As I resume the game this time, I find my character in a basement setting, in fact the same basement where, in the first game, Pinkie Pie killed some of her friends and a certain griffin, and baked their meat into cupcakes.  And, in the second game, the one I’m still playing, Pinkie Pie only killed that griffon, Gilda, and baked her meat into cupcakes, before I diverted her from that destructive course and onto the one that, so far, has lead to her earning her wings.  But, this time, it’s a different earth pony, and a familiar-looking pegasa.

The earth mare, somewhat dark, electric pink in color with curly mane and tail of slightyly-reddish-purple with white highlights, as well as a cutie mark of a screw and a baseball, I recognize as being identified as Screwball, or Topsy Turvy.  And the pegasa, gray with pale-yellow mane and tail and the familiar cutie mark of seven bubbles, I remember giving the nickname Ataahua; but she’s also known, from what I’ve seen and heard, as Derpy Hooves, Ditsy Doo, or Muffins.  For my purposes, though, I’ll continue to call the gray pegasa Ataahua.  And, the earth mare I’ll call Topsy Turvy.

At any rate, I can see that it’s Topsy Turvy who’s bound to the cement bed against the wall, while Ataahua is poking a front hoof at sharp blades on a medical table.  Somehow, I can tell that Ataahua is uncertain which of these blades she wants to use, or even if she wants to use any of them.

My character moves his focus to Topsy Turvy as I hear her say, “Hurry it up, Derpy.  We don’t have all night.”

My sense of Ataahua’s unwillingness is confirmed when she turns to Topsy Turvy and whimpers, “But, I don’t know if I even wanna do this.  After all, we’re friends.  How can I kill a friend?”

Topsy Turvy emits a groaning sigh, then says, “Look, Derpy.  You’ve already got me chained to the wall here.  There’s really no way for me to fight back, even if I wanted to.  And, you agreed to be the one to do this for me.”  After a momentary pause, the earth mare continues, “If I’m going to get my father out of that statue, I need somepony to sacrifice me, and you are the only one I can count on.  So, either choose a knife and use it on me, or I just starve to death here.”

Ataahua inhales deeply, then lets the breath out slowly, then fumbles for a moment with a knife with a long blade that tapers to a point at the end of it.  Putting the knife in her mouth, sharp blade outward, she turns away from the table before putting both front hooves on the ground.  She then takes a few steps before stumbling and falling, releasing the knife.  As it clatters to a stop almost directly under Topsy Turvy, Ataahua whimpers, “Uh, my bad.”

The chained earth mare groans, then says, “Hold the knife in your hooves, then use your wings to fly into me.”

Halfheartedly, Ataahua says, “Oh, right.  Why didn’t I think of that?”  And, after gathering the knife in her front hooves, she uses her wings to hover up to Topsy Turvy’s position.

At this point, my character’s perspective turns to a side view, where I can see, through his eyes, Topsy Turvy on the right, and Ataahua on the left.  And, the knife Ataahua is holding is too close to the chained earth mare to really cause much more than a small cut.

Topsy Turvy notices this, and says, “No, Derpy, you’re too close.  You need to back up to the other wall, then fly at me as fast as you can, holding the knife.  That should give you enough speed so you can kill me.”

For a moment Ataahua looks down at the knife she’s holding.  Then she looks back up at the chained earth mare and stammers, “B-b-but, …”

Before the gray pegasa can continue her protest, Topsy Turvy screams, “Just do it!”  And, afterward, she glares at Ataahua, growling under her breath, with each breath.

The gray pegasa sighs, then turns away from Topsy Turvy and slowly flies to the other wall.  When she gets there and turns around again, she whimpers, “I’m so sorry, Topsy,” then points the knife and flies as fast as she can toward the chained earth mare.

And, for those last few seconds before the dream ends, my character’s perspective suddenly shifts so that he’s in the path of the knife, most likely in the position of Topsy Turvy’s chest.

My character wakes up and immediately sits up in his bed.  And, a second or two later, I hear a knock at his bedroom door.

As was indicated by the title of the first sub-chapter, what I was seeing was just a dream sequence.

In the mean time, I hear Pinkie Pie’s voice call out, “Mormon, we need to get to that basement, now!”

I have my character rise from his bed and go to his bedroom door and open it, just in time to see Pinkie Pie stop backing away from it toward the kitchen as her front legs stop vibrating.

Seeing my character at the door, she frowns up at him and says, “You had the same dream I did, didn’t you?”

I ask, “The dream of Ataahua killing a pink earth pony with spiral eyes?”  Then, when Pinkie nods back, I answer, “Yes, I did.  And, you’re right.  We need to get to that factory and into that basement as soon as we can.”

Presently, Pinkie Pie jumps in place and makes a hundred-eighty-degree turn in mid-air.  When she lands, she turns back to my character and says, “Then, let’s get going.  If we hurry, we can make it there in an hour and hopefully stop Ataahua before she can kill Topsy Turvy.”

I nod and say, “Agreed.”  Then, as Pinkie makes her way to the kitchen, I ask, “So, do you think we need to take anything with us for on the way there?”

Pinkie turns to my character and shakes her head as she answers, “No, I don’t think so.”  She then stops shaking her head as she continues, “We just need to get over there as soon as possible.  As long as we’re there in time to stop Ataahua from committing murder, and Topsy Turvy from being murdered, that’s all we really need.”  She then turns to the kitchen, to the door connecting it to the front room, and says, “Enough chit chat.  Time to save a couple lives.”

And, my character, after leaving his room and closing the door behind him, follows after the pink angel pony as she makes her way to, then out, the front door.  And, he closes doors behind him and Pinkie Pie.  And, from there to and through the front gate, where my character closes it behind him, the human and the angel pony say no more as they make their way through the Everfree forest, then to and through Ponyville, and finally to the factory where Pinkie Pie had, in this game, only killed a griffon to offer to my character.

As the human and the earth pony make their way to the doorway of the basement in the factory, I hear Pinkie say, “I should’ve had this place buried or something, so it could never be used again.”

I respond, as my character opens the doorway, “I understand how you feel.  But, now isn’t the time for wishing for such things.  We can worry about that later.”

The pink earth pony sighs, then says, “You’re right.  Right now, we need to save some pony lives.”  And, she follows my character into the basement.

As my character opens the door, I see, as I saw in the dream sequence, Topsy Turvy chained to the cement bed against the wall, limbs spread outward, facing the doorway, with Ataahua sprawled out under her, evidently having tripped on her own hooves.

Seeing the evident intruders at the door, Topsy Turvy growls, “I can’t believe this!”  And, she slams the back of her head against the cement bed behind her as she speaks the last syllable of the word “believe,” adding extra emphasis to that word.

As I input the instructions, I say, “Pinkie Pie, you go get Topsy Turvy down from that cement slab.  I’ll take care of Ataahua.”

And, once I press Enter, my character proceeds to approach the gray pegasa and pushes the knife away from her, then picks her up and carries her to the door.

As my character picks her up, the gray pegasa grabs him, as much with her wings as with her forelimbs, and bawls out, “Oh, human, what was I gonna do?  I didn’t wanna do it!”

I then hear, as Ataahua continues sobbing, Topsy Turvy growl, “You keep away from me, you crazy horse!  Me and Derpy aren’t finished here yet!”

My character turns and focuses on the electric-pink earth mare, and, as Pinkie frees her, I respond, “Yes, you are.”

Topsy Turvy continues to protest, “But, Derpy hasn’t killed me yet!”

I add, “And, she’s not going to, either.”

Topsy Turvy, who by now is hanging by her right front hoof as Pinkie works to hold her and free that hoof at the same time, groans, “But, if somepony doesn’t kill me, then my daddy can’t be freed from his statue.”

I keep my character in front of the doorway as I state, “Trust me, your father, Discord, doesn’t need your help to free himself.”

The pink earth mare, at this point free from the chains, gasps and asks, “How do you know about him, and how do you know he won’t need my help?”

I answer, “You’ll have to trust me on the matter of Discord not needing your help.  And, as for me knowing about him, well, …”

Before I can finish my statement, Pinkie says, “Mormon has a good source for his information.”  She then holds on to Topsy Turvy as she adds, “Now, let’s get back to Mormon’s house.  We’ll figure out what to do about this basement when we get there.”

As Pinkie, with the help of Diane and her wings, carries Topsy Turvy out of the basement, my character, ahead of her, carries a still-sobbing Ataahua out.  Then, at the doorway, my character sets Ataahua down; Pinkie Pie restrains a still-battling Topsy Turvy; and my character then proceeds to close the door to the basement, then, after ascending the stairs again, the cellar door.

After that, seeing that her plans have evidently failed, Topsy Turvy stops fighting and emits a frustrated groan.  Shoving herself away from Pinkie Pie, she falls, then rises to a human-style sitting position, folds her forelimbs in front of her, and says, “Well, I hope you’re happy now, human.  Now my daddy’ll never be free from his statue.”  Then, she unfolds her forelimbs and stretches them out, collapses forward into a sphinx-style position, buries her face in between her forelimbs, and starts sobbing.

I have my character turn to Pinkie Pie, and I say, “Maybe I should carry Topsy Turvy home.  Do you think you’ll be alright with Ataahua?”

I hear the gray pegasa answer, “I’ll be fine.”  As my character turns to her, she continues, “I was only gonna kill Topsy because she wanted me to.  But, now that I don’t need to, now that I can’t, I’ll be fine to walk on my own.  Thank you, human, uh, Mormon?”

I have my character reach out and stroke the gray pegasa’s blonde mane, and I say, “I’m glad I could be of service.”  I then have my character move toward and pick up Topsy Turvy, and I conclude, “Now, let’s get out of here.  We have a long walk to get back to my home.”  And, in spite of the earth mare’s protests, as much in action as in word, my character still manages to easily pick her up and hold her in his arms.

By the time the group gets back to my character’s house, it’s half past two, at least according to the time indicator on the bottom left corner of the screen.  And, it seems that Topsy Turvy has fallen asleep in my character’s arms.

Pinkie Pie opens the gate for my character and Ataahua, who enter.  And, behind my character, the last to enter, Pinkie, closes the gate again.

My character then takes the lead to the porch and front door, which he opens to allow the ponies to enter before he follows them in and closes the door behind him.

And, it seems that the sound effect of the door closing wakes up Topsy Turvy, who looks around and asks, “Huh, what?  Where am I?”

I have my character walk to the couch closest to the kitchen, then put the pink earth mare down on it, before finding a place for himself next to her, about the middle of the couch.

Topsy Turvy, in the mean time, looks down at her hooves to see where she’s been placed, then looks up again and follows my character with her eyes to where he sits down.  When he’s settled down, she asks, “Why?  Why did you bring me here?”

I answer, “I figure I can keep a better eye on you and Ataahua here, where I live.”

Then, Pinkie asks, “So, now that they’re here, what’re we gonna do?”

A little more slowly, I answer, “Maybe we should let the princesses know what almost happened, and that these two are going to be staying with us for a while.”

Now, before I continue with this story, let me just say that I don’t need to be reminded of Topsy Turvy’s Archimedean-spiral eyes.  I can see them clearly as she focuses on me.  The fact of the matter is I’m finding them her most interesting feature.

In the mean time, the pink earth mare asks, “But, what about me being killed?  How am I gonna free my daddy?”

I answer, “Like I said, he won’t need you getting yourself killed in order for him to be free.”  I then have my character turn to Pinkie Pie, and I ask, “Will you go get Weed Whacker from Lyra’s room?”

The pink angel pony nods in agreement, then disappears behind the couch.  A moment later, I hear the kitchen door open and close.

In the mean time, Topsy Turvy says, “So, I’m your prisoner now?”

My character focuses on the pink earth mare, and I answer, “This isn’t a prison, it’s my home.”

