Before I get into the game, I have something to mention. I had another look into the Book of Mormon movie, and Lyra was right. It was actually the son of Ishmael that spoke out that, at least in the movie, told Laman and Lemuel they'd killed Laban. Evidently, having Lyra with me was more of a benefit than I'd realized. I'll have to tell her about it, and thank her.

Now, as I resume the game I plan to win, I seem to remember something about how I designed the game to react to music, both music files that I might add, and songs I might choose to sing. I'm thinking at some point I may get the opportunity to test that out.

As the game resumes, I hear knocking at the door of my bedroom, and the voice of Weed Whacker calling for me to wake up.

My character rises from his bed and walks to and opens his door, to see his dinosaur friend ask him, “Do you have your letter to the Princesses ready?”

As I realize what happened, I say, "Oh, I'm sorry, Weed Whacker. I forgot all about it."

In response, Weed Whacker enters my bedroom and noses around until he finds the clipboard with the parchment, then something to write with, then hands them to my character, and tells him, "Well, you'd better get to writing your letter now."

I find myself having to remember the events of the previous day and see if, in the events of that day, I've learned anything new about unicorns, about Lyra specifically, about Pinkie Pie, about earth ponies in general perhaps, or even about pegasi or even ponies in general. Then, I remember that in the previous round, or the game's yesterday, was my programming into the game of the events of the MLP FIM episode “Dragonshy,” with some other events involving Pinkie Pie and her likely informing two griffon parents and Rainbow Dash about what had become of Gilda.

I start the letter lamenting how it was late, mentioning that I'd forgotten about it until Weed Whacker reminded me. After that, I write about the events that transpired as my character and the Mane Six, along with Lyra, headed up to the dragon's cave to convince the dragon to leave. The main event I highlight in that expedition is when I chewed Lyra out for complaining about Fluttershy panicking. I observe that my chewing out Lyra put an end to all ]/i]the complaining. Not only that, but I have to admit, as I write as much in the letter, I was surprised when Twilight Sparkle accepted responsibility and repented on behalf of all the ponies there for complaining against Fluttershy.

I also highlight how Fluttershy stood out to me when she chewed out the dragon, which could've eaten her in one bite, for attacking and injuring her friends. As I've written in my notes, after seeing the look of fury on Fluttershy's face, I wasn't surprised that the dragon was so frightened. However, what I don't write in the letter is that my experience with a furious Fluttershy came from the previous game which I'd deliberately lost.

I also have to make note that, while it was Rainbow Dash kicking the dragon that got him out of the cave, it was actually my singing that made him grateful enough to give the ponies and me rides back to Ponyville. I write that the dragon gave me a ride, although I know he gave the ride to my character. At any rate, I write that I'd intended to irritate the dragon, but that part of the plan had backfired on me.

I write about finding Vinyl Scratch in Ponyville getting a drink at a local tavern, and finding that it had been Gilda's parents that had given her a ride there to find out what had happened to their daughter. I also write that I'm sure Pinkie Pie informed the two griffons and Rainbow Dash about what had happened to her, although Pinkie Pie would have to confirm this.

Considering both alicorns were there at the reading, I decide not to add anything about that. After all, they were witnesses to the events at that time. Besides, I don't remember anything particularly notable happening there.

After signing the letter, I hand it to Weed Whacker, who promptly bites on it to send it to the princesses.

After that, the two head to the kitchen, which seems strangely empty. On the other hand, there are sounds coming from the front room; so I have my character follow Weed Whacker there, opening the door for her, to find, to my surprise, not just the ponies, but also Gilda's parents waiting and conversing there. And, on the table is an assortment of fruits and vegetables.

As my character and Weed Whacker approach the table and each grab a fruit, Gilda's father says, “So, Mormon, it's about time you showed up. What took you so long?”

I answer, “There was something I'd forgotten to do, and Weed Whacker here reminded me of it. It's taken care of now.”

Gilda's mother fluffs out her feathers, then relaxes them, before saying, “Good. We want to meet with Snips as soon as possible so Pinkie Pie can repent to him. We appreciate you allowing us to stay in your territory, but we want to make our report at home as soon as we can.”

I answer, “I understand.”

It doesn't take long for Weed Whacker and my character to finish their fruits, after which all head out the front door.

My character lags behind to close the door.

Gilda's father volunteers to carry Pinkie Pie, while Gilda's mother volunteers to carry my character, on their way to the school house to find Snips.

Vinyl Scratch volunteers to join us, but I refuse, reminding her that she Pinkie promised to stay.

Instead, I suggest that she help Trixie build her mobile theater.

The white unicorn agrees, although halfheartedly, and Octavia volunteers to help her.

In the mean time, Lyra and Weed Whacker agree to stay at my character's house and help Trixie build her mobile theater as well.

With that taken care of, Pinkie Pie mounts the male griffon, my character mounts the female griffon, and the group of four head for the school house.

As we fly over the forest, my character looks over at Pinkie Pie, and I can see, through his eyes, she seems troubled.

I ask, “Pinkie Pie, are you alright?”

The pink earth pony turns to me and says, “I know I said I hoped to fly, but that's part of my Pinkie promise. This isn't what I had in mind.”

I open my mouth to say something, but Pinkie Pie holds out a forelimb, signaling me that she's not finished. Did she actually see me getting ready to say something?

She continues, “Having said that, it's not this flight experience that's bothering me. I'm worried about what I might say to Snips. But, more than that, I just hope he's alright.”

The thought occurs to me that Pinkie Pie voiced a valid concern. There is the possibility that, after his experience at Sugar Cube Corner, which may have been his last to date, the obese, greenish-blue, unicorn colt may have gotten so suspicious of anything coming out of the bakery that he's refusing to eat anything from there. And, depending on whether his family grows their own food, it could be that he's eaten little or nothing for days now.

As the group of four land at the door of the school house, Pinkie Pie presently dismounts, then approaches and opens the door.

From my character's perspective, I don't see much more than the chalkboard and, I think, one side of Cheerilee's behind. I think I can at least see her tail, or part of it.

At any rate, Pinkie Pie asks, “Hi. Is Snips here?”

I hear the teacher pony answer, “I'm sorry, Pinkie Pie. He hasn't shown up for the past two days.”

I then hear the voice of Snails say, “He's home right now. I think he's sick. He fell when we were heading for school yesterday.”

Through my character's eyes I see Pinkie Pie's head, ears, and tail droop as she asks, “Do you think you could take me to see him? I have something important to talk to him about.”

Next I hear Snails' voice say, “I guess so. Miss Cheerilee, is it alright if I go with Pinkie Pie?”

At this point, I hear Cheerilee say, “I must admit, I'm worried about Snips as well. Sure, Snails, go right ahead.”

I then watch as Pinkie Pie moves aside, allowing the small orange unicorn to pass by her through the doorway, but not before he turns to the teacher and says, “Thanks, Miss Cheerilee.”

As he turns back and takes a few more steps out the door, I hear Pinkie Pie say, “Thanks. I'll bring him back as soon as I can.”

I then hear a “You're welcome” from the teacher pony as Pinkie Pie closes the door to the school house, then walks over to and mounts the male griffon again.

Now the problem is getting Snails to move. He's focused on the two griffons, and I can see him trembling, his ears pointed backward and flat against his head.

I turn to the pink earth pony and say, “He's in the presence of strangers, and two of them are carnivores. If I were in his position, I'd be nervous, too. Pinkie, maybe you should walk with him.”

The pink pony, after turning and hearing what I have to say, answers, “You're probably right.” She then dismounts the male griffon and walks up to the immobile orange unicorn and says, “I'll walk with you. I promise the griffons won't hurt you. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” As she was saying that last sentence, she went through the motions of her Pinkie promise.

Then, as she and Snails start walking again, I see her stop, close her eyes, and put a front hoof between her closed eyes, as she says, “Oh shoot, I forgot to Pinkie promise Cheerilee.”

I answer, “That's alright. I'm sure she trusts you. Otherwise, she wouldn't have let Snails go with you.”

After the pink pony turns to listen to me again, opening her eyes and putting the hoof down, she says, “I guess you're right.” Then, she turns to Snails again and says, “Let's go.”

As the two ponies move ahead, Snails guiding Pinkie Pie past the griffons and away from the school house, the little orange unicorn asks, “I'm not in any trouble, am I?”

I see Pinkie Pie shake her head as she answers, “No, you're not in any trouble. I'm the one in trouble.”

The young unicorn looks up at the pink earth pony and asks, “You? What did you do wrong?”

Pinkie Pie answers, “I'll explain when I talk to Snips.”

It's just a few minutes following the two ponies before the group arrives at a house.

Passing by a window, I see a greenish-blue unicorn that looks like Snips, but is greener and thinner than the unicorn I recognize, and is in bed, apparently asleep.

At the door Pinkie Pie knocks, after which I hear thudding or thundering sounds from the room where the sleeping unicorn was to the door.

As the door opens, I see the head of a unicorn stallion stick out, something of a greenish blue darker than that of Snips, with reddish orange mane.

He focuses on the long-necked orange unicorn as he says, “Snails, I'm surprised to see you back from school so soon. Is everything alright?”

Snails answers, “Yeah, everything's goin' alright at school, and I'm fine. I just brought Pinkie Pie here to talk to Snips. How is he, anyway?”

The head disappears, and the door opens wider, as the voice of the unicorn stallion answers, “Not well, I'm afraid. He's just not eating.”

Interestingly enough, I can hear the voices as they move through the house toward the bedroom(?) where I saw the little green unicorn sleeping.

I hear Pinkie Pie say, “I'm sorry to hear that. Do you think he'll be alright?”

