This time, as I start the game, it seems that, for once, my character doesn’t wake up to pounding on his door. Instead, it’s to the sound of galloping and juvenile giggling in the hallway past his door, toward the kitchen.

As my character rises from his bed, I hear Lyra’s voice call out, “Now, be careful, Sweetie Belle. You never know when Mormon’s gonna come out of his room. You don’t wanna run into his door.”

I’m not entirely sure what Lyra’s warning Sweetie Belle about. But, knowing there are juvenile ponies running around in the hallways, I’m prepared to take care not to have my character open his door too quickly, just in case one or more of the Crusaders runs into it, or diverts into the wall. When I’m sure there’s no traffic in the hallway, I have my character open his door, but still slowly.

As my character steps out into the hallway, I hear Applebloom call out, “Scootaloo, hold up a moment!”

My character turns toward the kitchen to show me, through his eyes, the little orange pegasa on her scooter, evidently ready to race toward either Pinkie Pie’s or Lyra’s bedroom. And, based on the way she’s facing, my guess is she was going to do it backwards.

Just then, from the upper half of my character’s periphery, I see Fluttershy’s face come into view, etched with worry. She says, “Oh, I’m sorry, Mormon.” Then, she turns to the little orange pegasa and says, “Whatever you were thinking of doing, Scootaloo, I really don’t think you should be doing it.”

Scootaloo emits a groan of disappointment, then takes a step off of her scooter.

I state, “Fluttershy’s right. Racing through hallways on your scooter, especially backward, is not a good idea.” Then, as the startled juvenile pegasa turns and looks at my character, I continue, “However, if you want, you can help me, Lyra, Weed Whacker, and Pinkie Pie pick fruits and vegetables outside.”

Again, Scootaloo groans, before whining, “But, we did that last night.”

I respond, “We do that on a daily basis when we want to eat. And, it really isn’t that bad.”

Scootaloo whines, “But, last night, I had to hold all the vegetables Weed Whacker picked.”

I state, “Well, in that case, you could help me and Pinkie Pie out in the orchard, or you could help Lyra out in the vineyard.”

At this point, Fluttershy says, “Actually, Lyra decided to stay in here and help take care of the Crusaders. Weed Whacker’s taking care of the vineyard as well as the vegetable garden.”

Hearing that, I say, “Well, I guess that means I should leave the orchard to Pinkie Pie, and take over harvesting in the vineyard while Weed Whacker harvests in the vegetable garden.” I then have my character turn to Scootaloo, and I ask, “So, do you wanna help me in the vineyard?”

Scootaloo looks up at my character and answers, “Well, as long as I don’t have to carry all the vegetables, then sure, I’ll help you.”

As the little orange pegasa moves forward to allow my character room to get to the kitchen door, I say, “The vegetables are Weed Whacker’s department. Some of the fruits are in the vineyard, and the rest are in the orchard. Usually it’s me and Pinkie Pie in the orchard, but since Lyra’s staying inside, I’m guessing I’ll be harvesting in the vineyard.”

As my character stands up, Scootaloo says, “Well then, let’s go.”

Just then, Applebloom says, “Oh, Ah wanna help, Ah wanna help.”

Sweetie Belle squeaks, “If Scootaloo’s helpin’ Mormon, I wanna help Weed Whacker!”

Then from behind my character, I hear Lyra say, “The only reason I decided to stay inside with Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle was to keep them occupied indoors while Weed Whacker and Pinkie Pie harvested fruits and vegetables outside. If these three fillies are going to be helping in the vegetable garden and the vineyard, then there’s no reason for me to be indoors. And, since it’ll be easier to keep an eye on them while they’re all in the same place, I might as well go outside with the rest of you.”

I have my character turn to Fluttershy as I ask, “So, do you wanna come with us?”

The yellow pegasa hums in uncertainty for a moment, then turns to Applebloom and asks, “Would you rather help Weed Whacker, or Mormon?”

As my character focuses on the little yellow earth filly, she looks at my character for a second or two, then says, “Ah think Ah’ll help Mormon.”

Since my character’s focused on Applebloom, I only hear Lyra as she says, “Well, in that case, I’ll just watch over Applebloom and Scootaloo.” As my character shifts his focus to the pale-green unicorn, I hear her add, “Fluttershy, you can watch over Sweetie Belle.”

Fluttershy nods and smiles as she says, “Well, alright, if that’s what you think is best.”

With all decisions evidently made, I have my character open the kitchen door for the ponies, who file out through it. From there on, my character follows the ponies through the front room, closing the kitchen door behind them, then moves ahead to the front door. By the time he gets there, it seems that Lyra has already used her magic to open it. So, he waits for the ponies to exit through the door, then follows them out and closes the door behind them.

Then, he turns around to find Pinkie Pie ascending the stairs and saying, “Just hold the door open for me. I’m already finished harvesting fruits from the orchard.”

Acting in agreement, I have my character open the door again to allow the pink earth pony through, then close the door behind her. I’m not surprised that it took such a short time for Pinkie Pie to finish harvesting fruits from the orchard. After all, with Diane’s skills, it shouldn’t have taken long for her to get the apples and any other fruits she could from the trees she chose.

After my character closes the door behind Pinkie Pie, I have my character follow the group of other ponies to the vineyard, where Sweetie Belle separates and heads into the vegetable garden, hoping to help Weed Whacker. But, not before the trio of fillies shouts, “Cutie Mark Crusaders harvesters, yay!”

Lyra and I follow Scootaloo and Applebloom into the vineyard, while Fluttershy follows Sweetie Belle into the vegetable garden.

I have my character start searching the nearest kiwi vine for ripe fruits as I ask, “So, Lyra, how did things go with Sweetie Belle last night?”

I hear the unicorn sigh before she says, “Well, it took some time to calm her down and let her know I really wasn’t against spending time with her. After that, we spent time talking about what we’d read from the Book of Mormon, as well as what you’d said to them about their cutie marks and the Crusaders’ quest to find them. It took an hour, but eventually she managed to fall asleep; and it wasn’t long after that that I also fell asleep. All in all, not a bad experience.”

I state, as my character picks his first kiwi fruit from the vine, “I’m glad to hear that you had such a good experience.”

I hear Lyra respond, “Yeah. Maybe someday I’ll have a family of my own. Then, maybe I can put my experience with Sweetie Belle to good use.”

I don’t say this aloud, but I find it pleasing to hear Lyra talk about starting her own family. If what she’d told me about her experience with Sweetie Belle, and her response to it, is an accurate indication, she sounds like she could be a good mother.

From behind my character, I hear Scootaloo ask, “Do you think that these grapes are alright to pick?”

I hear Applebloom answer, “Ah don’t think so. Those’re too small. Look for a bunch with larger grapes.”

I lose track of the rest of the conversation as my character continues to harvest kiwi fruits until he has about a dozen of them. Then after that, he turns to show me, through his eyes, that Lyra’s been using her magic to hold a bunch or two of grapes that Applebloom and Scootaloo have harvested, and they’ve been waiting for my character to finish picking as many fruits as he’s decided on. After that, he, along with Lyra, Applebloom, and Scootaloo, leave the vineyard and head back to the house, followed closely behind, as it turns out, by Weed Whacker, Fluttershy, and Sweetie Belle.

Back inside, with Weed Whacker once again in the sink, and this time with Fluttershy along with Pinkie Pie and Lyra at the table, the group gets to work cleaning and preparing the vegetables and fruits to be eaten. After that, the Cutie Mark Crusaders help bring the plant parts into the front room to eat them.

Again I lose track of what’s said as the group eats the prepared fruits and vegetables. But, afterwards, and after the cleanup, the entire group heads out, across the front yard, and on into the forest.

After another uneventful half hour, Fluttershy decides to separate from the group and head to her cottage to take care of her critters.

And, after a short walk from there, who should be there at the borders of Ponyville to meet the group than Mr. Cake. He says, “I’m planning on opening Sugar Cube Corner again tomorrow.”

At the announcement Pinkie Pie rears up on her hind legs and kicks with her front ones as she shouts, “Yes! Yes!” Then, she drops down onto all fours again as she says, “I’m gonna make cakes, and cupcakes, and cookies, and pies, and …”

The orange earth stallion smiles and says, “Yes, yes, Pinkie Pie, that’s right.” Turning to my character, he adds, “But, since Cup’s gonna be taking care of the twins, I’m going to need some extra help in the kitchen. So, I was wondering, could you help out, Mormon?”

There’s one thing that Mr. Cake said that I can’t help thinking about. I ask, “So, Mrs. Cake’s home then?”