Topsy Turvy folds her front hooves in front of her and groans, “And, I’m one of your pets, I suppose.”

I answer, “If you want me to adopt you, then I’d be honored.”

Topsy Turvy says, “I said pet, not daughter.  Besides, you’ve already got plenty to take care of already.  You don’t need me here.”  And, with that, she proceeds to position herself to attempt a jump off of the couch.

That is, until Ataahua positions herself where Topsy Turvy had evidently been preparing to land.  As soon as the pink earth mare shows her gray pegasa friend that her plan to leave has been foiled, Ataahua asks, “Now, why not stay?  You know I didn’t want to kill you, whether in that basement or anywhere else.  And, I don’t want anypony else to kill you either.”

At this statement from the gray pegasa, Topsy Turvy just sits there, human-style on the couch, and growls.

And, that’s when the door to the kitchen opens again, and I hear Pinkie Pie say, “I’ve got Weed Whacker here on my back.”

As my character turns to the angel pony, I can see, through his eyes, the herbivorous dinosaur sitting half-asleep on her back, clipboard and scroll in one hand, writing stick in the other.

Weed Whacker yawns and stretches, then says, “So, Mormon, what do you want?”

I answer, “I need to write a letter, and I need you to send it to the princesses as soon as possible.”

This causes the herbivorous dinosaur to wake up completely, or at least it appears that way, after which she hands my character the items, saying, “Well, alright.  Here’s what you need.  When we’re finished, can I go back to bed?”

As my character takes the items from her, I answer, “Sure, no problem.  Just give me a moment to write the letter, then you can send it off.”  I then dictate, as my character writes, “To Princesses Celestia and Luna,

“I just rescued two ponies, a pink earth mare named Topsy Turvy, and a gray pegasa named Derpy Hooves, from getting themselves in trouble.  Topsy Turvy was going to have Derpy Hooves kill her in order to free her father, Discord, from his statue.

“I would be honored to take care of the two of them, if you will agree to it.  I have plenty of room for the two of them.

“Signed, Mormon.”

Automatically, my character rolls up the scroll and hands it to Weed Whacker, who bites down on it to send it off.

The herbivorous dinosaur then falls off of Pinkie’s back, then stumbles through the kitchen door, evidently on her way back to the bedroom she and Lyra share.

In the mean time, I hear Ataahua say, “So, I guess that means Turvy and I are gonna be living here with you for a while?”

I answer, as my character’s attention turns to the gray pegasa, “If the princesses agree to it.”

A second later, there’s a sudden, loud sniffle from Topsy Turvy.  As my character turns his attention to her, the pink earth pony whimpers, “I just wanted my daddy to be free.  I just wanted to be with him again.  I always wanted that, since the princesses imprisoned him in that statue, until now!”  She sobs before continuing, “Now I’m gonna be stuck here in this house with a human.  I can’t face my father like this.  I don’t want him to see me here, this way.”  And, she continues to sob.

It’s approximately at three o’clock that I hear a knock at the front door, a sound that startles the still-sobbing Topsy Turvy.

Presently, Pinkie Pie makes her way to the door to open it.  And, as soon as she does, I can see that the two sister princesses, Celestia and Luna, are there.

I don’t have my character move from his seat; I just way, “Come on in, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.”

The daytime princess, the first to enter, nods her head, as much in respect, I suppose, as to point her horn ahead of her so she can enter without hurting it.  And, as her sister follows her in, she says, “We got your letter.  You say you have Discord’s daughter here, and she was going to have Derpy Hooves kill her?”

I answer, “That’s right.”

Presently, Topsy Turvy, looking up and seeing the daytime princess, back-pedals over my character’s lap and says, “Keep away from me.  You’ve already got my daddy.  Don’t trap me away in a statue, too.”

The white alicorn looks at the alarmed earth pony, then at my character, and says, “You were able to keep Discord’s daughter from getting herself killed, so I see no reason why you shouldn’t have custody of her.”  She then turns to the gray pegasa, then back to my character again, as she adds, “And, as for Derpy Hooves, you kept her from killing another pony.  I see no reason why you shouldn’t take care of her as well.”  She then turns to the gray pegasa again and asks, “Is that alright with you?”

Ataahua looks down and says, “It’s because of Mormon that I didn’t kill anypony.  I suppose that means I owe him my freedom, at least.  I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to pay him back for that, but I suppose I can try.”  She then looks up at Princess Celestia and says, “Because I owe so much to Mormon, yes, I’ll happily live with him.”

The white princess nods to Ataahua and says, “Good.”  She then turns to Topsy Turvy and says, “And, as for you, I can’t allow you to turn any of my little ponies into murderers.  And, since Mormon has volunteered to take care of you, and seeing how well he’s taken care of Pinkie Pie and Lyra, I see no better course of action than to deliver custody of you over to him.”  She then nods to Princess Luna as she concludes, “My sister and I will return to the castle to take care of the documentation.”

Then, the nighttime princess steps forward and asks, “Now, what’s this about Discord?”

I have my character grab and hold onto the pink earth mare as she struggles, and I answer, “Topsy Turvy, here, was going to get herself killed to free her father, Discord, from being a statue.  I was able to stop Derpy from Killing Topsy Turvy, but I suspect there’s still a good chance that he’s going to be freed.”  I then ask, “Uh, by the way, is there a field trip planned for foals for your garden in Canterlot today?”

Princess Luna answers, “There is.  Why do you ask?”

I answer, “You may want to keep an eye on the foals in that class, particularly Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.”

The two sisters turn and look at each other, then turn back to my character; and Princess Celestia asks, “Why?  Do you think they will cause problems?”

I answer, “I’m guessing they’re on the train to Canterlot right now.  And, if they are, and if they’ve been deprived of sleep, then they’re likely to be cranky when they arrive.”

Presently, the two sister alicorns turn to each other again.  If the expression I can see, through my character’s eyes, on Luna’s face, is any indication, then I don’t need to say anymore; they already know what I mean.

Finally, the two turn back to my character; and Princess Celestia says, “Very well  I will handle the records for you taking care of Derpy Hooves and Topsy Turvy, and Princess Luna will join forces with Cheerilee to take care of the foals from Ponyville.”

The daytime princess turns to leave, but the nighttime princess remains in her place.

I ask, “Is there anything else?”

Princess Luna nods, then asks, “How did you know that Topsy Turvy was going to make Derpy Hooves try to kill her?”

I answer, “I saw it in a dream.”

The nighttime princess rubs her chin with a front limb joint as she says, “That is strange.  I knew nothing of this, so I could not have sent you such a dream.”

Princess Celestia turns back to her and says, “We can explore the mystery later.  Right now, we need to return to Canterlot.”

Princess Luna turns and nods to her big sister and says, “Agreed.”  She then turns back to my character and says, “When we have time, we shall try to solve this mystery.  Until then, farewell.”  And, with that, the daytime princess nods her head and closes her eyes, and her horn starts to glow and sparkle.  A second later, the two princesses disappear.

With the two sister alicorns gone, Topsy Turvy stops struggling in my character’s arms.  She looks up at my character and says, “Well, I hope you’re happy now.”  She then looks down and adds, “I just hope daddy doesn’t break out of his statue any time soon now.  I don’t want him to see me like this.”

Pinkie Pie, in the mean time, approaches the couch where my character and Topsy Turvy are.  After propping herself up on the arm of the couch, she says, “Well, now I don’t know who could’ve sent us that dream.”

I respond, “Yeah, I suppose we'll find out later today who sent us that dream.”

For the rest of the hour, Pinkie Pie volunteers and gives the new arrivals a tour of my character’s house, and even offers them each an empty room where they can stay.

Topsy Turvy agrees to occupy the room closest to the kitchen, the one first occupied by Octavia and Vinyl, then by Berry Punch and Carrot Top.

Ataahua occupies the room at the end of the hallway connected to the front room, the bedroom that Rarity occupied for one night.

With arrangements set up for the two ponies, they return to the couches, where my character and Topsy Turvy occupy the couch closest to the kitchen, and Pinkie Pie and Ataahua occupy the couch closest to the front door.

There, Ataahua turns to the pink angel pony and asks, “So, Pinkie, you have wings now?”

Diane stretches her wings out as Pinkamena smiles and answers, “That’s right.  Mormon helped me earn them.”

The gray pegasa hums eagerly, then asks, “Do you think he could help me earn my horn?”

Pinkie Pie responds first by humming as well, although uncertainly, then says, “You know, I think he would.”  She then turns to my character, to me, and asks, “So, Mormon, what do you think?  Do you want to help Der—uh, Ataahua, earn her horn?”

I shrug and smile and answer, “I’d be happy to help any way I can.  Although, there’s another pony in Ponyville that has wings and a horn.  The only thing he’s missing is earth pony powers.  And, he agreed to be known as an alicorn second-class.”  I then turn to the gray pegasa as I conclude, “And, Ataahua, that’s what you’d be if you earned your horn without earning earth pony abilities.”

Presently, Ataahua opens her wings and flaps them, rising above the couch and hovering approximately above Pinkie’s back in the air.

But, before the gray pegasa can say anything, Topsy Turvy asks, “So, what does this name, Ataahua, mean?”

I answer, “It’s a Maori word.  It means ‘beautiful.’”

Topsy Turvy looks up at the hovering gray pegasa, grunts with interest, then turns back to my character and says, “If you don’t pay attention to her eyes, you’re right, she is physically attractive.  It’s only her eyes that aren’t that way.”  She then tilts her head as she asks, “So, what about me?  My eyes are spiraled.  Do you think I look pretty if you don’t look at my eyes?”

I answer, “Well, to be completely honest with you, it’s your eyes I find most interesting.  And, it’s the same with Ataahua.  No other pony that I’ve seen has eyes like Ataahua has, eyes that don’t align normally.  Nor has there been another pony that I’ve seen that has spiral irises like yours.”

Just then, Pinkie draws my attention to the gray pegasa by saying, “Uh, Mormon, I think Ataahua has something she wants to say to you.”

As my character’s attention falls on Ataahua, she turns to Pinkie and says, “Thank you.”  She then turns back to my character and says, “It’s just that, well, I’ve wanted to be like the princesses all of my life.  I thought that, maybe if I got a horn, other ponies would respect me then.”

I smile and nod as I say, “It’s nice that you want to be respected.  Just as long as you realize that you might not get that respect just by having both wings and a horn.  I, for instance, have earned ponies’ respect, even though I don’t have wings or a horn.  I have, though, made a positive contribution, or so I hope, to the lives of ponies that I’ve met.  If you want to be respected, then I’m sure I can help you with that.  If you want to earn your horn, then I’m sure I can help you with that, too.  Just, be prepared for the possibility that being an alicorn and being respected may not be so closely associated in the minds of the ponies around you, alright?”

At my short speech, Ataahua settles back down on the couch, and folds her wings.  She then looks down at the coffee table, or so it appears from the perspective of my character, and says, “Oh, alright.”  She then looks up at my character and says, “I would like to be respected, like they are.  But, that's not why I want a horn.  I want a horn so I can show how much I respect them.  So, will you still help me?”

I answer, “I’d be happy to.”

Ataahua smiles, and I can see her eyes start to close, as she says, “Good.”  She then yawns before saying, “I need to get some sleep.  May I go to my room now?”

I smile as I say, “Sure, go on ahead.”

Ataahua’s only response after that is to jump, wings spread out to assist her, over Pinkie Pie, and land on the ground just past the arm of the couch, then fold her wings again and make her way through the hallway to one of the bedrooms at the end.

My character then looks down, after seeing the door to that bedroom close, and shows me that Topsy Turvy has fallen asleep in his lap.

As I focus my character’s attention on Pinkie Pie, I say, “Maybe I should put Topsy Turvy to bed as well, then we can go and gather fruit from the orchard for breakfast.”

