us to figure out.

In the mean time, Carrot Top reads, “And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.”

Berry Punch reads, “And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulcre, according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel.”

Berry Ground reads, “For thus spake the prophet: The Lord God surely shall visit all the house of Israel at that day, some with his voice, because of their righteousness, unto their great joy and salvation, and others with the thunderings and the lightnings of his power, by tempest, by fire, and by smoke, and vapor of darkness, and by the opening of the earth, and by mountains which shall be carried up.”

Stunts reads, “And all these things must surely come, saith the prophet Zenos. And the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature suffers.”

Emerald Hill reads, “And as for those who are at Jerusalem, saith the prophet, they shall be scourged by all people, because they crucify the God of Israel, and turn their hearts aside, rejecting signs and wonders, and the power and glory of the God of Israel.”

Cold Hands reads, “And because they turn their hearts aside, saith the prophet, and have despised the Holy One of Israel, they shall wander in the flesh, and perish, and become a hiss and a byword, and be hated among all nations.”

Snails reads, “Nevertheless, when that day cometh, saith the prophet, that they no more turn aside their hearts against the Holy One of Israel, then will he remember the covenants which he made to their fathers.” Looking up at my character, he asks, “I wonder, do you have any of the records that Nephi mentions?”

I answer, “In my day, we do have the recorded prophecies of a prophet called Nahum; but, I tend to doubt that the Nahum in the Old Testament is the same as the Neum that Nephi talks about, since Nahum prophecies about the Christ's Second Coming, which hasn't happened yet. So, no, we don't have the recorded prophecies or other records of Neum, or for that matter Zenock or Zenos. But, again, good question.”

Snips reads, “Yea, then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of Israel, will I gather in, saith the Lord, according to the words of the prophet Zenos, from the four quarters of the earth.”

Warm Heart reads, “Yea, and all the earth shall see the salvation of the Lord, saith the prophet; every nation, kindred, tongue and people shall be blessed.”

Mrs. Cake reads, “And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer.”

Mr. Cake reads, “Wherefore, I speak unto all the house of Israel, if it so be that they should obtain these things.”

Big MacIntosh reads, “For behold, I have workings in the spirit, which doth weary me even that all my joints are weak, for those who are at Jerusalem; for had not the Lord been merciful, to show unto me concerning them, even as he had prophets of old, I should have perished also.”

Applebloom reads, “And he surely did show unto the prophets of old all things concerning them; and also he did show unto many concerning us; wherefore, it must needs be that we know concerning them for they are written upon the plates of brass.”

Applejack reads, “Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which were engraven upon the plates of brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old.”

Granny Smith reads, “And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.”

Cheerilee reads, “Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of the prophet, ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have been broken off; hear ye the words of the prophet, which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken off; for after this manner has the prophet written.”

At this point, I have my character close his copy of the Book of Mormon while I say, “And, that's the end of tonight's reading. Tomorrow, we'll be starting with chapter twenty of First Nephi, and we might just read the last two chapters after that.

“Now, Pinkie Pie, Lyra, Weed Whacker, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, if you'll dismiss the rest of our guests, I have something I need to talk about with Princess Luna.”

It seems as though, at first, Princess Luna and my character are the only ones that rise and leave the circle; that is until my character, under my instruction, leads the nighttime princess behind the house.

While, I assume, my five friends living at my character's house with him dismiss the rest of the guests, Princess Luna stops and says, “Yes, Mormon?”

After my character stops and turns to her, I say, “First of all, I'd like to say that I appreciate you wanting to defend Zecora's honor. And, I agree that Mayor Mare wasn't being very nice to Zecora or Weed Whacker.”

Princess Luna answers, “Thus my warning, that if she wanted to keep her position, she should stay and read.”

I continue, “So, you do understand that these readings are intended as a kind of celebration, a time of enjoyment, not a punishment?”

The nighttime princess answers, “Well, of course.”

I state, “I was hoping you understood that. It's just that, while you were confronting Ponyville's mayor, it did sound like you were turning the reading into some kind of punishment for her.”

At this point, Princess Luna looks down and says, “Oh. I-I didn't realize that. I'm sorry.”

I answer, “That's alright. I just thought I should bring the matter up with you. You may want to discuss it with Mayor Mare, and make sure she understands your intentions before you go back to Canterlot to raise the moon.” I do notice, while I'm talking with the nighttime princess, that the sun lowers, and there is still a level of light; not so bright as when the sun is out, but not as dark as when the moon is out either. If my video game representation of Equestria is correct, it requires the moon to be out for the stars to start shining. Only having seen the place in the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic series, and only having seen it for maybe no more than ten frames when neither the sun nor the moon were out, I can only make an educated guess as to how things work under those conditions.

In the mean time, having finished my conversation with Princess Luna, I have my character circle around her and head back to the front of the house.

As my character returns to the front of the house, indeed the circle has been broken up; but the ponies have broken up into groups, and are talking amongst themselves.

Lyra has taken a position at the front gate, and is holding it open with her magic, waiting for the guests to pass through it so she can salute them goodbye. Yet, so far, none of the ponies, or Spike, has seen fit to leave just yet.

Vinyl, Octavia, and Weed Whacker are taking the empty snack tray, or trying to at least, through the clusters of guests and back into the house.

Even having made as many friends as she has, Pinkie Pie seems to be unable to get even the rest of the element bearers even toward the gate.

