As I resume the game, I find my character being awakened once again by Pinkie Pie nuzzling his face. But, this time, she’s quietly screaming, “We’re back in Ponyville, we’re back in Ponyville!”

I have my character sit up and look out the closest window, to find that indeed the train has arrived at the station in Ponyville. And, not only that, it seems as though the sun has just barely risen.

I have my character turn to the pink earth pony, and I ask, “So, how’s everyone else?”

Pinkie Pie answers, “Oh, they’re fine. And, Applejack’s waiting outside to get her tree-bed back.”

Hearing that from the pink earth pony, I have my character get out of his bedding, then start rolling it up, as I say, “Well, I guess that means I’d better get busy with this, then.”

Then, I hear Applejack from the door ask, “Is it alright if Ah come in, then?”

My character automatically turns to the orange earth mare, and I answer, “Sure, no problem. I shouldn’t be in here for too much longer.” I then have him turn to Pinkie Pie again, and I say, “So, how much longer before Princess Celestia’s visit?”

Pinkie Pie looks out the window I’d looked out of, then turns back to my character, and answers, “Oh, I’d say about an hour. Not long enough for us to go back to your house to get ready, but at least we can help the Cakes get ready.”

By the time Pinkie Pie’s finished answering my question, my character’s finished rolling up his bedding, and even tying it so it doesn’t unroll again.

In the mean time, Applejack has started disassembling the bed she’d brought for Bloomberg.

Before I can even think to say anything, Pinkie Pie says, “Well, since you’ve finished packing, you can stay and help Applejack take the tree-bed apart, or you can just come outside.”

Applejack turns to my character and says, “Aw, this shouldn’t take too long. You can jes' go on ahead.”

As my character stands up, I say, “Well, if you say so,” then I have my character walk toward the side door of the caboose, with Pinkie Pie right next to him.

Outside, I see the other four element bearers, as well as Lyra and Weed Whacker, waiting for Pinkie Pie, my character, and Applejack just outside the train.

While Lyra and Twilight approach my character, Twilight says, “I’d better go see how Applejack’s doing with unpacking her bed.”

Lyra stops in front of my character while Twilight goes on ahead, and Lyra, rubbing the back of her head with a front hoof, says, “I guess we won’t have time to go back to your house to put your bedding away.”

I respond, “That’s alright. Pinkie Pie said as much. I just wonder if I’ll have time to store my bedding so it’ll be out of the way while Princess Celestia’s visiting.”

It’s Pinkie Pie who says, “Yeah, we should have at least enough time for that before she arrives.”

Then, I see, through my character’s eyes, Fluttershy approach behind Pinkie. She stops a few inches behind the pink earth pony and says, “I just remembered, I have to take care of my creatures back at the cottage. Do you think Twilight’ll mind if I leave and take care of them now?”

As my character focuses on the yellow pegasa, I answer, “I don’t think so. You go on ahead and take care of your critters. Just be sure to be at Sugar Cube Corner within the hour.”

Fluttershy nods and smiles as she says, “I’ll try to be.” Then, she flies off in the direction of her cottage.

As my character watches the yellow pegasa fly off, I hear Pinkie Pie say, “You know, we should be heading there, too.” Immediately, my character’s attention snaps to the pink earth pony as she concludes, “You need to find a place to store your bedding until we can head back to your house, and I should better see if I can help the Cakes with the preparations.”

I open my mouth to agree with the pink earth pony, when I’m suddenly aware of parts of the bed Applejack had in the caboose floating around, suspended in the air by a purple aura. I have my character turn to the caboose to see the mattress floating out the door, followed by a few more parts of the bed; then the purple unicorn, followed by Applejack, canter out of the caboose.

The orange earth pony says, “Thank you kindly for yer help, Twilight.”

The purple unicorn asks, “Couldn’t Mormon have helped you?”

Applejack answers, “It didn’t take me that long to take the bed apart.”

Twilight says, “Well, he could’ve at least helped you carry the pieces out.”

Applejack chuckles nervously before rubbing the back of her neck with a front hoof and saying, “Ya know, Ah hadn’t thought ‘bout that.”

Twilight then looks around the platform and asks, “Uh, where’s Fluttershy?”

I open my mouth to answer, but Lyra approaches Twilight first and says, “I could take the mattress.” And, as my character’s attention is drawn to the smooth-edged object, I notice the purple aura around it starts to turn greenish.

In the mean time, Applejack says, “Y’all’re too kind. Ah got a wagon a'waitin’ for me so Ah can put the bed in there, and take it back to Sweet Apple Acres.”

At the same time, Twilight turns to Lyra and says, “Thanks. That will be helpful.” And, the aura around the mattress turns completely pale-green.

When other conversations have ended among the three ponies, I say, “Fluttershy’s headed back to her cottage to take care of her animals.”

Twilight turns and focuses on my character while I speak, then says, “Well, alright then. Just as long as she’s back in time for the Princess’s visit.”

Then, Pinkie Pie says, “Oh, and Mormon and I need to head to Sugar Cube Corner so we can find a place to store his bedding away until we can go back to his house.”

The purple-aura-suspended objects drop an inch each as the aura around them fades slightly, and I hear Twilight say, “Oh, that’s right, you don’t have time to go back to your home right now, do you Mormon?” The objects then return to their previous elevations above the ground, and the purple aura around them to its previous brightness, as Twilight says, “Well, you go on ahead then, and we’ll catch up to you. Just make sure your bedding isn’t in the way.”

I state, “That shouldn’t be a problem, just so long as there is such a place.”

With the aura-suspended components of Applejack’s tree-bed in the way, I can only guess the orange earth mare is leading the way, while Pinkie Pie moves ahead of my character from the train station. Then, I assume as soon as she sees the wagon, Applejack draws Twilight’s attention to it; and she and Lyra move to put the disassembled bed in it.

In the mean time, Pinkie Pie leads my character to Sugar Cube Corner, where they enter from the kitchen doorway.

It’s only when Pinkie and my character are inside that I hear Lyra’s voice say, “Wait for me and Weed Whacker,” that I realize the pale-green unicorn had caught up to my character and been following him.

I’m not sure if I should allow my character, still carrying his bedding, to turn around in the kitchen. I just allow him to move forward enough so he isn’t in the way of Lyra and Weed Whacker entering the kitchen.

Just then, I see, through my character’s eyes, Mrs. Cake in the doorway between the kitchen and the front room. She says, “Oh, you’re here already.” Then, seeing my character carrying his bedding, she asks, “Uh, is there something I can help you with?”

I answer, “I just need a place to store my bedding until after the Princess’s visit. I’ll be taking it home with me afterward.”

Mrs. Cake says, “Well, in that case, you can take it into Pinkie Pie’s old bedroom. It’s still available.”

My character follows the blue earth mare as she turns and canters away from the doorway. Then, seeing the pastries and other treats on tables around the main room, I decide to have my character carefully move his bedding from his back to in front of him.

In the mean time, Mrs. Cake says, “As you can see, we’ve already got things just about ready for the princess’s arrival.”

As my character looks around at the occupied tables, I say, “I’m sure Princess Celestia’ll be pleased.”

By this time, Mrs. Cake has reached the steps, and turned, and is stationed to the side to allow my character to head up the stairs. She smiles as she says, “Oh, I hope so.” Then, seeing my character holding the bedding in front of him, I see her looking quizzically at him as she asks, “Uh, why are you holding your bedding in front of you?”

I answer, “I have better control of it this way. I didn’t want to knock over or damage anything.”

Mrs. Cake then smiles and says, “Oh,” before chuckling and adding, “How thoughtful.”

My character makes his way up the stairs, then opens the first door, the one to Pinkie Pie’s old room, and places the bedding against the wall just inside the bedroom, then closes the door. He then turns to the blue earth mare, and I say, “There. It should be secure until I can come back for it.”

Again Mrs. Cake chuckles before saying, “Oh, but of course it’ll be.”

Then I hear Twilight’s voice from the kitchen say, “Now, Spike, you’re gonna need to be here to help in case the Cakes need any cooking to be done more quickly.”

I state, “I guess that means Twilight’s arrived.” And, I have my character head down the stairs again.

Then, from behind my character, I hear Mr. Cake say, “Cup, Hun, the foals are fed, changed, and sleeping now.”

Mrs. Cake looks up and says, “Thank you, dear.” Her face then morphs into a look of worry as she asks, “You did remember to burp them, didn’t you?”

I can hear Mr. Cake smile as he says, “Yes, of course I did, sweetie.”

Mrs. Cake says, “Oh, good. I’d think the last thing the princess needs during her visit is to hear the foals start bawling.”

Just then, as my character has made it to the bottom of the stairs, I see Twilight peer from the doorway into the main room, look around, then take a step or two into the room, and say, “Well, it looks like you’re ready for Princess Celestia’s arrival.”