Pinkie Pie nods and says, “Good idea.  We need to get an early start and be in Ponyville when Discord breaks out of his statue and starts causing chaos everywhere.”

I nod in agreement, then direct my character to carry the pink earth pony to the room she chose, putting her on the bed and covering her up.  I then direct him back out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him, then to the front door so he and Pinkie can head out to the orchard to gather fruits for breakfast.

Being that the pink angel pony and the human are the first ones out the door, it doesn’t surprise me to see Weed Whacker absent from the vegetable garden, and Lyra absent from the vineyard.

Pinkie harvests apples while my character harvests pears, peaches, and a few other fruits.

The human and pony then go back inside to clean and prepare the fruits for eating, as soon as Lyra and Weed Whacker are up and ready.  Speaking of which, …

Not long after the start of the new hour, in fact, while Pinkie and my character are drying the fruits they harvested, I hear the door to Lyra’s and Weed Whacker’s bedroom open.  Or so I gather, since Pinkie and my character are already awake.

A few seconds later, I hear Lyra say, “Oh, Mormon, Pinkie Pie, you’re awake already.”

As my character’s attention is drawn to the pale-green unicorn, I hear Weed Whacker add, “And, it looks like you’ve harvested fruits already, too.”

While my character searches for the herbivorous dinosaur, I respond, “Pinkie and I have already been out to the orchard.  You two just need to go out to the vineyard and vegetable garden.”

My character, unable to see Weed Whacker after searching for a few more seconds, turns his focus back to Lyra.

In the mean time, the pale-green unicorn tilts her head and asks, “So, why are you two up so early?”

Pinkie answers, “Mormon and I had to rescue a couple ponies that were in trouble.”

Lyra, hearing Pinkie’s answer, gasps, touches her chin with a front hoof, and straightens her head again, making it look like she’d used her hoof to straighten her head.  She then says, “Well, I hope they’re alright.”

I reply, “They’re just fine.”  Then, after a strategic pause, I add, “Oh, and that reminds me.  Lyra, Weed Whacker, you’re going to have to stay home this time.  I need you here to take care of a couple of new arrivals.”

Again Lyra tilts her head, then asks, “New arrivals?  What new arrivals?”

I answer, “One is in the room where Octavia and Vinyl stayed while they were here, and the other is in the room where Rarity spent the night after her failed fashion show.”

Pinkie Pie adds, “The pony in Vinyl and Octavia’s room is Topsy Turvy.  The pony in Rarity’s room is Derpy Hooves.”

Lyra uses the still-raised front hoof to scratch her chin as she says, “I’ve had visits from Derpy Hooves, but I’m not familiar with Topsy Turvy.”  She then puts the front hoof down again as she asks, “So, what happened?  Why are they here?”

I answer, “It’s kind of a long story.  Suffice it to say they’re going to be staying with me, with us, for a while; and for the time being, likely the first couple of days, they’re going to have to stay here.”

Encouragingly, Lyra adds, “And, that means, …”

I conclude,  "It means that today and tomorrow, you and Weed Whacker are going to have to stay here to help them acclimate to living here.  After that, well, we’ll see how things work out.”

The pale-green unicorn asks, “But, you’ll still be here for breakfast, isn’t that right?”

Pinkie answers, “We need to get to Ponyville as soon as possible.  We’ll have breakfast here, but we need to leave as soon as we can.  As long as we can get to Ponyville before the chocolate rain starts, we should be fine.”

Lyra demonstrates the increase in her confusion as she asks, “Uh, excuse me, but, chocolate rain?”

Just then, I hear Weed Whacker say, “Let’s just get to harvesting the rest of breakfast, Lyra.  We can figure out what Pinkie said later.”

At this point, my character demonstrates he can finally find the herbivorous dinosaur at the kitchen door, ready to open it for herself and Lyra so they can go out to the vegetable garden and the vineyard to harvest fruits and vegetables from there.

As my character and Pinkie Pie watch the unicorn and the dinosaur leave the room, I hear a sigh from the pink angel pony.

As my character focuses on her, she says, “They probably think it’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.”

I respond, “We can’t worry about that right now.  Let’s have our breakfast.  Then, after we clean up, we’ll head out to Ponyville.”

I notice that, for the moment, Pinkie Pie’s mane seems to melt slightly, and her color darkens just as slightly.  Then, the curliness in her mane returns, as does her color; and, smiling, she says, “You’re right, Mormon.  Let’s eat now.  My friends need me back in Ponyville.”

In agreement, the pony and the human eat their share of the fruits from the orchard; then, leaving the rest of the whole fruits for the three other ponies and the dinosaur living there, they clean up the parts of the fruits they didn’t eat, then start to head out from the kitchen to the front door.

On the way out of the house, the two run into Lyra and Weed Whacker, who are coming back in from harvesting in the vineyard and vegetable garden.

The four say their farewells, and my character and Pinkie Pie leave through the front gate, and head into the Everfree forest on their way to Ponyville.

As the human and the angel pony emerge from the Everfree forest, I have my character look up into the sky.  I find it fortunate that there appear to be no pink clouds drifting above town.  So, I say, “Well, we seem to be lucky so far.  No cotton candy clouds.”

I hear Pinkie Pie reply, “I guess you’re right.  Although, it’d be so cool to see pink clouds floating around, raining chocolate milk everywhere.”

At that announcement from the pink angel pony, my character’s attention focuses on her.

Presently, Pinkie Pie lowers her head, reminding me of Fluttershy, and giggles nervously and says, “Uh, sorry, Mormon.”  She then perks up again and says, “Let’s go to the library.  We need to let Twilight know what’s going to happen.”

As the pink party pony proceeds toward town, and my character follows her, I say, under my breath, “My thoughts exactly.”

A few minutes later, at the door of the library, Pinkie head-butts the door open, then steps inside, calling out, “Twily, are you in here?  We need your help!  There’s a disaster coming, and …”

At the same time Pinkie Pie trails off, I hear Twilight’s voice, from somewhere in the library, say, “I already know about it.  I just got a letter from Princess Celestia.”

At this announcement my character freezes.

I watch as Pinkie Pie backs out of the doorway of the library, lead, I suppose, by Twilight Sparkle marching and intruding on the pink angel pony’s personal space.

The purple unicorn looks up at my character and says, “Hi, Mormon.”

I greet her in return, then ask, “So, I hear you got word from Princess Celestia?”

Twilight answers, “I did, and I need your and Pinkie’s help to get everypony together.  We’ll meet at Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack.”

Together, Pinkie and I say, “Agreed.”

Then, Pinkie asks, “So, who should I contact?”

Without hesitating, Twilight answers, “Fluttershy’s cottage is en route to Mormon’s house, so you go get her.  And, Pinkie, since you have wings now, you can go and get Rainbow Dash as well.  I’ll go get Rarity.”

Pinkie gives the purple unicorn a soldier’s salute and says, “Yes, sir.”  She then does a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn in her place and starts her march out of Ponyville.

I have my character allow the pink angel pony to pass my character before allowing him to follow her, then I say, “So, I’m guessing the plan is to get Fluttershy first, and then Rainbow Dash?”

Presently, Pinkie stops her march and turns to my character.  When he stops not far behind her, she sighs and says, “Diane’s lesson with Fluttershy yesterday went well, but I’m not sure we’re ready for a flight up to Dashy’s house.  I think Fluttershy has a better chance of making it up there.”

I nod and say, “So, let’s go visit Fluttershy first.”

The pink angel pony only responds by nodding and saying, “Agreed,” before turning ahead of herself again and resuming her march out of Ponyville.

A few minutes later, the human and the angel pony are crossing the bridge, heading toward Fluttershy’s cottage.  And, a few seconds after that, Pinkie’s knocking at Fluttershy’s front door.

It takes just a second before the door opens, revealing Angel first and foremost.

Pinkie looks down at the white rabbit and asks, “Hi, Angel, where is Fluttershy?  We need her.”

The rabbit snorts, then waves to the two visitors to follow him.

As my character proceeds to close the door behind him, I hear Fluttershy’s voice, from in the kitchen, say, “Oh, Pinkie Pie, Mormon, I wasn’t expecting you here.”

As my character turns to follow the pink party pony into Fluttershy’s kitchen, I hear Pinkie say, “We came to get you.  We’re all needed at Sweet Apple Acres right now.”

As soon as my character enters the kitchen, and shows me, through his eyes, the yellow pegasa, I find myself surprised to see her wearing a robe.  And, a pink one with fuzzy, white borders at that.

Fluttershy asks, “Well, have you contacted Rainbow Dash yet?”

In a sheepish tone, which I find surprising, Pinkie Pie answers, “Well, I’m not sure I’m ready for that kind of flight yet.  I figured I could contact you, and then you’d contact Dashy.”

Judging from the contents of her bowl, I’m guessing Fluttershy was just starting her breakfast. But, she pushes the bowl aside as she focuses on her pink angel pony friend and says, “Well, let’s make this your next lesson.  We’ll fly up to Rainbow Dash’s house together and let her know what’s going on.”

I get the feeling that Pinkie Pie’s nervous as she simply nods in agreement.  And, in the mean time, my character is forced to back away from the doorway between the kitchen and the front room to allow Pinkie and Fluttershy to pass.

And, as she passes her staircase, Fluttershy removes her robe and tosses it on the banister.  As orderly as her house is, it’s evident to me that the yellow pegasa can tell when urgency takes precedence over tidiness.

Outside, the trio crosses the bridge before Fluttershy takes a position ahead of Pinkie Pie and opens her wings.  Turning to Pinkie Pie, she says, “Now, just do as I do, and we’ll be flying to Rainbow Dash’s house before you know it.”

I sense some uncertainty in the pink angel pony that lasts for only a few seconds.  Then, something, first in her posture, then in her voice, suggests to me resolution as she straightens up and says, “Yes, sir.”  And, she, that is Diane, opens her own wings.

Presently, Fluttershy jumps as high as she can, then starts flapping her wings, gaining altitude as she flaps.

Pinkie follows the yellow pegasa’s example, jumping into the air, then flapping her wings.  She seems to require at least twice the effort to keep in the air, but she manages to gain altitude.  But, before she decides to go any further, she turns to my character and asks, “But, what about Mormon?”

I call back, “You two go on ahead!  I’ll meet up with you at Sweet Apple Acres!”

Pinkie sighs and, I think, says under her breath, “Thanks, Mormon.”

The two ponies then wave goodbye to my character and fly off, Pinkie Pie evidently following Fluttershy, up to Rainbow Dash’s home.

With nothing else in the plans, my character proceeds back out of the Everfree forest, then on towards the Apples’ orchard.

It’s about the time I see, through my character’s eyes, a very orderly apple tree forest that I also notice a pink cloud dart past him.

The cloud then demonstrates an unusually high level of intelligence by stopping, turning to my character, and flying toward him.  Like a dog it sniffs at his shirt, then rises and drifts over his head, then proceeds to drip chocolate milk on him.

At this point, it’s clear to me that Discord is free from his statue.

My character continues his walk toward the gate of the Apples’ property, with the pink cloud still raining chocolate milk on him.

That is, until I hear Rainbow Dash’s voice say, “Oh, no you don’t.”

But, the intelligent pink cloud proves it can hear her, as it stops raining on my character and proceeds to fly off ahead of him, the rainbow-haired pegasa in hot pursuit behind it.

I call out after her, “You’d better be careful with this one!  It’s …”

But, it’s clear my warning comes too late, as the azure pegasa plunges into the cloud, and sticks to its insides.

Rainbow Dash, struggling to free herself from the menace, groans in disgust, “What is this?”  She manages to shake most of it off of her, then tastes a strand of it connecting one front leg to the corresponding back leg.  Then, in surprise, she asks, “Cotton candy?”