In the mean time, the only way I notice that Princess Luna hasn't immediately followed my character from behind the house is when he looks behind him to show me that the nighttime princess isn't there. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the other ponies in the yard, other than my closest friends, are wondering if my character has eaten her or something.

It takes a few seconds before Princess Luna, in her most authoritative stance, marches from behind the house and joins the rest of the group.

I can't say for sure whether I was right or not. All I know is that my guests start making their way to and out of the gate only when they see the nighttime princess again. And, it seems that it's Mayor Mare that leaves first.

As the other ponies and Spike make their way out of the gate, it seems that suddenly the mayor of Ponyville appears back in the yard, facing Princess Luna, as much to the mayor's surprise as to my own.

Seeing the tan earth pony frozen in place, the nighttime princess says, “Don't worry, Mayor. I'm not going to hurt you. I just have something to discuss with you. I'll return you to your home when I'm finished.” And, with that, both Mayor Mare and Princess Luna disappear. I can only guess that the two are at Canterlot Castle right now.

In the mean time, it's a matter of maybe one or two minutes before the rest of the guests are outside the gate, and, save for Zecora, back on their way to Ponyville, lit not unlike Christmas lights by the magic of various unicorns in the group.

The zebra moves to the corner of the yard, evidently waiting for my character to approach her. I have him do so; and when he's close enough, Zecora says, “I have enjoyed this reading, too. So, I leave now with a fond 'Thank you.'” And, with that, she turns in the opposite direction of the ponies heading for Ponyville, and makes her way to her own home, or so I assume.

As I welcome the zebra's thanks and salute her goodbye, I can only guess that Octavia, Vinyl, and Weed Whacker make it back inside with the empty snack tray. In the mean time, after watching, through my character's eyes, the zebra disappear back into the forest, the three outside make their way to the orchard, vineyard, and vegetable garden to harvest food for dinner, which they bring inside and prepare and eat for dinner with Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, and Weed Whacker.

While the group eats, I have my character turn to the two musical ponies, and I ask, “So, how has progress been going on the music project I gave you two?”

Octavia answers, “We've gotten it organized, and planned out on parchment. We will need some help from other ponies, and probably from you, for most of the instrumental part of it, and maybe even some of the singing. Would you be willing to help us with that?”

I answer, “I'd be honored to help in any way I can. What would you need me for?”

It's Vinyl Scratch who says, “We need somepony to handle the percussion instruments, and a few more ponies to play a few wind instruments.”

Pinkie Pie volunteers to play the brass instruments, while Lyra volunteers to play woodwinds.

That seems to leave my character with the percussion instruments, although I have to wonder if there's something Weed Whacker can do to help.

In the mean time, with the performance apparently organized, we finish dinner, clean up, and return to our rooms.

I can only assume, by this time, that the mayor is back in her home in Ponyville. As I have my character write a letter to the princesses, I find myself unable to keep from thinking about the incident during the reading, when Princess Luna publicly confronted Mayor Mare about her conduct and ordered her to stay for the reading. In fact, that's the first thing I write about in the letter. Next, I write about the musical project assignment I've given to Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, and the progress they've made so far, mentioning that Lyra's volunteered to play woodwinds for them.

Next, I write about the parasprite incident, and how Lyra and I helped Pinkie Pie gather instruments for her part in the evacuation of the flying insects. While I wouldn't be surprised if Pinkie Pie has written about this herself, still I decide to write that if the infestation in Filly-delphia is composed of flying spherical insects, then they might want to try organizing a marching band as soon as possible to lead the invasion out of town and into the nearest forest, especially if that forest is inhabited by timber wolves.

The subject of the timber wolves leads to my writing about my new pet, Scout the timber wolf. I write about how he taught us that timber wolves are one of the natural predators of the parasprites, the colorful flying spheres with legs that had invaded Ponyville, and might be invading Filly-delphia.

I add a post-script for Princess Luna at the end of the letter, making reference to the incident with Mayor Mare during the reading, hoping that things have been squared away between the two of them, something to that effect.

After that, I have my character deliver the letter to Weed Whacker to send to the princesses. After that, I send him to bed.

As I save and close the game, I reflect on how the addition of the instruments will affect gameplay in the future, particularly for gamers that start their own playthroughs of the “Hey, Batter!” game.

The instruments that I modeled will be redistributed through Ponyville, with various ponies having a back story of having played them their whole lives or since their time in school or something like that. Who knows? There may be a back story about how Carrot Top picked up the harmonica in her foal-hood, and has been playing it ever since. Maybe Applejack will have a back story about how she picked up the cymbals during her time with her cousins, the Oranges, and has been given a pair for her birthday, or something like that. This game has been programmed with that kind of randomness in mind for distribution of new models and other items.

And, speaking of the game, I did program the timber wolves to be one of the natural predators of the parasprites. If I remember correctly, for the purposes of this game, the cockatrice and the chimera are the other predators of the parasprite. But, that can be discovered by other gamers, or perhaps by the ponies in the story later on. In the mean time, with the game saved and closed, it's time to call it a night until next time.

Author's Notes:

The next chapter will be based on the episode, "Call of the Cutie." In that chapter, of course the Cutie Mark Crusaders will get their start at Diamond Tiara's Cute-seniera. But, there are discoveries to be made. There is a reveal in that chapter related to Pinkie Pie, as well as an interesting conversation between Mormon and Diamond Tiara. This and more in Chapter Eleven, "Let the Crusade Begin."

The reading in that chapter will be the last three chapters in the First Book of Nephi.