From the upper level, I hear Mr. Cake answer, “Yes, we are.”

The purple unicorn continues, “I have Spike in the kitchen waiting to help with any extra cooking you might need.”

Mrs. Cake says, “Well, thank you, Twilight. I’m sure he'll be helpful.”

A thought occurs to me, and I ask, “I wonder, is there anything Weed Whacker can help with?”

Mrs. Cake marches forward and looks around, then turns to my character and says, “I don’t think so. She can come in and visit with the Princess as soon as she arrives.”

Then, from in the kitchen, I hear Weed Whacker say, “I think I’ll just wait in here and help Spike.”

At that, I think aloud, “Well, I guess that settles that.”

Just then, I happen to see, from the left side of my character’s periphery, the front door to the bakery open, and Rarity enter, wearing a dress of at least two shades of pink, with yellow trim and rounded jewels distributed evenly around it. She looks at my character and says, “Why, Mormon, couldn’t you have taken a bath at least before coming in?”

I answer, “I didn’t have time to go home. A bath is one of the things I’ll have to take into consideration after the princess’s visit.”

The white unicorn inhales deeply, then releases the breath in what I’m guessing is a mixture of sigh and groan, before saying, “Well, at least one of us is presentable.”

I then see, from the bottom edge of my character’s periphery, Twilight close her eyes and plant a front hoof between them, shake her head, then say, “That’s right, I should’ve taken a bath.”

As Rarity trots in and takes a position in about the middle of the room, Applejack enters behind the white unicorn and says, “Ah really don’t think you have time for that right now.” Then, a fanfare sounds, and the orange earth mare concludes, “She’s here already.”

Instantly Twilight’s eyes open, and I can see her irises are so small they’re barely visible. She puts the hoof down and asks, “Mormon, where’s Pinkie Pie?”

I answer, “She’s in the kitchen with Lyra, Weed Whacker, and Spike.”

Nervously, she looks around and says, identifying her two friends, “Alright, Rarity’s right here, and Applejack’s just coming in." Then, more frantically, she asks, "Wait, where’s Rainbow Dash, where’s Rainbow Dash?”

Perhaps two or three frames later, the blue, rainbow-haired pegasa is hovering in front of the purple unicorn. She answers, “I’m right here. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. It’s so awesome!”

Twilight Sparkle emits a relieved sigh before saying, “Good.” Then, she looks around again, then starts jogging in place as though she’s in a hurry, and says, “Where’s Fluttershy, where’s Fluttershy?”

I answer, “I’m guessing she’s still at her cottage taking care of her critters.”

Now, Twilight starts sweating as she says, “She should be here!”

I state, “I’m sure she will be. After all, she has her rabbit, Angel, to remind her.”

Twilight moans worriedly before saying, “I hope you’re right.”

Just then, I hear Princess Celestia’s voice at the front door ask, “Right about what?”

Immediately Twilight turns to her teacher and, trying to sound calm and positive, says, “Oh, nothing.” Then, after a nervous chuckle, she adds, “So, uh, welcome to Sugar Cube Corner.”

The daytime princess smiles as she says, “I’m happy to be here.” She then focuses on my character and adds, “And, Mormon, it’s nice to see you again.”

I answer, “It’s an honor to meet you, too.”

Just then, I hear Rainbow Dash say, “Hmm, I wonder if I can get those guards to crack a smile.”

But, before I can do anything to stop the blue pegasa, I hear Mr. Cake say, “Uh, Mormon, we could use your help in the kitchen.”

My character focuses on the orange earth stallion while he speaks, then follows him into the kitchen where it seems that Lyra, Weed Whacker and Spike have developed a system for preparing extra pastries. And, it turns out that my character is needed to help bring in a gold-plated bird cage. It seems that unicorn guards have already gotten it in through the door, and just need my help getting it through the kitchen to the main room.

My character looks inside and shows me, through his eyes, Philomena, curled around the base of the perch in the middle of her cage, reminding me of how dragons are typically depicted sleeping in a circle, except the end of her beak isn’t quite touching her tail feathers. And, to me anyway, she looks like a hatchling parrot, except that Philomena's beak is longer.

My character guides the cage through the kitchen, then through the main room right next to where Princess Celestia is sitting between a table and a display of various candies.

The daytime alicorn, seeing her pet brought in and placed next to her, turns to my character and says, “Thank you for your assistance, Mormon.”

I answer, “I’m glad I could help.”

Then, I hear Rainbow Dash, from the front door, groan loudly and say, “I couldn’t even get them to move.”

I can’t help laughing to myself about that.

Then, I hear Fluttershy’s voice, also from the door, say, “I made it.”

To myself, I say, “Just as I figured.” Then, I have my character circle around the table and approach Twilight, who’s nervously watching her mentor; and I say, “Twilight, Fluttershy needs to be let in.”

Presently, Twilight says, “Oh, that’s right, the guards.” She then gallops to the front door, and a second later I hear her say, “It’s alright, sirs. She’s on the list.”

Just then, I hear Princess Celestia’s voice again, this time saying, “So, Mormon, you’re back from your trip to Appleoosa?”

I have my character turn to the daytime alicorn, and I answer, “That’s right.”

Princess Celestia continues, “Lyra had written that you’d been abducted by the buffalo?”

I state, “They were actually after the tree Applejack was bringing as a present to her cousin Braeburn. Since there wasn’t room for me anywhere else in the train, I shared the caboose with the tree, and Spike joined me there as well. It seems that while the bison were in the process of stealing the tree, Pinkie Pie joined me, and was taken as well.”

Princess Celestia says, “Well, since you had Spike with you, considering the buffalo respect dragons, you should’ve been fine as long as you and Spike were together.”

I respond, “We were. And, we were even able to get Rainbow Dash after she’d run into a railroad crossing sign when she unsuccessfully tried to stop a bison calf, Little Strongheart.”

Before I can continue, I hear Rainbow Dash say, “Mormon, you didn’t have to tell the princess about that.”

As my character’s attention is drawn to the blue pegasa, I can see her, through his eyes, glaring at him.

I then hear Princess Celestia say, “Now, my little pony, it’s alright. I can see that you came back fine, and that’s what matters most to me.”

I then watch Rainbow Dash’s face seem to stretch into surprise, then melt into sorrow, as she looks down and says, “You’re right, Princess. I’m sorry, Mormon.”

I open my mouth to say something comforting to the blue pegasa, when I hear Princess Celestia say, “So, Mormon, you were saying?”

My character turns to the daytime alicorn, and I take a moment to switch mental tracks before I continue, “Well, anyway, the four of us spent the night in the camp of the bison, where we learned that they were up in arms over the settlers planting their orchard in their sacred stampeding grounds. Turns out, if the bison had explained their situation to the settlers, they most likely would’ve planted their orchard somewhere else, or the two sides would’ve come to an agreement on how the settlers could plant their orchard so that they wouldn’t be interfering with the migration path of the bison.”

Princess Celestia smiles and says, “Yes, I read your letter on how you settled things between the buffalo and the settlers. I’m glad you could help with that.”

I reply, “As am I.”

Just then, I hear Mrs. Cake ask, “Is there anything else I can get for you, dearie?” Then, as my character focuses on her, evidently she realizes how she’d addressed the princess, as she hoots in alarm before adding, “I-I mean, esteemed guest?” And, she chuckles nervously.

Smiling, the daytime princess answers, “Everything is fine, Mr. and Mrs. Cake.”

And, indeed, Mr. Cake has joined his wife at the table.

In the mean time, I can’t help hearing Rarity warn away ponies that approach her and worry about how various snacks will affect her dress.

Then, there’s Applejack, who can’t seem to identify what should be eaten first.

Then Pinkie Pie bounces into the room, excitedly identifies various pastries on the tables, and slaps herself on the side of the face with an apple pie. Then she approaches the chocolate fountain and says, “Oh, chocolate fountain goodness.” She then plunges her face into the fountain, then pulls it out again. Whether she actually gets any of the stuff into her mouth or not is anyone’s guess. All I can say for sure is the chocolate that covers her face hardens, then crumbles away.

I decide to take action when the pink party pony approaches the princess and, seeing the apple surprise cupcake floating in front of her, asks, “Are you gonna eat that?”

Presently, I have my character put a hand between Pinkie’s face and the pastry; and I say, “I’m sure she wouldn’t be holding it if she didn’t intend to eat it.”

Pinkie Pie hears me out, then sits canine-style and, looking down, says, “Oh, I guess you’re right.” Then, with an uneasy smile, she looks up at Princess Celestia and says, “Sorry, Princess,” then turns and jumps off the table and gallops back into the kitchen.