I then hear the male unicorn's voice answer, “Not if he doesn't eat anything. And, that's the problem. He doesn't even look at food without groaning. He's really scarin' us.”

At this point, I hear a door open, approximately where I saw the green unicorn sleeping, and the voice of the male unicorn asks, “Is Snips doin' alright?”

Now, a female voice says, “He's sleepin' right now. At least he's not coughin'.”

With my character still riding on the female, the two griffons move to the window where I saw the sleeping green unicorn. As I see, through my character's eyes, Pinkie Pie enter the room with the unicorn, I'm still not quite certain that the pony in bed is in fact Snips. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

As Pinkie Pie moves in front of the window, momentarily hiding the bedridden unicorn from my character, from me, she says, “Snails, it's me, Pinkie Pie.” I don't have to hear it in her voice, I can see that the pink pony is shivering.

I finally get my confirmation when the green unicorn wakes up, although his eyes are still mostly closed, then turns to the pink pony, and says, “Oh, it's you.” The words come out as a groan.

Pinkie Pie nods nervously and says, “That's right, it's me. I just came to talk to you about that cupcake you ate.”

Immediately Snips' eyes open, and I can't blame Pinkie Pie for being frightened at the foal's glare.

I must admit, it's alarming me.

He growls, “Well, start talkin'.”

Pinkie Pie swallows hard, then says, “W-well, I'm sure you n-noticed it had t-two f-flavors?”

The pink pony flinches as Snips sits up and says, “Yeah, what about it?” then collapses again and starts coughing.

The coughing fit lasts for maybe half a minute, leaving Snips panting when it's over; and Pinkie Pie waits patiently for the fit to pass before she stammers a few times, then finally blurts out, “That cupcake was made from griffon meat!”

Three voices, no, four voices, say the same thing at the same time: “What?”

The pink earth pony cries, “They weren't intended for you, Snips. They were intended for a human I didn't understand at the time!” Then, looking out the window and seeing my character, she asks, “Mormon, will you come in, please?” Then, with a sniffle, she turns to another creature in the room and sobs, “Will you let him in, please?”

I say nothing as my character dismounts the female griffon and proceeds to the door. At least, I don't say anything aloud. I must note, at this point, that I could see the streams of tears from Pinkie Pie's eyes. She clearly regrets what she did.

As my character arrives at the door, it opens; and the stallion I saw earlier waits for my character to enter. Once my character's inside, the stallion closes the door, then leads him to Snips' bedroom.

Once my character has entered the room, and I see a nearly-white-pink mare sitting next to Snips' bed, I hear Pinkie Pie say, “This is the human I made the cupcakes for. He ate one of them, then later told me I shouldn't have killed another creature and made her into food for him.” She sniffles before continuing, “I've been living with him for a few days now, and I've learned a lot about him.” Focusing on the unicorn in bed, she concludes, “I didn't mean to hurt anypony. I hope you'll forgive me.”

Snips, focused on Pinkie Pie, says, “Well, it's nice to know you're sorry, since I'm dying.” With that, he starts coughing again, but this time it doesn't stop until he falls into unconsciousness, burying his face in his pillow.

The mare, who I guess is Snips' mother, hurriedly moves to reposition his head. Then she screams and pulls away.

I understand when I see one of her hooves has a drop of blood on it. Things are worse than I thought.

And, I'm not the only one that's seen it; Pinkie Pie and Snails have also seen the blood on the mare's hoof, and are starting to panic.

But, Pinkie Pie manages to snap out of it. She turns to my character and asks, “Mormon, couldn't you do something about this? Would you heal Snips?”

I must say, I find Pinkie Pie's request encouraging. But, at the same time, I'm thinking the request should come from Snips' parents.

The unicorn mare, hearing Pinkie Pie, turns to my character and says, “I never learned any healing spells, and neither has my husband. If you can heal my son, please, I can't lose him. Do what you can.”

As my character approaches Snips, the unicorn stallion, glaring at him, proceeds to arch over the foal, keeping my character from touching him.

That's when the mare, actively proving herself to be, at least emotionally, Snips' mother, taps the stallion, who I'm guessing is Snips' father, on one of his hips and, once she has his attention, asks, “What harm can it do? Whether he can heal our son or not, he should at least get the chance.”

When the stallion turns back to my character, I can see through his eyes the anger has been replaced by sorrow. The stallion backs away, avoiding stepping onto his wife as he drops away from Snips, and says, “My female is right. Whether you can heal him or not, you should at least get the chance. But, if you can, please heal Snips.”

Now, with the encouragement of both parents, my character, as per my instruction, touches the dormant Snips, who immediately sits up and looks around.

The foal still in bed grimaces and groans, and I hear the familiar zipper sound effect. Looking at the unicorn mare, Snips says, “Mommy, I'm hungry. And, I think I just messed myself.”

I think the sounds coming from Snips' father and Snails are a mixture of both laughter and crying. On the other hand, I'm sure the sounds coming from the mares in the room are pure sobs.

The two parents nuzzle their revived son, Snails nuzzles his revived brother, and Pinkie Pie nuzzles my character. The two parents and Snails express gratitude that Snips is or will be fine, and Pinkie Pie is grateful that she can finally forgive herself.

After a few minutes, when Snails, Pinkie Pie, and Snips' parents have finally regained their composure, I say, “I'm thinking it's time to return Snails to the school house.”

And, wouldn't you know it, at the same time Snips' parents have pulled back his bedsheets to reveal that he has indeed had a bowel movement, and a rather moist one at that. But, they agree that it's time for Snails to go back to school.

A few minutes later, Pinkie Pie, Snails, the griffons, and my character are headed back to the school house.

Once there, I inform Cheerilee that Snips should be back in school tomorrow. Snails returns to his place in the class, and, by our request, the griffons give Pinkie Pie and my character a ride back to my character's house.

The ride back is uneventful, except for me singing a favorite hymn, “Count Your Blessings,” on seeing Pinkie Pie still grieving that her decision to make cupcakes from a griffon almost cost the life of a fellow pony, and such a young one at that. And, one thing about that. Evidently humans are more unpredictable than ponies, at least the Equestrian variety. Or, is it that real humans are more difficult for the game to predict than the ponies in the game?

When I start singing, instrumental accompaniment hasn't already started. But, it does join in as I sing the second line of the first verse of the song, and the griffons join in on the chorus, providing harmony. And, as I anticipate, the second verse provides the most comfort to Pinkie Pie. I sing all four verses from memory, and the song ends just as the griffons land in my character's front yard.

Once the four have landed, I'm happy to see, through my character's eyes, that Lyra and Vinyl are helping Trixie begin the building of her mobile theater. Evidently, over the past few days since she arrived, Trixie's been gathering materials for the theater, and has just now, with the help of the two other unicorns, begun building. They seem to be off to a good start, too. They already have at least one of the wheels complete.

Once Pinkie Pie, the griffons, and my character are on the ground, Vinyl turns to me and asks, “Did you have a musical number just now?”

I can't help laughing as I answer, “We sang a song on the way back.”

The white unicorn seems resentful as she says, “You couldn't have waited until you landed? I wanted to join in.”

I answer, “It was kind of an emergency thing.”

Vinyl groans, just as Octavia comes out, carrying some drinks on a tray.

The gray earth pony, hearing Vinyl's groan, asks, “Vinyl, what's wrong?”

Pointing to my character, the white unicorn mare answers, “Mormon just had an emergency musical number.”

Something about Vinyl Scratch's serious tone makes what she said all the funnier. And, it's just compounded when Octavia turns to me and asks, “Is everything alright?”

It's Pinkie Pie who says, “Everything's fine.” Did I just hear anger in her voice?

The male griffon takes the moment to say, “Well, we must be off now. We need to make our report back at home.” And, with that, the two griffons fly off.

When the griffons are gone, Pinkie Pie grabs my character by the arm and drags him into and through the house to his bedroom. Once there, she closes the door, turns to my character, and says, “Alright. I'm glad we're entertaining you so much. But, when you talk about us having an emergency musical number and then start laughing about it, well, it makes it sound like you're not taking it seriously.”

I must admit, I'm surprised at how seriously Pinkie Pie's taking this. I say, “I'm sorry. It's just that, when Vinyl Scratch talked about an 'emergency musical number,' the idea just struck me as funny, that's all, especially with her tone.”

For a moment Pinkie Pie closes her eyes and puts a front hoof between them. When she removes the hoof and opens her eyes again, she sighs and says, “Look, Mormon, you remember, in your previous game, at Rarity's house, when she talked about the probability of me killing Derpy and Rainbow Dash as being the worst possible thing? You removed your head gear as fast as you could when you laughed. Then, when you were finished, you put the head gear back on and resumed the game. You could've done that same thing this time, just maybe not removing the head gear as fast. We would've waited for you to come back.” As she grabs the doorknob to leave, she concludes, “If you still feel like laughing, please feel free to do so in here. We'll wait for you to come out when you're finished.” And, with that, she opens the door, enters the hallway, and closes the door behind her.

I have to admit, I'm left surprised at the hole she left in the fourth wall. How did she get that much information from that first file? Whatever the case is, it's clear I'm going to have to be careful what I do from now on.

Well, since I don't feel like laughing anymore, I guess I'd better let Vinyl know that I'm sorry. So, I have my character leave his room to find Pinkie Pie waiting for him there. I guess that makes sense, since I didn't hear hoof-falls leaving.

The pink pony doesn't say anything, just leads me back through the house outside to where Vinyl is once again helping Trixie with her mobile stage.

Once the two are there, Pinkie Pie steps aside as my character kneels on one knee, and I say, “Well, Vinyl Scratch, I'm sorry about laughing earlier at what you said. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that the idea of an emergency musical number is so foreign to me, I just had to laugh at it.”