As more of the pink clouds dart in three-dimensional, zig-zagging paths around the pegasa and human, I decide to say, “It’s kind of a long story.  Right now, we need to meet up with Twilight and the rest of your friends.”

At first Rainbow Dash says, “Right.”  Then she lands and, approaching me, asks, “Just one question.  How do I get this cotton candy stuff off of me?”

Behind her, I see one of the pink clouds approaching.  I answer, “I think one of our friends may know.”

The azure pegasa grunts in curiosity and confusion as she turns around, just in time to see the pink cloud I saw take a position over her.  She then growls, threateningly, “You wouldn’t.”

But, in spite of her evident warning, the cloud proceeds to rain chocolate milk on her.

Rainbow Dash then looks at my character with an expression of mixed anger and defeat.  But, I have no doubt that her next two words are directed at the pink cloud raining chocolate milk on her:  “You did.”

The good news, on the other hand, is that the rain of chocolate milk is doing a good job of rinsing the cotton candy out of Rainbow Dash’s fur, mane, tail, and feathers.  All that’s left is the little spot of cotton candy on her nose, which she begrudgingly licks off.

With the azure pegasa at his side, my character continues his walk into Sweet Apple Acres, then to the corn field, where I see Applejack harvesting the cobs.

Presently, Rainbow Dash flies off again, heading toward a group of pink clouds, as she says, “Hold it right there!  I didn’t tell you to …!”  And, whatever she says after that is lost to me, as she chases after the clouds one-at-a-time.

But, her attempts prove completely futile, as the pink clouds team up and rain down on the orange earth mare.

Applejack glares up at the azure pegasa and calls out, “Rainbow Dash, what’s up with this here rain?  Ah mean, chocolate milk?  Ah mean, chocolate milk rain?”

Rainbow Dash answers, “I’d like to know that myself.  There’s crazy weather all over Equestria.”  Then, after a pause, she continues, “All I know is Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy came and got me outta bed so we could meet up with you, Twilight, and Rarity here at Sweet Apple Acres.  And, Mormon’s here, too.”

I can only think it must be coincidence that the kernels of corn start exploding from their cobs at the same time my character takes his first step into the corn field.

And, that’s when Applejack turns and sees him.  She waves to him and calls out, “Well, howdy, Mormon!”

I have my character wave back, and I reply, “Hi, Applejack.”  Then, as my character approaches her, I add, “So, I’m guessing the other four haven't gotten here yet.”

Behind my character, I hear Pinkie Pie say, “Well, we’re here at least.”  As my character turns his focus on the pink angel pony, she asks, “So, where are Rarity and Twily?”

From my character’s left, not far behind Pinkie and Fluttershy, I hear Twilight answer, “We’re right over here!”

Then, before anyone else can say anything, I hear Rainbow Dash say, “Not to worry.  I’ll have this weather under control in a jiffy.”

Under my breath, I say, “Something tells me that’s gonna be easier said than done.”

Presently, again from behind my character, I hear Pinkie call out, “Why would you wanna stop this anyway?”  And, my character turns to see the pink angel pony swimming through the popped kernels, jumping over and diving back into the piles like a dolphin, and humming with delight as she chomps down on mouthfuls of chocolate-covered popcorn.

Then, Rarity approaches Applejack, who by now is buried up to her chin in the popcorn, and asks, “Is there anything I can do?  You know, as long as I don’t have to get wet.  Or, dirty.  Or, out from under my umbrella.”

It’s clear to me that Rarity was only asking to be polite, and really wasn’t planning on doing anything to help.  She’d be more subtle, and look better, in my opinion, if she didn’t add on those stipulations.

In the mean time, the apples in the trees enlarge, causing the trees to bend under their weight.

Then, various rodents climb the trees and start eating the apples.

After a warning from Applejack, Fluttershy, starting with her rabbit pet Angel, pleads with the creatures to leave the trees.  That is, until Angel’s legs grow until they remind me more of those of a giraffe.

A shocked Fluttershy, watching Angel and other rabbits running around on giraffe legs, says, “No, this isn’t possible.  I must be seeing things.”

I state, “Well, then, we’re all seeing the same things.”

I happen, at that point, to notice Twilight behind Fluttershy.

The purple unicorn says, evidently while reading a book, “Don’t worry, everypony.  I’ve learned a new spell that’ll fix everything.”  And, she lowers her head to concentrate, and her horn starts to glow and sparkle.

I’m likely the only one that isn’t surprised when the beam the purple unicorn fires from her horn ends up doing nothing except creating a brilliant display.

A stunned Twilight stands there for a moment and says, “My fail-safe plan … failed.”  She then turns to Spike and asks, “What do we do?”

Spike suggests, “Uh, give up?”

Rarity approaches the purple unicorn and her assistant.  But, before she can say anything, Princess Luna appears directly in front of Twilight, startling both unicorns and the hatchling dragon.

The nighttime princess says, “Twilight, you and your friends are needed at the castle immediately.”

Twilight takes a moment to regain her composure before asking, “Princess Luna, do you and Princess Celestia know what’s going on?”

The nighttime alicorn answers, “Thanks to Mormon, yes we do.  But, we cannot discuss it here.  We need you at the castle as soon as possible.”

Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, as well as my character, gather around Princess Luna as she closes her eyes and looks downward.  Her horn glows and sparkles for a second before the scene changes from the Sweet Apple Acres corn field to the main hall of the Canterlot castle.

Princess Luna then opens her eyes and, looking ahead of her, says, “Now, follow me.  I shall lead you to the throne room where my sister is.”

As soon as the door opens, and the daytime princess sees the party of eight, she says, “Thank you all for coming.  We have an emergency.”

Presently, Twilight asks, “Is it about the weather?  And the animals’ weird behavior?  What’s happening out there?  Why isn’t my magic working?  Is there …?”  Her rush of questions only ends when Princess Celestia raises a front hoof, signaling her to stop.

When Twilight has done so, the daytime princess lowers her front hoof again and says, “Follow me.”  And, she proceeds to lead the group out of the throne room and into the adjoining hallway.  Once all of them, save for Princess Luna, who has apparently decided to stay in the throne room, are in the hallway with her, Princess Celestia continues, “I’ve called you here on a matter of great importance.  It seems an old foe of mine, someone I thought I had defeated long ago, has returned.  His name … is Discord.”

At this point, I speak up and say, “I know.  I have his daughter at my house right now.”

Presently, the daytime alicorn pauses and turns to my character before saying, “Yes, Mormon.  And, I think it’s time for you to tell us how you know about him.”

I take a moment to arrange my thoughts.  I decide not to say anything about having the “My Little Pony Friendship is Magic” series.  Instead, I say, “Last night, I had a dream about two ponies: one, an earth pony, chained to a wall, and the other, a pegasus, trying to kill the earth pony.  Something told me it was more than just a dream.

“I guess Pinkie must’ve had the same dream, because she was at my bedroom door before I could get out of bed.

“Well, long story short, we were in the place we saw in our dream, and we managed to keep the one pony from killing the other.  I have both ponies back at my house, and, when I left them, they were both asleep in separate bedrooms.

“The earth pony said she was sacrificing herself so she could get her father out of a statue.

“I seem to remember, on a previous visit, seeing the draconequus statue in the garden just outside the maze.  My guess is that statue isn’t there anymore.”

Princess Celestia closes her eyes and lowers her head as she says, “That’s correct.”  She then opens her eyes again and divides her attention among her audience of seven as she continues, “Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony.  Before my sister and I stood up to him, he ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness.  Luna and I saw how miserable life was for earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi alike.  So, after discovering the Elements of Harmony, we combined our powers, and rose up against him, turning him to stone.”

At this point, Rainbow Dash hops into the air and, supporting herself above the ground by flapping her wings, cheers, “Alright, Princess!”

The daytime alicorn continues, “I thought the spell we cast would keep him contained forever, but, since Luna and I are no longer connected to the elements, the spell has been broken.”

Now, I say, “I’m guessing Princess Luna and Cheerilee weren’t able to keep the school foals from bickering around Discord’s statue?”

At this point, I hear a voice echo throughout the hallway, “Indeed, they could not.  And, thanks to those bickering foals, I am free to rule again.  And, thanks to you, my daughter is still alive, and is safe.  I’m glad you got my message.”

For the time the voice speaks, two things are clear.  First, it’s clear that I’m the only one who hears it, as no one around me responds to it.  Second, it’s clear that the echoing voice is the only one I hear, as I see Princess Celestia moving and talking, but I can’t hear her voice.

When the familiar, echoing voice stops talking, I hear Pinkie Pie’s voice ask, “Mormon, are you alright?”

My character automatically turns to the pink angel pony, and I answer, “I’m fine.  I think I just heard Discord talking to me.”

Pinkie looks like she’s about to say something more.  But, she just turns back to Princess Celestia as the princess says, “I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again, and stop Discord, before he throws all of Equestria into eternal chaos.”

At this point, Pinkie leans toward my character and asks, under her breath, “What did he say to you?”

I answer, also under my breath, “He thanked the bickering foals for freeing him, and me for getting his message and keeping his daughter safe.”

Pinkie then asks, “Does he know I also got your message?”

I answer, “If he hears us, if he’s listening to us, then, yes, he probably knows.”

At my answer, Pinkie simply looks down and sighs.

At this point, my character turns back to the rest of the ponies in time to hear Twilight say, “Princess Celestia, you can count on us.”

But, before she can say another word, Pinkie interrupts her and says, “Hold on a second!”  Not waiting to see who’s attention she captured, she continues, “Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain, you guys, chocolate rain!”

Twilight approaches Princess Celestia and, leaning toward her and grinning somewhat, says, “Don’t listen to her, Princess.”  She then shifts her weight equally on all her hooves as she continues, “We’d be honored to use the elements of harmony again.”

I must admit, I can’t help thinking that, if Discord is what Princess Celestia is suggesting he is, he might just discontinue the chocolate rain in order to avoid happiness in his realm of chaos.

At any rate, the daytime alicorn seems relieved as she approaches a door with no apparent handles and sticks her horn into what looks to me like a compass picture no doubt representing the sun.  Her horn glows as she pulls it out again, and the black outlines of the paintings on the door glow fluorescent blue.

Two-by-two, the six circles glow the same blue color, and the door opens, revealing a small, blue chest with gold outlines and a few jewels on the side I can see.

I hear Rarity coo admiringly at the chest and say, “Keep the elements.  I’ll take that case.”

Holding the chest in her magic, Princess Celestia concludes, “Have no fear, ponies.  I have total confidence that you’ll be able to defeat Discord, …” and she opens the box to the element bearers as she says, “with these.”

Unfortunately, the box is empty, which is evidently only made clear to Princess Celestia when the six ponies gasp in surprise.

Sensing that something is wrong, Princess Celestia turns the box toward her.  Seeing the chest is empty, she releases her magic hold on it, allowing it to fall to the floor.

For a few seconds, seven ponies and one human stare silently at the empty box.

Then, Pinkie Pie approaches my character and asks, “Mormon, you knew this’d happen, didn’t you?”

I open my mouth to answer, when the voice I heard earlier echoes in laughter around the hallway again.  But, this time, it’s clear that I’m not the only one that can hear it.

The laughter ends after a second or two, at which point the voice says, “I suppose you’re wondering what happened to your precious elements.”

Recognizing the voice, Princess Celestia and I together say, “Discord.”

Princess Celestia commands, “Show yourself!”

Again the voice laughs, then asks, “Did you miss me, Celestia?”

Then, my character’s attention focuses automatically on a stain-glass window depicting Discord hovering over three crosses, one connected to an earth pony, one to a pegasus, and one to a unicorn, by strings.  The image of Discord then comes to life and says, “I missed you,” before flying out of the depiction.  Before coming to rest in another stain-glass depiction, he continues, “It’s quite lonely being encased in stone.  But, you wouldn’t know that, would you, because I don’t turn ponies into stone.”