Immediately, Mr. Cake approaches Princess Celestia and says, “A thousand pardons for the interruption, Your Majesty.” And, he places a saucer with a cup full of tea in front of her.

As the orange earth stallion backs away from her, head lowered, the daytime princess replies, “That’s quite alright. Thank you.” She then takes a bite of the cupcake, then uses her magic to suspend the cup in front of her, and takes a sip from the cup. When she places it back in the saucer, the cup is empty.

This does not go unnoticed by Mrs. Cake, as she calls out, “Empty teacup at four o’clock!”

Presently, Mr. Cake says, “I see it, Honey Bunch,” and is there in perhaps two frames to fill it again.

The princess, evidently not expecting such rapid service, says, “Oh, um, thank you.”

It seems that even alicorn princesses can be surprised and at a loss for words at times.

In the mean time, Mr. Cake nods and backs away, saying, “Not at all, Your Highness.”

And, once again the daytime alicorn empties the cup in one sip.

Now, it’s Mrs. Cake’s turn to fill Princess Celestia’s teacup.

And, the daytime princess says, “Thank you again.”

Twice more Princess Celestia empties her cup in one sip, and Mr. Cake, then Mrs. Cake, take their turns filling it again. Then she decides to test the evidently-set pattern, and this time keeping the teacup separate from her lips, makes a sipping sound.

And, sure enough, Mr. Cake takes his turn filling the cup.

But, since the cup is already full, the excess tea spills out onto the saucer and table.

I can’t help but chuckle over this development. I say, “I probably would’ve done the same thing myself, just to see what they’d do.”

As the two earth ponies back away from the table, Princess Celestia grins and says, “Yes, I just had to see it for myself.” She then turns to the yellow pegasa, and my character’s attention is also drawn to her, as she sits next to a shrinking Twilight Sparkle, and the daytime princess asks, “And, what about you, dear? Fluttershy is it?”

Fluttershy answers, “Me? Oh, yes, Your Highness.”

The princess continues, “I understand from Twilight Sparkle’s letters that you enjoy tending to the needs of woodland creatures.”

Fluttershy replies, “Yes, I love to take care of animals.”

You know, that gets me to wondering. How many different types of creatures out there see humans as animals? Humans tend to see non-humans as animals, lower lifeforms. Is that kind of species-ism common among other species of creatures?

But, those are questions for another time. Right now, Princess Celestia is saying, “As do I. As Princess, I care deeply about all creatures, great and small.”

Just then, I hear a cough and wheeze from the birdcage, evidently coming from Philomena, and accompanied by a small, visual explosion of feathers.

The only ones that don’t seem to be worried about this interruption are Princess Celestia and me. But, that’s because the two of us know that Philomena is a phoenix, and preparing to start a new cycle. The only thing about that is I seriously doubt Princess Celestia knows that I know.

In the mean time, as Philomena continues to cough, spit, and eject feathers, Princess Celestia says, “Nothing means more to me than the welfare of all my subjects.”

While the evident contrast between Philomena’s behavior and the daytime alicorn’s words is evidently a major concern to the other ponies around the table, I find that it’s about all I can do to keep from laughing. Philomena’s really playing this up.

Then, the large, pink, hatchling parrot flies up and lands on the perch.

In the mean time, Princess Celestia, noticing her pet, addresses her by name and position and says, “You’re awake. Do say ‘hello’ to our gracious hosts.”

Amidst the further expulsion of feathers, Philomena emits a series of strained coughs and groans.

A clearly worried Fluttershy says, “Oh, my.”

Like a proud parent, Princess Celestia says, “She is quite a sight, isn’t she?”

At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Fluttershy’s thinking the Princess is too close to the problem to see it clearly. Politely, she answers, “I … I … I’ve never seen anything like her.”

Just then, a guard pony, most likely one of the two posted outside, approaches Princess Celestia, clears his throat, and whispers something into her ear.

When he’s finished, the Princess, seemingly startled, asks, “Really?” When the guard stallion nods in affirmation, she says, “Well, if I must.” Then, she turns to her audience and says, “I’m sorry, everypony. I’m afraid I have to cut the party short.”

Presently, Twilight Sparkle, who was drinking from her own teacup at the time, starts to spit out the contents of her mouth in surprise. But, she covers her mouth before she can spit out all of her tea.

Princess Celestia continues, “The mayor has requested an audience with me. Royal duty calls. Thank you for a wonderful time. It’s been a joy getting to know you all better.” And, with that, she gracefully jumps over the table, then makes her way to the front door past her subjects, who stand on each side, watching her leave.

I guess it’s theoretically possible that Princess Celestia forgot to take Philomena with her. But, I wonder if it isn’t more likely that she intended that one of the element bearers, perhaps Fluttershy, take care of her pet phoenix while she was tending to her royal duties. After all, she did speak to Fluttershy before she was called away to business with the mayor. And, I wouldn’t be surprised of she’s planning on staying in Ponyville for a while anyway.

At any rate, a relieved Applejack sighs and says, “Now Ah can eat somethin’. Ah’m starved.”

But, before she can start, Mr. Cake comes and clears the table, wrapping its contents in the cloth covering it, then dragging the tablecloth away.

Seeing the table suddenly empty, Applejack groans in disappointment.

In the mean time, Pinkie Pie gleefully cartwheels out the door, bowling over the ponies ahead of her.

Then, Rarity, warning ponies around her to keep away, marches backwards out the front door. Since I saw it in the animated series, I always thought the funniest thing Rarity said in this episode was, “Nopony move, and my dress won’t get hurt.” And, you know, I think it’s even funnier in this video game setting.

In the mean time, Applejack follows, more or less, balancing a sizable stack of deserts on her nose and forehead.

I may be the only one that notices Fluttershy jumping out the window with Philomena on her back. In the mean time, I turn to Twilight and say, “Well, since that’s the end of the party, I guess I better get my bedding from upstairs and take it to my house.” And, before the purple unicorn can react, my character starts doing as I said.

In the mean time, I hear Twilight sigh and say, “Well, Spike, I don’t know for sure how things went with the princess, but at least no big disasters happened.”

After the parasprite incident some two weeks previous, I can understand what Twilight means. But, I have to wonder how long it’ll take before she realizes that Philomena has disappeared.

At any rate, my character grabs his bedding from upstairs in Pinkie Pie’s old bedroom, then heads out the front door, where the guards are no longer posted.

From my character’s right, I hear Pinkie Pie say, “Oh, Mormy, there you are. So, are you ready to go home now?”

My character focuses on the pink earth pony as she talks, then afterwards I say, “I’m ready, and looking forward to it.” I then look around Pinkie Pie and ask, “But, where are Lyra and Weed Whacker?”

Pinkie Pie looks around, then says, “They must still be in the kitchen.” She then focuses on my character again and says, “Just wait here. I’ll go get ‘em.” And, with that, she gallops toward the back door of the bakery. And, a few seconds later, she comes out with the pale-green unicorn and the herbivorous dinosaur.

Looking at my character, Lyra says, “I guess that means you’re ready to go back to your house then?”

Pinkie Pie, not waiting for my answer, says, “Well, let’s get going!” And, she takes the lead as the human and the unicorn, with the dinosaur riding on her back, follow her toward and into the Everfree forest.

You know, I can’t help noticing, along the way, a trail of feathers also leading to and into the forest.

But, it’s not long after we’ve gotten past the opening of the forest that we happen to catch up with Fluttershy, who’s just about to cross the bridge to her cottage.

Pinkie Pie calls out, “Oh, hi, Fluttershy!”

The yellow pegasa emits a startled “Eep.” She then turns to the source of the voice and, noticing both her friend and the others following her, says, “Oh, hi, Pinkie Pie, Mormon, Lyra, Weed Whacker.”

Then, Pinkie Pie asks, “Uh, Fluttershy, watcha doin’ with Philomena?”

Presently, the bird on Fluttershy’s back emits another cough and strained groan, and a few more feathers jump away.

In the mean time, Fluttershy answers, “I couldn’t just leave her there, as sick as she is. So, I decided I should take care of her, you know, heal her. You won’t say anything about it, will you?”

Presently, I hear Pinkie Pie say, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” And, since I’m keeping my character’s attention on the yellow pegasa, I can only assume that the pink earth pony is also going through the motions of her Pinkie promise.

At any rate, when she’s finished, I say, “I won’t say anything. I think I should stay out of this one, anyway. But, it seems to me that Princess Celestia is demonstrating that she trusts her subjects by leaving Philomena where she did. I just hope you realize—”

Before I can inform Fluttershy that she’s trying to heal a phoenix that's just preparing to start a new life cycle, I hear Pinkie Pie groan, as though she’s in pain. When my character turns his attention to the pink earth pony, I see her, through his eyes, gallop into the forest proper. And, I’m sure I see green in her face.