Mr. Cake answers, “She’s at Sugar Cube Corner, yes. She recovered so quickly from foaling that the doctors decided to release her from the clinic.” Then, once again he asks, “So, will you help us out in the kitchen?”

I answer, “I’d be honored to. I’m guessing we begin as soon as we get to the bakery?”

Mr. Cake turns away from the group of four and starts his march as he says, “That’s right. We won’t be opening today, but we will be getting ready by baking as much as we can. We’ll be opening tomorrow.” Then, after a moment, he adds, “And, there’s one more thing. We’ve got another appliance I want to try out, a taffy-pulling machine.”

Something about that reminds me of a certain episode, the one called “Show Stoppers,” in which the Cutie Mark Crusaders, in a vain attempt to get their marks, try using such a machine at the bakery, and end up getting stuck in it. In fact, this particular day is based on that episode.

And then, Lyra comes up with a concern that must be addressed first. She approaches my character and asks, “Mormon, shouldn’t we deliver the Cutie Mark Crusaders to their families at the market place first?”

It takes me a moment to remember that I’d promised to do so as soon as I got into town, after which I say, “Oh, that’s right.” Then, I have my character turn his attention from her to Mr. Cake, then point to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, as I say, “If you can wait for a few minutes, we have to take these three fillies to their parents in the market place, then we’ll come right back.”

I notice, from the bottom left corner of my character’s periphery, Pinkie Pie blink, then say, “Oh, that’s right. And then, Lyra’s gotta get a new—!” She manages to catch herself, covering her mouth with her front hooves, before she can reveal Lyra’s plans to get a new dress for the Grand Galloping Gala at Rarity’s boutique. When she puts the hooves down again, after a few seconds, she says, “Lyra, you and Mormon go on ahead with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Weed Whacker, Mr. Cake and I will meet you at Sugar Cube Corner, alright, Mormon?”

I smile as I say, “It shouldn’t take too much time. See you later.” And, with that, and with Lyra walking next to him and the Crusaders behind them, I have my character make his way to Ponyville’s market place.

On the way there, Applebloom asks, “Lyra, what was Pinkie Pie sayin’ you were a’gonna get that’s new?”

Lyra answers, “Uh, nothing for you to worry about.”

I hear whispering after that from the Crusaders, but I don’t pay attention to it as my character leads the group the rest of the way to the market place.

Once there, Applebloom runs to Applejack, Sweetie Belle runs to Rarity, and Scootaloo runs to her parents.

After they greet each other, and the adults thank my character for taking care of the Crusaders, Lyra approaches the purple-haired unicorn and asks, “Uh, Rarity, could you make a dress for me?”

Rarity answers, “Well, I’d be happy to, darling. What do you need it for?”

Lyra answers, “Well, I have this appointment coming up, and I need formal attire for it.”

Rarity seems to accept the cryptic response, as she says, “Oh, I see.” Then, nodding to her sister, she says, “But, if I’m going to help you, then I shall need somepony to take care of Sweetie Belle so she’s not in the way.” Then, it’s all I can do to keep from laughing when she dramatically puts a forelimb over her forehead and asks, “Oh, is there anypony who will help me out of this dilemma?” And, she turns to Applejack.

And, the orange earth pony doesn’t make it any easier for me to keep from laughing when she says, “Oh, alright. Ah do have a surprise fer Applebloom anyways.”

Then, Scootaloo turns to her parents and asks, “Oh, mommy and daddy, can I go with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle too, please?”

The two pegasi turn and smile at each other, then turn back to their daughter. It’s Sleeping Beauty who answers, “Sure, go right ahead.”

The little orange pegasa jumps and thrusts a front hoof up into the air as she shouts, “Yahoo!” Then, when she lands, she flaps her wings, propelling herself on her scooter to her two friends.

As the trio of fillies helps Applejack pack up her apple cart, then follow her to Sweet Apple Acres, they call out, “Cutie Mark Crusaders, yay!”

When those four ponies are far enough away, I have my character turn to the two unicorns, and I say, “I’ll walk with you over to the boutique, alright?”

Lyra smiles and answers, “Sure, no problem.”

And, with that, the two unicorns and one human head, without saying anything, to Carousel Boutique.

Once the group arrives, at the front door, Lyra turns to my character and says, “You go on back to Sugar Cube Corner and help Pinkie Pie, Weed Whacker, and Mr. Cake. I’ll stay here and maybe offer assistance getting my dress made.”

I nod and say, “Alright then.” And, while Lyra follows Rarity into the boutique, my character makes his way back to the bakery, which is, sure enough, open from the door in the alleyway.

As my character enters, I hear Pinkie Pie say, “Oh, hi, Mormon. Come on in.”

I have my character close the door once he’s inside, then turn his attention to Mr. Cake, who’s putting ingredients into a bowl. I ask him, “So, what do you want me to do?”

The orange earth stallion points to the counter next to the oven, where I can see, through my character’s eyes, maybe half a dozen blocks of differing colors, then to what looks to me like a Kitchenaid blender with two forks, one on top and one on the bottom, each with two teeth, as he says, “Yes. If you’ll put some of that taffy in the puller there, we can go ahead and see how it works.”

I have my character approach the colored blocks as I ask, “Is there a particular color you want me to start with?”

Mr. Cake pauses and hums for a moment, then says, “Start with the blue taffy.” Then, he grabs a spoon and starts stirring ingredients in a bowl in front of him.

I have my character grab a knife from nearby and cut a section from the blue block and take the section to the puller, and find that the section my character is carrying is starting to melt. After that, I have my character drape the taffy over the top blender fork, then start walking around the blender to see where the controls are. Seeing a switch with a list of integers in descending order from ten to one, I have my character turn to Mr. Cake again, and I ask, “And, what speed do you want it?”

Mr. Cake stops mixing and approaches my character. Seeing the numbers, he again hums for a moment, then says, “Start at speed two, I guess. If it’s too slow, then go to a higher speed. If it’s too fast, then switch to a lower speed.” And, with that, he returns to his bowl and spoon, and goes back to mixing.

Following the orange earth stallion’s instructions, I have my character move the switch to the number 2, and watch as the two blender parts start pulling the taffy, one of the two spindles of one mixer passing in between the two of the other to catch the taffy and pull it away. I’ve seen at least one other machine work the way this one is working, but up and down instead of from one side to the other.

Then, Mr. Cake calls out, “Now, I’m not really sure how it’s supposed to work!”

I respond, “That’s alright. I’ve seen machines like this, and I have a good idea about how they work.”

The orange earth stallion calls out, “Well, in that case, I’m putting you in charge of the taffy!”

I just grunt in affirmation, then continue to watch the taffy in the puller. I must admit, watching the taffy in the puller, it surprises me that it remains where it should be as it gets pulled. Yes, I know I programmed the taffy object to behave the way it is, but I still have to wonder, in reality, would taffy really behave that way? But, right now, that doesn’t matter very much. In a matter of minutes, the taffy has lightened in color; and the puller is having more and more difficulty pulling it. After maybe an hour, I decide it’s struggled enough; and I have my character turn the machine off.

As my character removes the pulled taffy from the machine and puts it on a counter top, Pinkie Pie, seeing it, says, “Ooh, pretty.” Then, noticing the color, she asks, “Uh, Mormon, why is it lighter than when you put it in?”

I shrug and answer, “That’s what happens to taffy when it gets pulled. It lightens in color, and it gets tough.” I then have my character take out a knife, then put it next to the line of taffy; then I ask Mr. Cake, “So, how long do you want the pieces of taffy to be?”

Mr. Cake answers, “Uh, make the pieces as long as they are wide.”

I respond, “Alright,” then have my character cut the taffy into pieces that are equal in length to their width. Not too surprisingly, leaving the instructions to the computer, my character manages to cut the line of taffy into equal-sized pieces. Then, he takes the platter from the closest shelf, puts the pieces on the platter, then carries the platter to Mr. Cake to get his approval.

The orange earth stallion takes one look at the colored sweets, and I notice his eyes widen as he turns to my character and says, “Wow, Mormon, you did a really good job. I think I’ll keep you in charge of pulling taffy from now on.”

I ask, “So, where should I put these for right now?”

Mr. Cake answers, “Uh, put them in the fridge for now. They’ll be treats for foals who want them.”

I nod in agreement, then have my character place the completed treats in the fridge, then remove the puller parts and get them cleaned off before putting them back in place and taking more of the taffy, this time red, to the puller to get it pulled.

While Pinkie Pie, Weed Whacker, and Mr. Cake are making rolls, cupcakes, muffins, loaves of bread, and other pastries, my character operates the taffy-pulling machine, doing as I instructed him to do the first time.