I suppose I could empathize with Discord.  After all, I suppose if I’d been stuck in a statue, I wouldn’t be too happy about it either.

In the mean time, Princess Celestia says, “Enough!  What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?”

The draconequus, after forming a circle and disappering into it, save for his head down to his arms, answers, “Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while.”  And, with a snap of his feline arm, the depiction of the Elements of Harmony directly under his circle disappears.

The daytime alicorn paws at the floor with a front hoof as she says, “You’ll never get away with this, Discord.”

Now, Discord appears on the platform where the depiction of the Elements had been and lazily says, “Ah, I’d forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia.  It’s really quite boring.”

Presently, Rainbow Dash flies toward the window and growls, “Hey, nopony insults the princess.”  And, she starts flying at the window.

As the azure pegasa flies into the window, I find two things fortunate: one, that she doesn’t get hurt; and two, that the window doesn’t break.

At any rate, as Rainbow Dash pulls herself away from the window, an enlarged depiction of Discord appears and says, “Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty, the element of harmony you represent.”

The rainbow-haired pegasa agrees, “That’s right.  I’ll always be loyal to the princess.”

Presently, the image of Discord disappears from that window, and his voice says, “We’ll see about that.”

I then hear Rarity say, “I can’t believe we’re wasting our time talking to a tacky window.”

Presently, Discord’s depiction appears in the closest window to the white unicorn and says, “The beautiful Rarity, representing the element of generosity, if I’m not mistaken.”

Next, Applejack approaches and says, “So, you know who we are.  Big deal.”

Discord’s image grows as he replies, “Oh, I know much more than that, honest Applejack.”

I then hear Twilight say, “You seem to know our strengths, too.”

Discord’s depiction disappears from the window closest to Rarity and appears again on the window depicting each of the element bearers, then responds, “Yes, Twilight Sparkle.  And, yours is the most powerful and elusive element, magic.  Fluttershy’s is kindness, and Pinkie Pie’s is a personal favorite of mine, laughter.”  And, he starts cackling.

And, it seems that Pinkie Pie, in spite of Twilight’s warning, can’t help but giggle as well.

At this point, I speak up and say, “The subject will now address me, and ask who I’m referring to as the subject.”

Discord then turns to my character and says, “Oh, yes, and you, Mormon.  Uh, by the way, who is this ‘subject’ you’re referring to?”

Pinkie Pie now makes it clear she’s the first to understand who I’m referring to, as she bursts into full-blown laughter.

Then, one by one, the other six catch on and start laughing as well.

Finally, Discord understands who I was talking about.  His image disappears from the window and appears in front of my character.  Maintaining the two-dimensional quality of his depiction, he glares at my character, or so I’m assuming since I can’t see his eyes, and growls, “I hate it when someone has an advantage over me.”

Then, Princess Celestia snarls, “Alright, enough stalling, Discord.  Tell me, what have you done with the Elements of Harmony?”

Discord turns his glare on the daytime princess as he says, “Oh, alright, alright.  But, I’ll only tell you my way.”  He then disappears from in front of my character, then slithers among the windows as he continues, “To retrieve your missing elements, make sense of this change in events.  Twists and turns in my master plan.  Then find the missing elements back where you began.”

As Discord leaves with a final echoing laugh, Fluttershy suggests they go home.

In the mean time, Applejack asks, “Twists and turns?  Back where we started?  What do ya suppose he means by that?”

Twilight ambles toward the window looking out on the hedge maze and repeats a few times the words, “Twists and turns.”  She then turns back to the rest of the group and says, “That’s it!  I’ll bet he hid the elements in the palace labyrinth!”

Again Pinkie Pie approaches my character and says, under her breath, “You know the elements aren’t in there.”

I respond, “Yes, I know.  But, I also know that something of importance is going to happen in the maze.  We need to go through that first.”

As my character follows the element bearers out of the castle and to the palace maze, I once again hear Discord’s laughter.

Gasps are heard all around as the group of six ponies and one human arrive at the entrance to the maze.

As my character looks up at the top of the entrance, I say, “Pretty impressive.  Even taller than me.”

Fluttershy asks, “And, we have to go in there?”

A confident Rainbow Dash answers, “Nope.”  Flapping her wings, she continues, “Dopey Discord forgot about these babies.”  And, with that, she begins her flight over the maze of hedges, saying something about having the elements in no time.  That is, until her wings disappear, and she falls to the ground in front of Fluttershy again.  After that, she gasps in surprise and cries, “My wings!”

The wings on the backs of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie also disappear; and, while Fluttershy screams in shock much as Rainbow Dash did, Pinkie Pie smiles and says, “Well, I did have them for a day, at least.”

In the mean time, the horns of Twilight and Rarity also disappear, causing them to panic.

Before the ponies can fully adjust to the disappearance of their appendages, Discord appears and laughs and says, “You should see the looks on your faces.  Priceless!”  And, again he laughs.

Twilight takes a step forward, stomping a front hoof, and demands, “Give us our horns and wings back!”

Presently, the draconequus responds, “You’ll get them back in good time.”  He then disappears from the front of the group and appears over Applejack as he continues, nudging the orange earth mare, “I simply took them away to ensure there’s no cheating.  You see, this is the first rule of the game: no flying, and no magic.”

Rainbow Dash hesitates, “The first rule?”

Appearing on the arch of the entrance hedge, Discord continues, “The second rule is everypony has to play, or the game is over.”

At this point, I ask, “Every pony?  Does that mean I don’t have to play?”

Discord disappears from his position on the hedge and reappears next to my character.  He leans in so that his face is all I can see as he responds, “Oh, alright, if you really want to.  You don’t have any magic, and you can’t fly; so, I guess you already qualify by my first rule.”  He then disappears from behind my character and reappears in his position on the entrance hedge again, grumbling something about adding a special rule for the sake of the only human in the group.  Then, before he disappears one more time, he says, “Well, good luck, everypony.”

Pinkie Pie turns to my character and asks, “So, you do plan on playing along?”

I nod and answer, “The hedge maze does look fun.”

Then, Twilight says, “Well, girls, we have each other.”

Rainbow Dash adds, “Yeah, like Twilight said.  There’s nothing we can’t overcome, if we all stick together.”

As each member of the group takes their positions in the entrance, Twilight says, “Alright, girls, Mormon, let’s do this.”  And, the six ponies each put a front hoof forward.

And, that’s when hedge walls rise up among the ponies, separating and alarming each of them.  And, somehow, I’m not surprised to see a hedge wall separating me and Pinkie Pie.

After taking a moment to allow herself and  her friends to regain their composure, Twilight Sparkle calls out, “Stay calm, everyone!  Everypony head to the middle as fast as you can, and we’ll regroup there!”

In the mean time, Pinkie Pie calls out, “Mormon, are you still there?”

I answer, “Yeah, I’m still here!  I guess I find my own way in!  Just go on ahead without me, and I’ll catch up!”

Pinkie Pie nervously agrees, and I’m guessing she follows my instruction, as I hear nothing more from her.

Then, when all is quiet, I hear a wheezing pop behind my character, after which I hear the voice of Discord saying, “So, human, how did you get here?”

I ask in response, “What do you mean, here in Canterlot, or here in Equestria?”

Presently, Discord growls, “You know very well what I mean!  There aren’t supposed to be any humans anymore!”

This time, I answer, “Well, that’s a long story, and I don’t think you have the time to hear it all.”

The draconequus sighs in exasperation, then says, “Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter that much anyway.”  He then asks, “So, now that you’re here, I guess you’re gonna help Pinkie Pie?”

I answer, “In a roundabout way, yes.”

Discord restates, “Which means, you’re going to interfere with my plans.”

I pause for a moment, then state, “And, I guess that scares you?”

The draconequus laughs and says, “Me, scared?”  And, he laughs some more.

I have my character lean against a maze wall, which, I might add, is more solid than I expected; and I say, “So, let’s make a deal.”

Instantly, the ears of all sorts of creatures appear all over Discord’s body before he says, “Alright, human.  I’m all ears.”

I have to take a moment to laugh at Discord’s literal interpretation of the old saying.  When I've regained my composure, I say, “Alright, here it is.  If you can turn each and every one of the element bearers without making any physical contact with even one of them, then I’ll return to my home; and you can do whatever you want.”

Save for the ones he first had, all the ears disappear; and the draconequus scratches his chin as he says, “Sounds easy enough.”  He then looks at my character and asks, “And, if I touch even one of them?”

I respond, “Then I earn the right to interfere in your plans any way I see fit.”

Immediately, Discord says, “It’s a deal.”  And, like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland, all but his head disappears as he adds, “And, I'm going to have so much fun without you to annoy me.”  And, the last I see of him is his mouth as he disappears, laughing.

As it turns out, there is a path open to my character, one that allows him access to his own path through the hedge maze.  And, that’s the course my character follows, with my help.

It takes a few minutes, but I manage to catch up with Fluttershy; although I keep from being seen by her.  Actually, the fact of the matter is my path parallels hers, but keeps us visually separated.  She doesn’t see my character, and he doesn’t see her.  And, while I don’t allow her to hear my character, I do hear the timid yellow pegasa as she makes her way through the maze.

A few more minutes, and I hear the pegasa scream.  My guess is that Discord, in the form of a trio of butterflies, has caught up to her.  As I hear the receding hoof-falls, I know she's chasing the flying insects; so, I have my character follow the sound of her hoof-falls until they stop.

I then hear Discord say, pitching his voice an octave or two above normal, “Fluttershy, looks like you’ve been left behind by your so-called friends, huh?”

I then hear Fluttershy answer, “Oh, no.  I’m certain they’re doing their best to find me.”

I hear Discord continue, “Well, it must be so upsetting to know how weak and helpless they think you are.”

I have my character circle around so I’m out of the line of sight of the draconequus and yellow pegasa when I peek through a hedge to see the final action.  Still, I continue to listen as Fluttershy responds, “Not at all.  I am weak and helpless, and I appreciate their understanding.”

The first indication of impatience I hear from the draconequus is his voice momentarily returning to normal as he says, “Oh, yes, well, surely it burns you up."  And, his voice resumes its higher octave as he continues, "I mean, they’re always pointing out your flaws, right?”

The cheerful tone in Fluttershy’s voice doesn’t change as he answers, “Not really.  In fact, I think I’m awfully lucky to have friends that want me to be the best I can be.”

Confident, based on the angle of the voices, that my character won’t be seen, I open a few branches in one of the hedges, branches I prepared to be opened, to see the three butterflies combine and turn into the draconequus as he growls, “Oh, for goodness sake!”  He then pushes his finger into Fluttershy’s head as he continues, “You’ve been kind for far too long, my dear.  Time to be cruel!  Arrivederci!”  And, he leaves a dazed Fluttershy as he vanishes.

At this point, I have my character back away from the hedges, allowing them to close again, and I wait and listen for Twilight to add the yellow pegasa to her group.  Then, after hearing the two unicorns argue somewhat over the rock Rarity’s convinced is a jewel of some kind, then hearing them wander off, I wait for Discord to appear in the clearing where he and Fluttershy had their exchange.

As I listen to him grumble about Fluttershy’s humility, I have my character push his way through the hedge behind the draconequus; and I say, “I knew it!  I knew you had to touch at least one of them!”

In a low, rumbling voice, Discord growls, “And, how could you know that?”

I laugh, “Oh, Discord, you are so predictable!”

The draconequus sputters for a few seconds before roaring out, “What!?”

I continue, “You didn’t think I’d know you’d have to stick your finger in Fluttershy’s skull in order to turn her?”

At this point, it seems that all Discord can think to say is, “You ... human!”

