I've finally gotten around to getting a copy of my music to add to the “media” folder of my game. With, I think, hundreds of songs to choose from, I shouldn't run out of songs to share with the inhabitants of Equestria anytime soon, those who are interested, anyway.

With that in mind, I resume the second game.

The first thing that happens when my character leaves his room is he's met by Weed Whacker, who holds a letter, evidently from the princesses, in her mouth. As he unrolls the parchment, three familiar-looking gold leaves fall out. Evidently, Pinkie Pie's message to the princesses, whether directly or indirectly, was received and answered affirmatively.

The letter reads:

“Dear Mormon,

“We're sorry you're having such problems, especially when it relates to one of our best musicians.

“I, Princess Celestia, have observed that violence isn't strictly a trait in alcoholic earth ponies. All the pony races have that tendency, whether it involves alcohol poisoning, or withdrawal from alcohol. However, you may be right in considering a work assignment for Octavia. If it's been helpful to Vinyl Scratch, it may be equally helpful for Octavia Philharmonica.

“As for what kept Vinyl Scratch from leaving your property before Gilda's parents came, we, the princesses, have enlisted the timber wolves of the Everfree forest to help with that. They will help keep Vinyl and Octavia from leaving until you deem them ready.

“Like you, we also hope for the best.”

The letter is signed by both princesses, with a post-script informing me that Lyra, Weed Whacker, and my character are formally invited to the Grand Galloping Gala.

I have my character gather up the tickets and put them on the dresser in my room, deciding not to inform the other two of the invitations, at least not yet. I decide to inform them when I can be sure Trixie, Vinyl, and Octavia are living on their own, or at least under conditions where the three won't be able to hear about the invitations.

My character, as he follows the herbivorous dinosaur into the kitchen, stores the letter in his inventory.

When the two arrive in the kitchen, I see, through my character's eyes, three unicorns and one earth pony, all with worried looks on their faces, sitting around the table. I ask, “Is everything alright?”

It's Lyra who answers, “We hope so.”

Vinyl adds, “Octy hasn't left our room since she tried to leave your property last night. She hasn't even made a sound since she went to sleep.”

Pinkie Pie says, “We hope she wasn't scared too badly by the timber wolves that chased her back.”

At this point, I think aloud, “Maybe I should go check on her.” All things, including the most recent letter my character got from the princesses, considered; their concern may be valid.

As my character walks to the door between the kitchen and the front room, Vinyl says, “I don't see how you're gonna do that. Octy locked herself in there.”

Presently, Pinkie Pie says, “Vinyl, this is Mormon's house. If anypony, uh, anyone, can get into a locked door in his house, he can.”

I keep my character focused on the door as I say, “I'll make sure Octavia is alright. Ki tahi au.”

Once everything's frozen, that is all except my character, I have him proceed to the room kept by Vinyl and Octavia and enter through the door.

The first thing I see when my character enters the room would be alarming if it were real. Well, it is troubling to see the room in such a mess.

The good news is my offering of food has evidently been received.

The bad news is that there's at least one puddle of urine and one pile of feces on the floor. Not only that, but, as I have my character circle around the frozen form of Octavia in her bed, I can see through his eyes that, even while asleep, she's urinating. I have to wonder, is what I saw Vinyl Scratch do the last time I saw her drunk universal among ponies, or is what I'm seeing Octavia doing normal strictly for earth ponies going through withdrawal? Yes, I know, I designed this game. But, this is the video game I designed. It doesn't take away from the mystery of what Equestrian ponies in the show might go through in Octavia's condition.

I have my character stand just beyond the door, ready to turn on the light, when I say, “Continue.”

Immediately the room goes dark, indicating the lightmapping has kicked in.

I have my character turn on the light in the room, while in the mean time I hear the sound, from Octavia, of both mild snoring and high-speed tapping on cloth. When my character turns to Octavia, I can see through his eyes that she is definitely still alive, indicated by her expanding and contracting as she breathes, as well as her tail extended from her behind as a dark yellow circle expands from behind her.

Making sure my character is careful to avoid the excrement on the floor, I have him approach the gray earth pony by way of the opposite side of the bed from the door, then touch her, as I say, “Time to wake up, Octavia.”

At first she groans, until she turns and looks and sees my character next to her. Then, she screams and jumps sideways out of her bed. She moves her legs under her as fast as she can, which is surprisingly fast, as she backs into the wall opposite my character and whimpers, “What are you doing in here? What were you going to do to me?”

I have my character remain in his spot as I say, “I just came to check up on you.”

Presently, Octavia asks, “How did you get in here?”

I have my character wave an arm slowly but dramatically over the urine stain on the bed and where I remember the urine and feces on the floor being, as I say, “I'm thinking I should be asking, what have you been doing in here? Are you alright?”

That's when I hear, from the opposite side of the door, Vinyl Scratch echoing to Octavia my last question, and adding, “Octavia, answer me!”

I call out, “It's alright, Vinyl! No need to worry! You can go back to the kitchen now!”

I then hear Vinyl call back, “You'd better be right,” before, I assume, going back to the kitchen.

In the mean time, my character's focus is still on Octavia. I say, “You can see your friend, Vinyl, is worried about you. You've gotten all of us worried about you.”

The look of horror on Octavia's face turns to anger, and she looks wilder, as she says, “You're worried about me? You break into my room, and you're worried about me? We're all trapped here by wooden dogs, and you're worried about me?”

At this point, I have my character stand up; and I can see, both my the hoof-prints and by the stains on Octavia's hooves, that she stepped in her own feces on her way to the wall. But, standing is all I let my character do as I say, “I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help.”

The crazed gray earth pony snarls, “You can help me by getting me past those timber wolves.”

I answer, “I can do that, but you need to do some things first.”

Presently Octavia says, “I'm listening.”

I continue, “First of all, you need to clean up this room. I can understand you being scared of the timber wolves, but what I'm seeing in here isn't the result of normal behavior brought on by fear. And, when you're finished cleaning up in here, which I'm willing to help you with, there's a bathroom next to this bedroom. I want you to take a bath or a shower in there, whichever you choose to do.

“Second of all, I want you to repent to your friend, Vinyl Scratch. You've really scared her. Then, you can join us in getting something to eat, and eating with us. You're surrounded by friends here, who want to help you.

“Finally, you can volunteer to help in building Trixie's mobile theater. And, that means more than just serving drinks to the unicorns building it. I'll talk to Trixie, and see if I can get her to give you more of a role in the building process, even if it's just supporting boards as they're put in place.

“Is that alright?”

As I watch the gray earth pony during my soliloquy, I notice she relaxes, and seems to take particular interest in my last proposition. I'm guessing my bringing up Trixie's mobile theater and getting more of a role in building it was unexpectedly insightful for her.

She asks, “You'd do that for me?”

I answer, “I'd be honored to do that.”

The gray earth pony looks around at her room, and she seems disgraced by what she sees. Finally, she says, “Well, if it's the only way I'm gonna get past those timber wolves, then I'll do it.”