My character probably makes three more batches of pulled taffy before Lyra comes in, talking about how Rarity’s done a good job with her dress. Then, seeing my character at the taffy puller, she asks, “When did the Cakes get one of those things?”

Mr. Cake answers, “I ordered it when Cup and I were in the clinic. Mormon’s been operating it, and he’s been doing a good job making pulled taffy.”

Lyra asks, “Really? Could I try some?”

Mr. Cake answers, “You can have a sample of each color. Then, I need you to help me, Pinkie Pie and Weed Whacker make pastries.”

After a second, Lyra asks, “So, where are they?”

Mr. Cake and I answer together, “They’re in the fridge.”

After a second, I hear Lyra say, “Oh, there it is.” After that, I hear the door to the fridge open, and the pale-green unicorn, I assume, takes samples of the candies and eats them. At least, that’s what I understand when she mentions flavors and appraises them. It seems that the blue is blueberry flavored, the red is cherry flavored, the yellow is lemon, and the orange is, well, orange. I have to say, it surprises me that Lyra would be familiar with all those fruit flavors, especially the citrus ones.

Then, just as Lyra’s finished appraising the taffy samples, the three Cutie Mark Crusaders come in, and Sweetie Belle asks, “So, Mr. Cake, can we help out in here?”

At this point, I remember when Applebloom tried to help Pinkie Pie make cupcakes to try to earn her cutie mark in eating them.

Before I can say anything about it, I hear Mr. Cake answer, “Sure. You can help Mormon.”

I then hear a brief, small stampede up to my character, followed by Sweetie Belle asking, “Oh, Mormon, please, can we help you?”

As my character turns and shows me, through his eyes, the three eager, smiling faces, I can’t help remembering how things turned out in the episode “Show Stoppers,” when the three fillies got caught in the machine, and ended up glued together by the taffy they were covered in. I answer, “Alright, but you need to follow my instructions.” Noticing the condition of the taffy already in the puller, I state, “This batch is just about finished. I’ll remove it and put it on the counter, then you three can help clean off the spindles, then I’ll put them back on, then you can help me get the next batch ready to be pulled.”

Presently, the three fillies shout out, “Yay! Cutie Mark Crusaders, taffy pulling helpers, yay!”

Evidently, what I’d hoped to teach the trio last night went in one ear and out the other. But, I suppose that’s alright. Experience usually is the best teacher.

The trio do prove helpful in cleaning off the spindles, mainly licking off the remaining taffy, and enjoying it. Then, after my character gets the parts cleaned off, he puts them back in place on the puller, after which I tell Scootaloo, “Now, if you’ll bring the green taffy, that’s the only one I haven’t tried yet.”

The little orange pegasa salutes my character and says, “Yes, sir.” Then, she rides her scooter over and retrieves the green taffy, then brings it back to my character.

As my character is putting the taffy onto the mobile puller part, I say, “Now, it’s important that you keep parts of you away that can get caught in the puller parts. That means, keep your manes and tails away from the moving parts of the puller.” Then, once my character moves the switch on the puller to the number 2, I have him turn to the trio of fillies, and I say, “Now, I’m gonna be over here cutting up the last batch of pulled taffy. It shouldn’t take very long, but I want you to let me know if I need to speed up the puller, or slow it down.”

This time, all three of the fillies salute my character and say, “Yes, sir!”

Confident that I’ve given the three fillies adequate instructions, I have my character turn his attention to the taffy on the counter, where he starts cutting the line into equal portions, each as long as they are wide. I count some ten candies cut before I hear a scream from the direction of the puller, and three staggered fillies’ voices call out variations of “Mormon, help!”

As my character turns to the puller, I notice each of them hanging on for dear life to a spindle as the machine relentlessly operates to pull the taffy. Instantly, my character runs to the machine and switches it off, then allows the machine to slow rapidly to a stop. When the puller has stopped, he then assists the three dazed fillies out of the blades. Noticing the colored mess, I ask, “What happened?”

Applebloom is the first to snap out of her dazed state, after which, looking at my character with a look of sorrow on her face, answers, “We thought we could be more helpful by putting the rest of the colors of taffy in the puller. Next thing Ah know, Scootaloo was a’bein’ pulled in there with the taffy. Sweetie Belle and Ah tried to get her out, but we got pulled in, too.”

I state, “Well, you’re safe now.”

A clearly and reasonably shaken Mr. Cake walks up to the trio and says, “Yeah. Maybe you sh-should t-try something s-safer.”

The now disheartened trio makes their way to the back door, and it’s Sweetie Belle who says, “Sorry about the mess.” And, even if one of us did have something to say, the Cutie Mark Crusaders leave before anyone, pony, human or dragon, has a chance to say it.

I watch, through my character’s eyes, as the trio of fillies makes their way out the back door, after which I say, “I’m sure the three of ‘em will be fine. Whatever they decide to do, they just need to stick to it.”

I think it’s all four, including Weed Whacker, that call out my name in a reproving tone. But, it’s Lyra’s voice I hear the best.

I then realize what I said, and its implications, and I say, “Uh, sorry about that.”

As I have my character go to work cleaning out the taffy puller again, I hear Mr. Cake say, “Lyra, w-will you t-take over m-mixing? I n-need a m-moment.”

My character turns to show me, through his eyes, the orange earth stallion. I don’t see Mr. Cake’s face since his back is to my character. But, I don’t need to. I have to wonder if, since he has his own foals to take care of, the Cutie Mark Crusaders getting stuck in the taffy puller got him especially worried and scared for them. All I know is that I complete another batch of pulled taffy before he returns.

And, because those three fillies threw most of the taffy into the puller before they got stuck in it, the last batch my character makes is the last batch. Whether the Cakes make more taffy or the puller is retired after the incident with the Cutie Mark Crusaders is unclear; all I know is once my character’s finished, his next assignment is to help Pinkie Pie and Lyra with a birthday cake project. And, it seems I’m there at just the right time.

Pinkie Pie has just completed the baking of the cake, which it seems is meant to be at least two layers, and just needs Lyra to make the whipped cream and my character to prepare fruit to go in between each layer. Evidently, it’s going to be some kind of fruit cake.

When Pinkie Pie puts the first layer of cake, upside down, as the base and cuts the crust away to form a perfect circle, Lyra layers it with whipped cream. After that, my character puts strawberry slices on top of the layer of whipped cream, after which Pinkie Pie puts the next layer of cake, again with the crust cut away to form another circle, on top. Lyra layers the cake on top with whipped cream, after which my character places whole blueberries on the cream, followed by Pinkie Pie putting the last cake layer on the top. Lyra layers the top cake with whipped cream, after which the earth mare, the unicorn, and the human take slices of peaches and place them on top of the cake. Then, when it’s done, my character goes to open the door to the fridge, only to find that it’s occupied by taffy and won’t admit the cake.

At this point, Mr. Cake laughs and says, “That’s alright. We have a basement with a freezer. You can take the cake and put it in the freezer down there, and it should be fine for tomorrow.”

Mr. Cake’s mention of a basement seems to cause Pinkie Pie to melt in fear.

Whether Mr. Cake understands this or not seems irrelevant to me. I have my character walk to the pink earth pony and stroke the side of her neck with the back of his hand as I say, “That’s alright. You don’t have to go down there. Lyra and I will take care of it.”

Pinkie Pie inhales deeply, then exhales slowly, then looks at my character, at me, and says, “Thank you, Mormon.”

Taking that as her cue, Lyra uses her magic to lift the cake off the counter. Or, that’s what I assume, since it starts glowing with a pale-green aura and floats in the air.

As my character and Lyra follow Mr. Cake to the door to the basement, I comment, “It’s unusual, I imagine, to get an order for Norwegian-style fruit cake.”

I hear Mr. Cake answer, “Yeah, I was surprised to get the instructions for it. But, that’s what one of the patients at the clinic wanted for when he finally got out. He expects to be out of the clinic by tomorrow, which is when he said he needed the cake to be ready.” Then, after opening the door to the basement, he turns to me and asks, “How did you know it was a Mare-wegian-style cake?”

I answer, “Experience is a good teacher.” Wait, did he just say "Mare-wegian-style?"

As Mr. Cake leads Lyra and my character into the basement, he asks, “You’ve made such a cake before?”

I answer, “Not on my own, but I have helped make one.”

It’s pretty impressive, I think, that Lyra is able, with her magic, to keep the cake from falling over or falling apart. She even manages to put the cake smoothly into the freezer, after my character removes some of the freezer levels to accommodate the pastry, and brings it to rest on the level my character left in there.

After Mr. Cake closes the door to the freezer, he sighs with relief as he turns to Lyra and my character and says, “Thank you. Now, that cake’ll be ready for that stallion when he comes in.”