I have my character turn back to Fluttershy, and I say, “It looks like I have my own matter to attend to. In the mean time, I hope you’ll let the princess know as soon as possible that you're the one taking care of her pet.” And, with that, I have my character follow Pinkie Pie into the forest.

It’s not until I catch up to Pinkie Pie and see her sit canine-style and point her face downward that I hear Lyra’s voice ask, “Is Pinkie Pie alright?”

My character’s attention is drawn to the pale-green unicorn, so that I only hear the belch and splatter from Pinkie Pie’s direction. But, I see, through my character’s eyes, the alarm in those of Lyra and Weed Whacker. I say, “You go on ahead, and Pinkie and I will catch up.”

Evidently bothered by what she’d seen, Lyra steps around my character and Pinkie Pie as she says, “Alright, if you s-say so.” Then, when she’s past the pink earth pony and the human, she starts galloping ahead.

I have my character kneel next to the pink earth pony, but I wait until the pale-green unicorn is far enough ahead before I have my character produce the package of needles from his inventory, take out one of the needles, and prepare to use it on Pinkie Pie.

Trembling, the pink earth pony turns and looks at my character, then her mane and tail straighten, and her mane falls to one side of her head and neck. She stops trembling and rises to all fours before saying, “I’m ready now.”

Taking that as the invitation from Diane, I have my character stab the pink earth pony in the hip, just above her cutie mark, with the needle, and inject the contents into her, after which he pulls the needle out again.

In a second, Pinkie’s mane and tail go back to being curly, letting me know that Pinkamena is back in control. As she watches my character put the kit back into his inventory, and the used needle and cover away separately, she glares and says, “You know, for once I’d like to enjoy candy again without getting sick.”

I reply, “I know what you mean. I don’t like having to stab you with needles.” I then have my character stand up, and I ask, “So, are you ready to get going again?”

Pinkie Pie sniffles heavily and noisily, then rubs under her right eye, or so I’m guessing, with her right forelimb, then says, turning to my character, “I guess so.”

At this point, I have my character kneel on one knee next to her again, then open his arms; and I say, “Come here.”

Accepting the invitation, Pinkie Pie jumps into my character’s arms, then rests her head on the shoulder opposite the rolled-up bedding. And, as my character rises again, I hear her start sobbing quietly.

My character continues on his way, holding the pink earth pony in his arms; and I say, “Give me a couple days, and I’ll have a plan ready for you. I think I know of something that can help.”

Through her sobs, I hear Pinkie Pie say, “If … anypony … can help me, … you … can.”

I have my character rub the pink earth pony’s back as I say, “Let’s just get going back to my house. You can rest while you’re there, and I can get my bedding unpacked again. Then, when you’re ready, we’ll head back to Ponyville.”

Pinkie Pie doesn’t say anything in response, just continues to sob.

As my character continues on his way back to his house, I can’t help thinking about something I read from the Book of Isaiah in the Bible, something about a health benefit attached to a proper fast. I wouldn’t be surprised if that would be helpful to Pinkie Pie and her diabetes. I’ll have to look that up and see for sure, then maybe suggest it to Pinkie Pie. I have programmed this game and the characters in it with realistic actions and reactions to things, such as obedience to laws that work just as well on humans, although also with the specific needs of the various characters.

The time it takes for my character, carrying Pinkie Pie, to walk through the forest really doesn’t change at all. And, Lyra and Weed Whacker, still worried, are there to meet Pinkie Pie and my character when they arrive.

And, by that time, Pinkie Pie has fallen asleep in her position on my character’s shoulder.

As soon as she sees the two are close enough, Lyra uses her magic to open the gate and allow the human, carrying the earth pony, to go through. Then, as she closes the gate again, she asks, “I-is Pinkie Pie alright?”

As my character proceeds to put the pink earth pony back down on the ground on her hooves again, I say, “She will be. She just needs some rest.”

As Pinkie stumbles into alertness, Weed Whacker walks up to her and nuzzles her shoulder, then asks, “So, what’s wrong with her?”

At this point, Pinkie Pie looks around and realizes she’s back at my character’s house. Without saying anything, she walks up to the front door, opens it with the curl in her forehead, and goes inside.

In the mean time, I say, “I’m thinking that’s a question for Pinkie to answer when she’s ready. In the mean time, why don’t we follow her inside?”

Neither Lyra nor Weed Whacker vocalize agreement, they just turn and head for the still-open door.

The march to the door is slow enough to make an outsider think there is or was a funeral. It takes about a minute for pony, dinosaur, and human to enter the house, at which point my character closes the door after them. Then, he goes to his room and unties his bedding, then puts the blanket and pillow back on his bed. After that, he prepares to take a shower, then goes across the hallway to the bathroom and takes his shower. Then, when he’s finished, he returns to his room and puts on clean clothes.

As my character heads back into the hallway, he meets Lyra, who says, “Oh, Mormon, the Royal Guard came asking about Philomena. They said she’s disappeared. I told them I didn’t know anything, and so they left.”

Now, if I hadn’t seen Fluttershy giving the phoenix a ride on her back to her cottage, I’d still know from the episode that she took her to try to take care of her. I say, “I know Fluttershy’s just trying to take care of Philomena the best she can. Where’s Pinkie Pie?”

Then, from behind my character, I hear the pink earth pony say, “I’m right here, Mormy.” Then, as he turns to her, she asks, “You wanna go back to Ponyville, right? To the fountain?”

I answer, “That’s right.” Then, I ask, “Do you feel up to it?”

Pinkie Pie answers, “I sure do. I’m ready when you are.”

I then have my character turn to Lyra, and notice, behind her, peering from the front of the fridge, Weed Whacker. I say, “Well, in that case, if you’ll get Weed Whacker there in the kitchen, we’ll be on our way as soon as possible.”

The pale-green unicorn nods in agreement, then turns and trots into the kitchen. Seeing the herbivorous dinosaur in front of the fridge, she uses her magic to lift Weed Whacker up and set her on her back.

Seeing that all are ready, I have my character lead the group from that hallway to the front door, then to the front gate, opening and closing doors as necessary.

On the way back to Ponyville, a reasonably concerned Weed Whacker asks Pinkie Pie about her “sickness,” which Pinkie Pie answers by telling Weed Whacker in so many words not to be concerned about it.

Back in Ponyville, as the group walks down one street, I can’t help noticing one of the royal guard stallions puts up a drawing of Philomena, and a moment later the phoenix approaching the picture and drawing a big, bushy mustache and matching eyebrows on the drawing. For a supposedly sick bird, Philomena isn’t letting the sickness interfere with her intelligence or sense of humor.

As the four arrive at the fountain, just ahead of Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and just after Applejack and Rarity, Pinkie Pie produces a green-iced cupcake and starts eating it.

Before I can even think to say anything about it, I watch as Fluttershy dives under the pink earth pony, hoisting her up on her back. The yellow pegasa searches the ground, then looks up at her pink earth pony friend and says, “Uh, excuse me.”

Pinkie Pie simply squeaks, “Hi.”

With my character focused on the yellow pegasa and the pink earth pony, I only hear Twilight say, “Beg your pardon.” But, my character focuses his attention on the purple unicorn to show me she’s holding up her white unicorn friend and searching under her.

Rarity indignantly says, “Put me down,” immediately after which Twilight obeys.

Then, Applejack starts to ask, “What in tarnation—”

Presently, Fluttershy answers, “Sorry, but we’ve gotta find—”

Then, we hear the voice of a royal guard stallion say, “The princess’s pet bird!”

I suppose my character is the first to look up at the top of the fountain, where I can see, through his eyes, Philomena, now looking like a plucked chicken, perched on top of the pony statue’s head. She coughs, and the last remaining feathers on her torso, those that I can see anyway, drop off.

I hear Fluttershy call out, “Philomena, come down from there! You’ll hurt yourself!”

But, instead, the now naked phoenix turns her back to her audience, and I can see one last feather on her tail. Then, she turns and watches that last feather fall off. After that, she grabs her neck and performs a brief “This is the end of me” dance and falls over the head of the statue. Then, it’s all I can do to keep from laughing as Philomena gets up and performs the dance again, this time stumbling and falling off of the statue.

Ponies and dragons gasp, and Fluttershy gallops ahead to try to catch the falling phoenix, vocally promising as much.

But, as Philomena falls, she bursts into flames which consume her in seconds, leaving Fluttershy to catch a pile of ashes. At least, I know that from the episode, “A Bird in the Hoof.” Since I'm seeing Fluttershy from behind, I don’t actually see her through my character’s eyes catch the phoenix's ashes.

As the yellow pegasa starts whimpering in frustration, my character’s view is suddenly filled with the upside-down face of Weed Whacker.