Vinyl turns to my character and hears me out, then says, “You're the one that said your musical number was an emergency thing.”

I answer, “I know. I guess I didn't add up what I'd said until you put it together. I guess I should be more careful in the future, either about what I say, or how I react to how it's restated.”

While I'm talking, I see Vinyl Scratch shaking her head. When I'm finished, she says, “Maybe it's not your problem. It could be that we need to learn not to be offended when you laugh at what we say, or how we say it. Whichever it is, I should get back to helping Trixie. But, thanks for informing me.”

As I watch the white unicorn go back to helping Trixie, I wonder to myself if I should sing a song for her benefit. I have quite a repertoire of my own, and I'm sure it'd be interesting to see how she, and for that matter the rest of the ponies that'd hear me, would react to it. When I sang 'Count Your Blessings,' the griffons joined in. And, for that matter, they sounded surprisingly good. The question is, if I do choose to sing, what song would I choose? Would Vinyl like to hear a hymn? Somehow, songs from popular artists like Weird Al or Duran Duran don't seem appropriate; but neither do any of the songs from the Castle Valley Pageant. Fortunately, those aren't the only sources I have. So, the question is, what song do I know that'd be appropriate for what Vinyl Scratch is working on?

Then the decision dawns on me, and I have my character take a few steps back before I start singing. The song I choose comes from an album of songs from various LDS artists, a song called “Hold It Up to the Light.”

I find it rather fun to watch Vinyl's ears twitch as I start singing, again without an introduction. She manages to harmonize during the apparent chorus, then she and the other ponies present echo the chorus after the second verse.

Then, the ponies start a dance routine while they harmonize with the first bridge verse.

It's Vinyl and Trixie who, together, sing the second bridge verse, while Pinkie Pie sings the final verse, followed by the other ponies and me singing the chorus to end the number.

I can't say that I remember any instrumental accompaniment, whether from any of the ponies, or anything ambient. But, it is entertaining to sing for the ponies and watch them respond.

When it's all over, the ponies seem to return to what they were doing before as though nothing had happened. But, I'm fine with that. I can only guess that it was as much fun for me as it was for the ponies.

After that, I decide to send my character fishing. It's one thing I have yet to see him do, and about the only harm I can imagine is I expose the ponies here to my character's omnivory when he comes back with a fish. So, I send him into the house to search for his fishing equipment, then, once he's found everything he needs, I send him to the pond.

I'm not surprised to see Pinkie Pie following my character, although I have to wonder, should I be? But, it doesn't matter at this point. The two arrive at the pond in a minute or two, and my character casts his line into the pond. Once the baited hook is settled in it's position, my character sits near the coast; and Pinkie Pie settles next to him. My character will know what to do if and when a fish decides to bite.

For a few minutes we wait, until Pinkie Pie gets bored with the silence; at which point she says, “You know that was a nice thing you did for Vinyl, singing to her the way you did.”

I answer, “Well, after making her feel bad from laughing at her, I figured she could use a song to cheer her up. She made it clear she doesn't like being left out of musical numbers. Besides, it was a fun experiment.”

Just then, there's a buzzing sound coming from my character's fishing pole, and he sits up and looks to see the top of it bending, indicating a fish has taken the bait.

He grabs the pole from its position and starts reeling in the line.

The sudden activity startles Pinkie Pie, and she watches in interest as my character battles the string coming out of the water.

It takes a minute or two, but my character manages to reel in a fish, and a rather big one at that. The first time it appears, it's clearly too far into the pond to not have a chance to escape. Then, the second time, it's close enough to the shore that Pinkie Pie, if she wanted to, could take a few steps out into the pond to grab the fish in her mouth and bring it in.

My character manages to reel in the fish until it's just hanging, flopping around, at the end of his line, still attached to the hook.

As my character searches for and finds a box to put the fish in, Pinkie Pie, grimacing, asks, “Are you sure you want everypony to see you eating that?”

As my character frees the fish from the hook and puts it in the box, I answer, “I did catch it so I could eat it. But, I plan to cook it before that. I suppose I could just eat it in the kitchen, if you're so worried about the others reacting badly to seeing a man eating fish.”

The pink pony, acknowledging my sense of humor, forces a laugh before saying, “Yeah. I know humans eat meat as well as plants, and I'm willing to live with that. I'm just not sure about the others.” Swallowing hard, she continues, “Lyra might try some of the fish, just for the experience. If the taste doesn't force her to spit it out, or she doesn't throw up soon after swallowing the meat, she'll have some other bad reaction to it.

“Then, there are Trixie and Vinyl. I just don't think they're ready to see you eating meat. If they happen to see you eating the fish, with or without plants, it'll take some explaining from you, I think, before they accept that you won't eat them. Just because you promised and demonstrated that you'd rather make friends with ponies than eat them, that doesn't mean the fear won't come up again if they see you eating meat.”

My character looks at the box, then back at Pinkie Pie, and I ask, “Do you think I should cook and eat the fish now, here at the pond, before heading back?”

The pink earth pony looks around the pond, then back at me, before answering, “I don't see a place around here where you could cook and eat that fish. Unless you have a secret place somewhere nearby, in your genealogy building for example, you may have to leave your fish and equipment here while you go back for your cooking equipment. And, considering how unpredictable the weather is so close to the Everfree forest, cooking outside means you run the risk of the wind changing and blowing the smell of the cooking fish toward the other ponies and disturbing them.”

I state, “Well, it sounds to me like, if I'm gonna eat this fish, my best option is to take it back to the house and cook and eat it there, and just risk your pony friends seeing me. That, or I show them the fish and let them know what I plan to do with it.”

Pinkie Pie grunts in thought, then says, “It is best that they hear about it from you beforehand, rather than they enter the kitchen and see you preparing or eating the fish without getting warned about it first. And, if you hadn't suggested informing them, then I was going to.

“You've always given us ponies, as well as other creatures, the right to decide. Well, now the decision is yours what you think you should do.”

Whether my character is smiling right now or not, it doesn't matter to me. I know I'm smiling. My experiment with Pinkie Pie, involving her in reading the Book of Mormon, has proven successful, showing me her better side, and more quickly and just plain more than I'd expected.

I answer, “Let's go, and I'll show them the fish and inform them of what I plan to do with it. After that, it'll be their decision how they'll react.”

Pinkie Pie nods in agreement, and the two head back to the house. Or, should that be three, considering the fish?

Another minute or two later, the two, three counting the fish, are back at the house.

My character approaches the three unicorns still working on the mobile theater, then kneels down a few steps away from the one in the middle, who happens to be Vinyl Scratch; then, as my character holds out the box, I say, “Hi. I have something to show you, then to tell you what I plan to do with it.”

Trixie saw my character coming, but I seem to have startled Vinyl and Lyra. Still, the three gather around me when they hear about what my character has to show and tell.

At first I say nothing as my character opens the box and reveals the fish inside.

In return, none of the unicorns responds with any noticeable emotion.

Pinkie Pie, making her way toward the house, says, “I'll go get Octavia.”

As the pink pony disappears into the house, Trixie, staring at the fish, grunts and says, “So, you're probably going to eat it.”

I answer, “After I clean and fry it, that's right.”

Vinyl and Trixie mumble in shock and horror; but Lyra, as Pinkie Pie more or less predicted, looks on in curiosity and asks, “When you're ready to eat it, may I try some?”

Vinyl and Trixie turn their shocked and horrified expressions on Lyra as they say, perhaps a little louder than they intend, “What?”

I answer, “I don't think so, Lyra. Your digestive system isn't designed to process meat. You most likely wouldn't even like the smell.” At this point, my character closes the box.

As he stands up again, I hear the sound of a door opening and closing, no doubt the front door; and my character turns toward the sound to show me Octavia and Pinkie Pie approaching from the house.

I then hear Lyra, evidently with hurt feelings, say, “Hey, I used to be a human, remember? I'm still an omnivore.”

As my character looks down at the pale-green unicorn propped up on her hind legs against one of those of his, I say, “I can't risk it. You can think of me as selfish for saying this, but I'm going to eat all of this fish on my own.”

I hear Octavia's voice, surprised, ask, “Fish? What fish?”

As my character turns to the gray mare, I can see Weed Whacker close behind her. As she approaches, I have my character kneel down again, open the box to show the contents to the both of them, and say, “I caught this fish with the intent of eating it.” I can't help noticing, as I peer into the box, that the fish has already stopped gasping, or moving at all.

As Octavia looks into the box and sees the now dead fish, she groans in disgust and looks away.

On the other hand, Weed Whacker asks, “I don't have to watch you eat it, do I?”

I answer, as my character closes the box again, “No, you don't. I plan on eating it once I've cleaned it out and fried it.”

That's when I hear Lyra complain, “And, he won't let me have any.”

I almost feel like laughing.

On the other hand, as Octavia turns to the pale-green unicorn, the disgust on her face is either replaced by or mixed with anger as she says, “Lyra, you're a pony, not a human. Your digestive system isn't meant for meat.”

I decide not to listen anymore as I have my character stand up again and head for the house to prepare and eat the fish.

Once in the kitchen, my character removes the fish from the box and puts it in the sink, turns on the water and sets it to a tolerable warmth, then takes a steak knife from the drawer nearby and uses it to cut off the fish's head, then slice open it's abdomen. He uses a thumb to scoop out the contents of the abdomen, including the large blood vessel just under the spinal column. Allowing the guts to fall into the sink, he rinses his thumb in the stream of water, then proceeds to do the same thing with the inside of the fish's abdomen, using his thumb once again to lightly scrub the surface of any blood. After that, he again rinses and lightly scrubs the outside skin of the fish, moistening the skin again and freeing it of as much slime as he can. After that, he puts the fish back in the sink, grabs the guts and head, and puts them back in the box, ready to take them back to the pond, or maybe toss them in the garbage or compost heap, one way or another to get rid of them. Then, he turns off the water.