As the trio, lead by Lyra now, makes their way out of the basement, I ask, “Is there anything else that needs to be done?”

Mr. Cake, the last one out of the basement, which just happens to connect to the kitchen, says, “Actually, it should be getting late enough that this last batch should be all for today. Thank you two for helping me out. it’s much appreciated.”

Lyra and I simultaneously respond, “I’m glad I could help.”

Just then, I hear the back door open; and my character turns to show me, through his eyes, Pinkie Pie entering with a poster in her mouth.

She drops it on the floor, then says, “I went outside for some fresh air, and some of the foals from school came and gave me this poster.”

Lyra gallops a step or two toward the poster and looks at it, then turns to my character and says, “According to this, the school foals are putting on a talent show on the school grounds. There’s no list here on who all is involved, but I’ve been to some of these events, and they are a lot of fun.”

I have a sneaking suspicion that I know what one of the acts is going to be, perhaps all of them. Still, I see no reason why Lyra, Pinkie Pie, Weed Whacker and I shouldn’t attend, if for no other reason than moral support. And, considering I’ve always imagined the Crusaders’ performance a mockery of Bohemian Rhapsody, I figure I’ll find it all the more entertaining to see the event in full three-dimensional, computer-generated glory. I ask, “So, how many of you want to attend?”

Somehow, I’m not surprised when Lyra, Pinkie Pie, and Weed Whacker call out in unison variations of “I want to go!”

I state, “Well, I guess it’s unanimous then. We’re all going to the school foals’ talent show.”

At my announcement, Mr. Cake says, “Well, in that case, you’re all dismissed. I’ll clean up here, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

It’s Lyra, I think, who picks the poster up off the floor, with her magic. Then, Pinkie Pie leads the way out of the bakery and on to the Ponyville school playground, where a very amateur-looking theater has evidently been built outside. And, there are already ponies gathering around it.

Lyra moves to the front now, carrying Weed Whacker on her back, so they can have a better look at what happens on the stage.

Pinkie Pie, in the mean time, is satisfied to have my character hold her in his arms so she can see what’s going on over the other ponies.

And, there are other familiar pony faces. My stallion friends are there, as well as Applejack, her siblings and grandmother, Snips and Snails and their parents, Rarity and her parents and little sister, and several other ponies that I recognize by coloring and cutie mark.

The first to come out on the stage, who I recognize as the teacher pony, Cheerilee, says, “Welcome to the talent show put on by the Ponyville school foals. We hope you enjoy yourselves.”

Ponies applaud in front and to the side of my character by stomping their front hooves on the ground.

My character is unable to applaud due to his arms being full of pink earth pony, and Pinkie Pie is in no position to offer the applause the other ponies are offering.

The first act is Snips and Snails, with probably the only magic act they know: apparently making vegetables disappear and rabbits appear in their place, then making rabbits disappear again and making the vegetables appear in Snails’ mouth. Of course, it could just be carrots that work that way. But, that being their only act, I can’t argue that they’re really good at it.

The second act is a couple of fillies, Sunny Days and Peachie Pie, reciting poetry while rollerskating.

After the duo are announced, and as they roll out on stage, Pinkie Pie looks up at my character and says, “Before you ask, Mormon, as far as I know, no, Peachie and I are not related.”

I had wondered about that, and I’m not at all surprised that Pinkie read my mind on the subject.

When I heard Cheerilee announce the act, it sounded like their poetry was going to be about roller skates or rollerskating. Still, their coordination, using the stage as a roller rink while reciting their poem, makes it seem almost like a song and dance routine. All in all, they demonstrate as much talent with their act as Snips and Snails did with their magic act.

The last act is the Cutie Mark Crusaders with their song and dance routine in front of a scene depicting Ponyville. If, in the episode, this had been a tribute to the Bohemian Rhapsody instead of a mockery of it, or if it had been a mockery of something I hold sacred, I wouldn’t have watched the episode again. But, as it stands, I consider “Show Stoppers” one of my favorite episodes because this scene is a mockery of the Bohemian Rhapsody. And, I’ve done my best to reproduce it in this game.

As the music starts, the lights dim, and the curtains open; the trio of fillies first shows up in shadows. Then, the face of the first one to sing, Scootaloo, appears, followed by the faces of the other two. In this scene, Scootaloo has quite the opposite of the best singing voice; but, if she did sing the song well, that, combined with their strangely clownish makeup, would’ve made it a tribute to Bohemian Rhapsody. In my book her treatment earns the Crusaders their first point.

Their depiction of Ponyville first shows up when the lights come up and all the trio sings their first three notes together of the words “really loud,” which they sing, well, really loud.

Each one is dressed in a different costume, evidently depicting heavy metal performers.

Applebloom is dressed in a black suit with stars, and a black bandanna with what appear to be white human skulls, minus the lower jaws, on it.

Scootaloo is dressed in a purple suit, zebra-striped with pink and eggshell blue. She also has purple makeup over her eyes, reminding me of some kind of strange cyclops mask.

Finally, there’s Sweetie Belle, who’s dressed in a pink outfit, again zebra-striped with white-outlined green. Like Scootaloo she also has makeup over her eyes. But, hers reminds me more of a started paint job with a single stroke than anything else.

While the ponies in the audience look at each other in bewilderment, I find myself unable to keep from saluting them silently and giving them a thumbs-up.

After a guitar riff, Scootaloo starts singing again while Applebloom jumps up on her hind legs and starts dancing.

The little yellow earth filly’s dance routine, which consists of martial arts punches and kicks, actually isn’t all too bad, although it does nothing to make up for Scootaloo’s singing.

Then, as Scootaloo sings about not fearing anything, badly-constructed bats, spiders, and a ghost drop down behind her, and, to their credit, hold together alright when their strings keep them from falling all the way to the stage floor.

The most musical part of the event comes when the trio join harmoniously in singing “’till our cutie marks are here.” From there, the inexperience of the trio begins to shine through.

While Applebloom does another kick-and-punch routine, Scootaloo tries and fails to find her first step off the three-tier platform she's been on top of up until the first time she sings the chorus.

In the mean time, Sweetie Belle has disappeared for a few seconds, evidently to start a fog machine. She reappears on the opposite side of Applebloom as fog hides the stage, and the trio finish the chorus.

In fact, all that can be seen of the trio are their silhouettes, as they hop around. And, they demonstrate their lack of coordination in the fog when Applebloom and Sweetie Belle try to bounce together over Scootaloo, and end up bouncing into each other.

As Scootaloo starts singing the third and final verse, the fog clears away, and again Sweetie Belle has disappeared. But, so has Applebloom.

Sweetie Belle reappears with a depiction of a clock in her mouth, which she carries across the stage, tripping over her hooves and rolling in front of Scootaloo, who in the mean time sings about time.

Then, a spotlight focuses on Sweetie Belle who, between a depiction of a house and one of a tree, starts another kick-and-punch routine, and gets a rear hoof stuck in the tree depiction. In a vain attempt to free herself from the prop, she hops backward. But, at least she has a faithful follower now.

Scootaloo continues to sing as she trots across the stage, but stops short of where Sweetie Belle has a stage light pointed.

The white unicorn filly covers the light with a blue translucent material as Scootaloo sings about her blue face, and sticks her face in the light.

All the light manages to do, though, is turn the little orange pegasa’s face yellow.

I have to wonder if Sweetie Belle intended a wind effect when she ran out on stage and to the opposite side from Applebloom, who is still dragging the tree prop towards Scootaloo’s three-tier platform. But, the little yellow earth pony finally manages to free herself from the prop by using the platform as leverage.

To Scootaloo’s credit, she manages to continue singing in spite of becoming airborne and landing on top of Applebloom in front of her platform.

In the mean time, Sweetie Belle jumps up on the platform to stop the tree prop from falling over, putting her in just the right place to catch the house prop as it also collapses.

In the mean time, Scootaloo and Applebloom have recovered; and, while Applebloom does one more kick-and-punch routine, Scootaloo slides in front of her platform on her knees, much like a rock artist would do.

The song ends just as Sweetie Belle’s strength fails her, and props collapse around and on top of the trio.

But, it’s not just the stage that gives props to the three performers.

As the trio emerges from the pile of rubble, the audience is silent for a few seconds, then, all at once, starts laughing and applauding.

The trio, evidently distraught by the mirth, make their way off the stage.

Personally, I don’t think they should feel too bad about what they did. After all, they did put on a crowd-pleasing performance. They really brought down the house, or at least the prop that looked like a house.

Somehow, the curtain manages to hide the wide-spread mess as Cheerilee, following the performers onto the stage, comes out and announces the awards for the best performers.