At this point, I have my character walk toward the door as I say, “The main thing that'll get you past the timber wolves is you breaking your addiction to alcohol. You've been going through withdrawal, which is what's been causing you so much pain. What I'm suggesting will help you keep your mind off of it, and should make it easier for you to cope. It's certainly been helping Vinyl.” I have my character unlock the door; but before I have him leave through it, I say, “I'll get a broom, a mop, a dust pan, a bucket with water and cleaning fluid, and one more empty bucket. I don't want to have to force my way in here again, so please don't lock the door behind me. When I return, I'll help you clean up the messes you've made on the floor, and you can clean your bedding. Once you've got your bedding in the wash, you can go and take a bath or shower in the bathroom next door. After that, let's head to the kitchen so you can repent to Vinyl Scratch, and we'll move on from there.”

After my character exits the room, and closes the door behind him, he proceeds to get the cleaning equipment I mentioned from the broom closet on the opposite side of the hall from the bathroom, then enters the bathroom and fills one of the buckets with hot water, adds cleaning fluid to it, then heads to Vinyl's and Octavia's bedroom again. Once there, he opens the door and enters.

I find it pleasing that Octavia chose not to lock the door when my character left.

The cleaning itself goes to Octavia, while my character does supporting activities such as holding the dust pan. First to go are the puddles of urine, which are easily mopped up. Second are the piles of feces, most of which Octavia sweeps into the dust pan that my character holds, then dumps into the empty bucket, while the rest of the mess is cleaned up using the mop and the hot water with the cleaning fluid.

After that, once Octavia gathers the sheet and blanket from her bed, I lead her down the hall past the bathroom to the laundry room, where she puts the bedding in the washing machine, pushes the button labeled “Bulky Bedding,” pours in a cup full of laundry detergent, and starts the machine.

Once that's done, she canters to the bathroom to bathe, while my character takes care of the cleaning equipment, taking the mop and buckets outside: the buckets to dump and rinse out, and the mop to rinse and wring out. Those things are, of course, done on a different side of the house from the mobile theater.

I'm not surprised that it takes less time for my character to take care of the cleaning equipment and return them to their place in the broom closet than it does for Octavia to bathe. Her time in the bathroom gives me the opportunity to send my character into Vinyl's and Octavia's room to check to see how much damage was actually done.

As my character inspects the room of the two mares, I find that the only messes made were two puddles of urine and two piles of feces on the floor, and Octavia wetting herself in her bed; and her bed is surprisingly unstained afterward.

What does surprise me is that Octavia's bath, or shower, time also covers my character's time inspecting their room. He's on his way to the laundry room to check on the bedding when Octavia is finished with her bath and leaves the bathroom, mostly dried off.

My character is between the bathroom and the laundry room when he turns to the gray earth pony, and I say, “I guess that means you're ready to talk to Vinyl then?”

Octavia answers, “I'm as ready as I'll ever be.” She closes the bathroom door, then leads the way, slowly, to the kitchen where the other ponies, including Vinyl, are waiting for her.

In fact, by the time the two get to the kitchen, Weed Whacker is also there.

As my character holds the door open, I say, “Octavia has some things to talk about with Vinyl.” Then, as Pinkie Pie starts to follow the white unicorn into the front room, I have my character step between them; and I say, “Just Vinyl. You and the rest will have to wait here.”

While the white unicorn and the gray earth pony discuss their matter in the front room, I have my character turn to the blue unicorn while I say, “Octavia's going to need help breaking her alcohol addiction, and I'm thinking the best way to do that is for you to let her help you build your mobile theater. Is that alright with you, Trixie?”

The blue unicorn looks down at the table, evidently bothered by what I'm suggesting, and says, “I don't know. Beyond serving drinks to us, I'm not sure there's anything an earth pony can help us with.”

I state, “Well, she needs to be more involved than that. Maybe she could help hold boards in place, while the rest of you are hammering in nails?”

Trixie just stammers, which I suspect is more of a delay tactic than anything else at this point.

I conclude, “It's just a suggestion for something that'll help Octavia.”

Just then, the two musical mares come back into the kitchen, and the look on Vinyl's face suggests relief.

In the mean time, Octavia, head bowed, ears drooping, and eyes pointed at the floor just a few inches in front of her, says, “I'm thinking I should seek forgiveness from the rest of you as well. I'm sorry I worried all of you.” She then turns to my character and says, “You were right to suggest a bath. It has helped me feel a lot better.” Next she turns to Pinkie Pie and says, “If it hadn't been for the timber wolves, I would've most certainly broken my Pinkie promise. But, the fact of the matter is I should've known better than to try to break my promise to you. Will you, can you, forgive me?” Not waiting for the pink mare's answer, she then turns to Trixie and says, “I don't know how I can help with building your mobile theater, but I am offering to help.”

Pinkie Pie is the first to react, almost immediately after Octavia has addressed Trixie. She jumps off her chair and lands right in front of the gray earth pony, hugs her, and says, “Of course I forgive you, silly.”

I guess I'll never know if Pinkie Pie would've said more than that, as she seems to be caught off guard, enough that she says no more, when Octavia hugs her back. All I know is the two separate after a few seconds.

As the pink pony returns to her place, I say, “I'm glad I could help.”

Trixie, aside from breathing, doesn't move.

Finally, I hear Weed Whacker say, “Well, while the rest of you were busy moping around in here, I went out and got some food. I've been cleaning it, and now it's ready for us when we're ready to eat.”

While it had been my plan for Octavia to join in harvesting breakfast, I suppose she can join in harvesting lunch or dinner. Aloud, I say, “Well, in that case, let's eat.”

It doesn't take long for the group to devour the little dinosaur's harvest, after which my character, Pinkie Pie, Lyra, and Weed Whacker leave and head to Ponyville.

An hour later, we find that the Cakes have decided not to open today, in anticipation of the storm the pegasi are working on.

In the episode 'Look Before You Sleep,' on which this particular day is based, at least Applejack and Rarity were out in the park cleaning up dead branches, in anticipation of the coming storm.

Thinking my character can help with that, having included it in the game, I propose to the two ponies and the dinosaur in the group that we assist with the pre-storm cleanup.

The three agree, citing it as the only available activity; and the group of four head for the park to offer assistance.

By the time the group gets there, the dead branches have already been pulled off the trees; so all that's left to do is gather them up and put them in either the bags or the garbage containers in the area.

My offering the assistance of the group of four is eagerly accepted by the orange earth pony and the white unicorn.

In a matter of minutes, long before the pegasi overhead are finished building up their huge storm cloud, the half dozen workers have managed to clean up all the dead limbs in the park. What manages to occupy the rest of the time is placing the containers in positions where the coming storm won't blow them away, or redistribute the mess that's been cleaned up.

Once that's done, seeing that the pegasi have finished building the storm cloud, I decide it's time for my group of four to return to my character's home.

Applejack and Rarity remain in Ponyville to make sure the garbage containers are securely in place, while my character and his group head through Ponyville toward the Everfree forest.

Lightning flashes and thunder rumbles just as the party of four reach the borders of Ponyville, and it starts raining just when they've gotten outside of town. And, curiously enough, it's raining only over Ponyville. Evidently those pegasi are better at controlling the weather than I, at least, might've thought.