My character turns to the evidently-concerned herbivorous dinosaur on his shoulder, and I say, “I don’t know about anyone else, but it seems to me that Philomena’s performance would’ve been so much more convincing if she’d fallen from a far greater height. But, I guess you work with what you’ve got.”

Then, I hear Princess Celestia’s voice ask, “What is going on here?” and my character’s attention, as well as that of Weed Whacker, is drawn to the daytime princess as she approaches from between her two guards. A second or two later, I hear her say, “Twilight?”

My character’s attention then turns to six ponies who are now bowing to their daytime princess.

And, Fluttershy, in the mean time, has her back to the daytime alicorn, and is evidently still preoccupied with Philomena’s ashes.

Twilight rises and, slowly marching forward, head lowered, mournfully says, “Yes, Your Majesty, there’s been a terrible accident.”

Then, Fluttershy rises, turns around, and ambles up to Twilight, then says, “It’s all my fault.”

Twilight steps in front of her yellow pegasa friend and says, “No, Princess, Fluttershy didn’t know any better. It was my fault.”

For the next few seconds, Fluttershy and Twilight proceed to argue over which of the two of them should take the blame, that is until Pinkie Pie jumps in and says, smiling, “No, it’s my fault.” She then looks uncertainly toward her friends and asks, “Wait, what’re we talkin’ about?”

Then, as the pink earth pony sprints out of the way, Fluttershy marches toward Princess Celestia and says, looking at the purple unicorn, “Thanks for trying to protect me, Twilight,” then turns to the daytime alicorn again as she continues, “but, Princess Celestia, I’m the one that took your pet bird.” I’m not quite sure how to interpret the princess’s blink as Fluttershy continues, “I really was only trying to help the poor little thing, then I was going to bring it right back to you, honest.” Then, as Princess Celestia walks past the yellow pegasa and up to the pile of ashes, evidently the remains of Philomena, Fluttershy concludes, “So, if you wanna banish me and then throw me in a dungeon in the place where you banish me to, then that’s what I deserve.”

The daytime princess bows, eyes closed for a second or two, then opens them again and says, “Oh, stop fooling around, Philomena. You’re scaring everypony.”

Considering what I’ve seen, Princess Celestia is right about Philomena’s recent behavior scaring every pony, and for that matter every dragon, especially considering the reactions of the element bearers and Lyra. Even Weed Whacker was alarmed by the sight of a bird suddenly igniting and turning into a pile of ashes. But, like I said to Weed Whacker, Philomena hadn’t fallen from a sufficient height to convince me. And, I might as well add that her performance before that was more comedic to me than anything else.

In the mean time, the pile of ashes starts to tremble, then rise up in a miniature tornado, which combines the ashes and bursts into a beautifully flame-colored bird. And, while unicorns, pegasae, and earth ponies “Ooh” and “Ah” over the sight, Philomena descends toward Princess Celestia, who provides a forelimb as a perch for her.

But, before Philomena can land, Fluttershy says, “But, I don’t understand.” Then, after the phoenix lands, Fluttershy asks, “What is that thing? What happened to Philomena?”

Then, to Fluttershy’s evident surprise, Princess Celestia answers, “This is Philomena.” Then, as her pet starts preening a wing, the daytime alicorn continues, “She’s quite a sight, as I said, but nothing unusual for a phoenix. Isn’t that right, Philomena?”

The red, orange, and yellow bird turns to the white alicorn and nods and softly screeches in affirmation.

Still surprised and confused, Fluttershy asks, “Uh, a phoenix?”

As Philomena nods to the yellow pegasa, her owner continues, “The phoenix is a majestic and magical bird.” Then, as the fire-colored bird flies off, Princess Celestia continues, “While it appears healthy and happy most of the time, every so often it must renew itself by shedding all of its feathers, and bursting into flame.” Then, she leans toward Fluttershy and says under her breath, “Rather melodramatic if you ask me.” Returning to her previous stance again, but holding out a forelimb again to provide Philomena a place to land, Princess Celestia continues, “It then rises from the ashes, fresh as a daisy. All just a normal part of a life cycle for a phoenix.” Then, Philomena disgracedly covers her beak with a wing as her owner moves the forelimb she perched on toward Fluttershy and says, “I’m afraid mischievous little Philomena here took the occasion to have a little fun with you, Fluttershy.” She then says to her pet, “Say you’re sorry, young lady.”

Obediently, Philomena uncovers her beak, turns to the yellow pegasa, and squawks repentantly.

Still concerned about her situation, Fluttershy asks, “So, aren’t you going to banish me, or throw me in a dungeon, or banish me and then throw me in a dungeon in the place where you banished me to?”

Princess Celestia smiles and answers, “Of course not, my little pony. Where on earth would you get such an idea?”

Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle trade looks, then Fluttershy turns back to the daytime princess and answers, “I guess I have some imagination.”

Twilight takes a step forward and adds, “Fluttershy really did everything she could to try to take care of Philomena for you.”

Princess Celestia replies, “And, I do appreciate that your heart was in the right place, child. But, all you had to do was ask me, and I would’ve told you Philomena was a phoenix, and saved you all this trouble.”

Fluttershy responds, “I know. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.” She then turns to my character, who’s taken a position next to the fountain, and says, “Uh, Mormon, I remember you tried to tell me something before you had to follow Pinkie Pie into the forest. Was it that Philomena’s a phoenix?”

I answer, “That’s right. Unfortunately, another matter emerged, and I didn’t get a chance to tell you.”

Then, I hear Pinkie Pie’s voice say, “Yeah, I’m sorry about that, Mormon.”

As my character’s attention turns to the pink earth pony, I have him kneel down next to her and put a hand on the back of her neck; and I say, “Now, don’t think I’m blaming you, because I’m not. At least Fluttershy knows now.”

From the edge of my character’s periphery, I see Fluttershy smile, eyes closed, nod, and say, “That’s right.”

Just then, Philomena takes off once again, then flies at my character. Taking a hovering position so that she’s all my character can see, and thus all I can see, she lets out a series of squawks, some of which sound angry, and ending in a chirp that sounds like she’s asking my character a question.

I’m sure I have a good idea of what the phoenix is trying to communicate to my character, but still I decide to ask first, “Uh, translation?”

Since Philomena is still all I can see, I can only hear Princess Celestia say, “I heard this myself as I was approaching. You said that Philomena’s performance would’ve been so much more convincing if she’d fallen from a far greater height. She wants to know if that means that you already knew about her being a phoenix.”

Having that as confirmation, I answer Philomena, “Oh, well, as a matter of fact, yes, I do know.”

Philomena then nods and squawks in affirmation, then returns and lands on the daytime princess’s back, grumbling. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was saying something about working on her performance.

And, almost as if in confirmation of my thought, Princess Celestia laughs.

I see Fluttershy take a step toward Princess Celestia, but I decide to address Philomena one more time as I say, “But, I think you should know something about me in return. When I die, I won’t burst into flames; but my spirit will separate from my body. And, after that, there’ll be a time when my body will deteriorate. But, then my spirit will reunite with my body, which will become complete; and my body and spirit will never to be separated again. This reunion of spirit and body is what’s called resurrection, and it’ll happen to all humans, at least, after they die.

“Just to let you know, seeing you burst into flames and fall into a pile of ashes on the ground, then rise again into your present, whole form, reminded me of that.”

Philomena hears me out, then tilts her head and chirps out a question, which I seem to understand as her asking me of that means I’m not offended by her actions.

I smile and answer, “No, I’m not.”

Presently, Philomena jumps off of her owner’s back, then flies toward my character. Occupying the shoulder opposite Weed Whacker, she then nuzzles his face, which I can’t help but laugh at.

Now, taking the opportunity to speak, Fluttershy says, “Next time, I’ll ask before taking matters into my own hooves.”

Then, something seems to dawn on Twilight, and she asks, “Should I write you a letter about Fluttershy’s lesson, Princess?”

As the royal guard canter into view, carrying Philomena’s bird cage, the daytime alicorn answers, “No, that’s quite alright. I think I can remember.”

The phoenix draws my character’s attention again as she flies off of his shoulder, then hovers over Fluttershy and plucks a feather from her tail, dropping it into the yellow pegasa’s mane, then cooing.

In response, Fluttershy looks up at the phoenix and, smiling, says, “It’s beautiful. Thank you, Philomena. No hard feelings.”

Receiving these words from the yellow pegasa, Philomena flies off again towards the guards.

I can’t help noticing that Rainbow Dash seems to get an idea. She flies off toward the phoenix and whispers something to her.

Philomena nods in agreement, then lands on the birdcage, then uses the edges of the feathers on her wings to tickle the noses of the guard ponies.