One thing I have to wonder about. Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Twist didn’t put on any performance. So, what are they doing on the stage? Did they control the lighting and curtains or something for the first two acts? Did they set up each scene?

The Cutie Mark Crusaders first hide behind Snips and Snails, until the brothers are given the award for the best magic act. They then hide behind the rollerskaters, until those two are given medals for the best dramatic performance. Then, as the trio stand together on the stage, looking like they're awaiting a prison or death sentence, Cheerilee announces them as the recipients of the last award of the night. As the trio exchange confused looks, Cheerilee continues the announcement that they’ve won for best comedy act.

After accepting their awards to the sounds of cheering and applause from the audience, the trio bows to them before happily trotting off the stage.

As the other fillies and Cheerilee follow the Crusaders off the stage, I have my character look down at Pinkie Pie, who’s looking up at him; and I ask, “Do you think we should go back stage and talk to Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle about their performance?”

As my character kneels on one knee to set Pinkie Pie back on the ground, the pink earth pony answers, “I can’t see why not. Like you were thinking, they brought down the house.” Once she’s on her hooves on the ground again, she says, “Let’s get going.”

After the pink party pony’s reference to my thoughts, I’m starting to wonder if it’s how well I programmed the game, or if it’s something else, that’s given her such a connection to me.

My character follows Pinkie Pie to the side of the stage, where I hear Twilight say, “Congratulations, ponies! Job well done!”

As my character reaches for the door knob, I hear the trio simultaneously, but depressedly, say, “Thanks, Twilight.”

I decide to stop my character at that point, and listen for a moment as I hear the purple unicorn say, “Hey, you don’t sound too excited.”

I then hear Scootaloo sigh and say, “We worked really hard and we won a prize, but we still don’t have our cutie marks.”

Next, I hear Sweetie Belle add, “Which is the prize we really wanted.”

At this point, I decide to allow my character to open the door. As he enters, with Pinkie Pie following close behind him, I ask, “Is there a problem?”

Pinkie Pie adds, “Yeah, you know you made everypony laugh, don’t you? You did a really good job out there.”

Twilight, focused on my character and Pinkie Pie, answers, “These three fillies were trying to earn their cutie marks with this talent show, and things didn’t work out the way they wanted.”

I have my character focus on Twilight as I say, “I mentioned to them last night that it’s possible that their cutie marks may not necessarily be attached to a talent of theirs. Aren’t cutie marks indentifiers for ponies?”

Twilight answers, “That’s true.”

As my character’s attention shifts to include the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I continue, “It’s true that some ponies are thus identified by a particular talent. For instance, Pinkie Pie is identified as the party pony by her cutie mark of balloons.”

Pinkie Pie eagerly nods and grunts in agreement.

I ask, “But, aren’t there other ponies that are identified not by a talent, but a quality of some sort that they have?”

Applebloom takes a step or two toward my character and asks, “Uh, Mormon, just what are you gittin’ at?”

As my character focuses on the yellow earth filly, I answer, “Like I said, it is possible that your cutie marks aren’t necessarily connected to a talent of yours. It could very well be something else. Maybe it’s a prized possession, like what Diamond Tiara’s represents. Or, it could represent a condition, like Silver Spoon’s cutie mark. For all you know, the cutie mark of at least one of you could represent an emotional state you’re most familiar with.” I watch, through my character’s eyes, Applebloom return to Sweetie Belle’s side, opposite that of Scootaloo, as I continue, “Maybe your cutie marks really are connected to a talent of yours. By all means, keep working on it. But, if you aren’t destined to be identified by a talent, especially one the three of you might share, then don’t be surprised, don’t get depressed over it.”

Now, Sweetie Belle speaks up and asks, “Now, didn’t those three stallions get their cutie marks all on the same day?”

I answer, “Well, on the same night, yes. One of them, when he summarized from memory part of a story from the Book of Mormon, got his cutie mark, representing knowledge. Another one got his cutie mark when he demonstrated understanding about what the first stallion talked about, and his cutie mark represented that, understanding. The last one got his cutie mark representing wisdom when he talked about the usefulness of the Book of Mormon.”

I see, through my character’s eyes, Scootaloo smiling as she says, “Well, your talk to us last night did inspire us. And, we’d like to thank you for that.”

I respond, “Well, I’m glad I could help.”

Then, Sweetie Belle says, “But, I wonder if we were trying too hard.”

I hear Twilight say, “Well, if there’s something you’ve learned from this experience, I’d like to make a special report to the princess about it.”

I state, “I might just make a special report of my own.”

Now, Scootaloo steps forward and says, “Well, instead of doing something that’s not meant for us, …”

Encouragingly, Twilight says, “Yes?”

Applebloom continues, “We each should be embracin’ our true talent.”

Again Twilight encourages the trio to continue when she asks, “And, that is?”

In unison, the trio smile and answer back, “Comedy!”

If this video game were representing an anime, Twilight’s confusion would be represented by her falling forward on her face. But, it’s funny enough to see her confusion represented just in her stance and facial expression.

From approximately behind my character I hear Applejack call out her little sister’s name.

As my character turns toward the orange earth pony, I see that it’s not just her, but Granny Smith and Big MacIntosh as well. And, that’s not all.

Rarity’s there with her parents, as well as Wind Walker, Sleeping Beauty, and Rainbow Dash.

Applejack concludes by saying, “You did it!”

The trio of fillies turns toward their families and friends and, in unison again, says, “Did you see our awards? Weren’t we funny?”

I have my character turn to Twilight, who shakes herself out of her confused stupor and says, “One day.” Then, she giggles and repeats, “One day.”

I state, “They are still learning. Whether their cutie marks are connected to a talent, an emotional state, a prized possession, or even a geographical location, it’ll be interesting to see what happens when they finally find the mark that identifies each of them.”

Again Twilight Sparkle giggles, then turns to my character and says, “You’re right, Mormon.”

I then add, “And, come to think of it, considering how late it’s getting, I don’t know if it’s such a good idea to have even a herd of ponies marching through the Everfree forest in the dark. I wonder if there’s some place in town where we can have the reading tonight.”

Twilight hums for a moment in thought, then says, “Well, there’s not enough room at the library to accommodate all the ponies that come to your readings.”

I then hear Pinkie Pie ask, “Hey, what about Town Hall?” As the attention of my character and Twilight turn to the pink earth pony, she continues, “There’s plenty of room in there.”

Now, Twilight grunts before saying, “I don’t know. We’re gonna have to ask permission from the mayor before we use Town Hall that way, I think.”

Just then, I hear Rainbow Dash say, “No problem. She comes to the readings too, right?” As all focus on the blue pegasa, she continues, “If she isn’t heading through the Everfree forest right now, we can go ahead and ask her.”

As my character turns his attention to Twilight, the idea seems to have dawned on her. She says, “Rainbow Dash, since you suggested it, you go to the Everfree forest. If you see Mayor Mare heading toward the forest, stop her before she gets there. If she’s already in the forest, heading towards Mormon’s house, stop her. If she’s in trouble, get her out of it. But whatever you need to do before, afterwards I want you to tell her Mormon’s plan, and ask her for permission to use Town Hall for tonight’s reading.”

Rainbow Dash gives a soldier salute to Twilight and says, “Will do.” Then, she opens her wings and flies off the stage between the wall and the curtain, heading for the Everfree forest.

In the mean time, Twilight turns to my character and says, “Spike and I need to get our copies of the Book of Mormon from the library.”

I hear Applejack say, “We need to get our copies from the barn in Sweet Apple Acres.”

As my character turns his attention to the group of ponies, Rarity says, “Sweetie Belle and I need to get our copies from Carousel Boutique.”

Her parents say, “We need to get our copies from our home. And, I’m guessing the same goes for Wind Walker and Sleeping Beauty and their home.”

Wind Walker states, “That’s correct.”

I hear Twilight say, “We’ll meet at the Town Hall in half an hour. Hopefully it’ll be open by then.”

Then, a thought occurs to me; and I ask, “Twilight, shouldn’t one of us write to the Princesses and tell them about the new plans?”

The purple unicorn closes her eyes and plants a front hoof between them. After a moment of shaking her head, she says, “I brought one piece of parchment with me, and that was to write my report to Princess Celestia.”

From the doorway I’d forgotten up until that point I’d left open, I hear Lyra’s voice say, “That’s alright. Weed Whacker can write the letter and send it to the princesses.”

My character turns to the pale-green unicorn, and I can see through his eyes that the herbivorous dinosaur riding on her back is already writing the letter. As my character moves aside to allow her to enter, Weed Whacker seems to have already finished writing the letter, which she rolls up and bites down on.