An hour later, the party of four are back at my character's house. But, my character looks back at Ponyville to show me that the storm is still raging over the town.

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the only ones at the reading tonight are my character, Octavia, Vinyl, Lyra, Pinkie Pie, Weed Whacker, and maybe the two princesses. Unless the princesses teleport volunteers from Ponyville, we may be reading only one chapter tonight. Of course, there's the possibility that circumstances could change so that we have the reading earlier.

And, one more thing. If the storm is only raging over Ponyville, does that mean that the water from the storm will be contained in Ponyville as well? That's something I've never really seen addressed in the animated series. In this game, the water is strictly contained where it falls, in this case in Ponyville. It's just never physically seen, except perhaps in the river or the pond in the park.

But, that fact isn't important right now. What is important is that the princesses teleport in just as my character and the two ponies and the dinosaur have entered the gate.

Princess Celestia says, “I've been discussing the situation in Ponyville with my student, Twilight, and, if you'll agree, we think the reading should be held during the day, as soon as volunteers have been teleported here.”

Presently I think aloud, “That does sound like a good idea. As long as all come who want to come, I'm fine with that. We just need to make a few preparations, prepare some snacks.”

Princess Celestia nods, smiles, and says, “Luna and I have discussed between us who each of us will visit and invite to the reading. We'll teleport here whoever volunteers to come.”

Presently, Pinkie Pie asks, “Would you also invite the Cakes? They might want to join in the reading, too.”

It's Princess Luna who answers, “You may come with us if you want, and invite the Cakes personally.”

Pinkie Pie quees and says, “Thanks for offering, but I think I'm gonna be needed here to help prepare snacks.” She then asks, “Princess Luna, will you invite them?”

The nighttime princess answers, “We shall, and if they accept, we shall bring them.”

Immediately Pinkie Pie starts bouncing around in a circle, cheering with each bounce, “Yes!” at the rate of one yes per bounce.

Princess Celestia continues to smile as she says, “I guess it's settled then. We'll invite the ponies that were here at the last reading, and Luna shall also invite the Cakes to this reading.” And, with that, she and Princess Luna disappear.

I'm not sure how many circles Pinkie Pie bounced in before the princesses left, but she presently stops bouncing long enough to ask, “So, can I receive the guests, huh, huh? Can I, can I, can I?”

I'm entertained by the pink pony's enthusiasm, so much so that I can't help but smile when I answer, “I don't know. Didn't you say you'd be needed to help prepare snacks?”

At the realization, Pinkie Pie grimaces, then looks down, and her ears droop, as she says, “Oh, that's right.”

After a moment, I add, “On the other hand, it will take some time for Lyra, Weed Whacker, and me to gather the fruits and veggies for the snacks. I suppose I could have some pony to receive the guests in the mean time.”

I watch as Pinkie Pie perks up again when I begin my addendum, then bounces in her “Yes!” circles again when I as much as give her permission to receive guests while Lyra, Weed Whacker, and my character gather fruits and vegetables for the snacks.

As it turns out, the pink pony doesn't have time to complete her first circle before Princess Celestia reappears with the first group of guests, and says, “Here's my faithful student, two of her friends, and her assistant.”

Pinkie Pie, who was facing away from the group when they teleported in, bounces a hundred eighty degrees to face them, hops toward the group of four, and says, “Twily! Applejack! Rarity! Spike! Welcome!” Then, tilting her head, she asks, “Wait, did Applejack and Rarity get caught in the rain?”

Applejack answers, “We sure did.”

Twilight adds, “I was about to suggest a slumber party when Princess Celestia came and invited us to an early reading.”

I state, “Well, there's no reason why you couldn't have the slumber party after the reading.”

The purple unicorn smiles, evidently relieved, as she says, “I suppose you're right.”

I add, “Well, in the mean time, Pinkie Pie here will be receiving guests, while Lyra, Weed Whacker and I gather food for snacks. We'll see you again then.” And, with that, while Twilight moves aside to allow the three to pass, the pale-green unicorn, the dinosaur, and my character proceed to different areas to gather what we need for the snacks.

Before we get too far, Trixie approaches my character and says, “This is not a good time for a reading. We just got back to building my theater.”

I state, “And, you can keep working at it while the guests arrive. After the reading, you can go back to working on your theater.”

The blue unicorn sputters for a bit, evidently trying to come up with a response, then sighs in frustration and says, “Fine.”

My character has no further interruptions as he heads to the orchard to gather fruits.

The process takes a few minutes, during which evidently more and more guests arrive. By the time Lyra, Weed Whacker and my character have gathered the food for the snacks and gotten back to the front porch, in fact, it seems the population in the front yard has grown by some ten or twenty, and those are just the ponies. The non-pony component is a definite minority, consisting of Spike, Weed Whacker, and my character.

With the help of Pinkie Pie and Mr. Cake, who volunteers while Mrs. Cake receives more guests, the preparation of the snacks in the kitchen takes less time than normal, allowing the group to come out with the snack tray in, it seems, less than ten minutes.

While the ponies and dinosaur take care of moving the snack tray out to the guests, my character heads to the closet to retrieve two copies of the Book of Mormon for the two Cakes.

When he goes to offer the books to the orange earth stallion and his wife, Applejack approaches him and asks, “Mormon, could you get three more copies for me? When the slumber party with Twilight's done, Ah wanna offer Granny Smith, Big Mac, and my little sister copies of yer book. Ah'm thinkin' they'd be int'rested too, maybe wanna join in the next readin'.”

I answer, “Sure. I just need to deliver these copies to the cakes, then I'll get you the copies you want.” And, with that, and with the orange earth mare following him, my character proceeds to offer the books to Mr. and Mrs. Cake, then returns to the closet to get three more copies for Applejack. When she's received the three copies and put them in her saddle bag, the human and the earth mare head back out to the yard.

By the time we get there, I can see the circle is nearly complete, with an opening for my character, evidently between Octavia and Lyra, and another for Applejack among the Mane Six.

After the open spaces have been taken, I ask, “So, are there any volunteers to start the reading?”

Presently front hooves sprout up around the circle, making it look kind of like a grove of cut-down trees.

I have my character turn to the orange earth stallion as I say, “We'll begin reading chapter twelve of First Nephi. Mr. Cake, will you begin with verse one?”

Mr. Cake nods, then flips through the pages with a front hoof until he gets to the one where the chapter starts, then reads, “And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Look, and behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren. And I looked and beheld the land of promise; and I beheld multitudes of people, yea, even as it were in number as many as the sand of the sea.”

I then have my character turn his attention to the blue earth mare next to Mr. Cake and, seeing she has nosed through the pages of the book until she reached the right page, I ask, “Mrs. Cake, will you read verse two?”

She nods and reads, “And it came to pass that I beheld multitudes gathered together to battle, one against the other; and I beheld wars, and rumors of wars, and great slaughters with the sword among my people.” She then looks up and asks, “Are you sure we should be reading this sort of thing around foals?”

Before anyone can respond, Pinkie Pie reads, “And it came to pass that I beheld many generations pass away, after the manner of wars and contentions in the land, and I beheld many cities, yea, even that I did not number them.”