Next he gets a frying pan and prepares it to fry the fish. He gets the pan from a set of shelves next to the oven, not far from the sink.

Next is the butter from the fridge, then some seasoning, specifically salt, in a shaker which he places next to the oven.

My character turns on a front plate, places the pan over it, then takes a butter knife from the drawer where he got the steak knife, then uses it to cut some of the butter from the brick and drops it into the pan. I watch the butter melt as the pan warms up, then as my character picks up the pan and tilts it around, allowing gravity to move the butter around so it can cover the bottom of the pan. He then puts it down and allows me to watch as the melted butter starts to sizzle and scorch a little.

Next he places the fish in the pan, then seasons it on the exposed side, waits for it to fry on the side touching the frying pan, then flips it over onto the other side and seasons the exposed side again, and waits a little longer for the side touching the frying pan to fry. After that, my character turns off the plate under the pan, then moves the pan to the other front plate to keep the fish from burning.

Finally, he gets out a plate and fork, scoops the fish from the pan and onto the plate, then proceeds to the table to enjoy his fish.

I have to say, I'm surprised that it takes this long for Lyra to separate herself from talking with Octavia or assisting Trixie to enter the house and search for my character. I'm also surprised at how well she tolerates the smell of my character's fried fish. As the two look at each other, my character ready to eat the fish, and Lyra on her hind legs in the doorway of the kitchen, the pale-green unicorn asks, “Won't you please let me have some of your fish, Mormon?”

I have my character move the chair closest to him and most available to Lyra and tap it with his hand as I say, “Lyra, come here.”

Lyra shows excitement as she runs to the chair, climbs it, then stands up again and says, “Yes?”

I then say, “Now, open your mouth.”

I can tell, the way she opens her mouth, that she's expecting to get some of my character's fish.

Instead, I have my character use the tip of the handle of his fork to test Lyra's teeth, demonstrating none with sharp edges, none with sharp tops, none designed for eating meat. Indeed, I can see that the rows of teeth in her top and bottom jaws are all smooth. When my character is finished testing them, he moves his fork away; and I say, “You can close your mouth now.”

The pale-green unicorn does so for a second before asking, “So, can I have some fish?”

I answer, “You don't even have teeth that are good for chewing meat. And, if your teeth are only good for chewing plants, can I have any assurance that your digestive system will be able to process meat?”

I watch as Lyra's expression morphs in a second from excitement to sadness and desperation. With evident difficulty she avoids crying as she says, her voice shaking nonetheless, “Please, Mormon, can't I have even just a little of your fish?”

I answer, “No, Lyra, I don't think so. What if the fish poisons you? Ponyville is a half hour away. There's no guarantee that even I could get you to the doctor in time to save you. I just can't take that risk.”

The pale-green unicorn turns away from my character, but can't hide the fact that she's trembling.

I have my character put a hand on her closest shoulder to him as I ask, “Lyra, are you alright?”

Lyra knocks the hand away with the closest forelimb, then falls off the chair, gets up on all fours, then proceeds to gallop off. From what I can see, my guess is that she's headed to her room, based on the fact that after she disappears from behind a chair I hear her hoof-falls and I can see a little bit of her mane from the top of the chair and the edge of the wall of the hallway.

I decide not to say anything, not to impede her progress to her room, and instead have my character eat the fish, leaving only the skeleton behind. After that, I have him put the plate in the sink, placing the fish's skeleton in the box ready for disposal. I decide the best place for disposal of the fish is the garbage receptacle in the kitchen.

My character cleans the plate and fork off in the sink, then places them in the drying tray, then heads out the door to see how things are progressing with Trixie's mobile theater.

From what I can see, the wheels are complete, spokes and all, joined together with round posts, and the main platform is nearly complete.

Pinkie Pie, who has evidently taken over for Lyra, turns to me, dropping the hammer in her mouth, and asks, “Is Lyra alright?”

I answer, “I'm sure she will be.”

The pink pony canters up to my character and, propping herself up on his leg, says, “You did the right thing, you know, denying her your fish. You were right. If she had been poisoned, which she would've been had she eaten any of the fish, you might've gotten her to the doctor in Ponyville in time to save her. But, the risk is too great. I don't think Fluttershy would've been able to help her.”

I answer, “I know.” Then, looking at the progress on the theater, I ask, “So, how's the theater coming along?”

A happy Trixie, suspending a hammer in mid-air over a nail, turns to my character and answers, “So far, so good. I have to thank you for the tools, and Vinyl, Octavia, Lyra, and Pinkie for their assistance. I wouldn't be this close to having another theater without you, and my fellow unicorns.”

My character looks into the sky, showing me indications that it's early in the afternoon, and there are no clouds.

I say, “Looks like a clear day.”

Pinkie Pie, who had been reaching for her hammer until then, looks up at the sky directly over her, then looks toward Ponyville, then says, “Oh, shoot!”

I ask, “What's wrong, Pinkie Pie?”

The pink pony focuses on my character and answers, “There was a rain shower scheduled for today, for this morning. It looks like Rainbow Dash and the other pegasi forgot about it.” She groans, looking down, then continues, “Now it looks like they'll have to make up for it with a major storm tomorrow.”

Something about that makes sense to me. It's not just normal consumption by the ponies that needs to be taken into consideration. As warm as it was, there's also evaporation that needs to be considered. It's not just going to be taken care of with double the precipitation a day later. No, it would require an even greater storm. But, that also leaves me to wonder how many ponies would be able to make it to tomorrow's reading. I might have to settle with it being present company, and perhaps one or both princesses. But, it doesn't matter how many show up; as long as the group enjoys the reading, that's all that matters. And, even if it's just Lyra, Weed Whacker, Pinkie Pie, and me, my experiment on Pinkie Pie can continue.

After that, Pinkie Pie turns to me again and says, “Well, when I'm finished here, when we're done for the day, I have something to show you.”

I have a sneaking suspicion I already know what it is.

That's when Octavia says, “Pinkie Pie, if it's important to you, I'll take over for you.”

Pinkie Pie turns to her fellow earth pony and says, “Thanks, Octavia.” Then, as the gray earth mare grabs the hammer, the pink earth mare approaches me and says, “Come with me. If it's alright with you, let's meet in your work room.”

My character nods in agreement, then follows Pinkie Pie back into the house. Once inside, my character heads to his work room, while Pinkie Pie heads to her bedroom. When she comes to the work room, a minute or two later, I can see, through my character's eyes, she's holding a gold leaf of some sort in her mouth. When she drops it on the ground, and after my character closes the door behind her, I can see that the gold leaf has writing on it, in the outline of a rectangle, which is the shape of the leaf.

I hear Pinkie Pie say, “This is a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. If you want one, I'm sure I could get Twily to get it for you.”

As my character focuses on her, I say, “I don't know. Isn't the Grand Galloping Gala strictly for ponies? I'm a human. I don't have any motivation to attend such an event. And, I don't think you need me to go with you.”

The pink pony's smile inverts, and her head and ears droop as she says, “But, I want you to go there with me. And, I'm sure the princesses'd make an exception.” She perks up again and asks, “Couldn't you bring copies of the Book of Mormon with you, and hold a special reading?”

I grunt in interest and say, “That would be motivation. But, if I'm going to attend, I'm also going to have to bring Lyra and Weed Whacker with.”

Pinkie Pie concludes, “So, I'm gonna need to ask for three tickets. I'll see what I can do.”

My thoughts remain on the idea of a special Book of Mormon reading at Canterlot Castle as I add, “If I'm gonna have a special reading, Princess Celestia will likely need to give me a place, either just outside where the Gala will be held, or maybe in their library. But, first thing's first. I can think about arrangements if I get the tickets. Assuming I do, I suppose I'll leave it up to the princesses to provide arrangements for the reading. I just wonder, how many ponies would be interested in such an event?”

Pinkie Pie tilts her head for a moment, then straightens it again before saying, “Well, all my bestest friends have reasons to go, and that's all that matters to me. Even my bestest human friend has a reason to go!” And, with that, the pink pony grabs her ticket off the floor, bounces to the door, opens it, takes a few steps out into the hall, then closes the door behind her.

From out of the hallway, very likely in the front room, I hear the voices of Pinkie Pie and Lyra evidently talking for a bit, although the voices are too muffled for me to understand what they're saying.

In the mean time, I'm left to think about what just happened. Pinkie Pie pretty much invited me to an event that I'd understood was strictly for ponies. She even provided me with a reason to go. There seem to be a few things missing, including at least one ticket. Of course, that leaves me with a few questions. For one thing, other than being a pony, does Lyra have a good reason for attending? Having seen the "Ticket Master" episode, I know Spike will be attending, if for no other reason than to keep the local doughnut shop open. It's likely that my attending will give him a better reason, as well as the fact that Weed Whacker will also be attending. Would he prefer to join in reading the Book of Mormon with my character, Lyra, Weed Whacker, the Mane Six, and other ponies that'll join in, or would he prefer to remain at the doughnut shop? And, how many copies of the Book of Mormon should I bring? But, right now, that doesn't matter. When one or both of the princesses come to the reading tonight, I can ask about it then. But, I'm guessing it'll most likely be Pinkie Pie that asks.

In the mean time, I hear a knock at the door of the work room, which my character answers to find Lyra standing there.