As the parchment disappears, I hear Twilight say, “Well, that much is settled, then. Let’s get our copies, and we’ll meet at the Town Hall in half an hour.” And, with that, Twilight moves past Lyra, out the doorway, and on to the library. Clearly, by this point, she no longer has her front hoof between her eyes, and her eyes are open.

But, as the purple unicorn moves past the pale-green one, it’s Lyra’s turn to close her eyes, and plant a front hoof between them. I watch her shake her head as she says, “Weed Whacker and I left our copies at your house, Mormon.”

I state, “That’s alright. When we get to Town Hall, Princesses Celestia and Luna should be there by then. You can ask them to teleport you to my home, and you can get your copies from there, and they can teleport you back again.”

Lyra puts the hoof back on the ground, opens her eyes, and sighs with relief before saying, “You’re right, Mormon. Let’s get going.”

The distance between the school grounds and Ponyville’s Town Hall proves to be really short, at least compared to the distance between Ponyville and my character’s house. And, as expected, by the time the group of four gets there, the two sister princesses are also there.

Princess Celestia, seeing the group coming, says to my character, “We were waiting at your home when we got your letter. We were, it seems, the first ones there.”

I respond, “We attended a talent show on the grounds of the grade school. Snips and Snails won the price for best magic show, and Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle won the prize for the best comedy act.”

Princess Celestia states, “Well, in that case, they are to be congratulated.”

Lyra steps forward and asks, “Uh, Princess Celestia, could you transport me and Weed Whacker to Mormon’s house? Our copies of the Book of Mormon are there.”

The daytime princess smiles and nods and says, “That will be no problem. And, while you’re there, perhaps you can pick up some extra copies, in case more show up?”

Lyra turns to my character and asks, “Mormon, would that be alright?”

I answer, “I suppose so.” Then, I have my character turn to Princess Celestia as I ask, “How many extra copies do you think we’ll need?”

Princess Celestia hums for a moment in thought, then answers, “Perhaps ten for right now. This is, after all, just in case more decide to join the reading group.” And, before I can answer, the daytime princess, along with Lyra and Weed Whacker, disappears. And, a minute or two later, they reappear, Lyra and Weed Whacker holding their copies, and Princess Celestia with ten copies each supported in the air by a white aura.

And, at the same time the daytime princess reappears, Twilight arrives with Spike on her back, carrying two copies of the Book of Mormon.

Not long after that, Rarity, her parents, and Sweetie Belle arrive, each with their own copies.

A few seconds later, Rainbow Dash arrives with Mayor Mare, and says, “I was lucky to catch the mayor before she got into the Everfree. I told her about your plan, …”

The mayor pony interrupts and continues, “And, I accept. You’re right, Mormon. It’s not a good idea for ponies, when it’s this dark, to be runnin’ through the Everfree forest, alone or in groups. But, I do have one question. What about you, Pinkie Pie, Lyra, and Weed Whacker?”

I answer, “I admit I’ve never traveled through the Everfree forest at night or in this much darkness, but it seems to me that the creatures there have enough respect for me that they shouldn’t bother me, even at night time. Just as long as my friends and I keep to the trail, there should be no problems.”

Lyra brings up another point when she says, “That reminds me. What about Zecora?”

Princess Luna steps forward and says, “I shall go get her.” And, with that, she disappears.

And, not long after that, Fluttershy arrives and says, seeing my character, “Mormon, I flew over to your house, and I didn’t see anypony there. But, seeing everypony here, I guess that means the reading’s going to be here tonight?”

The mayor pony turns to the yellow pegasa and answers, “That’s right. And, I’m about to open the Town Hall.” And, with that, she turns and approaches the door, then pushes it open. Then, as she, followed by the other ponies, two dragons, and one human, enters the building, she says, “I’ll just need help lighting the lamps so that we can see in here.”

Twilight, as she enters, answers, “That shouldn’t be a problem. I can light them easily enough with my magic.” And, with that, glass-protected candles throughout the room start glowing with a purple aura, and seem to light up on their own. Soon, the room is lit up with the yellow light of the flames.

Just then, an eager Pinkie Pie asks, “Oh, oh, can I greet guests, huh, huh, can I can I can I?”

I smile as I answer the pink earth pony, “That’s a good idea.” Then, I add to the rest of the group, “And, it may be a good idea if someone goes outside, maybe to the trail to the Everfree forest, and lets everyone else know that tonight’s reading is going to be here at Town Hall.”

Within a second Rainbow Dash flies in front of my character, soldier-salutes him, and says, “I’ll get right on it,” then flies out the door, following Pinkie Pie.

The mayor, by this time at the stage, says, “You know, another thing occurs to me. Don’t you usually have snacks at your readings, Mormon?”

As my character focuses on Mayor Mare, I answer, “They’re not absolutely necessary, but it is true I normally have them. However, I’m not altogether sure that we have enough time to go all the way to my house just to harvest fruits and vegetables for snacks.”

Just then, I hear Applejack’s voice say, “Did somepony say snacks?” As my character’s attention is drawn to the orange earth mare, she adds, “We just happened to bring a bunch of apples for snacks. We figured Mormon wouldn’t be able to make it back to his home and come back with anythin', so we figured we’d bring some apples for everypony to snack on.”

And, sure enough, I can see, through my character’s eyes, that on Big MacIntosh’s back is a small tub of apples stacked perhaps two or three times its height above the top. Again, only video game physics can explain how the stack of apples manages to stay in the tub, and how they all manage to stay in there in spite of the stack apparently being too high to fit through the door.

My character runs to assist the red earth stallion as he proceeds to carefully place the tub of apples on the ground. And, wouldn’t you know it, it’s when the tub is safely on the floor of the Town Hall that the apples at least one level above the top of the tub decide to break formation, and fall and roll away from the tub.

Some even make it out the door.

From that point, it’s a mad dash as ponies, dragons, and human run and gather as many of the red fruits as have tried to make their escape. In a matter of seconds, all ponies present thus far have at least one apple in his or her mouth.

My character has grabbed two, no three apples, and Spike and Weed Whacker each have two.

Even the princesses have managed to collect the apples that rolled out the door, and are each holding two or three in their magic.

After that, it’s a group effort to prepare the apples, by cutting them into eighths, for the guests as snacks.

And, sure enough, there have evidently been ponies that have thought that the reading was going to be at my character’s house this evening.

And, also sure enough, there are two extra guests for the reading: the two winners for best dramatic performance at the talent show, Sunny Days and Peachie Pie.

It’s Princess Celestia who hands copies of the Book of Mormon to each of those two. The pair of rollerskating fillies then take their place alongside Twist, who sits between Sunny Days and Cheerilee.

As more guests arrive, Applejack is there next to the tub of apple snacks, inviting the guests to have some.

Eventually, Pinkie Pie comes in, evidently worn out, saying that there are no more guests that are coming.

Mayor Mare approaches the doors and closes them, then returns to her position between Princess Luna and Zecora.

Before I can even ask for a volunteer, Emerald Hill rises and offers a brief summary of what the group has read up to and including last night.

After that, I have my character turn to the two rollerskating fillies; and I ask, “Would one of you two like to begin the reading?” I add, “It starts with the first verse of chapter twenty-eight of the Second Book of Nephi.”

The two fillies, as well as everyone else in the circle, quickly turn the pages until they get to the right one. Then, Peachie Pie says, “I’ll read first.” After that, she looks down and reads, “And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you, according as the Spirit hath constrained me; wherefore, I know that they must surely come to pass.”

Next, Sunny Days reads, “And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of great worth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed, which is a remnant of the house of Israel.”

Twist reads, “For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other: Behold, I, I am the Lord’s; and the others shall say: I, I am the Lord’s; and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches, and not unto the Lord—”

Cheerilee reads, “And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.” She then turns to my character and asks, “I’m curious, do humans really work that way? Do they really teach the things of God as though God didn’t say them?”

I answer, “For some people it works that way. In a time long ago, there were a lot of churches that said they believed in God. They said they taught His doctrines, but they very rarely had His guidance. Every now and then they might throw in something that had truth in it, but most of the time what they said was uninspired and not true. Sadly, even where I come from there are members that are only members in name. They don’t ask for God’s assistance, so they don’t get it.” I then have my character divide his attention among the rest of the members of the circle as I conclude, “It’s important to ask God for His help in teaching His doctrines so we don’t end up going off track.” Finally, I have my character focus on the gray filly as I say, “Silver Spoon, you can go ahead and read verse five.”

Silver Spoon nods, then reads, “And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;”

Filthy Rich reads, “Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.”

Diamond Tiara reads, “Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.”

Sleeping Beauty reads, “And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.”

