My character wakes up, once again, as I start the game, to pounding on his door. But, this time, the pounding is accompanied by the voice of Lyra calling out, “Mormon, you’re wanted at the front door! It’s your stallion friends, Berry Ground, Emerald Hill, and Stunts; and they look … different!”

Instantly my character rises from his bed and walks to and opens his bedroom door. And, as he does, I see, through his eyes, Lyra backing away from it, then looking up at him and saying, “And, there’s something else. Pinkie Pie hasn’t come out of her room yet. I asked her if she’s alright, and she said she wants you to help her. I hope nothing’s wrong.”

I nod and respond, “I’ll go check on Pinkie Pie first. In the mean time, you go invite my stallion friends in.” And, with that, I enter instructions for my character to exit his room, then close the door behind him, then, as soon as he’s allowed the pale-green unicorn past him, go to and enter Pinkie’s room to see what may be the matter.

When my character has followed the instructions, up to the point of entering Pinkie’s room, through his eyes I see the pink earth pony say, “Please close the door behind you. Then, come and help me remove this blanket. I’m having trouble with it for some reason.”

As I make the adjustments to my character’s instructions, I can’t help noticing that, whatever has changed about the pink party pony, she hasn’t gotten a horn. Once my character has closed the door behind him, he approaches Pinkie Pie and carefully removes the blanket; and I see why she’s been having problems removing it.

As she inhales deeply and exhales slowly in relief, she spreads out a pair of beautiful pink wings. I don’t doubt she still retains the characteristics of an earth pony, but now she’s also a pegasa. She folds the wings back to her sides, then asks, “So, why was it so difficult to get that blanket off of me?”

For a few seconds, I find I can’t think of a response, or at least not one I can easily put into words. When I do finally find the words, I say, “Well, it looks like my experiment was a success.”

Puzzled, the pink earth pegasa tilts her head and asks, “What do you mean?”

I direct my character to go to Pinkie’s bedroom door, and I say, “Follow me. You may want to see this for yourself.”

I hear a mild thud as Pinkie Pie jumps out of her bed, followed a few seconds later by her saying, “Maybe I can get an explanation why I feel like I have bird's wings at my sides.” Then, as my character opens her door, I hear her gasp and ask, “Wait, am I a pegasa now?”

I answer, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you still have your earth pony abilities, but you do seem to have earned your wings as well.”

Presently, the pink party pony says, “Woah, now wait just a minute. I know I always said I wished to fly, that’s part of my Pinkie promise. But, I really have wings now? And, how do I know these are mine, and not Diane’s?”

That last question of Pinkie’s was a good one. I have my character turn to her, and I ask, “Well, can you control them?”

Pinkie turns to each of her sides and looks at each of the wings, then reacts in surprise as though this is the first time she’s seen them.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it is.

She then grunts a few times, and I can’t help noticing that the wings don’t move. She then asks, “Diane, were you the one that moved these wings earlier, when Mormon took the blanket off of us?” Then, in a voice of the same timbre but minus emotion, she answers, “Yes, that was me.”

That was undoubtedly Diane.

At any rate, Pinkie Pie turns back to my character, and, in a voice of equal parts surprise and confirmation, says, “These are Diane’s wings.”

I ask, “So, would you like to have a look at them in a mirror?”

The pink earth pegasa starts to smile as she nods and answers, “Yes, I would.”

I direct my character to head to the nearest bathroom, and I say, “Then, follow me. By now, you should know about the mirror in the bathroom.”

I hear excitement start to build up in Pinkie’s voice as she says, “The one on the door. It faces the shower and tub when the door’s closed. Yes, Mormy, I know all about it.”

I continue, “If I do say so myself, I think you’ll like what you see.”

No more is said between the two of us until Pinkie and my character have entered the bathroom, and the pink earth pegasa gets her first look at her wings in the mirror. My character takes a position in the corner, so I can watch, through his eyes, as the pink party pony looks at herself in the mirror, turning to each side at the new appendages attached to each side of her rib cage. Then, as Diane unfolds the wings again, I watch Pinkie’s face as her lips start to vibrate. She then covers her mouth and sniffles loudly and harshly.