As my character stands aside to allow her to enter, she takes a few steps inside and settles down into a canine-style position and, while he closes the door, says, “Pinkie Pie just told me you'll be going to the Grand Galloping Gala.”

I answer, “That's not completely confirmed yet. But, if Pinkie Pie has her way, Weed Whacker, you and I will have tickets to go there.”

I can see, through my character's eyes, the pale-green unicorn's eyes vibrate as she says, “Y-you want m-me to go w-with y-you to the G-gala?”

I have my character kneel on one knee in front of her and stroke the side of her face with one hand as I say, “Well, I can't very well study you unless you're with me.”

And, that's when I notice the box with the message, “Lyra's face feels unusually warm.”

Not only that, but her face seems to be turning a different shade of green, something more yellowish.

Before I can ask if she's alright, she jumps into my character's arms and cries, “Oh, Mormon, I'm so sorry I was so mean to you!” Her statement ends with a loud belch.

My character pushes her away just in time for her to spew what looks like a thin pink-yellow-white milk onto the floor before she collapses into it. He then picks her up again as I ask, “Lyra, what did you do?”

Lyra looks up and groans weakly as she says, “I ate a little of your leftover fish.”

My character reacts instantly. Hoisting the unicorn over a shoulder, he stands up, opens the door to the work room, runs through the hallway into the front room, then opens the front door and nearly runs over Pinkie Pie.

The pink earth pony jumps aside as my character runs past her, then follows him, grabbing Weed Whacker along the way, and says, “Lyra, you ate the fish, didn't you?”

The sick unicorn groans, “Just a little.”

My character has jumped over the gate and headed into the forest when something occurs to me. I say, “I threw what was left of that fish away. Lyra, did you eat out of the garbage?”

I hear a groan from Lyra which I think sounds like an affirmative answer. If she has eaten out of the garbage container, things may be worse than I thought, or at least different.

Whereas walking through the forest takes around half an hour, the run through the forest and into Ponyville takes about ten to fifteen minutes. And, with Pinkie Pie's help, it's only another minute before we find the clinic.

As the group bursts through the door, led by my character, Pinkie Pie calls out, “We've got an emergency! Lyra's been poisoned!”

The white earth mare at the front desk seems to act out of fear of the human facing her as she calls for a stretcher to come as soon as possible. Then, turning to Pinkie Pie, she asks, “What did he do to her?”

I answer, “I didn't do anything. She ate some bad fish.”

And, that's when the stretcher arrives.

My character places the sick unicorn on the stretcher, which disappears down a hallway into the clinic. Based on the fact that I couldn't see it possessed by any color or aura, I can only assume it's being controlled some way other than with unicorn magic. Could it be electrical or electronic? But, that's just a minor mystery compared to what's going to happen to Lyra.

I ask, “Is Lyra going to be alright?”

The still terrified nurse pony answers, “Just calm down. We won't know what we can do until we give her a checkup. How long ago did she eat the fish?”

I answer, “Not more than twenty minutes, I think.”

The nurse pony asks, “And, in that time, did she throw up?”

My character nods as I answer, “Yes, she did.”

The earth pony sighs, seemingly relieved, as she says, “Good. That gives us a better chance of saving her. If she hasn't processed any of the fish, then chances are she'll be fine. But, what were you doing that it took you twenty minutes to get here?”

Pinkie Pie answers, “We were running through the Everfree forest.”

Now confused, the nurse pony asks, “And, why were you in the Everfree forest?”

I answer, “My home is on the other side of the forest. Lyra's been living with me by orders from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. It's a long story.”

The white earth pony nods and says, “That's alright. You've given me enough information already. We'll take care of Lyra. You just wait over there.” And, she points to the waiting area evidently ahead of the front desk.

As the white earth mare disappears into the clinic, following the stretcher that carried Lyra away, my character follows Pinkie Pie to a place in the waiting area were they settle down together.

Once settled down, I say, “I can't believe Lyra would do something like this.”

I then hear Pinkie Pie say, “Lyra wanted to prove she was a human. At this point, I'm thinking she knows she isn't.”

As my character looks down at the pink earth pony, I can see her trembling, a stream of tears flowing down the side of her face I can see. I have my character hold his closest arm out to her as I say, “Come here.”

The pink earth pony looks up at my character, whimpers, then jumps onto his chest. As he supports her with the arm he held out to her, she drapes a forelimb over each of his shoulders, rests her head on the shoulder opposite the closest wall, and starts sobbing.

As my character rubs her back with his free hand, I say, “Now, it's going to be alright. You heard the nurse pony. All we can do now is hope for the best. We just need to have faith that Lyra'll pull through.”

I say no more, just let my character hold Pinkie Pie.

It makes sense to me that Pinkie Pie would be close friends with Lyra. Based on the story, she's friends with every pony in Ponyville. And, it makes sense that she'd suffer while any of her friends suffers.

We wait for some two or three hours until Lyra comes out from the hallway where she'd been carried in by the stretcher. As she comes out, I can see, through my character's eyes, that she's on all fours.

Seeing my character, the pale-green unicorn hops off the stretcher, wanders up to him, head bowed, and says, “I'm sorry. I know now that I'm not a human, that I never was a human. I guess I studied humans for so long, I found them so fascinating, I just wanted to know what it was like to be a human. And, it didn't help that none of the other unicorns respected me.”

I don't say this aloud to Lyra, but I grew up fascinated by dinosaurs. But, having such an interest in them, that didn't mean I wanted to become one of them, nor that I believed that I was one of them. What makes them interesting to me is that so little is known about them. But, just because I find them interesting, that doesn't mean I would rather be a dinosaur than a human.

What I do decide to say to Lyra is, “It's alright if you want to take an interest in humans. I must admit, I'm finding unicorn ponies more and more interesting. But, as much of an interest as I take in unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, or even alicorns, I'm happy to remain a human.

“I don't disrespect you for wanting to be a human, or for wanting to learn as much about humans as you can. But, I don't respect you any less for being a unicorn, either. You are the creature you were intended to be; and as long as you respect that, I'll respect you.”

It's worth noting, at this point, that Pinkie Pie cried herself to sleep in the first hour. I guess it's taken the length of my speech to Lyra for the pink earth pony to wake up.

When she does, she turns to look at the pale-green unicorn, perks up, and, pushing away from my character, says, “Lyra, you're alright.”

My character lets her go, and she falls into his lap, then recovers and runs to Lyra, giving her a hug, which Lyra returns.

When they separate, Lyra says, “I'm sorry I worried you.”

Pinkie Pie waves a forelimb dismissively and says, “Let's just go home now.”

In response, my character stands up, walks to the hospital's front door, and opens it for the two mares.

Before leaving with them, though, I wonder aloud, “Do I owe the doctor ponies here anything?”

I hear the voice of the white earth mare back at the front desk answer, “Just keep Lyra out of trouble from now on.”

Pinkie Pie, Lyra and my character pause long enough to wave farewell to the nurse pony at the front desk, then the three head back through Ponyville, through the Everfree forest, and back to my character's house.

On the way there, as we pass by Fluttershy's cottage, I hear Fluttershy ask, “Is everything alright?”

As my character turns to the yellow pegasa, I answer, “We appreciate your concern, but everything's fine now.”

Fluttershy, evidently on her way to taking care of some of her animals, says, “Well, I look forward to attending the next reading.”

As my character waves to her, I answer, “I look forward to seeing you there.” And, with that, the party of three head into the forest.

As it turns out, all is not quite as well as I'd thought. Maybe ten or so minutes into our walk into the forest, Lyra collapses and starts bawling.

As my character approaches her, I ask, “Lyra, what's wrong?”

Lyra cries, “You're right! I shouldn't have eaten that fish! I'm not a human, I'm just a unicorn!”

My character reaches a hand to her, and I say, “Come here, Lyra.”

The pale-green unicorn looks up at my character; and I can see, through his eyes, the tears in hers. She says nothing, but does manage to prop herself up so my character can pick her up.

Once he does so, I say, “You are a unicorn, but you're also one of my friends, and a very good one at that. Do you remember last night when you suggested it was one of the sons of Ishmael, and not Lehi, who told Laman and Lemuel they'd killed Laban?”

Lyra has calmed down somewhat. She answers, “Yeah. So, what about it?”

I continue, “As it turns out, you were right. I had a look into it, and it was the son of Ishmael who told them, at least in the movie. Thanks for getting me thinking about that. If you're a typical unicorn, then they're a lot better than I gave them credit for.”

I hear Pinkie Pie say, “Wow, Mormon, that's a really nice thing to say about unicorns, and specifically about Lyra.”

In the mean time, my character, who has resumed walking, looks at Lyra, who's also looking at him.

The pale-green unicorn says, “Pinkie Pie's right. Thank you for saying that. Now, I think I'll just let you carry me.”

I don't argue the point, I see no reason to.

The rest of the walk is silent and uneventful, taking ten or fifteen minutes before the four are back at my character's house.

As my character enters through the gate this time, still carrying Lyra, I can see, though his eyes, that Trixie's mobile theater is looking better. The wheels are in place under the floor, and the walls are being built.

Trixie, distracted from her work by the sound of the gate opening and closing, turns to my character, and, seeing him holding Lyra, asks, “Is she alright?”

I answer, “Lyra's fine.”

As my character sets her on her hooves on the ground, the pale-green unicorn adds, “I had to learn the hard way that I was never a human. But, according to Mormon, I'm a really good unicorn.”

At this point, I can see, based on the sweat on their faces, Trixie, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia have been working hard on Trixie's mobile theater.

Trixie, glancing at her project, then up at the sky, says, “Well, I think we can call it a day now. The work on my theater is coming along faster than I expected. And, it's looking really good.”