At this point, I speak up and say, “I’ve heard about a practice in the Catholic church, one that, according to what I’ve heard, isn’t done anymore. A practice called the indulgence, which, based on my understanding, is purchasing forgiveness of sins. From what I understand, some took advantage of this idea, and purchased their forgiveness before committing whatever sins they intended to commit. I have to wonder if this indulgence thing isn’t a way of putting into practice the idea that Nephi predicts to be preached here. Considering what I understand of it, it makes sense to me. It’s not something I want to see any of you practicing, because it is not a good thing. Just something I was thinking of that might fall into the category of what Nephi was predicting here.”

I have my character nod to Wind Walker, and he nods back and reads, “Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.” Then, he looks at my character and says, “Somehow, I don’t see this working out for them.”

I nod and say, “Considering Nephi’s predicting it, clearly it hasn’t.”

After a wave of laughter around the circle, Cold Hands reads, “And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them.”

Snips reads, “Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.”

Snails reads, “Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.”

Warm Heart reads, “They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.”

Bon-Bon reads, “They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.”

Lyra reads, “O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!”

Weed Whacker reads, “Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish.”

I read, “But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of Hosts.”

Zecora reads, “But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof.”

Mayor Mare reads, “For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish;”

Princess Luna reads, “For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.”

Princess Celestia reads, “And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.”

At this point, I speak up again and say, “This is something I’ve observed happen around me, and … I may have fallen into this kid of trap as well. One thing we need to remember is just because we’re doing well right now doesn’t mean we can’t to better, we can't continue to do better.”

Twilight Sparkle reads, “And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.”

Again I speak up and say, “Another concept I’m familiar with, that I’ve heard taught frequently, is disbelief in ghosts and spirits. It makes sense to me that this falls into the category of the ‘there is no devil’ idea. After all, if there are no ghosts, no spirits, then how can there be angels or devils? But, there’s another idea I’m familiar with, one that’s taught in philosophy; and I’ve heard it in fictional works as well. The concept is known as ‘Cogito ergo sum,’ or ‘I think, therefore I am.’ The idea is that if someone can think enough to lie and say he or she doesn’t exit, then that someone has proven his or her existence. I find this idea particularly applicable here. If the devil can think enough to lie and say he doesn’t exist, hasn’t he proven that he does? And, based on the law of opposition, if the devil and his servants exist, shouldn’t that also mean that God and his servants also exist?”

After a momentary pause, Spike reads, “Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.”

Rarity reads, “Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!”

Applejack reads, “Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!”

Pinkie Pie reads, “Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!”

Rainbow Dash reads, “Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!”

Fluttershy reads, “And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall.”

Octavia reads, “Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!”

Vinyl Scratch reads, “For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.”

Once more I speak up and say, “Among the testimonies of four individuals in the second or new testament of Jesus Christ, there is an account of him telling a story, known as the parable of the sower and the seed. In part of this story, as the sower is throwing seeds around, some of them fall in the road, where birds come and take them away. I have to wonder if the mentality that Nephi describes here, which Vinyl just read about, isn’t at least some variation of that.”

Sweet Tones reads, “Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Lotta Pipes reads, “Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.”

Drum Roll looks up and says, “I guess I start chapter twenty-nine, then,” then looks down and reads, “But behold, there shall be many—at that day when I shall proceed to do a marvelous work among them, that I may remember my covenants which I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the second time to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel;”

Rarity’s mother reads, “And also, that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee, Nephi, and also unto thy father, that I would remember your seed; and that the words of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth unto your seed; and my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel;”

Rarity’s father reads, “And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.”

Emerald Hill reads, “But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?”

Berry Ground reads, “O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.”

Stunts reads, “Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?”

Sweetie Belle reads, “Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?”

Scootaloo reads, “Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.”

Applebloom reads, “And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.”

At this point, again I speak up and say, “I like the way Nephi, speaking for God, put this: ‘Because I have spoke one word, he need not suppose I cannot speak another.’ And, where I come from, God has more prophets as his spokesmen. He only stopped speaking to his children because they didn’t want to hear from him. But, where I come from, He’s making preparations for the Second Coming; and it’s not a work that people can stop.” I then have my character turn to Applejack’s older brother, and I say, “Big MacIntosh, you can go ahead and read the next verse.”

Big MacIntosh nods, then looks down and reads, “Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.”

Granny Smith reads, “For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.”

Colgate reads, “For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it.”

Carrot Top reads, “And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.”

At this point, I again speak up and say, “I have to wonder, when Nephi talks about the Nephites having the words of the Jews and those of the lost tribes of Israel, if he isn’t referring to all the descendants of his father that are still alive. In my time, the descendants of the Lamanites, which are more commonly known as Native Americans or American Indians, have received the Book of Mormon, as well as the Bible. And, I’m also sure that there are Jews that have the Book of Mormon. So, if what I’m thinking is the case, Nephi’s prophecy here has been fulfilled thus far. But, there is still more to do.”

Berry Punch reads, “And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever.”

Presently, Hoity Toity’s servant looks up and says, “I suppose this means I start chapter thirty.” Without waiting for a response, he looks down again and reads, “And now behold, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you; for I, Nephi, would not suffer that ye should suppose that ye are more righteous than the Gentiles shall be. For behold, except ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall all likewise perish; and because of the words which have been spoken ye need not suppose that the Gentiles are utterly destroyed.”

Hoity Toity reads, “For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel.”

Namby Pamby reads, “And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed.”

Peachie Pie reads, “And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.”

Sunny Days reads, “And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers.”

Twist reads, “And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a delightsome people.”

Cheerilee reads, “And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also shall begin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people.”

Silver Spoon reads, “And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth.”

Filthy Rich reads, “And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”

At this point, Diamond Tiara speaks up and asks, “Doesn’t it sound like Nephi’s saying that God has bad breath?”

Presently, Filthy Rich growls, “Diamond!”

I focus my character’s attention on Filthy Rich before saying, “Now, it’s alright. Your daughter’s question deserves an answer.” I then have my character focus his attention on Diamond Tiara before I say, “I think what Nephi’s trying to say here is that God has command of all the components of the earth and all that live on it; and all he has to do is command those components, and they’ll follow his orders. God can, and will, command the earth to destroy those that disobey his commandments, and it’ll happen the way he commands it.”

I have my character nod to Diamond Tiara to go ahead, and she nods back and reads, “For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire.”

Sleeping Beauty reads, “And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.”

Wind Walker reads, “And then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, together; and a little child shall lead them.”

Cold Hands reads, “And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.”

Snips reads, “And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den.”

At this point, I hear Fluttershy say, “Just so everypony that wasn’t at the reading just after the cockatrice incident understands, Mormon explained it this way.” My character’s attention turns to the yellow pegasa as she continues, “He thinks there may be a snake called a cockatrice that Isaiah was referring to, and Nephi was quoting him, that is, Isaiah. In other words, he probably wasn’t referring to the chicken-dragon creature that lives here in Equestria and turns creatures to stone by staring at them.”

As she turns to the orange unicorn colt and nods for him to continue reading, I find I have two reasons to be pleased. First, it was one of the ponies that offered an explanation this time. And second, it was Fluttershy.

Snails reads, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

Warm Heart reads, “Wherefore, the things of all nations shall be made known; yea, all things shall be made known unto the children of men.”

Bon-Bon reads, “There is nothing which is secret save it shall be revealed; there is no work of darkness save it shall be made manifest in the light; and there is nothing which is sealed upon the earth save it shall be loosed.”

Lyra reads, “Wherefore, all things which have been revealed unto the children of men shall at that day be revealed; and Satan shall have power over the hearts of the children of men no more, for a long time. And now, my beloved brethren, I make an end of my sayings.”

I have my character look up and direct his attention to all the members of the circle as I state, “Now, before Weed Whacker gets started on chapter thirty-one, let me just say that I’m pleased to hear you offering input during the reading, and I hope to hear more of you offering input.”

Weed Whacker and I exchange looks, and I nod for her to go ahead and read. She then looks down and reads, “And now I, Nephi, make an end of my prophesying unto you, my beloved brethren. And I cannot write but a few things, which I know must surely come to pass; neither can I write but a few of the words of my brother Jacob.”

I read, “Wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me, save it be a few words which I must speak concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore, I shall speak unto you plainly, according to the plainness of my prophesying.”

Zecora reads, “For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.”

Mayor Mare reads, “Wherefore, I would that ye should remember that I have spoken unto you concerning that prophet which the Lord showed unto me, that should baptize the Lamb of God, which should take away the sins of the world.”

Princess Luna reads, “And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!”

Princess Celestia reads, “And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?”

Twilight Sparkle reads, “Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.”