While I would expect them to either sneeze or brush the phoenix’s wings away in annoyance, instead the two ponies respond by laughing uncontrollably. Evidently the nose on an Equestrian pony is not unlike the sole of a human foot, a ticklish spot.

Having evidently completed her mission, Philomena flies up to and high-fives Rainbow Dash.

Then, the rest of the ponies present join in on the laughter of the guards.

After a few seconds when the laughter quiets down, I think aloud, “You know, I wonder how the readings have been going at the town hall since my friends and I have been gone.”

In response, Princess Celestia approaches my character and says, “Oh, over the past couple days, my sister and I and your stallion friends have taken over conducting the readings. Also, the group has divided up into three, with Cheerilee taking over readings with the foals, the Mayor taking charge of readings among the mares, and Filthy Rich taking over readings among the stallions. None of them have been reading more than a chapter a day, but the readings do continue.”

I state, “Well, it’s good to hear that the readings continue without me. And, also, if you want to set up readings in Canterlot, you’re welcome to do that.”

The daytime princess nods and smiles and says, “Thank you. I have wanted to do that for some time now. But, in order to do that, I’m going to need to get some copies of the Book of Mormon from you. Is that alright?”

I answer, “Sure, no problem.”

Then, Pinkie Pie says, “Oh, and there’s one more thing.” She then canters a step or two toward the daytime princess as she continues, “Mormon wants to continue readings at his house, but he doesn’t want a large group like there has been. He wants to keep it among those of us living in his house, the other element bearers, and the Princesses.”

You know, that’s one thing that’d slipped my mind. Thank goodness Pinkie Pie remembered. But, I do feel the need to add, “And, Twilight, your dragon assistant, Spike, is welcome to join in the readings at my house as well.”

Princess Celestia says, “Yes, I can understand you wanting to have a smaller reading group. While we have covered a lot of material in the readings, we’ve rarely been discussing what we’ve read. You want the quality of the reading time back, and not so much quantity.”

I reply, “That’s right.”

Princess Celestia then pauses and hums in thought, then says to my character, “I’ll have to discuss it with my sister, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she agrees. In the mean time, shall we head over to your house and get those copies of the Book of Mormon?”

I have my character look around in search of Lyra and Weed Whacker, only to find them right next to him. After that, I have my character look at the daytime princess again, and I say, “We’re ready to go when you are.”

Princess Celestia nods and smiles and says, “Very well then.” Then, she closes her eyes, and her horn starts glowing.

One frame later, Princess Celestia, my character, Pinkie Pie, Lyra, and Weed Whacker are in front of my character’s house.

I then ask, “So, how many copies do you need?”

The daytime princess answers, “I suppose two dozen copies will be good for a start.”

I plot a course for my character to follow as I say, “Well, then, if you’ll give me a few minutes, I’ll get the copies ready for you.” Then, I enter the list of commands, and my character proceeds into the house and to the closet to gather the books for Princess Celestia.

Actually, the process, in real time, takes less than a minute. But, in the game’s time, it does take a few minutes for my character to take out each of twenty-four books and place them on the couch, then distribute them so that ponies, dinosaur, and human have enough that they can carry their load easily.

Back on the front lawn, I have my character stack the books four tall, three wide, and two long, so that the stack comes as close to the shape of a cube as possible.

When he’s finished, I have him step back; and the daytime alicorn stands over the stack and thanks me for the books. Then, she closes her eyes, and her horn starts to glow again. One frame later, she and the books are gone.

Then, Pinkie Pie turns to my character and says, “So, Mormon, I guess that means we still have an hour or so before the reading. So, what do you wanna do?”

You know, I hadn’t really thought about what I could or needed to do after the event with Princess Celestia’s pet phoenix. I answer by asking, “Well, is there anything in particular you wanna do while we wait?”

Pinkie Pie looks down and hums in thought, then looks up at my character again and answers, “Well, unless we prepare snacks for the reading, I can’t think of anything.”

It has been a few days since my character and those living with him have provided snacks for guests to eat for the reading. It’s never been a requirement, although it has become something of a tradition. But, since it’s going to be back to the four creatures living here, the other five element bearers and Spike, and Princesses Celestia and Luna, I decide it’s not a bad plan to go back to preparing snacks for twelve readers. So, I say, “That does sound like a good plan. So, shall we go for it?”

Lyra and Weed Whacker don’t say anything, just turn and head for the vineyard and vegetable garden, respectively.

Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, says, “Okie dokie lokie. Let’s do it.”

I add, “Now, let’s remember that we’re just going to prepare enough snacks for the four of us, Princesses Luna and Celestia, …”

Pinkie Pie concludes, “And Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack.”

I state, “And, let’s not forget about Spike.”

Then, as my character makes his way to the orchard, Pinkie Pie says, “You know, unless Spike brings some gems with him, i suppose you’re right about that.”

In the orchard, Diane takes over Pinkie Pie, chooses a tree, pauses for a moment in thought, then turns her back to the tree and kicks it.

In response, six apples fall from the tree.

Diane then turns to my character and asks, “Do you suppose that’ll be enough?”

I have my character collect the half-dozen apples, then turn back to Pinkie “Diane” Pie; and I answer, “Yeah, that should be enough. The reading is only going to be one chapter, and we won’t be preparing a banquet for our guests. Just something for them to snack on while they read.”

Pinkie “Diane” Pie nods and says, “Agreed. So, let’s get the apples back to the house.” And, with that, she proceeds toward the fence again, where Pinkamena takes over Pinkie Pie before hopping over the fence.

With the pink party pony’s encouragement, I take three apples out of my character's arms and drop them near Pinkie Pie, and she collects them in her mane. With the load equally distributed, I then have my character climb over the fence, then follow Pinkie Pie to the front porch of the house.

My character and Pinkie Pie wait for Lyra and Weed Whacker to approach before my character reaches out to grab the doorknob, only to show me, through his eyes, that Pinkie Pie already had it in the curl in her forehead.

Once Pinkie Pie opens the door, she leads the way inside; and my character lingers behind to close the front door after Lyra and Weed Whacker have entered. Then, he follows the group to the kitchen door, where Pinkie Pie opens it again with her curl; and my character, the last to enter, closes it behind him.

Once in the kitchen, I notice that Lyra and Weed Whacker have harvested smaller loads, which I find appropriate for the number of guests that are going to come.

The group gets to work, with Weed Whacker in the sink cleaning the fruits and vegetables, my character handing them to Lyra, who cuts them up and hands them to Pinkie Pie, who places them on a platter. And, she still manages to stack the fruits and vegetables so they look like a crown of sorts. Just a smaller one.

Seeing that the process has taken only a few minutes, I have my character take Weed Whacker out of the sink; then I think aloud, “You know, I wonder if we have enough time to set up a small table for the snack tray.”

Evidently uncertain, Pinkie Pie says, “I don’t know about that.”

Then, Lyra adds, “Pinkie Pie’s right. After all, we want everypony that's coming to be able to reach the snacks.”

While I can understand what Pinkie and Lyra are talking about, I’m not entirely sure they understood me. I say, “Even so, if the snack tray can be elevated just enough so that it isn’t such a problem for you to pick it back up again, while still keeping it within the reach of pony and dragon, it should still be just fine."

Lyra emits an extremely brief “Oh,” after which Pinkie Pie says, “Well, in that case, why not just stack a few more plates?”

I answer the pink earth pony, “That’d just create more work. I just want to make the cleanup as quick and simple as possible.”

Pinkie Pie looks down and says, “Oh, I see what you mean.”

Then, Lyra asks, “Do you have a table you think you could use for that?”

I answer, “I think so. I just need a test subject or two to be sure.” I then have my character go to his work room in search of a table that’d hold a plate above the ground, just high enough to keep crawling insects off of it, but low enough that my shortest guests could reach over it.

It takes a few minutes, but my character does find a short-legged TV tray, which he brings out to the ponies and dinosaur waiting for him in the front room. And, he sets it down in front of them, legs pointing downward.

The earth pony and unicorn take opposite sides of the small table and start circling it.

In the mean time, Pinkie Pie says, “Oh, this is what you meant.”

Lyra adds, “I just hope the snack tray can go on there without tipping over.”

As I watch, through my character’s eyes, the two ponies, I say, “You may want to try it out just to—” I then groan in sympathy and ask, “Are you two alright?”

I can’t say for sure if they’d accepted my invitation, or if they’d taken the initiative. All I know is that the two, on the closest opposing sides, decided, at the same time, to try to reach the center of the tray, and ended up running into each other head-first.

Lyra, who’s rubbing her forehead right now, looks up at my character and says, “Yeah, we’re both fine.”

I ask, “So, what do you think? Will this table do?”