The hammers, possessed by auras in differing shades of blue, drift onto the porch where they land silently near the doorway.

In the mean time, Pinkie Pie says, “Besides, it's getting close to time for the reading. We need to get the snacks ready.”

As my character stands up again, I say, “That's a good idea.” Then, as my character looks at each of them, I continue, “Pinkie Pie, you go into the vineyard and get some fruits from there. Weed Whacker, you go into the vegetable garden and get some vegetables. Lyra, you come with me into the orchard, and we'll get some fruits from there. Everyone else, you can go back inside and rest up and get ready for tonight's reading.”

My orders are generally met with enthusiastic agreement as all depart to their assigned tasks.

I still find it entertaining to watch Pinkie Pie bounce off toward the vineyard.

It's only a matter of minutes before the four reunite with their small harvests, then enter the house to clean the prospective snacks and prepare them for the guests that will arrive soon enough.

In the mean time, I, at least, can hear activity from each of the bathrooms in the house as two unicorns and one earth pony are either bathing or preparing to bathe in preparation for the reading. By the time they've finished, the other two ponies, one dinosaur, and one human have almost finished preparing the snacks.

And, as though timed that way (which it very likely was), there is a knock at the door, indicating that guests for the reading are starting to arrive.

And, it's Trixie, freshly showered and dried, who volunteers to greet the arriving guests, seeing that the snacks aren't quite ready yet.

I'm not surprised to hear, as Trixie answers the door, the voices of my three stallion friends are the first to arrive, nor am I surprised to hear Pinkie Pie's other five friends' voices close behind them. What does surprise me is hearing the two voices that I recognize as those of Snips' and Snails' parents soon after the voices of the other five of the Mane Six. Seeing that all that's left is placing the prepared snacks on the tray, I hand that job over to Lyra, Pinkie Pie, and Weed Whacker as my character heads to the front door to confirm what I heard.

Sure enough, the greenish-blue unicorn stallion and the nearly-white-pink unicorn mare are at the door, with Snails and Snips behind them.

It's Snails that, seeing my character, says, “Mormon, it's nice to meet you! Is Pinkie Pie here?”

I answer, “Pinkie Pie is in the kitchen making snacks.”

Snips grumbles, “Just so long as they don't have any griffon meat in them.”

The unicorn mare lightly taps him on the back of the head with a front hoof as she says, “Now, Snails, be nice.”

The little greenish unicorn turns away and just groans.

In the mean time, I add, “I can promise you, they're fruits and vegetables. No meat.” Then, as my character points to an area on the lawn, I say, “If you'll take positions on the lawn, I'll get you your own copies of the Book of Mormon. Tonight, we'll be starting First Nephi chapter ten, and see about continuing from there.”

As the family of four unicorns makes their way to the group on the lawn, I hear Snails ask, “If they're making snacks with fruits and vegetables, then what's that strange smell in his house?”

I stop listening, and instead point my character to the closet to retrieve four more copies of the Book of Mormon.

When I return to the door, Trixie is there to use her magic to take the books and deliver them to the four unicorns. And, that puts her in a better position to greet the guests I can see are still coming.

In the mean time, I have my character return to the kitchen to see how Lyra, Pinkie Pie, and Weed Whacker are coming along with preparing the snacks. As he enters, I can see they have the snack tray ready.

In fact, I can see Lyra using her magic to levitate the tray into a position so the others can help carry it out to our arriving guests.

Then, as my character backs out of the kitchen and turns toward the hallway leading out of the front room, I can see through his eyes Vinyl and Octavia are coming out of the bathroom, also freshly cleaned and dried.

The party of six head outside, my character helping move the snack tray out the front door, with Vinyl and Octavia following behind Lyra, Weed Whacker and Pinkie Pie.

After the ones carrying the snack tray set it in the middle of the developing circle, Pinkie Pie joins the rest of the Mane Six, and Lyra finds and settles next to Bon-Bon.

The last to arrive are the two princesses, Celestia and Luna, who take their positions on one side of the family of unicorns, while I've noticed that the Mane Six are in position on their other side.

Octavia, Vinyl, my character, and Weed Whacker take positions between Lyra and Princess Luna; and, seeing that all are ready, I have my character turn his attention to the unicorn family while I ask, “Would any of you like to volunteer to begin reading the first verse?”

Snips and his brother converse quickly between them, after which the nearly-white-pink mare looks at my character and says, “Snips wants to read first.”

I have my character nod in agreement, at which point Snips reads, “And now I, Nephi, proceed to give an account upon these plates of my proceedings, and my reign and ministry, wherefore, to proceed with mine account, I must speak somewhat of the things of my father, and also of my brethren.” He then looks up and, tilting his head, asks, “Why is my name suddenly Nephi?”

The ponies and dragons in the circle, as well as I, laugh for a few seconds before I turn to the nearly-white-pink unicorn mare and invite her to read the next verse.

She nods and reads, “For behold, it came to pass after my father had made an end of speaking the words of his dream, and also of exhorting them to all diligence, he spake unto them concerning the Jews—“ Looking up from the book, she says, “We're going to have to read to catch up with the rest of you. I'm guessing this dream of Nephi's father was important somehow.”

Next to her, Rainbow Dash nickers, then reads, “That after they should be destroyed, even that great city Jerusalem, and many be carried away captive into Babylon, according to the own due time of the Lord, they should return again, yea, even be brought back out of captivity; and after they should be brought back out of captivity they should possess again the land of their inheritance.” Looking at my character, she says, “I'm guessing it was more than just a few days or months before the Jews were allowed to go home again?” The azure pegasa looks down at her book again, then back up at my character, and reasons aloud, “Which would've meant that if Lehi and his family had been in Jerusalem when it was captured by the Babylonians, if he'd survived the invasion, he probably wouldn't have survived to return to Jerusalem and head out eventually to get to South America. If the Jews weren't allowed to return for centuries, not even Lehi's children would've survived that long. It was best that he left when he did.”

Next to Rainbow Dash, Rarity reads, “Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews—even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world.” Looking at my character, the white unicorn with purple hair asks, “When in this book does that take place?”

Princess Celestia is the one that answers, “Not until Third Nephi.”

Rarity groans in surprise and says, “Six hundred years passes that fast in this book?”

I answer, “There are several books between Second Nephi and Third Nephi.”

Now, Spike reads, “And he also spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had testified of these things, concerning this Messiah, of whom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world.”

When it's clear Spike has no more to contribute, Twilight Sparkle reads, “Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer.” She nods to Pinkie Pie to read the next verse.

The pink earth pony nods in agreement, and reads, “And he spake also concerning a prophet who should come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord—“ Grunting with interest, she says, “So, we have one prophet who comes before another one, a Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord. What does that mean?”

Before I can say anything, Applejack says, “Maybe if we read further, we'll find the answer.” Then, she reads, “Yea, even he should go forth and cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing.” Grunting in interest, the orange earth pony says, “Well, let's just keep readin'. If the answer ain't in this verse, maybe we'll find it in a later one.”

Fluttershy reads, “And my father said he should baptize in Bethlehem, beyond Jordan; and he also said he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize the Messiah with water.”

It seems as though the yellow pegasa wants to ask a question; but, after a few seconds of silence, an impatient Emerald Hill reads, “And after he had baptized the messiah with water, he should behold and bear record that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world.”

Stunts then reads, “And it came to pass after my father had spoken these words he spake unto my brethren concerning the gospel which should be preached among the Jews; and also concerning the dwindling of the Jews in unbelief. And after they had slain the Messiah, who should come, and after he had been slain he should make himself manifest, by the Holy Ghost, unto the Gentiles.”

Next, Trixie reads, “Yea, even my father spake much concerning the Gentiles, and also concerning the house of Israel, that they should be compared like unto an olive tree, whose branches should be broken off and should be scattered upon all the face of the earth.”

Berry Ground then reads, “Wherefore, he said it must needs be that we should be led with one accord into the land of promise, unto the fulfilling of the word of the Lord, that we should be scattered upon all the face of the earth.”

Bon-Bon then reads, “And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be gathered together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.”

Next, Lyra reads, “And after this manner of language did my father prophesy and speak unto my brethren, and also many more things which I do not write in this book; for I have written as many of them as were expedient for me in mine other book.”

Weed Whacker then reads, “And all these things, of which I have spoken, were done as my father dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel.”

Now, I read, “And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.”

Vinyl Scratch then reads, “For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.”

Presently, Octavia reads, “For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.”

I find it strange that Octavia should be so impatient; but, before I can mention it, Princess Luna reads, “Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment.” Grunting in either interest or mild surprise, the nighttime princess asks, “Is the reader often addressed in such a way by the one writing these things?”

I answer, “As far as I can tell, the prophets that have written their own words tend to preach to the reader. But, as for direct orders like this, not so much. The only other author of scripture I can think of right off the bat that addresses the reader in this way is Isaiah. And, later on, we'll get into quotes from him. In the mean time, let's keep reading.”

At this point, Princess Celestia nods and reads, “Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgement-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever.”

Next, the greenish-blue unicorn stallion reads, “And the Holy Ghost giveth authority that I should speak these things, and deny them not.”

Seeing that chapter ten is finished and not quite everyone has had a chance to read, I ask, “So, shall we continue on to the next chapter?”

Ponies and dragons all speak at once, but I hear mostly affirmations to my proposal.

And, Princess Celestia confirms my thoughts by saying, “I think we all agree that we should proceed.”

So, with the daytime princess' approval, I turn to the orange unicorn with the long, thin neck and ask, “So, Snails, will you read the first verse of chapter eleven?”

Snails nods nervously, swallows, then looks down and starts reading.