Next, Twilight Sparkle reads, “And it came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains trembling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking thereof.”

Spike reads, “And it came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the vapor of darkness, that it passed from off the face of the earth; and behold, I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of the Lord.”

Rarity reads, “And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven, and he came down and showed himself unto them.”

Applejack reads, “And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon twelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chosen.”

Fluttershy reads, “And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the twelve disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed.”

Rainbow Dash reads, “And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the twelve apostles of the Lamb? Behold they are they who shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for they are of the house of Israel.”

Princess Luna reads, “And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood.”

Princess Celestia reads, “And the angel said unto me: Look! And I looked, and beheld three generations pass away in righteousness; and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God. And the angel said unto me: These are made white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in him.”

Vinyl Scratch reads, “And I, Nephi, also saw many of the fourth generation who passed away in righteousness.”

Octavia reads, “And it came to pass that I saw the multitudes of the earth gathered together.”

I read, “And the angel said unto me: Behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren.”

Lyra reads, “And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the people of my seed gathered together in multitudes against the seed of my brethren; and they were gathered together to battle.”

Weed Whacker reads, “And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell.” She then looks up and says, “Lehi didn't mention the water from the fountain being filthy.” Then, turning to my character, she asks, “Is this what you meant when you said Nephi observed something that his father Lehi didn't?”

I have my character turn to the little dinosaur as I answer, “That's right. And, Nephi will explain why his father didn't notice that in a later chapter, when he explains the symbols and their meanings to his brothers.” I then have my character turn to the yellow earth pony as I ask, “So, Bon-Bon, will you continue?”

She nods and reads, “And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost.”

Next, the nearly-white-pink unicorn mare reads, “And the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men. And a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the justice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the world until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever.”

Snips reads, “And while the angel spake these words, I beheld and saw that the seed of my brethren did contend with my seed, according to the word of the angel; and because of the pride of my seed, and the temptations of the devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did overpower the people of my seed.”

Snails then reads, “And it came to pass that I beheld, and saw the people of the seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed, and they went forth in multitudes upon the face of the land.”

I can't help noticing that he doesn't struggle as much with this verse as he did with the two verses he read yesterday. And, I don't think it has anything to do with the verse being short. From what I can tell, Snails is getting better at reading.

When the orange unicorn looks at me, I give him an encouraging thumbs up and say, “You're really getting good at reading. Keep it up.”

The bluish-green unicorn stallion, seeing me encourage Snails, smiles at my character, then reads, “And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw wars and rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw many generations pass away.”

Stunts reads, “And the angel said unto me: Behold these shall dwindle in unbelief.”

Finally, Trixie reads, “And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.”

Noticing that not everyone in the circle has had a chance to read, I ask, “So, shall we continue on to chapter thirteen?”

The subsequent chorus of voices, as far as I can tell, seems to agree with my suggestion.

So, I have my character turn to my green unicorn friend while I ask, “Well, in that case, Emerald Hill, will you begin reading with verse one?”

He smiles and nods before reading, “And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms.”

Next, Berry Ground reads, “And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold many nations and kingdoms.”

Mr. Cake reads, “And he said unto me: Those are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles.”

Mrs. Cake says, “Evidently there's more in this book than just violence,” before reading, “And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church.”

Pinkie Pie reads, “And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.”

Twilight Sparkle reads, “And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it.”

Spike reads, “And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.”

Rarity reads, “And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church.”

Applejack reads, “And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.”

Fluttershy reads, “And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren.”

Rainbow Dash reads, “And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren.”

Princess Luna reads, “And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man, and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.”

At this point, I speak up and say, “It may interest you to know that this 'man among the Gentiles,' whom 'the Spirit of God wrought upon,' is known where I come from as Christopher Columbus. He was, in fact, guided by the Spirit of God to sail the ocean from Spain to South America and back. His voyage is one of the reasons why we have this record today.” I then turn to Princess Celestia and say, “You may read the next verse now.”

Princess Celestia nods, then reads, “And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.”

Vinyl Scratch reads, “And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.”

Octavia reads, “And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.”

I read, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.”

Lyra reads, “And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.”

Weed Whacker reads, “And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.”

Bon-Bon reads, “And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.”

At this point, again I speak up and say, “If I might offer some insight here, at this point, Nephi has been shown the beginnings of the United States of America. The United States started out as thirteen colonies, which joined forces and declared their independence from Great Britain on July fourth, seventeen seventy-six. Since then, as we'll see Nephi was shown, the United States has proven quite successful.”

The nearly-white-pink unicorn mare nods and says, “Indeed. Listen to this,” then reads, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them.”

Snips reads, “And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?”

Snails doesn't struggle at all with the verse he reads: “And I said unto him: I know not.” And, it seems to me that the simplicity of the wording of the verse doesn't make the little orange unicorn's victory any less.

I have my character give Snails a soldier's salute when he looks at him again.

The blue-green unicorn stallion reads, “And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.”

Stunts reads, “And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.”

Mrs. Cake reads, “And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them.”

Pinkie Pie reads, “Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren.”

Twilight Sparkle reads, “Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed of thy brethren.”

Spike reads, “Neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall forever remain in that awful state of blindness, which thou beholdest they are in, because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, whose formation thou hast seen.”

Rarity reads, “Wherefore saith the Lamb of God: I will be merciful unto the Gentiles, unto the visiting of the remnant of the house of Israel in great judgment.”

Applejack reads, “And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant of the house of Israel—and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father—wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb—I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb.”

Fluttershy reads, “For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb.”

Rainbow Dash reads, “And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation.”

Princess Luna reads, “And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be.”

Princess Celestia reads, “And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren.”

Vinyl Scratch reads, “And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true.”

Octavia reads, “And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them, and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.”

I read, “And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.”

Finally, Lyra reads, “And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.”

At this point, I have my character stand up as I say, “Well, unless anyone wants to read further, I think we can call the reading over until tomorrow.”

Ponies around the circle, as well as the two dragons, rise and stretch and vocalize something to the effect that, as much as they'd like to read more, with the offering of various reasons, that they can wait until the following day to read more from the Book of Mormon.

Hearing mostly agreement from the ponies, I add, “One thing that I'd like to add about the United States of America, which by the way is my home country, is that even in my time it has its share of enemies, both outside and inside their boundaries. I suppose I need to remember that my home country needs friends, particularly in my time, just as much as it needs enemies. We need friends to show us we aren't alone, and we need enemies to remind us which is the right path.

“Well, thanks for volunteering to come here for an early reading. The Princesses will return you to your homes, or wherever you prefer to go.”

With my announcement, Mr. Cake approaches my character and says, “I guess I should thank Pinkie Pie for sending me and my wife an invitation to the reading, but I want to thank you personally for having these readings. Now I think I understand why Pinkie Pie has been getting so nice to customers.”