I have my character kneel, and I ask, “Is there something wrong?”

At first Pinkie slowly shakes her head. Then she jumps into my character’s arms and hugs him as much with her new wings as with her forelimbs, although, I wouldn’t be surprised if the wing hug is Diane hugging me through my character. At any rate, she sniffles again and sobs, “Oh, thank you, Mormon. Thank you so much for this gift.”

I suppose, for all intents and purposes, since I am the one that modeled the wings for a pony, I am the one that gave Pinkie the wings she now has. And, I did help her earn them by guiding her from the time she killed Gilda, and nearly killed Ataahua, that time I referred to the Pinkie Pie I know and love, up until now. She was part of the reading circle from the second day until now. I helped her learn how to buck apples out of trees. I taught her how to fast. I taught her how to repent, and how to forgive herself. And, yesterday, I took the cupcake she’d prepared for herself as punishment for not keeping her Pinkie promise, and I had my character stick it into his own eye. And, all these things have finally culminated in Pinkie Pie earning her wings, literally as well as figuratively. But, there is one problem. While my character can support the pink earth pegasa by holding her up, he really has no experience hugging a winged pony. And, I say as much at this point.

Pinkie Pie responds by giggling as she says, “Oh, that’s alright. Just make expansions for this game, and your character will gain plenty of experience with that.”

I can’t help chuckling as well at what Pinkie said. Then, after a few seconds, I say, “You know, I think it’s time for us to go greet our guests.”

Pinkie Pie pushes away from my character and says, “You’re right. I’ll bet they’ve gone through similar transformations to what I have.”

I instruct my character to kneel down now and place the pink earth pegasa on the floor, and I ask, “So, shall we go?”

A sincerely smiling Pinkie Pie nods and says, “Okie dokie lokie;” and Diane folds her wings again.

Having the pink party pony’s affirmation, I have my character stand up again and open the door, allowing Pinkie to leave first. I then direct my character to follow her out, then close the door behind him.

In the hallway, I hear Lyra start to say, “Well, it’s about time! We’ve been … waiting … for … you …” And, there’s no doubt in my mind why the pale-green unicorn trailed off.

Pinkie, the first to speak, says, “Yeah, that’s right, Lyra. I have wings now.” She then turns back to me and adds, “And, Mormon, don’t make any Red Bull jokes.”

I can’t help laughing at the instruction from the pink earth pegasa. I hadn’t really thought about it, but a joke about the energy drink that’s supposed to give wings to those who drink it would seem appropriate about now. But, I’m sure Pinkie Pie knows as well as I do that I don’t have any of that stuff either here in this game or in reality.

But, in the mean time, Lyra’s tilted her head in confusion, and expressed that confusion with a grunt.

I respond, “Never mind, Lyra. Let’s just get to the front room and greet our guests.”

The pale-green unicorn straightens her head again and says, “Alright, then. Just follow me.” And, she opens the kitchen door and leads the earth pegasa and the human into the front room.

As my character enters the front room, his attention is drawn to my red earth stallion friend, who now has a horn, and my blue unicorn friend, who now also has wings. My character continues to look around, and finally focuses on the head of his green pegasus friend. My guess is he’s suddenly too big to, at least safely, fit through the front door. I ask, “So, how are you, Berry Ground, Emerald Hill, Stunts?”

The three stallions look at each other, then Berry Ground turns back to my character and answers, “Well, as you can see, we’re … different.” Then, leaning his head and pointing to its top with a front hoof, he continues, “As you can see, I have a horn now.” He then straightens his head again and puts the hoof down, and asks, “Does that make me an earth unicorn?”

Pinkie Pie came from behind the couch just in time to see Berry Ground’s horn. Before I can answer, the pink earth pegasa answers, “I guess we’re kind of the same. I just got my wings today. Mormon thinks I still have my earth pony abilities, and these wings are just an addition. So, if I’m an earth pegasa, I suppose an earth pony, like yourself, that gets a horn can be called an earth unicorn.”