Now, at this point I'd like to mention that there's something about the young unicorn struggling to read the verse that I find somehow kind of heroic. He's evidently not the best reader I've ever heard, but he doesn't give up. And, it doesn't hurt that the greenish-blue unicorn stallion helps him.

He reads, “For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my feet.”

When he finishes reading, I find myself applauding and saying, “Well done, Snails, well done,” evidently to the surprise of the other ponies and the dragons in the circle. Or, at least most of them.

The alicorn princesses, as well as the unicorns immediately around Snails and Snips, are demonstrating approval of my encouraging Snails, and the orange unicorn himself seems pleased.

Next, Snips reads, “And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou?”

The nearly-white-pink unicorn mare then reads, “And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw.”

Rainbow Dash then reads, “And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken?” She then looks up and says, “I'm thinkin' we're gonna get a review of what Lehi saw in his dream.”

Rarity reads, “And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father.”

Next, Spike reads, “And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God, for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired.”

After a simple “Wow” from the purple dragon, Twilight Sparkle reads, “And behold this thing shall be given unto thee for a sign, that after thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which thy father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record it is the Son of God.” Looking at her winged friend, the purple unicorn says, “You know what, Rainbow Dash, you may be right.”

Next, Pinkie Pie reads, “And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.” Looking up, she says, “We are getting a review of Lehi's dream.”

Before Applejack can read the next verse, I say, “That's not to say that Lehi's perspective of his vision isn't without merit. I'll just mention that Nephi notices something about the vision that Lehi didn't notice.” Then, I turn to the orange earth pony and say, “Go ahead, Applejack.”

The orange earth pony nods, then reads, “And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit, I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is precious above all.”

Next, Fluttershy reads, “And he said unto me: What desirest thou?”

Emerald Hill then reads, “And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.” At this point, he looks up and says, “It sounds like they were speaking casually to each other.”

Stunts grunts in agreement, then reads, “And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence.”

Trixie reads, “And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.” Looking up from the book, she says, “This doesn't sound like what Lehi saw in his dream.”

Next, Berry Ground reads, “And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?”

Bon-Bon then reads, “And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.”

Next, Lyra reads, “And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?”

Following a grunt of confusion from the pale-green unicorn, Weed Whacker reads, “And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do now know the meaning of all things.” Looking up at her unicorn friend, the herbivorous dinosaur says, “It sounds like Nephi was as uncertain about the question as you are.”

I smile and read, “And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.”

Next, Vinyl Scratch reads, “And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!”

Again, Octavia immediately reads, “And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.” But, this time, she gets up, backs away, and very rapidly and nervously says, “Well, that'll be all for me tonight. I'm goin' to bed now. Good night.” And, with that, she gallops toward the house, nervously opens the door, then gallops to her and Vinyl's room. Or, based on what she said, that's my assumption.

It isn't difficult to tell that Vinyl is worried about her friend. After watching the gray earth pony disappear into the house, Vinyl turns to me and says, “I've never seen Octy act like that before. I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to go and see if she's alright. You're gonna have to continue on without us.”

I answer, “That's alright. You go on ahead and check on your friend.” Then, as the white unicorn with blue hair disappears into the house, closing the front door behind her, I turn to Princess Luna and ask, “Will you read the next verse?”

The nighttime princess, evidently as worried about Octavia as Vinyl is, nonetheless reads, “And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?”

Next, Princess Celestia reads, “And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.” She then turns to Trixie and says, “This may be why the Spirit's showing Nephi things besides what Lehi saw. Now, not only is he getting to see what his father saw, he's also learning to understand the symbolism behind those things.”

At this point, I speak up and say, “It's also important to note that Nephi abbreviated his account of what his father Lehi had said was in his dream. Based on that, it may not be accurate to say that Lehi didn't see the virgin, or whatever else Nephi saw or will see in his own vision. For all we know, Lehi may very well have seen the virgin, the baby she carried, and other things that Nephi will be shown.” I then turn to the greenish-blue unicorn stallion and say, “You can go ahead and read the next verse now.”

He nods, then reads, “And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.”

Next, Snails reads, “And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.” He struggles as much on this verse as he did on the first verse he read; but just as before, he refuses to give up.

When he finishes reading the verse, I don't applaud this time; but I do still let him know once again that he did a good job.

Snips then reads, “And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters were a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.”

Next, the nearly-white-pink unicorn mare reads, “And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!”

Rainbow Dash then reads, “And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.”

I'm not sure if she just waits for Rainbow Dash to finish reading, or if it takes that amount of time for the thought to dawn on her. Either way, although it seems that the latter is most likely, I hear Pinkie Pie suddenly say, “Oh, I get it now. The Redeemer and the Lord are the same person.”

I open my mouth to affirm what Pinkie Pie said, but I'm interrupted when Rarity reads, “And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.” Looking up from her reading, the white unicorn says, “They're not very nice, throwing the Redeemer out for ministering to them.”

I answer, “That's the way people generally are. If someone starts talking in a way that most people don't consider normal, that someone is generally thrown out. People don't generally like to change what they're doing, and especially don't like being told that what they're doing is wrong, particularly while they're doing something wrong.” Then, as my character turns to Spike, I ask, “Will you read next?”

Spike nods, then reads, “And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.”

Next, Twilight Sparkle reads, “And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and beheld the heavens open again, and I saw angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them.”

Then, Pinkie Pie reads, “And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.”

Applejack then reads, “And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.”

Next, Fluttershy reads, “And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.”

I can't honestly say that I blame Fluttershy for slowing down as she reads about the “Lamb of God” being “slain for the sins of the world.”

But, before anyone can dwell too much on that, Emerald Hill reads, “And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord.”

Next, Stunts reads, “And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

Finally, Trixie reads, “And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world, and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

Everyone closes their books, but no one moves.

After a few seconds of silence, Pinkie Pie sighs and says, “There are a few things I don't understand, and I'm guessing everypony else is wondering the same. First of all, why was this Redeemer necessary, and second of all, why did he have to be killed?”

Murmurs of agreement ripple through the circle.

I have my character turn to the daytime princess as I ask, “Princess Celestia, could you conjure up a piece of parchment, rectangular in shape, large enough that it just about touches the edges of the circle? Let's have two of the corners touching you and me, and the other two corners heading out at a right angle to the other side of the circle.”

At my request, the white alicorn nods, then her horn glows for a second or two.

Not long after that, a rectangular parchment with the dimensions I requested appears, along with what looks like a black crayon.

As my character grabs the crayon, I have him turn to Princess Celestia, after which I thank her for the parchment and writing utensil. I then have my character draw a circle closest to the side between me and her and write the words “Premortal Existence” in it while I say, “Humans didn't always have mortal bodies. In a time that we Mormons call the Premortal Existence, we lived with our Heavenly Father. Then at some point, He decided it was time for us to progress to the next stage. He presented a plan to us that would allow us to become like Him. He would send us to Earth and give us the choice of how we would live. And, how we would live on Earth would determine if we would return to him.”

I then have my character draw three circles next to the first circle, with lines connecting each of the three new circles to the first one, as I continue, “Based on what's written in the scriptures available to me, I know there was a war of ideas during this time. There were two brothers that spoke up. The first one was in favor of Heavenly Father's plan, while the second one had his own ideas. According to what I understand of what was written, I'm guessing all of the children of God, me included, split up into three groups. One group chose to follow the brother that sided with our Heavenly Father, while another one chose to follow the brother with the alternate plan. It's written that a third part of the host of heaven was cast out. So, I'm guessing that there was one more group. And, considering the choices that were available, I'm thinking this other group chose to not take sides on the matter.

“I'm guessing there were rewards based on the choices made: the right to physical, mortal bodies for not choosing the alternate plan, and the right to the powers that Heavenly Father would give us, as long as we were worthy of them, for siding with the brother that sided with Him.”

I then have my character draw a rectangle next to two of the circles, with another circle on the other side of the rectangle, and one more from the lowest circle directly to the last circle drawn, as I say, “The group that sided with the brother with the alternate plan was thrown out, along with that brother; and while they're on the earth, they've given up their rights to physical bodies. And, to this day, they're known as devils, and they're trying to keep Heavenly Father from succeeding in his plan.

“In the mean time, the earth and the rest of the solar system was planned and created for us, and our first parents, Adam and Eve, were created and placed in a paradise known as the Garden of Eden. There, two trees were placed, one known as the Tree of Knowledge, and the other one known as the Tree of Life. Adam and Eve were given two instructions: not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and to multiply and replenish the earth. Well, long story short, they were deceived into eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and were thrown out of the Garden of Eden to keep them from eating from the Tree of Life, and living forever. If they had, after eating from the Tree of Knowledge, eaten from the Tree of Life, they would've lived forever, and made it impossible for Heavenly Father's plan to make any further progress.

“Our time on the earth, then, is given us so we can prove whether we'll keep His commandments or not, whether we'll be worthy to return to him or not. But, there are two problems.

“First of all, because we can die, and will someday; and because we need physical bodies to return to our Heavenly Father, we need to have physical bodies again, bodies that can't be corrupted. Second of all, since we're given the freedom to chose whether or not we'll keep His commandments, well, I admit I haven't always kept those commandments. And, I'm not the only one. In fact, almost all people have disobeyed the commandments, and will do so, at some point or other. And, this keeps us from being worthy to return to our Heavenly Father.”

This is when Pinkie Pie chimes in with, “Oh, so that's why you need a Redeemer.”

As my character looks at the pink pony, I answer, “That's right, Pinkie.” Then, I continue, “Without a Redeemer, a Christ, a Messiah, we'd be stuck. And, this is why we measure time the way we do, with an earlier time period that counted down to the time of the birth of the Christ, and the time after that, which we call the Year of our Lord.