I answer, “Well, I'm happy to hear I've been having such a positive effect on her. I plan on keeping that up.” Then, as my character shows me that the two Cakes have left their copies of the Book of Mormon on the ground, I add, “Oh, and you're welcome to take your copies of the Book of Mormon with you. And, I'd like to encourage you to read the introduction, which includes the testimony of eight witnesses who were allowed to hold the gold plates that were the origin of the Book of Mormon, the testimony of three witnesses who helped translate the book, and the testimony of Joseph Smith Jr., who was entrusted with the gold plates. After that, you may read the first eleven chapters, which should help you get caught up with the reading. You may also, if you want, read chapters twelve and thirteen over, or even read beyond where we stopped reading. If you have any questions, please feel free to come back and ask them. Whatever questions I might not be able to answer could be answered by someone, some pony or some dragon, else.”

Mr. Cake smiles and says, “Well, thank you for that. I think we will take our copies of the book home, and take you up on your suggestions.” And, with that, he returns to his wife's side and waits for Princess Luna to return him and Mrs. Cake to Sugar Cube Corner, or so I assume.

The next to approach me is Twilight Sparkle, who says, “Well, this was once again an enjoyable reading.”

I respond, “I'm glad you're enjoying it. So, did you invite Applejack and Rarity to have a slumber party at your place?”

The purple unicorn smiles as she says, “I did, and they said yes. Now I just need to wait for Princess Celestia to teleport us back to the library. And, you know what, I've been dying to try out this book on slumber parties.”

I answer, “Well, good luck on that. But, I'd just suggest using the book as a guide. The book may have some good ideas, but it doesn't hurt to let your guests contribute some of their own ideas as well. And, I'm sure you also have some good ideas that might not be in the book.”

Twilight grunts and taps or scratches her chin with a front hoof, either one or both, before saying under her breath, “The slumber party is more complicated than I thought.” Then she puts the hoof down as she says, “Well, you're probably right. Very well, then. I'll take suggestions from Applejack and Rarity, as well as from the book, and see what happens.” And, with that, she rejoins her orange earth pony and white unicorn friends, as well as her dragon assistant, waiting for the daytime princess to teleport back and return them to the library.

I call out to her, “Let me know how things turn out!” And, that happens to be just before the white alicorn appears next to them, and the group disappears a short time later.

I'm not surprised to see that the alicorn that brings each group or individual to the reading is the same one that returns that group or individual.

In a matter of minutes, it's back to just Pinkie Pie, Trixie, Lyra, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Weed Whacker, and my character.

Trixie, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia go back to working on Trixie's mobile theater; while Pinkie Pie, Lyra and Weed Whacker take the now empty snack tray back into the house.

Because the reading was so early in the day, there's still plenty of time for activities, whether inside or outside the house.

A thought occurs to me, and I have my character go into the house and use one of the parchments to make a bull's eye design. I just happen to finish when Pinkie Pie comes out and circles around the couch to have a look at what I've been doing.

Seeing the series of circles in circles, she says, “Well, that's a funny picture. What's it for?”

I answer, “I've been thinking I could use some help with something. Specifically, Diane's help.”

The pink earth pony uses a hind hoof to scratch the ear on that side, the ear closest to my character, in fact, before saying, “We're both happy to help you with whatever you want. But, we're curious, why do you need Diane specifically?”

At this point, I don't think it's a good idea to tell Pinkamena and Diane that I'm preparing Diane for an event that won't occur for months, perhaps at least a year. And, while I've programmed Pinkie Pie to progress toward becoming an alicorn depending on which one of them I teach a new skill, and I'm sure she could figure it out for herself, that's one more secret I don't intend to reveal to her. What I do say is: “Just think of it as part of the experiment.”

The pink earth pony tilts her head as if wanting to ask a question, but just holds that pose for a few seconds. Finally, she says, “Alright, Diane and I trust you.” Then, I watch, through my character's eyes, as Pinkie's mane deflates, falling in a straight flow completely to one side.

I don't doubt that her tail has also straightened out.

Diane then flatly asks, “So, what do you need my help with?”

I have my character stand up and, bull's eye in hand, head for the door, gesturing for Diane to follow him as I answer, “If you'll follow me into the orchard, I'll let you know.”

Diane Pie, her expressionless face and straight mane and tail reminding me somehow of her sister Maud, follows my character silently to the door. In fact, she follows my character all the way into the orchard, easily jumping over the wooden fence.

Once there, I have my character place the bull's eye on the closest tree, approximately where a kick from the hind legs of an earth pony would knock the most apples from the tree without hurting it. Then, I say, “I want you to kick this target with your hind legs.”

Again with no evident expression, Diane restates, “You want me to learn apple bucking. Very well. I shall try.” And, with that, she turns her behind to the tree, backs until her tail nearly touches the trunk, looks behind her, lowers her front half, walks her hind legs a step forward, then jumps her hind legs and pushes them with as much force as she can muster with her forelimbs acting as springs.

The good news is she manages to knock two, no make that three, apples out of the tree.

The bad news is one leg misses the center, so she ends up with that leg pointing upward.

I must admit, when I see her in that position, I find myself wincing in sympathy at what must be a painful position for her.

On the other hand, I have to restrain myself from laughing when I hear her emotionlessly say, “Ow.”

I clear my throat to keep from laughing before I ask, “Are you alright?”

Diane takes a step forward from the tree, and I can see that there seems to be no permanent damage as the leg that was bent upwards provides her a landing place as it rotates a hundred eighty degrees downward again. She then looks behind her at the leg as she kicks outward with it a few times, before she turns to my character, to me, and says, setting the leg under her again, “I shall be fine.”

I ask, “Would you like to try again?”

Diane doesn't answer vocally, but she tries the same technique to kick the tree where my character placed the bull's eye. But, this time, she ends up straddling the trunk, pinning her tail between her behind and the bark, ending up in a position that, if it were a stallion that had ended up that way, I imagine would likely be especially painful. But, at least she manages to knock another two, uh three, apples from the tree.

As I watch her stumble forward away from the tree and land on her behind, I say, “Maybe we should call it quits for today. We can try again later, when you've healed up from this practice run.”

I think I see a tear stream down the pink mare's face as she says, “A good idea. I will need your help getting over the fence again.”

I have my character walk over to the pink pony and grab her under her front half, then carry her to the fence, then carefully place her on all four hooves on the other side, before he retrieves the apples that Diane managed to knock out of the tree.

As my character turns to watch the pink pony, I can see that it's Diane that's still in control as she limps back toward the house. While I'm sure she'll recover, I just have to wonder how long that recovery will take.

My character follows Diane to the steps, then picks her up and carries her up to the porch, then puts her down long enough to get the door open.

Diane limps through the door and toward the couch where she can get the best vantage point of the front door, while my character heads into the kitchen with the half dozen apples the pink pony managed to kick out of the tree.

As my character places the apples in the sink, I hear Diane from in the front room say, “No, Pinkamena, this is not the time for you to … “

Presently I hear Pinkamena complain, “Ow, ow, ow, ow! Diane, what did you do?”

Diane answers, “Please, forgive me. I learned that there's more to apple bucking than I first thought.” After a few seconds, I then hear Diane ask, “How did that green lizard get in here?”