I stop laughing as I respond, “That’s right.”  I then have my character point to himself as I say, “Me human,”  then to Discord as I conclude, “and, you draconequus.”

For a few seconds Discord trembles in fury, and his eyes glow red.  Then, he calms down and sighs in defeat before saying, “Alright, you’ve won this one.  However you want to interfere in my plans, you’ve won the right, fair and square.”

I watch, through my character’s eyes, as the draconequus turns his back to my character before I say, “Just one more thing before we part ways.”

Discord glares at my character again as he asks, “And, what is that?”

I answer, “The pony you touched will touch you in return some day.  You will be a statue again, but not for nearly as long as you were the first time.  And, when you are released again, the yellow pegasa, Fluttershy, will be your key to freedom and friendship.”

Discord drifts toward my character as he says, “Oh, we shall see about that.”  And, with that, he disappears.

Actually, my character spends much of this hour continuing through the maze, until I hear flapping above my character’s head; and he looks up to show me Rainbow Dash flying off; and storm clouds gathering overhead.

Then, the walls of the maze collapse, and the five ponies and my character are in clear view of each other.

Twilight, on seeing my character, calls out, “Mormon, there you are!  You saw Rainbow Dash fly away, didn’t you!”

I open my mouth to answer, but Discord is a step ahead of me.  I’m not surprised to hear his laughter before he appears to the remaining six and says, “Well, well, well, some pony broke the ‘no wings, no magic’ rule.”  He then snaps his fingers, and Twilight and Rarity each get their horn back, while Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie each get their wings back.  He continues, “Game’s over, my little ponies.  You didn’t find your precious elements.  Looks like we might be in for a big old storm of chaos.”  And, he continues to laugh as lightning flashes and thunder rumbles around him, and for that matter, the reunited group of ponies and human.

Under my breath, I say, “Perhaps, but I’ll be there to make sure it’s incomplete.”

Twilight turns to my character and asks, “Mormon, what do you mean?”

I answer, “I made a deal with Discord.”

Now, Twilight marches toward my character, glaring, as she asks, “What kind of deal?”

I answer, “I promised Discord that if he could turn each of the element bearers without making physical contact with even one of them, then I’d go back to my home; and he could do whatever he wanted without my interference.  But, if he touched even one of the element bearers, then I’d have the right to interfere any way I saw fit.”

Twilight stops a few paces away from my character and, now tilting her head in curiosity and worry, asks, “And, did he touch anypony?”

Slowly, I nod and answer, “He touched Fluttershy.”

I hear a growl from Discord, and my character automatically focuses on him as he says, “You just had to tell, didn’t you?”  He then inhales and exhales noticeably, then says, “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.  I’ve still turned five of the element bearers, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

I respond, “Maybe, but I still have the right to interfere in your plans any way I choose.”  I then have my character turn to the purple unicorn, and I say, “Since we couldn’t find the elements here in the hedge maze, maybe Fluttershy was right to suggest we go home.”

Twilight gives my character a worried, almost grieved, look as she asks, “You mean, give up?”

I answer, “No, it’s too early for that.  I’m just suggesting there’s something we can do at home that we couldn’t do here.”

Twilight asks, “Like what?”

I reply by asking, “Well, what did Discord say earlier, in the castle?”

I then hear a groan from the draconequus before he quickly recites, “To receive your missing elements, make sense of this change in events.  Twists and turns in my master plan.  Then find the missing elements back where you began.”  And, again he groans.

I have my character turn to the draconequus, and I say, “Thanks, Discord.”  I then have my character focus on Twilight again.

In the mean time, it seems that the purple unicorn was focused on my character while he was turning his attention to Discord.  At this point, she asks, “Well, what the hoof does that mean anyway?”  Then she pauses for a moment and says, “Wait a minute.”

I suggest, “Let’s go back into the castle.  Maybe Princess Celestia or Princess Luna could teleport us back to Ponyville.”

In a more lighthearted tone, Discord says, “In the mean time, I have some chaos to spread.”  And he disappears, leaving behind one last laugh.

As the pink clouds gather and rain chocolate milk on the five ponies and one human, Twilight points at my character and asks, “You don’t suppose Discord meant we should find the elements back in Ponyville, do you?”

I shrug and answer, “It wouldn’t hurt to look.”

The purple unicorn continues, “Come to think of it, my studies of friendship started when I moved to Ponyville, and moved into the library.  Maybe we should look there.”

I reply, “Sounds good to me.”

Twilight then turns to the four other element bearers present, Fluttershy tauntingly laughing at Pinkie Pie, who’s warning her to stop, and Applejack taunting Rarity by tapping on the rock she’s carrying, while Rarity warns her to leave the rock alone.  The purple unicorn then groans in exasperation and says, “Come on, girls.  Let’s go back to the castle so Princess Celestia or Princess Luna can take us home.”

But, it seems that the four are too occupied arguing among themselves to listen to her.

I input the instructions as I say to Twilight, “I’ll take Pinkie Pie and Applejack.  You can assist Rarity with her boulder.”  And, after entering the instructions, my character proceeds to grab and hold Pinkie Pie first, then Applejack.

In the mean time, Rarity growls, “This is no boulder!  It’s a jewel.  There’s a difference.”

As my character picks up Pinkie Pie, she protests, “Human, you put me down right now, or I’ll beat the hay outta ya with my wings!”

As my character approaches Applejack, I respond, “Not as long as I keep your wings trapped in my hold.”

Then, when my character grabs and holds onto the orange earth mare, she says, “Ya know Ah can’t do nothin’ ta hurt ya.”  And, my character looks down at her to show me she looks right and left with just her eyes.

If I had gotten a chance to say anything, I wouldn’t have anything to say.

But, still, I hear Twilight say, “Come on, everypony.  Let’s get back to the castle so one of the Princesses can get us back home.

As my character turns to the purple unicorn, Fluttershy approaches her and derisively asks, “Why?  Couldn’t you find your precious elements here in the labyrinth?”

I suggest, “Don’t worry about her.  She’ll follow us to the castle.”

In a second, the yellow pegasa is in my character’s face.  She teasingly growls, “How do you know?”

I answer, “That’s for me to know, and for you to find out.”  And, I have my character start his march back to the castle.

In the mean time, and for the whole way there, Fluttershy follows my character, asking, no, demanding, the meaning of what I said.

When the group gets back to the castle, which takes a few minutes, the princesses are there to meet the group in the main hall.

Before anyone can say anything, Princess Luna says, “I’ve been trying to teleport myself into Ponyville, but I’ve been unable.  The best I could do was a few yards outside of the border.”

I respond, “That’ll be just fine.  We can walk the rest of the way.”

Then, Princess Celestia says, “But, be careful.  While you’ve been coming back to the castle, Discord has already been making changes to Ponyville.”

Twilight asks, “What kind of changes?”

The daytime alicorn answers, “You’ll find out when you get there.”

I respond, “So, let’s get going.”

The last thing we hear before the scene changes is Princess Celestia saying, “Remember, be careful.”  Then, the group of seven instantly find themselves a few yards outside of Ponyville, on the road between there and Canterlot.

At first, as Princess Luna disappears again and my character puts Applejack and Pinkie Pie back down on their hooves on the ground, all the group can do is look and see the condition of their home, or at least the home of the element bearers.

Twilight asks, “What happened to Ponyville?”

With the changing of the hour, it’s suddenly dark as the sun drops down and the moon replaces it in a snap.

At the same time, a herd of giraffe-legged rabbits stampedes past.

Seeing the rabbits, which includes a white one, Fluttershy says, “Oh, good boy, Angel.  Momma’s so proud of you.”

At about the same time, Applejack says, “Oh, Ah can see so much better now.”  And, something in her voice has me convinced that she isn’t sincere in her statement.

Then, the road looses all traction as it turns into liquid soap.

Presently, Applejack slips and falls, then says, “Ah meant to do that.”

Twilight proves that Applejack isn’t the only one having problems staying on her feet, as the purple unicorn also slips and falls.

In the mean time, Pinkie Pie skates over the surface saying, “This may look like fun, but it’s not.”

Then Discord appears, also skating on the road.  He says, “I hope you like what I’ve done with Ponyville so far.  Because, these are just the first changes I plan to make.”

My character turns his attention to the town, to show me that a few buildings are floating, some of them upside down; and the landscape has changed to checkered patterns of two shades of pink in some places, and two shades of pale blue in others.  Trees, while their roots are still hidden in dirt, are also floating, and pink clouds drift over the town, randomly raining chocolate milk.

My thoughts are interrupted when I hear a groan from Twilight, who says, “Come on, everypony.  Let’s just get back to the library so we can just get this over with.”

In silent agreement, more or less, the group follows the purple unicorn to the library tree house, which, when the group arrives, remains grounded.

At the start of the hour, the moon goes down, and the sun rises in its place.

Fluttershy is the first to enter the library, but not before stomping on the flowers in the garden next to the doorway.  And, her color, which has already faded by this point, fades to a nearly-gray variation of her original colors.

Similar is Applejack, who, following the yellow pegasa, says that she refuses.

Then there’s Pinkie Pie, who says she hates libraries.

Rarity, in the mean time, refuses to enter the tree without her boulder, or as she calls it, her “gem.”

So, I decide to have my character approach her and proceed to reach out for the rock.

Seeing my character reach out for the boulder, she says, “If you lay one hoof on my gem, you’ll regret it.”

As my character grabs and hefts the boulder, I say, “Just as well, since I don’t have hooves.”  And, I order my character to proceed into the library, carrying Rarity’s rock in front of him.

As my character enters the library, I hear Twilight say, “Thanks, Mormon.”

At the same time, I hear Rarity growl.

Then, when my character puts the rock down again, I hear Twilight say, “Alright, now all we need to do is find my book on the Elements of Harmony.”

From one of the shelves, I hear Spike say, “I’m on it.”  And, my character turns automatically to show me the little dragon on the highest rung of the familiar ladder, grabbing a book from the top shelf.

But, he doesn’t realize, until it’s too late, that Fluttershy is right behind him.  As he turns around, holding the book in the hand he isn’t using to keep his position on the ladder, the pegasa grabs the book from him.

Twilight growls, “Fluttershy!”

Then, the pegasa calls, “Keep away,” and tosses the book away from her.

As the gray-shaded ponies toss the book to one another, I have my character take a position in front of the purple unicorn; and I call out, “Over here!  Over here!”

Pinkie Pie, who has the book at this point, tosses it to my character, while I hear Twilight growl, “Mormon, this is no time for games!”

Then, as soon as my character has the book, I have him pass it to the purple unicorn; and I say, “Here.  You start reading, and I’ll hold ‘em off.”

On receiving the book, Twilight says, “Oh.  Thanks, Mormon.”

Then, as my character turns back to the four gray-shaded ponies, Pinkie Pie calls, “Mormon, you traitor!”

Fluttershy tries to rise over my character with a bucket of water, but I have him push the bucket so its contents drop onto the yellow pegasa.

Surprised, Fluttershy gasps, shakes off as much of the water as she can, and says, “Mormon, how could you?”

It’s about this time when I hear Twilight say, “Aha!  The elements are right here!  They must’ve been here all along!”

Spike joins Twilight on the opposite side of the book from her and says, “This is great.  Now you can use the elements to defeat Discord.”

At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if either Spike read the princess’ letter aloud to Twilight, or Twilight read it aloud for both of them.  Whatever the case was, it’s clear that Spike knows about the draconequus.

At any rate, Twilight cheers, “You see, girls?  We did it!  We found the Elements of Harmony! Together!”

But, the four gray-shaded ponies are evidently not as enthusiastic about the whole thing as Twilight is.

Seeing four of her friends parked around Rarity’s boulder, Twilight growls, “You don’t even care, do you?”

In unison, the four answer, “No.”

Now, Twilight sighs and says, “I never thought it would happen.  My friends … have turned into complete jerks!”