Pinkie, who’s also rubbing her forehead, turns to my character and answers, “Yeah, it should be just fine. Thanks, Mormon.” Then, she turns to Lyra and says, “Uh, Lyra, if you’ll help me, I need to get the snacks moved to a smaller plate. The snack tray I was gonna use is too big.”

The pale-green unicorn nods, then follows Pinkie Pie into the kitchen.

In the mean time, I have my character pick up the TV tray again and take it with him to and out the front door, then onto the lawn, where he sets it up approximately in the center.

Not long after he’s done so, I hear Twilight’s voice from the front gate ask, “Mormon, what’re you doing?”

As my character’s attention is drawn to the purple unicorn, I answer, “I was just setting up a table for the snack tray.”

As my character stands up, I can see, through his eyes, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity right behind her, and Rainbow Dash hovering over them, not to mention Spike riding on Twilight’s back.

I have my character walk to the gate to allow the group in, and I say, “Lyra and Pinkie Pie put their heads together and decided it’d be just fine.”

Before they go through the gate, Rainbow Dash lands next to Twilight and says, under her breath, “Yea, knowing Pinkie Pie, I’m betting that’s what literally happened.” And, the two of them laugh.

Little does Rainbow Dash know she’d win that bet.

In the mean time, the element bearers and Spike enter through the gate, then take their positions around the table, and set up their copies of the Book of Mormon.

As my character closes the door behind the last of them to enter, Rarity, I’m suddenly aware of two more presences in the yard. As my character turns back to the house, I see Princesses Celestia and Luna as they turn and approach the element bearers and Spike, who have already taken positions around the TV tray.

I say “Hello” to the two princesses, and they return the salute; and I have my character go up the porch to the front door to go inside and see how Lyra and Pinkie are doing. And, wouldn’t you know it, my character opens the door just in time for the pale-green unicorn and the pink earth pony, as well as Weed Whacker, who come out carrying a smaller plate with the snacks on it past him and toward the TV tray, which is now surrounded by Pinkie’s other friends and the two princesses.

As I watch the three at work, I comment, “I guess that means Pinkie, Lyra, and Weed Whacker are ready for the reading, then.” And, I have my character follow them to the TV table.

It’s only after the plate is in place that Lyra turns to my character and says, “I just need to go in and get my Book of Mormon, and Weed Whacker’s, and we’ll be ready.”

As the pale-green unicorn heads inside again, I notice Pinkie Pie has already taken her place between Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. And, seeing an unusually wide space between Fluttershy and Princess Luna, I decide to have my character take the position as close to the middle as possible between the two of them. I then have my character turn to Princess Luna, and I ask, “So, how have things been going?”

It’s Princess Celestia who answers, at least first, “Princess Luna hasn’t been feeling well, and she chooses to say nothing to me about it. I have seen her taking an interest in a human from the Book of Mormon, one known as Ammon.”

Princess Luna turns to her sister, inhales deeply, then exhales slowly, then says, “We would speak with Mormon alone about it.”

I think I know what Princess Luna’s thinking about, but I decide not to say anything.

Which is just as well, since Lyra is coming out with the two copies for her and Weed Whacker; and while Weed Whacker takes a position between my character and Princess Luna, Lyra takes a position between my character and Fluttershy.

While the ponies are delving into the snacks, I have my character look around at each of them; and I say, "Since we've evidently read the first two chapters of the Book of Mosiah, I suggest we start this reading with chapter three." I then have my character turn to the blue, rainbow-haired pegasa, and I ask, "Rainbow Dash, will you begin by reading the first verse?"

Rainbow Dash nods, then looks down and reads, "And again my brethren, I would call your attention, for I have somewhat more to speak unto you; for behold, I have things to tell you concerning that which is to come."

Pinkie Pie then reads, "And the things which I shall tell you are made known unto me by an angel from God. And he said unto me: Awake; and I awoke, and behold he stood before me."

Twilight Sparkle reads, "And he said unto me: Awake, and hear the words which I shall tell thee; for behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy."

Spike reads, "For the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and hath judged of thy righteousness, and hath sent me to declare unto thee that thou mayest rejoice; and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may also be filled with joy."

Rarity reads, "For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases." She then looks up and asks, "What does he mean when he says, 'The Lord Omnipotent ... shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay?'"

I answer, "When he talks about the Lord Omnipotent, he's talking about the Christ. And, when he talks about him dwelling in a tabernacle of clay, he refers to the Christ being born just like all humans, with his own physical body." I then turn to the orange earth pony, and I have my character nod for her to read the next verse.

Applejack nods back, then reads, "And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men."

Fluttershy reads, "And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people."

Lyra reads, "And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary."

At this point, as my character automatically looks up, I say, "Now, here's something that isn't found in the old or new testaments of the Bible. And, I think I can understand why.

"In Judah, where the things prophesied here took place, the people there could witness it first-hand. But, the Nephites and Lamanites were separated from Judah at least by an ocean. And, with that level of separation, whatever secrets they'd be told were going to be safe from the Jews.

"The Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, and the king of Judea at that time, Herod, wouldn't know about it for two years, when wise men from the east would come asking for the newly-born king of the Jews. Not wanting to be replaced, Herod consulted with his priests on where this new king was to be born, and it was written among them that he would be born in Bethlehem. The only piece of information that Herod was missing was this new king's name, and the name of one of his parents; otherwise, he would've been able to zero in and kill the Christ as an infant. But, because he didn't have an identity, all he could do was order the death of all infants that were as old as two years. And, the wise men that had come to see the child were told by an angel to leave by a different route, so that they couldn't inform Herod of the child's identity.

"There is one prophet in the old testament that said that the Lord God would do nothing until he revealed his secrets to his servants the prophets. In this case, since Lehi had been a loyal servant and done what God had asked him to do, the Nephites had all they needed in order to receive the identity of the Christ, and keep it safe from the Jews, and especially King Herod.

"And, besides, since they weren't going to be able to witness the events for themselves, just get a visit from the Christ when He was resurrected, it was appropriate for them to get this information." I then have my character look into his book again, and I read, "And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him."

Weed Whacker reads, "And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men."

Princess Luna reads, "For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned."

Princess Celestia reads, "But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ."

Rainbow Dash reads, "And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them."

Pinkie Pie reads, "Yet the Lord God saw that his people were a stiffnecked people, and he appointed unto them a law, even the law of Moses."

Twilight Sparkle reads, "And many signs, and wonders, and types, and shadows showed he unto them, concerning his coming; and also holy prophets spake unto them concerning his coming; and yet they hardened their hearts, and understood not that the law of Moses availeth nothing except it were through the atonement of his blood."

Spike reads, "And even if it were possible that little children could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are blessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins." He then looks up and asks, "Uh, what's this about little children sinning?"

I answer, "It seems that even among the Nephites some believed that children could sin, and needed to be baptized. And, that belief persisted in all sorts of different religions. But, until a human reaches the age of accountablility, that is eight years, that human can't sin." I then turn to Rarity and say, "You can go ahead with verse seventeen."

Rarity reads, "And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent." She then looks up and says, "I suppose that makes sense. After all, if there were more than one source, that'd lead to confusion."

Applejack reads, "For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent."

Fluttershy reads, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

Lyra reads, "And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people."

I read, "And behold, when that time cometh, none shall be found blameless before God, except it be little children, only through repentance and faith on the name of the Lord God Omnipotent."

Weed Whacker reads, "And even at this time, when thou shalt have taught thy people the things which the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, even then are they found no more blameless in the sight of God, only according to the words which I have spoken unto thee."

Princess Luna reads, "And now I have spoken the words which the Lord God hath commanded me."

Princess Celestia reads, "And thus saith the Lord: They shall stand as a bright testimony against this people, at the judgment day; whereof they shall be judged, every man according to his works, whether they be good, or whether they be evil."

Rainbow Dash reads, "And if they be evil they are consigned to an awful view of their own guilt and abominations, which doth cause them to shrink from the presence of the Lord into a state of misery and endless torment, from whence they can no more return; therefore they have drunk damnation to their own souls."

Pinkie Pie reads, "Therefore, they have drunk out of the cup of the wrath of God, which justice could no more deny unto them than it could deny that Adam should fall because of his partaking of the forbidden fruit; therefore, mercy could have claim on them no more forever."

Twilight Sparkle reads, "And their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever. Thus hath the Lord commanded me. Amen."

At this point, I have my character stand up, and I say, "And, with that, let's end the reading for today. Tomorrow, we'll read chapter four. Until then, thank you for coming, and hope you have a safe trip back to your homes."

As ponies and dragons around the circle rise, I notice Princess Luna says something to her sister, who nods back to her, then disappears.

The element bearers, along with Spike and except for Pinkie Pie, head out through the gate, as Pinkie Pie salutes them goodbye.