I have to wonder to myself, a green lizard? Then I realize I forgot to have my character close the front door. I have him enter the front room and circle around the closest couch to show me a green hatchling alligator. And, for me anyway, there's definitely something familiar about the little reptile.

As the newcomer and Diane stare at each other, I have my character circle around them to reach and close the front door, when the alligator opens its mouth to snap at him. And, just then, I notice something about the alligator: It has no teeth. I have to wonder, is this alligator that young?

Then I notice Pinkamena take control to get a closer look at the alligator. In spite of the evident pain in her back half, Pinkamena Pie does manage to amble a few steps forward to have a look at the visitor. As she lowers her front half toward the reptile, she says, “Hi there.”

The alligator only responds by blinking its right eye, then left eye, in rapid succession.

I have my character make another move toward the door to close it, only for the alligator to snap at him again.

The observant Pinkie Pie, noticing the inside of the little reptile's mouth, says, “You don't have any teeth. Just gums.”

The alligator turns to Pinkie, twitches its tail, then blinks its eyes the way it did before.

Pinkie Pie says, “I think I'll call you Gummy.” She then pushes herself, evidently slowly and painfully, up to quadruped standing position again, looks up at my character, and asks, “So, Mormon, can I keep him?”

My character manages to get to the door again and close it before turning to the pink earth mare, and I say, “I suppose it'll be alright. But, you do realize Gummy's a carnivore.”

Pinkie Pie responds, “That's why you're the best one to feed him. He doesn't have any teeth, so he won't hurt you.”

I think aloud, “I wonder if he's capable to catching fish for his own food.”

I can only guess that the alligator is responding to my thought when he opens his mouth and makes what I imagine is the closest thing a hatchling alligator can make to a roar or cry, basically the sound effect I've come to recognize as the distress call of a hatchling alligator.

I hear Pinkie Pie say, “I think he wants you to open the door again. He wants to go outside.”

I do have my character focused on the alligator, Gummy, when I say, “If you'll give me a moment to help Pinkie Pie get onto the couch and take care of her injuries, I'll open the door for you afterward.”

This time, Gummy blinks both eyes simultaneously, then slowly makes his way to the door.

Since I don't hear Pinkie Pie interpreting for him, I can only assume he agrees.

When my character turns to look at Pinkie Pie, I notice it's Diane back in control. I have my character walk to her and pick her up just behind her forelimbs, then carefully place her on the couch. During this time, I notice she isn't bleeding. A good sign, or so I assume. I take it to mean she should heal just fine, possibly be back to bouncing around again by tomorrow.

In the mean time, I send my character into the kitchen to fetch an ice pack from the freezer, the upper part of the fridge, then return to place it under Pinkie Pie's backside.

Diane cooperates easily enough, although she grimaces a little when she sits down on the ice-cold object.

I have my character stroke the pink earth pony on her neck with the back of his fingers as I say, “Gummy and I will be back to see if he can catch his own fish.”

Diane answers, “I'm sure he can. He just wants to show you that he's capable.”

I have my character stand up again and head to the door and open it.

As soon as the door opens enough, Gummy runs through it.

My character opens the door the rest of the way, and I can see through his eyes that Gummy is already down the stairs and heading toward the pond.

Evidently he already knows the way there.

My character has to run to catch up to the surprisingly fast hatchling, whose entrance into the pond is made evident by a splash sound effect that sounds like a cobble hitting the water.

Perhaps a minute or two after my character arrives at the side of the pond, Gummy comes out holding a fish not quite as big as him in his mouth. He then crawls triumphantly past me and back toward the house, surprising me again with his ability to keep hold of the fish, despite it flapping around, trying to free itself from the alligator's hold on it.

The two return to the house where I notice two things. First of all I once again forgot to have my character close the front door; and second of all Gummy has no problems making his way up the stairs to the porch, despite his size.

I'm about to have my character close the front door again, that is until I hear Vinyl Scratch's voice say, “We saw you chasing a lizard out of your house and to your pond? Is everything alright?”

I have my character turn to the white unicorn, and I notice her goggles are above her horn. Seeing the look of concern on her face, I say, “Pinkie Pie has a new friend, an alligator. He was just showing me that he can catch his own food.”

As my character looks down at the hatchling alligator, I can only assume he's using his tongue to help maneuver the fish around so its head is facing into his mouth.

After that, Gummy snaps a few times, enough to swallow the fish whole. He then licks his lips before slowly making his way to the couch to sit at its base, evidently wanting to attend to Pinkie Pie.

I hear Vinyl groan with disgust before she says, “Well, just so long as he sticks to eating fish, I guess it's alright if he stays.”

Diane answers, “He has no teeth, so he wouldn't be able to hurt you.”

Vinyl says, “Well, that's cool. Anyway, I noticed you trying to buck apples out of one of the trees. Are you alright?”

Diane answers, “I'll be fine.”

As my character turns to the white unicorn, I add, “We did manage to get a half a dozen apples for two bucks.” Looking at her face, I seriously doubt Vinyl understood my joke.

On the other hand, as my character turns to look at Diane, I'm guessing, by the smile on her face, that she understood.

In the mean time, I hear Vinyl say, “Well, as long as everything's alright, I'm gonna go back and help Trixie and Octy with the theater. And, Mormon, you might want to have a look at it. It's looking really good so far.”

Diane answers, “Go ahead,” then turns her head, the best she can, in Gummy's direction.

My character nods in agreement, then follows the white unicorn outside, closing the door behind him this time, then walks over to the mobile theater.

I can't help noticing how well constructed the theater is, although still incomplete. Even at this stage of development (no pun intended), any hinges that would allow the theater to collapse into a more compact form are well hidden. About all it needs now is a ceiling and a curtain, as the side walls are complete, and the back wall is nearly so. And, I might add, the theater, wheels included, stands a few inches above my character's head. One thing I have to wonder about, although I'm not sure if I should ask, is if Trixie plans on having decorative paneling on the outsides of her walls. I can wait until later for that.

As my character circles around the theater, I can't help noticing how thin it is, especially compared to it's length and height. I say, “Well, this theater is coming along very nicely.”

Trixie, who is there to meet my character as he comes around the front wheels, says, “Well, thank you. I agree. I must admit, the building has come along faster than I expected.”

I have my character nod before I say, “So, how long do you think it'll be before your theater is complete?”

Trixie turns to the structure, then back to my character, before saying, “At this rate, it should be complete and ready for a test run by tomorrow evening.”

I state, “It sounds like it's coming along extremely well.” Then, a thought occurs to me; and I ask, “So, when your theater's complete, what kind of magic acts do you plan on performing?”

Trixie, who'd been smiling up to this point, now frowns and droops a bit as she says, “I don't know that I'll be performing my usual acts from now on. I get the feeling that my audiences are getting tired of them. And, after what happened the last time I performed in Ponyville, I'm thinking it's probably not a good idea to talk about my magic having beaten an Ursa Major.”

I answer, “Yeah, you're probably right about that. From what I saw when I got back, you were lucky to get out with what you had left after the Ursa that attacked left.”