I then hear Stunts ask, “So, what about me?” As my character’s attention is drawn to him, he continues, “I have wings now, so I look like on of the princesses. But, I don’t have any earth pony powers. What does that make me? Am I just an alicorn second class?”

A sigh from the open front door draws my character’s attention to Emerald Hill. As soon as my character is focused on him, he adds, “And, then there’s me. You know I was a pegasus first, and now I have the powers of an earth pony. So, if these two combined races in me are to be acknowledged separately, which should be acknowledged first, my pegasus-ness, or my earth-pony-ness?”

My three stallion friends have asked some good questions. Clearly, their transformations have left them without a way to identify themselves. And, while I’m sure I can come up with identities for their new mixed forms on my own, I’m thinking I could use some help here. So, as I direct my character to look around, and I see my herbivorous dinosaur friend on the couch closest to my character, and without the clipboard and parchment, I ask, “Weed Whacker, will you go get the clipboard and the parchment? I’m thinking I’m gonna need to write a letter to the princesses.”

Eagerly, the dinosaur nods and says, “Right away, Mormon.” She then jumps off of the couch, then runs around my character and into the kitchen. And, a few seconds later, she returns with the items I asked for, as well as the pencil.

As soon as my character receives the tools and I thank her for them, my character writes the following words as I dictate them: “Dear Princesses:

“I am with four ponies who have each undergone transformations, and are each facing an identity crisis. Could at least one of you come and help me?” And, I have my character conclude the letter by signing my name to it. Then, automatically, he hands the tools back to Weed Whacker, who removes the parchment from the clipboard, rolls it up, and bites it, sending it to the princesses.

Afterwards, I hear a grunt of interest from Pinkie Pie, who follows it with, “Actually, what Emerald Hill asked is a good question.” As my character turns his attention to the pink party pony, she continues, pointing with a front hoof first to the green stallion, then to herself, “He’s a pegasus that’s just gotten earth pony abilities, and I’m an earth pony that’s just gotten wings.” She then asks, focusing on Emerald Hill, and putting her hoof down again, “Are we the same race of pony now?”

For a few seconds there is silence, as no one can think of an answer.

Then, from outside, I hear Princess Celestia say, “Maybe I can help answer your questions.”

A startled Emerald Hill pulls his head up and hits it on the top of the doorway.

I groan in sympathy before asking, “Are you alright, Emerald Hill?”

The green stallion groans, “Yeah, I’m fine.” His head then disappears from the doorway as I watch him back out, then hear him ask, “Princess Celestia, how are you?”

I then hear the voice of the daytime alicorn answer, “I’m fine. My sister and I got Mormon’s letter while we were meeting with a couple of Canterlot citizens that were bickering over some item, accusing each other of stealing it. My sister agreed to handle the dispute; so, here I am. If all the ponies that have transformed will come out, I shall see what I can do to help with your identity crisis.”

I decide my character should join the transformed ponies outside, since he was the one that wrote the letter.

With Princess Celestia, my character, Pinkie Pie, Emerald Hill, Berry Ground, and Stunts forming a circle just off of the front porch, the daytime princess asks, “So, how may I help?”

Taking that as an invitation, all four ponies start talking at once.

After a few seconds, I have my character step forward; and I say, “Alright, everyone, let’s see if we can get this done in order.” It seems that after my first two words I find myself the only one still talking. And, since all are evidently listening to me, I say, directing my character’s attention to the green stallion, “Emerald Hill, why don’t you voice your concerns first?”

Accepting my invitation, the green stallion takes a step toward the daytime alicorn and says, “Alright.” He then clears his throat before continuing, “You see, Princess, I was born a pegasus, and now I also have the powers of an earth pony.” Pointing with a front hoof to the pink party pony, he continues, “Pinkie here was born an earth pony, and now she also has wings.” He then puts the hoof down again before asking, “Are we now the same race of pony? If not, shall we be identified first by our original race, or by the race that we’ve gained? And, if we are of the same race now, shall we be known by a unique title?”