Spike reads, “Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove.”

Rarity reads, “And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.”

Applejack reads, “And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?”

Pinkie Pie reads, “And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.”

Rainbow Dash reads, “And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.”

Fluttershy reads, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.”

Octavia reads, “But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me.”

Vinyl Scratch reads, “And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.”

Sweet Tones reads, “And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.”

Lotta Pipes reads, “Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.”

Drum Roll reads, “And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.”

Rarity's mother reads, “And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.”

Rarity’s father reads, “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”

Emerald Hill reads, “And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.”

Berry Ground looks up and says, “I guess that means I get to start chapter thirty-two.” He then clears his throat before looking down and reading, “And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in your hearts?”

Stunts reads, “Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?”

Sweetie Belle reads, “Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.”

Scootaloo reads, “Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.”

Applebloom reads, “For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.”

Big MacIntosh reads, “Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.”

Granny Smith reads, “And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.”

Colgate reads, “And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.”

Carrot Top reads, “But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.”

At this point, Berry Punch looks up and says, “I guess this means I get to start chapter thirty-three,” then looks down again and reads, “And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.”

Hoity Toity's servant reads, “But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught.”

Hoity Toity reads, “But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.”

Namby Pamby reads, “And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life eternal.”

Peachie Pie reads, “And it speaketh harshly against sin, according to the plainness of the truth; wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I have written save he shall be of the spirit of the devil.”

Sunny Days reads, “I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.”

Twist reads, “I have charity for my people, and great faith in Christ that I shall meet many souls spotless at his judgment-seat.”

Cheerilee reads, “I have charity for the Jew—I say Jew, because I mean them from whence I came.”

Silver Spoon reads, “I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of probation.”

Filthy Rich reads, “And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.”

Diamond Tiara reads, “And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.”

Sleeping Beauty reads, “And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day.”

Wind Walker reads, “And now, my beloved brethren, all those who are of the house of Israel, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak unto you as the voice of one crying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come.”

Cold Hands reads, “And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect the words of the Jews, and also my words, and the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an everlasting farewell, for these words shall condemn you at the last day.”

Snips reads, “For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen.”

At this point, I have my character stand up; and I say, “And, that’s the end of the Second Book of Nephi. Next is the book of Jacob, which is only seven chapters long. I expect we’ll be reading the first four chapters in tomorrow’s reading, and the rest the following reading. But, right now, I have a question for you.”

At this point, the ponies around the circle have risen from a sphinx-style sitting position to a canine-style, and are looking at me with heads tilted in curiosity.

I ask, “Would you rather continue to have the readings here in town, or back at my house?”

At this point, beyond that they’re discussing my question, I can’t make out any details about what the ponies around the circle are saying.

Finally, Princess Celestia rises up on all fours and says, “It seems to me that it’s better to have the readings here in town than for half the town to travel through the Everfree forest to your house, Mormon. Therefore, I propose that the readings take place here in Town Hall from now on.”

At the daytime alicorn’s suggestion, I hear around the circle variations of “I agree.”

And, with that agreement, I state, “Well, in that case, from now on we’ll have the readings here in Town Hall. And, for what it’s worth, I agree with Princess Celestia. It is better to have readings here in town, where it’s safer and more convenient for the readers. In fact, it seems to me that we’re fortunate that there haven’t been any incidents up to this point. I’m happy to stay here in town for the readings, and then head back to my home afterwards.

“Now, considering how late it is, I suggest we return to our homes now, and we’ll meet here again for the next reading. Thank you, everyone, and good night.”

With the reading thus concluded, the rest of the ponies rise up on all fours and start gathering their books and prepare to leave.

Princess Celestia approaches my character and says, “Considering how late it is, I would be honored to transport you, Pinkie Pie, Lyra, and Weed Whacker back to your home.”

I open my mouth to talk about waiting for everyone to gather together, but then I hear Pinkie Pie next to my character ask, “But, what about Zecora?”

As my character’s attention is drawn to the pink earth pony, I hear Princess Celestia answer, “My sister, Princess Luna, will transport her home.”

At this point, I have my character look around to show me, through his eyes, that Lyra and Weed Whacker are on the side of him opposite Pinkie Pie. Seeing that all are present and ready to leave, I have my character turn to Princess Celestia again; and I say, “Well, it looks like we’re ready to go then.”

The daytime princess nods and closes her eyes, and her horn starts to glow and sparkle.

In one frame, the group of five have gone from inside Ponyville’s town hall to outside my character’s house, where I’m immediately aware of the darkness of night around my character. When things appear to have gotten brighter, indicating that my character’s eyes have adjusted to the darkness, I say to Princess Celestia, “Thanks. While I’m sure we could’ve gotten back here on our own, it would’ve taken a lot longer. And, you no doubt have insured our safe trip here.”

The daytime princess opens her eyes, smiles, and says, “It was a pleasure helping you. Now, I must return to Ponyville so I can transport Hoity Toity and his servant back to Canterlot.” And, before I can say anything to her, she disappears.

By the light of Lyra’s glowing horn, the group of four gathers fruits and vegetables from the orchard, vineyard, and vegetable garden, then brings them inside and prepare them for dinner.

During dinner, I invite Pinkie Pie to invite the Cakes to the readings, which will now be taking place in town; and she eagerly accepts. She even volunteers to bring the family of earth ponies up-to-date on what we’ve been reading. Further discussion at dinner generally involves the last five chapters of the Second Book of Nephi, as well as the fact that it’ll be after the readings from now on that the group will be heading home.

Then, while the group is cleaning up after dinner, Pinkie Pie brings up an interesting point. She says, “You know, I don’t know anything about when Gummy’s birthday is.”

That’s something I’m sure none of us knows about. I didn’t program it into the game, and there’s really no information in the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic series on when Pinkie’s pet alligator was hatched. I ask, “I wonder, do you think alligators celebrate the anniversary of the day when they were hatched?”

Pinkie Pie looks in my character’s direction at the end of her tail, where Gummy’s attached himself by his jaws, and I hear her answer, “I honestly don’t know.” Then, as she turns back to my character, I can see through his eyes the worried look in hers as she continues, “But, I think he deserves to have everypony celebrate it with him, whether his kind celebrates it or not.”

I ask, “So, when do you think that should be?”

The pink earth pony hums for a moment in thought, then says, “You know, since he is my pet and one of my bestest friends, and since I don’t know when his birthday is, I think his birthday should be celebrated as close to mine as possible, but not on my birthday. Like, the day before my birthday.”

I nod and say, “That sounds good to me, just so long as you remember when your birthday is.”

Pinkie Pie giggles and says, “Oh, I’ll be sure to remember when my own birthday is. You don’t need to worry about that.”

I was actually thinking about her remembering that she’d be putting Gummy’s birthday before her own; but her plan still works, like I said, as long as she remembers. But, somehow, I get the feeling that when the time comes she’s going to forget her plans. And, that’s going to lead to trouble.

At any rate, after the cleanup, each member of the quartet heads to his or her room, and I have my character write his letter to the princesses.

As my character writes, I dictate about the new appliance in the Cakes’ bakery, and how the Cutie Mark Crusaders got caught in it. I also mention that I safely returned the three fillies to their families before heading to Sugar Cube Corner and finding out about the taffy puller. Considering Mr. Cake’s reaction to the trio getting caught in the puller, I have to wonder what it’ll mean for the future of the machine.

I also dictate about the talent show the four of us attended, and the performance put on by Snips and Snails, Peachie Pie and Sunny Days, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I decide not to mention that the performance of the trio was my favorite because of it being a mockery of the Bohemian Rhapsody. And, you know, come to think of it, looking back at the makeup that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were wearing, they reminded me more of KISS than Queen. Whether that adds to the mockery or not is up for interpretation.

At any rate, I have my character sign and address the letter, then deliver it to Weed Whacker to send it to the princesses. After that, I have him return to his room, and go to bed.

Beyond what I’ve written and said, I really have nothing to add here. Tomorrow is going to be another episode-based day, and I look forward to it. I also find myself looking forward to leaving the main readings in the control of the ponies of Ponyville, so they, as Nephi might put it, can "speak of Christ, rejoice in Christ, preach of Christ, and prophesy of Christ" on their own. As much as I enjoy the readings amongst them, it seems to me that the group has gotten too large for me to do anymore with them. It’s getting close to time for them to continue the readings on their own. And, it’s with this thought that I save and end the game, until the next time I decide to play.

Author's Notes:

The next chapter will be based on the episode "A Dog and Pony Show," and of course Mormon, in his own way, will be influencing things. This and more in Chapter 20, Diamond Doggone It!

The reading will cover the Book of Jacob, the first four chapters.