As I watch, through my character’s eyes, the purple unicorn approaching her friends, I can’t deny that the four of them aren’t the friendly lot they had been.  But, that’s only because they’ve been turned by the spirit of chaos.  I also know that, some time soon, Twilight’ll be able to recover them from Discord’s spell and eventually defeat the draconequus.  But, there’s one thing that must happen first.  Twilight must make an attempt while her friends, most of them, are inverted from their elements.  I know she’ll fail, and turn away from her own element.  But, I can also hope at in their darkest moment I'll be able to shed some light on the course they should take, and at least one of them'll be willing to follow it.  Whatever difficulties Twilight faces I know she’ll overcome.

In the mean time, Twilight uses her magic to distribute the necklaces to each of her friends, and places her tiara on her own head.  Then, galloping for the doorway, she growls, “Come on, everypony. Let’s go.”

Then, Spike catches up to her and asks, “But, Twilight, aren’t you missing somepony?”

The purple unicorn shakes her head and answers, “Nope.”  Then, indicating, in turn, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy, she continues, “I’ve got the liar, the grump, the hoarder, and the brute.”  Finally, she concludes, “That just about covers it.”

Before the little dragon can say anything, I state, “I think Spike’s right.”  After he and Twilight turn to my character, I add, “You seem to be missing the traitor.”

Then Spike asks, “The traitor?  Well, what about Rainbow Dash?”

Twilight groans, then uses her magic to put the last necklace on her dragon assistant before saying, “Congratulations, Spike, you’re the new Rainbow Dash.”  She then gallops for the door to the library again as she shouts, “Now, let’s go!”

A puzzled and frightened Spike stands there, looking at the necklace, and asks, “Me!  B-b-but, what if she finds out I’ve been impersonating her?”

If I thought Pinkie Pie would appreciate it, I might say something like, “Don’t you mean im-pony-ating?”  But, seeing that as unlikely, I decide not to say anything.

In the mean time, Spike concludes, “Oh, that won’t be end well.”

Then, Twilight answers, “Too bad.  You’re Rainbow Dash.  Now, let’s go and defeat Discord so that we never have to talk to each other again!”

I have to wonder if it’s Twilight’s determination that’s keeping her from turning, as her friends have already done.  I have my character turn to the purple dragon, and I say, “Spike, this may be a good time for you to write to the princesses about what’s happening here.  Let them know that Twilight’s in trouble, and she needs their help.”

At my suggestion Spike inhales and exhales.  He then turns to my character and says, “Maybe you should write the letter.  I need to go help Twilight.  When I get back, I’ll send it.”  And, before I can answer, he and the four element bearers, except for Rainbow Dash, run off after Twilight.

I hadn’t thought of this possibility, but Spike may be right.  After all, I have earned the right, through my deal with Discord, to interfere with his plans in any way I see fit.  And, what better way to interfere than to take the first step in undoing the damage he’s done up to this point?  So, as the sun and the moon trade places, and the world goes dark again, I decide to order my character to take a quill, a container of ink, and some parchment from Twilight’s room, then write a letter to the princesses.

In the letter, I dictate, “Attention, Princesses,

“Twilight Sparkle is in a lot of trouble right now, and needs your help.

“By the time you receive this letter, she will have tried and failed to defeat Discord with friends of hers that he has turned.  Please send the letters she’s written to you.  They will be of greatest benefit to her.

“Signed, a friend of yours and of Twilight’s, Mormon.”

In the mean time, I hear, outside, the sounds of the battle I know Twilight and her friends are going to lose.  In fact, by the time my character signs and rolls up the letter, making it ready for Spike to send, I’m hearing Twilight say, “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

Automatically, my character, still holding the scroll, walks to the window to show me, through his eyes, Twilight’s first attempt to return Discord to his statue form.

I can’t say for sure if Discord seeing me watching through the library window is what alarms him for a moment, or if it’s the possibility that this first attempt by the purple unicorn just might work.  All I know is he does seem to notice my character watching him.

In the mean time, although I can’t see it from my character’s perspective, I know that the lights shining from in front of five ponies and one dragon must be the elements of harmony beginning to activate.  Then, the element bearers rise above the ground.  Then, with a flash of light, the six descend to the ground again, leaving everything the way it was before the attempt was made.

The four gray-shaded ponies return to their bickering, while Spike removes Rainbow Dash’s necklace and offers to return to his duties.

That is, until Fluttershy trips him with her tail and says, “Oh, sorry, Rainbow Crash,” and laughs mockingly at him.

I have to respect the little dragon, though.  He treats being tripped that way as just a minor setback, stands up again, and proceeds back into the library.

Then, seeing me at the window, he asks, “So, do you have the letter ready?”

My character rolls up the letter and hands it to the little dragon, and I say, “Here it is.  But, before you send it, you may want to go upstairs.”

Confused and worried, Spike asks, “Uh, why?”

I answer, “I can only tell you that you’re going to go through a difficulty probably greater than anything you’ve ever faced before.  But, I’m sure you’ll make it through it.  And, it’ll help Twilight.”

Just then, I hear Twilight call out, “Fine, leave!  See if I care!  I don’t need you guys either!”  And, while her voice quiets down, I still hear her saying, “With friends like you, who needs … enemies?”

Spike, who has joined my character at the window, watches with him as the purple unicorn, starting with her tail and ending with her nose, turns gray.

My character then turns back to Spike, who, seeming to melt, looks down at the letter he accepted from my character, then back to Twilight, then back at the letter, and finally at my character again, and says, “Well, alright.  If it’ll help Twilight, then I’ll do it.”  And, with that, he heads up to his and Twilight’s room.  And, once up there, he inhales, then exhales a green flame that consumes the letter.

The puff of smoke leaves through an opening, evidently on its way to Canterlot.

As my character heads for the doorway, I say, “I’ll leave you for now, Spike.  But, I’ll be sure to catch up to Twilight and let her know that you need help.”

And, as my character exits through the door, I hear Spike say, “I hope you can help her.”

Just outside, I can’t help noticing something rather interesting: holes in the tree, from Rarity’s boulder being forced into it, are slowly, but visibly, closing.

I watch in fascination, that is until I hear Discord behind my character say, “So, it appears that I win.  Princess Celestia and her elements have failed.”  He then laughs before adding, “And, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

While my character turns to the draconequus, I chuckle a little as well before saying, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.  Remember, I have the right to interfere in your plans.”

Discord laughs even harder before saying, “But, you’ve lost, too!  Ponyville, no, all of Equestria, is mine!”  And, again he laughs.

I reply, “For now I may have.  But, you seem to be forgetting something.”

Presently the draconequus stops laughing and, flatly, asks, “And, what’s that?”

I answer, “We humans have a way of turning defeat around.”

Now, Discord glares at my character and says, “Well, not, I think, this time.  I’ve turned all of the element bearers.  They’re so far gone they’ve lost all their color.  How do you plan on turning that around?”

I answer, “Well, where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

The spirit of chaos snorts, then says, “Well, whatever.”  Then, pointing to the library, he asks, “Oh, and by the way, what was that puff of smoke I saw coming from here?”

I answer, “Just think of it as my first interference.”

And, just then, I see Topsy Turvy float past, followed by a trio of bison in tutus, dancing like ballerinas on the tips of their hind hooves.  Were it not for the pink earth pony preceding them, I might laugh at the three bison.  Instead, I call out, “Topsy Turvy, what are you doing here?”

Presently, the pink earth pony turns and sees my character, then floats toward him and says, “Mormon, nice to see you.”  She then turns to Discord and says, “Daddy, you’re alive!”

The draconequus glares at Topsy Turvy and says, “That’s right, Screwball.  And, the two of us, no, the three of us, have something we need to discuss.”  And, before anyone present can say anything more, the scene shifts from Discord’s version of Ponyville to the road in front of my character’s house.

The changing of another hour is marked by the sun and the moon trading places, and, along with it, the return of sunlight.

In the mean time, a trembling Topsy Turvy laughs nervously and says, “Uh, so, Daddy, i-it’s g-good to s-s-see you out of th-th-that s-s-statue again.”  And again she laughs nervously.

She then yelps in fear as Discord shouts, “Silence, child!”  Then, after a few seconds of quiet, save for Topsy Turvy’s whimpering, the draconequus asks his earth pony daughter, “Why, Screwball?  Why did you think you had to get yourself killed in order to free me?”

As she makes her way to the gate, Topsy Turvy whimpers, “What does it matter?  I’m still alive.”

Discord growls, “What you tried to do was unnecessary.  I had three sleep-deprived fillies to free me.  And besides, you were nowhere near close enough for your plan to be effective.  You would’ve died for nothing!”

By this point, Topsy Turvy has opened the gate, entered, and closed the gate behind her.  She turns to her draconequus father and tries to speak, but can only whimper.

Discord continues, “And, do you really think I would’ve wanted you to get yourself killed?”  He pauses for a moment to sigh, then continues, “Do you really think I would’ve considered it worth it to rule Equestria in chaos again if I didn’t have your support?  I never expected to hear myself say this, but I’m glad there was a human here, if for no other reason than to keep you safe.  And, now that you are safe, and in the care of this human, perhaps that’s best for you.  So, and I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Celestia on this, you’re staying here with this human.”  And, with that, he once again disappears.

Hearing sobbing from the pink earth pony, my character automatically turns to her, and shows me that she’s heading for the house.

Topsy Turvy turns to my character, once she’s on the front porch, and says, “I’m gong to my room now.”  After another loud sniffle, she adds, “I don’t feel like doing anything right now.”

As she turns to the front door, it opens, revealing Ataahua on the other side.

The gray pegasa, coming out and seeing the weeping pink earth pony pass her, turns back to my character and asks, “What’s wrong with Topsy Turvy?”

I answer, “Discord’s been turning Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world.  Topsy Turvy wanted to be with her father, but he had other ideas.  It seems that Discord wants his daughter alive so she can support him.”

I get the idea that the smile I see on Ataahua’s face is tempered with concern for her pink earth pony friend.  Still, she sounds cheerful as she says, “So, I won’t have to kill her again?”

I answer, “Not as long as Discord and I have anything to say about it.”

Ataahua sighs, “Well, that’s good to hear.”

I ask, “So, is Lyra here?”

The gray pegasa turns to the door, then back to my character, and answers, “Well, yes she is.”

I state, “Good.  I want you to go back inside and take care of Topsy Turvy.  And, in the mean time, I’m going to need Lyra to come with me.”

Ataahua turns one hundred eighty degrees to the door again, then looks back at my character and says, “I’ll go ahead and get her.  Are you going to need your dragon assistant, too?”

I know who the gray pegasa’s talking about.  I answer, “No, not this time, I think.  Just Lyra will do.”

Ataahua looks back to the doorway and says, “Alright then, I’ll go get her.”  And, on the way in, she trips over the threshold.  But, she quickly rises again and heads inside, closing the front door behind her.

While I wait for the pale-green unicorn to come out, I hear Pinkie Pie’s voice behind my character growl, “So, Mormon, why are you here?”  As my character turns to her, she continues, “Are you leaving so soon?”

I answer, “If I want you back to the way you were, and believe me I do, then I’m gonna have to leave again as soon as possible.  I’m just waiting for Lyra.”

The pink angel pony grunts derisively, then looks around and growls, “Wait, who just laughed?”

I answer, “I’m sure that was you.”

Then, before anything more can be said, the front door opens; and Lyra exits.

While the pale-green unicorn descends the stairs, Pinkie Pie enters through the still-open gate.

As the two pass each other, Pinkie growls at Lyra, “Don’t you dare laugh at me.”

Lyra looks at my character with a worried look on her face as she approaches the open gate.