Berry Ground starts to take a step next to Emerald Hill, but a look from Princess Celestia directs him to back away. When the earth unicorn has done so, the daytime princess turns back to the green stallion and asks, “Well, what do you think? Both you and Pinkie Pie now have the same powers, those of both an earth pony and a pegasus.” She then turns to the pink party pony and asks, “And, what about you, Pinkie? Do you think a pegasus that’s gained earth pony powers should be different from an earth pony that’s gained wings, or do you think they should be the same?”

At first, Pinkie Pie seems alarmed or surprised. It could be that she’s overwhelmed by having been asked the question. But, then she lifts a front hoof to her chin and starts rubbing it, evidently in thought. After a few seconds, she puts the hoof down again and answers, “Neither Emerald Hill nor I have a horn, so we can’t exactly be called alicorns yet. The fact of the matter is that we both have earth pony powers and wings. And, it seems to me that those things should qualify us as the same race of pony, no matter how we started out.”

Princess Celestia turns back to Emerald Hill and asks, “Do you agree with that?”

The green stallion turns to Pinkie Pie, then smiles and turns back to the daytime princess, and answers, “Yes, Princess, I agree.”

Princess Celestia nods to the green stallion and the pink mare, then says, “So, the question becomes, what shall you be called now?” She then turns to my character and asks, “Mormon, what say you?”

At this point, the classic image of an angel comes to my mind, a human spirit with wings. On the one hand, for the purposes of this game, all four of these ponies are alive. But, if we’re to attach the label to ponies with wings, particularly ponies that also have earth pony powers, then that would mean that Emerald Hill and Pinkie Pie qualify for such a title. One question that comes to mind is would this kind of mixing be accepted by the original races of ponies? Then, I think about the Cakes’ twins, and the answer that comes to mind is that they just might. If any living pony with wings and earth pony powers can qualify as an angel, it seems to me that Pinkie Pie and Emerald Hill can. So, I decide to answer, “The classic view of an angel is a human spirit with wings. While both Pinkie Pie and Emerald Hill are alive, since they’re both a mixture of earth pony and pegasus, the title of angel might just work for them.”

Then, before the daytime princess can ask them, Emerald Hill and Pinkie Pie exchange looks; then Pinkie Pie turns to my character and says, “You know, I like that idea. And, Emerald, here, likes it too. So, sure, for ponies that have both wings and earth pony abilities, let’s go with the title of 'angel ponies.'”

Princess Celestia smiles and nods her head to the two newly-named angel ponies as she says, “Very well then.” She then turns to the red stallion and asks, “And, I believe you had something to ask me?”

Berry Ground takes the step next to his green friend and says, “Stunts has wings and a horn, but no earth pony powers; and I have earth pony powers and a horn, but no wings.”

Princess Celestia concludes, “And, you two want titles for your race mixtures?”

Berry Ground nods and responds, “If that's alright with you.”

Again the daytime princess turns to my character and asks, “Mormon, since you gave a title to the mixture of earth pony and pegasus, do you have a title for the mixture of earth pony and unicorn?”

As far as I know, there is no word in the English language that could fit such a mixture. But, I can borrow, I’m sure, words from another language, perhaps Latin, and put them together to give a title to such a pony mixture. Aloud, I think, “Well, there are a couple words that I could combine from the Latin language. The word ‘unicorn’ comes from the Latin, and means ‘one horn.’ From that, I could take the word ‘corn,’ and reasonably assume it means ‘horn.’ As for the earth pony part, the Latin word for ‘earth’ is ‘terra.’ If I put the two words together in the way that sounds best, I suppose I could give this mixture of earth pony and unicorn the title of ‘terra-corn.’”

The voice of Berry Punch repeating the new word to himself draws my character’s attention to him. After the second or third time, he says, “You know, that might just work. While it does sound like I’m being called an ‘earth horn,’ I can’t see anything especially wrong with it. It does sound better than if the words were reversed, ‘corn-terra.’ So, I say, sure, I’ll accept the title of ‘terra-corn.’”

Princess Celestia then focuses on Stunts and says, “And, that just leaves you.”

Presently, the blue stallion raises a front hoof and says, “I’ve thought about being called an alicorn second class; and the more I think about it, the more it appeals to me. So, I say, why not?”