In the mean time, Princess Luna approaches my character and says, “We’ve been studying the human thou mentionedst to us in Pinkie’s dream. He and his friends are first mentioned in the Book of Mosiah.”

I reply, “That’s right. I’d kind of forgotten about that point. So, do you have any questions about him?”

The nighttime princess nods, then says, “He and his friends were a destructive influence before an angel visited them.” She then asks, “How did they live with themselves after being so destructive?”

I take some time to plot a course for my character to follow into the back yard of his property. Then, before I hit Enter, I say, “Come with me. Let’s go for a walk into my back yard.”

As I hit enter and my character starts walking, Princess Luna nods and walks next to him.

It’s not until the two get to the trail that heads into the back yard that I answer, “It seems to me that one of the things that motivated Ammon and his friends, more than anything else, was gratitude. Instead of dwelling on what they’d done wrong, they remembered that God had shown them mercy by sending an angel to them to let them know that they were on the wrong course, and that there was a better course for them to follow. They learned from what they’d done wrong, did what they could to correct it, and went further by building up the church instead of trying to destroy it.”

At this point, the nighttime alicorn stops and says, “Alright, we’re confused. How does that relate to us? As Nightmare Moon, we caused much destruction, and because of that we were trapped on the moon for a thousand years. How do we not dwell on that?”

As my character stops walking and turns and focuses on Princess Luna, I can see, through his eyes, that her eyes are starting to water. I ask, “Well, do you plan on becoming Nightmare Moon again, causing any more destruction?”

She shakes her head and answers, “No, we do not.”

I say, “Remember your mistakes. But, learn from them. Remember that you’re still alive, and capable of doing a lot of good. And, above all, be grateful for that.”

Princess Luna asks, “But, how? How do we repent to the ponies we offended, that have been dead for a thousand years?”

I honestly answer, “That is a question I don’t have the answer to. But, there are ponies here that you can be of service to, ponies you can help, the way you helped Pinkie Pie.”

The nighttime princess forces a laugh before saying, “You were of more help to her than we were.”

I respond, “But, without your help, I wouldn’t have been able to help her.”

I notice Princess Luna’s voice starts to shake as she says, “But, we still know not what we can do. We can’t go back and change what we did wrong to those ponies a thousand years ago.”

I reply, “That’s true. But, you can remember the mercies that’ve been shown to you thus far. You can be grateful for the opportunities you've been given to do good to the ponies living in Ponyville, Canterlot, and everywhere else in Equestria.” I then have my character start walking again, and gesture for Princess Luna to follow him, as I continue, “In the ninth chapter of the Book of Mormon, verse thirty-one, his son, Moroni, warns us not to condemn him or his father, or any of his people, for any of their weaknesses, but to be grateful that we have a record of them, so we can learn to do better than they did. I think that goes just as well for us and the weaknesses we see in ourselves, or the sins we committed in the past. We shouldn’t keep punishing ourselves for what we did wrong, we should just remember to learn from our past sins, be grateful for our memory which serves as our personal record, and learn how we can be better than we’ve been.”

Princess Luna inhales deeply, then exhales slowly, then says, “Thou hast given us much to think about. But, we have one question left. The Book of Mormon?”

I answer, “Yes. The entire record of the Nephites is named for the prophet who abridged their record from the time of the end of King Benjamin’s reign to his own time, where he records the destruction of his own people. And, the book containing the record of his own time is also named for him. It may sound confusing to refer to the Book of Mormon in the Book of Mormon, but, like his son Moroni said, instead of being angry about the naming, we should be grateful that we have this record.”

I think I hear a smile in Princess Luna’s voice as she says, “I can see that thou art grateful for their record.”

I can’t help smiling as well as I say, “I”m also happy that I could be of service to you. Is there anything else you need help with?”

Princess Luna answers, “No. Thou hast answered all the questions we had. Now, we shall return to Canterlot.” And, with that, she disappears.

Having apparently satisfied the nighttime princess with my answers to her questions, I cancel the rest of my character’s walk, and have him return to his house and go inside.

In the front room, I see Pinkie Pie on one of the couches, and Lyra on the other one, sitting next to Weed Whacker.

Pinkie Pie asks, “So, what did Princess Luna want to talk about, Mormon?”

I answer, “She just had some questions about some things she’d read in the Book of Mormon.”

Pinkie Pie smiles and says, “And, knowing you, you had the answers, right?”

I answer, “I answered her questions the best I could.”

Then, Lyra asks, “So, what do we do now?”

I answer, “Good question. Any ideas?”

Pinkie Pie turns to her pet alligator, who has attached himself to the end of her tail, then back to my character, and says, “I suppose we could have another of our pet play dates, just until the sun goes down.”

Then, Lyra says, “Yeah, I don’t know. It’s been some time since I’ve slept in my own bed, and I’m kinda lookin’ forward to that right now.”

I have my character focus on Pinkie Pie, and I say, “You know, I think Lyra may have a point. Maybe we should retire right now, get our letters written, and just go to bed. We’ll have plenty to occupy our time tomorrow.”

This time, Pinkie Pie frowns as she turns back to her alligator friend, then back to my character again, and says, “Yeah, you’re probably right.” She then rises from her position on the couch, trots to the arm she’s facing, the one closest to my character, then jumps over it. Once on the floor, she turns to my character and yawns, then says, “I’m kinda tired, too. I just thought there might be a little more for us to do before we went to bed.”

The thought occurs to me, and I say, “Well, we haven’t had dinner yet. We could prepare and have that first, then write our letters and go to bed.” I then have my character look towards the window to show me that there is still plenty of light outside.

Then, I hear Lyra say, “Yeah, I’m too tired to eat right now. Maybe later.”

Pinkie Pie and I watch as the pale-green unicorn stumbles off of the couch (how she does that without getting hurt is a wonder to me), then ambles to the kitchen, where she pushes the door open, goes through, and, I assume, kicks the door closed behind her. Then, as the pink earth pony and my character turn their attentions to each other again, I say, “Well, I guess that means Lyra’s heading to bed then. So, shall we prepare and have dinner before heading to bed, or shall we go to bed right now?”

Pinkie Pie looks down and sighs, then looks up at my character again and says, “I suppose we could go ahead and prepare and eat dinner, maybe prepare some food for Lyra when she’s ready to eat. Then, after that, we can go to bed.”

From the edge of my character’s periphery, I see Weed Whacker come from behind the couch and settle down next to Pinkie Pie, then turn to my character and say, “Yeah, that sounds good to me. I guess that means you’ll be taking over Lyra’s harvesting in the vineyard, then.”

I reply, “Nothing I haven’t done before.” I then have my character head for the front door as I ask, “So, shall we go ahead with that then?”

Pony and dinosaur turn to each other and nod, then they turn to my character and, together, say, “Sure, let’s do it.” And, with that, Weed Whacker climbs off of the couch; and the two approach my character, ready to follow him outside.

Well, from that point on, Weed Whacker goes to the vegetable garden, my character goes to the vineyard, and Pinkie Pie goes to the orchard. The three harvest enough for the four of them for dinner, then meet again on the front porch before heading back inside.

In the kitchen, Pinkie Pie replaces Lyra on drying duty, with Weed Whacker still on washing duty and my character handing fruits and vegetables to Pinkie Pie. Then, after that, while some harvested fruits and vegetables are left for Lyra for when she wakes up, the other three dine on the fruits and vegetables distributed to them. And, after the cleanup, while Weed Whacker goes to Lyra’s room, Pinkie Pie and my character go to their rooms.

My letter to the princesses is mainly about the small part I played in Fluttershy’s abduction of Philomena, basically as an observer. I decide not to mention Pinkie Pie’s diabetic episode, nor do I mention the conversation I had with Princess Luna. I figure the matter between the nighttime princess and me is best for her to discuss when she decides she’s ready. And, if I’ve learned anything about unicorns, those in this video game anyway, it’s that they aren’t too much different from other ponies, or from humans for that matter. But, before I close the letter, I do decide to write one question: “Do ponies consider non-equines, at least, lower lifeforms?”

When I’m finished with the letter, I have my character deliver it to Weed Whacker so she can send it to the princesses, then I have him return to his room and prepare for and go to bed.

As I save and close the game for the present, I really have not that much more to say or write than I’ve already written. I suppose I do have a project to get to work on, meaning searching for those verses from the Book of Isaiah where he talks about fasting. But, experience lets me know that those verses shouldn’t be too difficult to find. So, until then.

Author's Notes:

The next chapter will be based on the episode, "Cutie Mark Chronicles." And, even Lyra has a back story to reveal. This and more in Chapter 27, We Are All Connected by a Sonic Rainboom.

The reading in that chapter will be Mosiah chapter 4.