The fact of the matter is I know what happened. I still remember very clearly from watching the "Boast Busters" episode that Snips and Snails wanted to see Trixie beat an Ursa Major, so they got an Ursa Minor, thinking it was an Ursa Major, to follow them into Ponyville, hoping their heroine could defeat it. Trixie had panicked and run off, the Ursa Minor had destroyed her theater, and it was Twilight Sparkle who had managed to calm the Ursa down, giving it a bottle and returning it to it's cave with the Ursa Major. But, this is the sort of thing I decide not to tell Trixie.

When I don't get a response from my comment, I ask, “So, what kind of act do you plan on putting on?”

The blue unicorn marches slowly in front of my character as she says, “Well, I've been reading the Book of Mormon, since it's one of the few things of mine that survived the Ursa attack, and I've noticed there are a lot of interesting stories in that book. I've been thinking of doing puppet shows of those stories.” She then turns to me and asks, “Would that be alright with you?”

I, for one, have seen stories from the Book of Mormon brought to life in many forms: nearly direct stories in movies, variations in anime stories, even live-action stage plays. And, while I haven't really programmed my game for puppet shows depicting stories, I'm sure I have programmed the game to allow for such a possibility. And besides, if the Trixie from the animated series were to propose such an idea to me, I'm sure there would be no problem with me agreeing to it.

I say, “Sure. Sounds interesting.”

Presently, Trixie smiles and squees, then says, “Thank you, Mormon, thank you. Tonight, I'll get to work on the puppets.” She then pauses for a moment before asking, “Do you have a room where I can work on the puppets without disturbing anypony?”

I answer, “Well, as a matter of fact, I do have a work room where I'm sure you can work on your puppets without disturbing anyone.”

I'm almost surprised that Trixie isn't bouncing around like Pinkie Pie as she says, “Yes, yes, yes! After dinner tonight, I'll get to work on it.” I lose track of what else she says as she returns to her theater, supervising and helping again with the construction.

At this point, I decide to send my character back inside and see how Pinkie Pie is doing. One thing I wonder about is if I can expect to find Diane still in control, or do I find that Pinkamena has taken over? Either way, I'll know how well Pinkie Pie is doing, and how well she's recovering.

As my character enters the house, and after closing the door behind him, he turns to the couch where I expect to find Pinkie Pie and walks toward it, to show me that it is still Diane in control. As he continues to approach the pink pony, I can see that she's been relaxing as much as possible, and tears have been streaming from her eyes, or at least the one eye I can see.

When my character is close enough to her, he kneels on one knee and starts stroking her mane; and I ask, “Are you alright?”

Diane answers, “I did not intend that Pinkamena should feel the pain. I had hoped that I should maintain control for the whole time that this body recovers.”

I say, “Well, just so long as you're feeling better, that's all that matters to me.” Then, I wonder aloud, “Hmm, do you think Pinkamena understands why you wanted to stay in control of your body?”

Diane inhales and exhales in a sigh, then answers, “She probably does now. She hasn't let me know why she decided to take control when she did. She's only agreed to let me have control until this body recovers enough that there is no more pain.”

I have my character stand up again, which cancels out his further stroking Pinkie Pie's mane, while I say, “Well, I'll let you get to it, then. I have something I need to get to in the kitchen, anyway. I am sorry about you hurting yourself, though.”

Diane says, “It is nothing this body cannot recover from. Besides, while I'm not entirely sure why, I do understand you were trying to teach me a new skill. When I'm ready, I will continue to learn that skill.”

I answer, “That's good to hear.” Then, I have my character return to the kitchen to clean off the apples.

Before he can maneuver around the couch, though, I hear Gummy vocalize for a split second, which I suppose is the closest thing to a bark that a hatchling alligator can make.

As my character turns to the alligator, I can see him propped up against the couch, blinking his purple-red eyes and seemingly trying to climb up onto the couch with Pinkie Pie.

I ask, “Do you want to be on the couch with Pinkie?”

My character doesn't wait for an answer before he reaches out to try to help Gummy get onto the couch, only for the little alligator to drop down and snap at him.

As my character pulls away from the alligator again, I ask, “Are you just worried about her?”

Gummy looks up at my character and blinks his right eye, then his left eye, which I can only assume is an affirmation.

I smile and say, “I'm sure Pinkie Pie appreciates that you care about her. She'll be fine.”

And, that's when Diane says, “As a matter of fact, we do appreciate that Gummy cares about us.” Then, as my character turns his attention to her, I notice she lowers her head and closes her eyes, leading me to assume she's falling asleep.

When my character turns his attention back to the little alligator, I continue, “You know, I've heard of people, where I come from, who keep cats as pets, and they consider themselves owned by the cats. I wonder if Pinkie Pie, seeing how much you care about her, considers herself owned by you.” I decide to say no more as I have my character head into the kitchen.

I find it strange that I don't notice, until I'm in the process of cleaning the apples, that Lyra is at the table. That is, not until she says, “I need something to do.”

I answer, “I see no reason why you couldn't go outside and help Trixie and the others with building her mobile theater.” At this point, my character finishes cleaning the first apple and puts it in the drying tray.

In the mean time, Lyra answers, “I don't know if you've noticed or not, but Trixie's mobile theater is nearly completed. About all she needs is to build the roof, the ceiling, and put that on top, and she'll be done.”

As my character chooses the next apple and holds it under the stream of water from the tap, I ask, “Well, couldn't you go offer to help with that?”

That's when Lyra continues, “And, besides, what about that predatory lizard in the front room?”

I ask, “I assume you're talking about the alligator?”

Lyra answers, “That's the one.”

I state, “Pinkie named him Gummy. He's taking care of her. He's kind of her new pet. And, the predator has no teeth.”

Lyra whimpers, “I'm not worried about him attacking me.”

As my character puts the second now-clean apple in the drying tray and chooses the next one from the sink, I state, “Gummy's too preoccupied with caring for Pinkie Pie to attack another pony. I'm sure the only reason he'd attack you is if he thought you were going to hurt Pinkie Pie. And besides, he's already eaten a fish that was about as big as him.”

Presently I hear Lyra say, “Alright, now I'm confused. Why would a predatory lizard take an interest in a pony, much less Pinkie Pie?”

I don't say anything until my character puts the third apple in the drying tray, then picks up the fourth and proceeds to clean it. At that point, I say, “I know Gummy doesn't have any teeth, like I mentioned before. If he's unable to grow teeth, he may have been rejected by his mother, and is thus seeking that kind of companionship from Pinkie Pie. And, if he is, in fact, unable to grow teeth, that would no doubt be a disability to him, to any alligator, or any predator for that matter. I don't know how alligators think, so I can't say for sure. But, I also have to wonder if he considers Pinkie Pie also disabled, seeing that she behaves differently from other ponies, and wants to join forces with her for that reason.

“Whatever Gummy's reasons are, it's clear to me that he doesn't want to hurt her.”

I think I hear a smile in the pale-green unicorn's voice as she says, “If the lizard really has no teeth, like you said, and can't grow any, he probably wouldn't be able to hurt her even if he wanted to. For that matter, he wouldn't be able to hurt me.” A second later, I hear a thud from behind my character, suggesting that Lyra has jumped or fallen off her chair, then her voice as she moves past him, saying, “Alright, I'll go ahead and offer to help with the mobile theater.” After that, the only indication I get that she's heading in that direction is the door opening, hoof-falls through it, and the door closing again.