The daytime alicorn hums in something that almost sounds like disappointment to me, then says, “You know, for all intents and purposes, all four of you are second-class alicorns. Two of you are each missing a horn, one of you is missing wings, and one of you is missing earth pony powers. However, if you, Stunts, prefer to have the title of alicorn second class strictly for the mixture of unicorn and pegasus, then so be it. Is that what you want?”

Stunts nods and answers, “It is.”

With that answer from the blue stallion, Princess Celestia says, “Then thus it shall be. I have to go back to Canterlot and record the new names for these three pony race mixes. Then I have to see how my sister’s doing with those two ponies. In the mean time, I’m glad I could help you, Mormon.” And, with that, she disappears.

Berry Punch then turns to my character and says, “Well, I suppose we shall be leaving as well. Thank you for helping us. We’ll always remember it.” And, with that, he backs up between Emerald Hill and Stunts, at which point Stunts closes his eyes, and his horn starts to glow. And, a second later, the trio of stallions disappears.

Now that it’s just the human and the pink angel mare in front of my character’s house, Pinkie looks up at my character and says, “Well, now that the business of our identities is solved, maybe it’s time for us to get some breakfast. Then, after that, we can head back to Ponyville.” She then looks at each of her wings, then back to my character, and says, “Diane’s gonna have to learn how to use these wings for flight. And, I’m guessing Emerald Hill will need to learn how to use his earth pony powers.”

I have my character approach the door, and I say, “And, we can’t forget about Stunts. He also has a set of wings that he’ll need to learn how to use.”

As my character reaches the door and opens it, Pinkie Pie hums in thought, then says, “You know, maybe I can get one of my friends to help Stunts and me learn how to fly. Maybe Rainbow Dash.”

As I have my character wait for Pinkie to enter, I say, “Emerald Hill might be another good option to turn to. But, I wonder, perhaps it’d be best to start out with a pegasa that can teach you the basics of flight first, say, Fluttershy?”

Again Pinkie Pie hums in thought; then she says, “You know, you may be right about that. Maybe I should have Fluttershy teach me how to fly. Then, when she’s taught me all she can, I can move on to Emerald Hill, perhaps, and then on to Rainbow Dash.” She then bounces happily into the house as she says, “Alright, let’s do that.”

From this point on, the game takes over again, guiding my character and his closest friends through harvesting fruits and vegetables, then cleaning them and preparing them for breakfast, then eating them. Then, the group prepares for and leaves the house.

But, before Pinkie and my character can enter the Everfree forest, the pink angel pony turns to my character, to me, and says, “There. You see, Mormy? I knew you’d win. Thank you.” And, with that, she turns and follows Lyra and Weed Whacker into the forest. But, before she can completely disappear, the scene freezes; and the words, “Game Over,” appear at the top of the screen. But, this time, at the bottom of the screen, the words, “You Win,” also appear. Two seconds later, the picture in between them disappears, followed by the messages a second after that.

I really do feel like I’ve won this game. And, what a journey it’s been. And, not only that, it feels completely worth it, even losing the first playthrough. And so, with the prompting displayed at the bottom of the screen, I agree to save and end the game. Time to get to work on that first extension.

Author's Notes:

For the conclusion, I already have alternate endings, outtakes and additions, and a conversation between Mormon and Pinkie Pie. I've also considered making a list of my ten favorite moments in the story so far.

If any of you have any ideas for what else I can put in the conclusion, please feel free to let me know in the comments. They're not just for me to talk about the highlights of each chapter.

At any rate, after the conclusion is published, I plan on marking this story "On Hiatus" while I do a final proofread of each chapter. Then, when I'm done with that, I'll mark the story complete.

In the mean time, I have another story ready, which I plan to publish the way I've done with most of my stories thus far. It'll be the prequel to Failure, although, at least by title, it might not be numbered in the Hey, Batter! series. It'll have similarities to the My Little Dashie story, although with a title that'll reflect more on my religious beliefs. In the mean time, I hope you've enjoyed this story; and I hope you'll enjoy what I'll write and publish in the future.