“Before the coming of the Christ, those who died couldn't get incorruptible bodies. But, after the Christ died, he was the first to obtain an incorruptible body, through a process known as resurrection. And, because he lived a perfect life, an example for all of us to follow, and payed the price for the crimes the rest of us would commit, he could repent and follow the commandments and finally return to Heavenly Father again.”

During this time, I have my character draw another rectangle, followed by three more circles, drawing lines from the last four circles to the last rectangle, as I continue, “After all who chose not to follow the brother with the alternate plan have lived on the earth, and have died and been resurrected, based on how we lived, we are given our inheritance, the place where we'll live for all of eternity. Those of us who've proven we want to live with our Heavenly Father will go to the Celestial Kingdom.” Then, I have my character turn to the white alicorn as I say, “And, Princess Celestia, before you ask, no, humans will not be coming to Equestria after they've died and been resurrected.”

I find myself happy to hear ripples of laughter around the the circle at my last comment. When they die down, I continue, “Those who've lived good lives, but haven't qualified for Celestial glory, inherit the Terrestrial Kingdom. Most criminals will inherit the Telestial Kingdom, but there's also a place prepared for the very worst offenders, known as Outer Darkness.” I have my character write the appropriate titles in the circles from the top to the bottom, then, after isolating the last of the parchment after the last rectangle with lines, write in Outer Darkness, after which I ask, “So, Pinkie Pie, does this answer your question?”

The pink pony answers, “You've given me more than I asked for. Yes, you've answered my question.”

It seems that I've answered the questions of all the other creatures, as all finally rise, take their books, and proceed to exit through the gate, all that is except for the alicorns who teleport back to Canterlot, and Pinkie Pie, Trixie, Lyra, Weed Whacker, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia, who are staying with my character.

Before Twilight Sparkle can leave, though, Pinkie Pie approaches her and asks about getting more tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, for my character, Weed Whacker, and Lyra. As far as I can tell, Twilight's response is to ask either Princess Celestia or Princess Luna for tickets. The news seems to leave the pink pony saddened for only a very short time, until she remembers that Weed Whacker can send letters to the princesses, at which point she approaches the herbivorous dinosaur with the proposal.

I decide to allow Pinkie Pie a page of parchment, but only if she, Weed Whacker, and Trixie take the now-empty snack tray back into the house. What I don't realize, at least until I notice the large parchment has disappeared, is that the pink party pony has put her own plan into action.

She does manage to bring in the snack tray, but I don't realize until it's too late that she wrote her letter on the parchment I used to have my character make a diagram of the Plan of Salvation, and sent that to the princesses.

While it saves, unnecessarily, on parchment, it also leaves me without a diagram to give to Pinkie Pie. Oh, well. I suppose I can hope she'll remember the diagram and connected lesson well enough on her own.

Then, there are Vinyl Scratch and Octavia.

As my character enters the house, I see Vinyl Scratch on one of the couches. If she's trying to get some sleep, she's not doing a very good job. As comfortable as the couch is intended to be that she's stretched out on, something about her position doesn't seem all that comfortable to me.

As my character walks by the couch, I notice the white unicorn isn't wearing her goggles, and she's just staring straight ahead.

I ask, “Vinyl, is everything alright?”

The white unicorn looks up at my character, then goes back to staring straight ahead, inhaling and exhaling in a deep sigh.

I have my character move to the side of the couch where Vinyl's staring straight ahead so he's in her line of sight and look at her, then I ask, “What's wrong?”

Vinyl only moves her mouth as she answers, “Octy just kicked me out of my room.”

I ask, “Is she alright?”

Presently Vinyl rises to a canine-style sitting position as she whines, “She's scary! I've never seen her like that before.”

I think aloud, “She did seem unusually tense when she got up and ran back into the house during the reading. Maybe I should go in and talk to her.”

As my character turns to the hallway to head to the bedroom Vinyl and Octavia have taken over, Vinyl props herself up on the back of the couch and grabs his arm and says, “I wouldn't suggest it. I don't know what's wrong with her, but I don't want you to get hurt trying to find out.”

As my character looks at the white unicorn, I answer, “I appreciate that you care about me. Do you have any suggestions?”

Vinyl Scratch freezes almost completely for a moment, then lets my character's arm go and answers, “No.” After that, she collapses back into her original position on the couch.

My character continues to the door of their bedroom. Once there, I have him knock, after which I call out, “Octavia?”

From the other side of the door, I hear the gray mare's voice growl, “What do you want?”

I answer, “I just want to know if you're alright in there.”

After a few seconds, I hear Octavia say, “I could use a drink.” Actually, it's more of a muffled shout.

I answer, “I'll get you a cup of water, then.”

Octavia's voice goes from a shout to a scream as she answers, “I don't want water, I want wine!” And, to reinforce what she said, presently there's a light thud at the door.

My character recoils, but otherwise doesn't move, as I say, “Now, you know we don't serve alcohol here.”

Immediately Octavia just screams, “Either get me my wine, or go away!”

Pinkie Pie had informed me about Vinyl Scratch's drinking problem, but not before I'd seen the results for myself. And, on the day Gilda's parents came, I found Vinyl at the local tavern about to get a drink, evidently with some friends. However, she didn't show any of the signs of addiction, of withdrawal, that Octavia's showing right now. Or, if she did, I never noticed them.

As my character returns to Vinyl's side on the couch, I notice the white unicorn trembling as she asks, “So, what do you think we should do?”

I answer, “I'm thinking you should spend the night on the couch, so you can keep an eye on her. The rest of us will get the food ready. I'll leave a plate of food at the door for her, in case she gets hungry. Beyond that, I can't think of anything we can do.”

As the front door opens and I see Pinkie Pie enter, Vinyl asks, “Is Octy gonna die?” As my character focuses on the unicorn's face, I can see the terror in her eyes.

I answer, “I doubt it.”

Whereas Pinkie Pie was bouncing as she entered the house, she stops and, evidently worried by Vinyl Scratch's question, gallops to my character's position and asks, “Is something wrong with Octavia?”

My character turns to the pink pony, and I answer, “I'm guessing she's suffering from withdrawal. If Vinyl was addicted to alcohol, it seems Octavia's even worse.”

At this point, I can't help noticing Pinkie Pie's expression is a nearly perfect copy of Vinyl's. She asks, “So, what'll you do?”

I answer, “I'll just do what I can. Offer her food in case she's hungry, water in case she's thirsty, and hope she'll stay and support her friend Vinyl.”

The pink pony turns to the hallway behind her and says, somewhat relaxed, “She Pinkie promised she'd stay. And, she'd better not break her promise.”

I don't say this aloud, but I remember finding Vinyl Scratch in Ponyville. She'd gotten assistance from the two griffons, Gilda's parents. I have to wonder if those served as her only option to leave my property. Whatever the case, Octavia doesn't have griffons to help her.

As I see the front door open again, and Lyra and Weed Whacker enter, I have my character focus on Pinkie Pie as I say, “Let's go out and get some more food, you, me, Lyra and Weed Whacker. When it's ready, I'll leave some at the door to Octavia's and Vinyl's room, in case Octavia gets hungry.”

And, with that, Pinkie Pie, Lyra, Weed Whacker and my character go out again and harvest more food for dinner, then prepare and eat it, leaving enough for me to place on a plate in front of the door to Octavia's and Vinyl's bedroom. After that, all prepare and go to bed.

Part of the preparation for bed is writing letters, although it's clear Pinkie Pie has already written hers.

While I can't say I've learned much about unicorn behavior from observing Lyra today, other than her cooperation with Vinyl and Trixie in helping build the mobile theater, I suppose I have enough material in that regard from observing Vinyl specifically. Thus, in my letter to the princesses, I have my character write, “One thing I've observed in unicorn behavior is how well they work together. While you were here, I'm sure you noticed the structure that's being built. That's going to be a new mobile theater for Trixie. Most of the work was done by her, Lyra, and Vinyl Scratch.

“I have some questions, though. This evening, I had an experience I never had before with an earth pony. I seems that Octavia, Vinyl Scratch's friend, is going through withdrawal symptoms involving alcohol addiction. And, from what I've observed, she's become violent. This is something I never observed in Vinyl. I wonder, is it normal for alcoholic earth ponies going through withdrawal to be so violent, and unicorns in similar conditions not to be? I must admit, I don't have any experience with this; and I'm at a loss as to what I can do, beyond offering food and water and hoping for the best.

“I'm thinking what's helped Vinyl more than anything else is having a project to work on. I wonder, would the same thing work for Octavia? And, come to think of it, before Gilda's parents came, what was keeping Vinyl Scratch from leaving?”

Once my character signs the letter, I have him deliver it to Weed Whacker to send to the princesses, then I send him to bed.

As I save and close the game, I find myself wondering what effect the storm on the morrow will have on the reading schedule. I expect it'll be worth heading to Ponyville, if for no other reason than to help with the pre-storm cleanup.

Author's Notes:

The next chapter will make references to the episode "Look Before You Sleep," but, since Pinkie Pie isn't in that episode, it'll follow her as she helps Mormon around his home while Ponyville is in the midst of a downpour. But, before that, Mormon, Pinkie Pie, and Lyra will help the Ponyvillians in preperation for that storm.

And, as the title of the chapter, "Pinkie Pie's New Pet," suggests, we'll explore, in the Hey, Batter! game, anyway, the circumstances under which Pinkie Pie and Gummy first meet. These and more in Chapter 7.

The reading in that chapter actually takes place in the middle of the day, and covers the First Book of Nephi, Chapters Twelve and Thirteen.