My character takes a minute to clean each of the last two apples, then I have him choose the first of the apples to offer to Pinkie Pie. Then, he enters the room; and I see through his eyes that Pinkie Pie, or specifically Diane, is sleeping soundly on the couch. At that point, I decide to leave her alone so he can get her rest.

Now, it seems that the only problem is, as my character peers out one of the windows and shows me that there's plenty of daylight outside, he's the only one left without something to do at the moment. Fortunately, there are options.

The first thing I think of is to send my character on another fishing expedition to the pond. And, just in case Gummy needs to contact me if there's a problem with Pinkie Pie, after my character gathers his fishing equipment, I have him leave the front door open just enough so Gummy can get through.

Once he's outside, my character makes his way to the pond and promptly casts his line in. He then sits and watches, allowing me to watch as well, for activity either at the end of the line, or at the end of the fishing pole.

It seems to take some time, at least one minute I'd say, before there's some activity in the line. Then, after the line starts uncurling in the direction of the hook, in a second it straightens out, and the end of the fishing pole bows in the direction of the line.

Immediately my character takes action, grabbing the pole and yanking at it to snag the fish with the hook. Once the hook is set and the fish starts fighting to escape, indicating it's trapped, my character starts reeling it in.

I have to give this fish some credit. It puts up a good fight against my character. There are times when my character stops reeling, then the fish jumps, and my character starts reeling the fish in again.

The battle with the fish continues for perhaps another minute or two until the fish is close to shore, at which point my character grabs the fishing net and catches the fish in it. From that point on, it's just a matter of getting the fish in the box, then carrying it back to the house to clean it, then fry and eat it.

Since the ponies living at my character's house already know of his omnivory, I see no reason to inform them of the fish he most recently caught. Instead, I have him take it in the house immediately and into the kitchen to prepare and eat it.

The preparation of this fish is no different from the preparation of the first fish my character caught. And, there's no real difference in the process of eating it, either. That is, not until Gummy comes in, evidently interested in the origin of the smell.

By the time the little alligator has entered the kitchen, my character has eaten half the fish.

As my character shows me that the alligator is at his feet, I ask, “So, Gummy, is there something you want from me?”

Gummy licks his lips, blinks his eyes, and proceeds to climb up my character's leg.

In response, I have my character catch the little alligator, carefully put him on the floor, and I say, “Oh, no. You've already had your fish. This one's mine.”

Gummy responds by emitting his distress call.

My response to this is to say, “Of all the creatures here, as far as I know, there are only two of us capable of digesting meat. You've already eaten the fish you caught. Now, I caught this fish, and I intend to eat it.”

As my character goes back to eating the fish, Gummy runs back into the front room. From that point until my character finishes eating the fish, leaving only the bones behind, he has no further disturbances. He disposes of the fish bones, head, and internal organs, then cleans off the plate and silverware he used and puts them in the drying tray, moving the apples onto the top of the counter.

I also decide my character can have one of the apples, which my character agrees to.

He chooses one, then gets a knife and cuts the apple into eighths, then eats each slice, leaving only the stem behind.

Just then, the door opens again; and I hear Trixie's voice ask, “What's that smell? Is there an overheated fish somewhere?”

As my character turns to the source of the voice, I answer, “I caught a fish, then cleaned it out, fried it up, and ate it. That's most likely what you're smelling.”

The blue unicorn groans in disgust, then says, “I decided it was getting late enough that we should wait and finish the theater tomorrow. There's not that much left to do. We've built the roof, and that just needs to go on top. After that, I just need to test it to see if it'll fold away, unfold, and travel.”

I answer, “It sounds like you have things well in hand, uh, in hoof.”

Trixie answers, “We do. And, I wouldn't have been able to build a new theater without you. Thank you.”

I say, “I'm happy I could help.”

Trixie pauses for a moment before saying, “The others are out gathering food for dinner. If you've already eaten, you don't have to eat anymore.”

I answer, “I've already had some fish and one apple, but I could have a little more to eat.”

I see, through my character's eyes, the blue unicorn recoil a little before she says, “Well, you're welcome to join us if you're still hungry.”

Presently a thought crosses my mind, and I ask, “Oh, have you seen if Pinkie Pie's alright?”

Trixie pauses for a second, then answers, “She's still on the one couch. She's been talking to that little green lizard.” She pauses for a moment longer before asking, “Did you … did you withhold your fish from him?”

I answer, “Yes, I was greedy. I wouldn't let Gummy have any of my fish, which I wasn't finished eating at the time.”

I watch through my character's eyes as Trixie covers her mouth with a front hoof and gags. The good news is she doesn't empty her stomach onto the floor in front of my character.

I have my character kneel on one knee next to her and rub her back as I say, “I guess you're still not comfortable with human omnivory?”

Trixie manages to say, “Thanks … for understanding,” before running into the nearest bathroom.

The sound of a creature retching is usually unpleasant. But, it's especially so when it's as loud as Trixie is right now. If there were a creature in the room that Vinyl and Octavia share, I'm sure that creature could hear the blue unicorn.

About that time, Lyra, Weed Whacker, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia enter the kitchen with their harvest.

Vinyl, hearing the sounds of the nauseated blue unicorn, turns to my character and, placing the berries she'd harvested on the counter, asks, “Is Trixie alright?”

I answer, “I guess there are some creatures that don't even like hearing about human omnivory.”

Octavia sniffs the air, then states, “Based on the smell, I'm guessing you've already prepared and eaten that fish you brought in.”

I answer, “That's right.”

The four herbivores groan, but they manage to prepare their harvest and place it on a tray, which I get for them.

The dinner proceeds without further incident, with Trixie managing to eat some of the fruit and vegetables.

After that, it's late enough that ponies, human, and dinosaur proceed to our rooms; I write my letter to the princesses informing them that about all I learned about unicorns today, or at least this evening, was that they seem to have trouble getting past dietary habits, particularly creatures that eat meat, strictly or otherwise. I inform them of the new member of the family, an alligator that Pinkie Pie adopted as her pet.

After that, I have my character retire to his bed.

It's been quite a day. From what I understand, the storm the pegasi put together lasts well into the night. I have to wonder if my influence has had any effect on the slumber party hosted by Twilight Sparkle, and attended by Rarity and Applejack. I know that in the episode "Look Before You Sleep," the constant bickering of the white unicorn and the orange earth pony spoiled the fun for their host. Will things have turned out the same this time? I guess I shall find out tomorrow when I resume this game. But, for now, it's time to save and close it.

Author's Notes:

The next chapter will be the first of two based on the episode "Bridle Gossip." In the first of these two chapters, a strange new equine, a zebra, visits Ponyville; and all the ponies are afraid of her. She's strange to all the ponies, but not, as it turns out, to a certain human. And, it's guaranteed that his presence will have an influence on how the story plays out. Find out what happens in Chapter 8, "My Friend Zecora."

The reading that evening will be the First Book of Nephi, Chapters Fourteen and Fifteen.