I wait until Pinkie enters the house before I say, “It’s kind of a long story.  Let’s just say that Discord is on the loose, and is turning Ponyville into the chaos capital of Equestria.  I need your help to get back there as soon as possible, but I’m also going to need you to come with me to Ponyville in the mean time.”

The pale-green unicorn shakes herself out and says, “Well, if Pinkie’s any indication, 'mean’ is just the right word for it.”

I have my character close the gate behind the pale-green unicorn, as soon as she exits; and the human and the unicorn head through the Everfree forest, on their way back to Ponyville.

As the human and the unicorn exit the Everfree forest and approach Ponyville, the sun goes down; and the moon rises again; and night falls.

Still, enough of Discord’s handiwork is evident that Lyra, as she approaches, starts to tremble at what she sees.  She turns to my character and asks, “This is all Discord’s doing?  Are Twilight and her friends alright?”

I answer, “The answer to your first question is yes.  As for your second question, well, you’ve seen Pinkie Pie already.  The other element bearers aren’t doing any better, including Twilight.”

After a second or two, I hear a loud sniffle from Lyra.  My character turns to her to show me she’s starting to cry, and she’s looking at him.

She asks, “What happened?”

I answer, “We got together at Sweet Apple Acres, where Princess Luna took us to Canterlot.  There, Princess Celestia told us about Discord being freed from his statue, then tried to give the Elements of Harmony to Twilight and her friends.  But, it seems that Discord had taken them and hidden them elsewhere.

“Twilight’s first thought was that they’d be in the hedge maze in the garden, so we went there first.  There, Discord turned all the element bearers except for Twilight, and we found out the elements weren’t there after all.  And, by the way, Discord had to physically touch Fluttershy in order to turn her.

“At any rate, with Princess Luna’s help, we got back to Ponyville, only to find it very different from how we’d left it.

“Twilight managed to find all the elements in a book, but all except for Rainbow Dash had come back.  So, after distributing four of the necklaces to their rightful bearers, Twilight put Rainbow Dash’s necklace on Spike.  She tried to use the elements to stop Discord, but she failed.  After that, the four other element bearers dispersed, and, I guess, Twilight felt abandoned.  She’s also turned.”

At this news, the pale-green unicorn sniffles some more and starts sobbing.  Then, as my character picks her up and holds her, she asks, “Oh, Mormon, what’re we gonna do?”

As my character strokes Lyra’s back, I answer, “I made a deal with Discord, back in the hedge maze, that if he could turn each of the element bearers without touching any of them, then I’d go home and not interfere with his plans.”

Through her sobs and sniffles, Lyra manages to ask, “You—made—a—deal—with—Discord?”  Then she pushes away from my character as she adds, “You, you put Pinkie Pie in danger!”

I respond, “I knew Discord had to touch at least one of the element bearers in order to turn her.  That’s why part of my deal was that if he touched even one of the element bearers, I’d have the right to interfere in his plans any way I saw fit.”

Through my character’s eyes, I see Lyra rub a tear from one of hers before two things I said seem to dawn on her; and she says, “Wait, you said you’d have the right to interfere in Discord’s plans if he touched an element bearer.  And, he touched Fluttershy.”

I answer, “That’s right.  So, I can interfere with Discord’s plans any way I choose.  And, the first way I chose to interfere with his plans was to write a letter to the princesses, letting them know what was happening, and how they could help Twilight.”

Lyra asks, “And, that’s the only way you’re gonna interfere?”

I answer, “I have another plan in the works.  I just need to find Twilight and let her know that Spike needs her help.”

If my character hadn’t been supporting the pale-green unicorn the way he had, she would likely be falling backward right now.  But, he manages to catch her as she leans backward and asks, “Spike?  What did you do to Spike?  Why does he need Twilight’s help?”

I answer, “Part of what I wrote to the princesses was that the best way they could help Twilight would be to send back the letters she’d been writing to them.  And, I’m guessing that’s what they’ve been doing for at least the past hour.”

I watch, through my character’s eyes, as Lyra reasons, “So, we need to find Twilight and let her know Spike’s in trouble so she can help him.  And, in helping him, she’ll be helping herself, too.”

I reply, “Precisely my thoughts.”

At this point, the pale-green unicorn jumps out of my character’s arms and says, “Well, then, let’s get going.”  And, she gallops into town.

As my character follows her, I nod and say, “Excellent.”

Along the main street of Ponyville, I happen to see the gray-shaded Twilight Sparkle, head lowered, ambling her way, from what I can see, toward the Everfree forest.

Lyra, seeing her friend, gallops even faster toward her, until she’s maybe a yard or so away from the bearer of magic.  Then, she slows to a stop in front of her and asks, “Twilight, are you alright?”

As my character slows to a stop behind Lyra, Twilight says, “I’m not in the mood right now, Lyra.  Just go away.”

The pale-green unicorn turns to my character, and I can see through his eyes that she looks like she’s going to cry again.

As she turns back to her friend, I say, “Twilight, your assistant, Spike needs you.  You’ve got to go back to the library.”

As a bunch of pies fly upward, Twilight asks, “Why should it matter to you?  It’s over now!”  Then, she pauses for a moment before asking, “Well, what’s wrong with Spike?”

I answer, “You’ll understand when we get there.  In the mean time, just follow me.”  And, my character proceeds toward the library.

With my character’s back to the gray-shaded Twilight, I can only hear her groan in exasperation as she says, “Fine, whatever.”

I can also only hear Lyra whimper, “Oh, Twilight.”

I have my character focus on the pale-green unicorn, and I say, “It’ll be alright, Lyra.  You’ll see.  Once we get to the library, and Twilight sees Spike, she’ll understand.”

Perhaps within the block from the library, I see Twilight run ahead of my character, and I hear Lyra whimper, “I hope you’re right, Mormon.”

At the library, Twilight bursts through the door and calls out, “Spike are you alright?”

I have my character slow to a stop in front of the door, and bar the way to keep Lyra from entering.

Confused and angry, the pale-green unicorn glares up at my character and asks, “Mormon, what’re you doing?”

I have my character close the door to the library, and I answer, “This is for Twilight’s benefit. We can wait out here until Twilight’s ready to come out again.  And, by that time, she should be back to her old self.”

And, that’s when the ballet bison tiptoe past.

Then, Discord appears and, looking around for a moment, asks, “Uh, where’s Twilight?  I want to show her something.”

I answer, “She’s busy right now.”

Before anything more can be said, the scene suddenly changes to a different spot in Ponyville, where I see Berry Punch with a bottle, no doubt a pepper shaker, over her head.

Laughing, Discord says, “You’ve got to see this!”

Immediately, the shaker turns upside down and shakes over the red-purple earth mare, who sneezes.

As if on command, the buildings around her collapse as though they were two-dimensional props.

I have to admit, every time I see it in the episode, “Return of Harmony Part 2,” I laugh at it.  And, seeing it in this video game setting, it’s just as funny.  To me, anyway.

On the other hand, Lyra, seeing Berry Punch tortured that way, gallops to her and offers to escort her away from the scene.

In the mean time, the buildings rise again, taking on their three-dimensional qualities.

And, somehow, that’s even funnier to me.

Again the moon goes down, and the sun rises, returning light to the world.

In the mean time, my character turns to the library as I hear hoof-falls approaching him from behind.  Then, as per my command, my character turns back to Discord; and I say, “Well, as much fun as this has been, I’m thinking it’s time for it to come to an end.”

The draconequus turns to my character and, with a skeptical and suddenly serious look on his face, asks, “What do you mean by that?”  Then, waving his arms around, he adds, “This is Ponyville now.  And soon, the rest of Equestria will be just like this!”  And, again, he starts laughing.

The hoof-falls slow and stop next to my character as I answer, “But, this isn’t what Ponyville was intended to be.”

With a scoff, Discord turns his back to my character, then asks, “And, how do you know that?”

I answer, “This version of Ponyville, your version, is entertaining, but there’s no happiness here.  And, there was happiness here before you changed things.”

At this point, while Discord suggests that my logic works as long as I’m basing Ponyville’s proper condition on happiness levels, I hear Twilight say, “Mormon, I need your help to defeat Discord.”

My character automatically turns to the purple unicorn, and I say, “I’m willing and honored to help.  Where do you want to begin?”

Just then, I hear Lyra next to my character say, “I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t leave Berry Punch there to be tortured any longer.  Is it alright if she comes with us?”

As my character’s attention shifts to the pale-green unicorn, Twilight says to her, “Lyra!  I’m glad to see you.”

Lyra looks at her purple friend for a second or two, then hugs her, crying, “Oh, Twilight, I’m so happy to see you back to normal!”

Twilight returns the hug as she says, “I’m happy to be back to normal.  But, right now, I need Mormon’s help.”

I then hear Discord groan in disgust and say, “I’m outta here.”  And, with a wheezing pop, he disappears.

After the two unicorns separate, a couple seconds after Discord vanishes, Twilight says, “Now Lyra, I’m probably going to need your help as much as Mormon’s.  Can you help me teleport us back to Mormon’s house?”

Lyra answers, “By myself I’ve teleported as many as four to Mormon’s house, including him.  But, with the combined effort of both of us, it’d just make the job easier.”

The purple unicorn smiles as she says, “Alright then.  We’ll discuss the plan more when we get to Mormon’s house.”

Lyra nods in agreement, and the two unicorns close their eyes and concentrate while their horns glow and sparkle.

One frame later, the group of four, including Berry Punch, are back at my character’s house.

My character opens the gate and allows the ponies to enter first, then follows them in, closing the gate behind him.

At this point, Twilight turns to my character and asks, “Now, where’s Pinkie Pie?”

I answer, “She’s most likely in the house, in her room.”

The purple unicorn nods as she says, “Good.”  she continues, pointing a front hoof at my character, “If you’ll get her and bring her out here, I have a spell I can use on her to return her to her normal self.”

I nod and say, “I’ll get her immediately.”

And, with that, my character goes through the house, opening and closing doors on his way, to Pinkie’s room.

There, he knocks on the gray-shaded angel pony’s door; and I ask, “Pinkie, may I come in?”

I can’t help but laugh when she growls back, “Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!”  Even turned by Discord, she still makes me laugh.

I take a second to regain my composure, after which I say, “Well, too bad.  I’m coming in anyway.”

Now sounding scared, I hear Pinkie call out, “Wait!  I’m not dressed!”

I have my character open the door, showing me that she’s on all fours on her bed, and I say, “The only time I've seen you need to get dressed was for the Grand Galloping Gala.”

The glare she gives me right now reminds me of the glare she gave her friends a few days ago when they threw the surprise birthday party for her, and she’d thought they didn’t want to be her friends anymore; as she growls for a few seconds, then says, “If you’re here to laugh at me, then go away.”

In the mean time, I have my character approach her; and, when she’s finished talking, I say, “We’ve lived together for more than a month now.  And, you should know that I’m not here to laugh at you.  But, I am here to help you get back to the way you were; and your friend, Twilight, is just the one to help you with that.”

By this point, my character is right next to her.

I continue, while my character, under my instructions, kneels in front of her, “Now, Pinkamena, Diane, if you’ll come with me, I’ll take you to Twilight; and she’ll help you remember what you were before, and help you return to normal.”

I can see Pinkie’s hair go quickly from curly to straight to curly again, much more rapidly than I’ve seen it before, suggesting to me that Pinkamena and Diane are grappling for control over Pinkie, as she growls, “Oh, I remember what I was before.”

I have my character pick her up, literally sweeping her off her hooves, then walk her through the house again, as I say, “Good.  I know you were happy then, and I want that happy Pinkie Pie back. That’s why I’m doing this.”

Pinkamena and Diane continue their fight for control of Pinkie until they and my character are outside again.

Then, when Pinkie sees Twilight, Diane allows Pinkamena to have control.

Once my character is close enough to the purple unicorn, he puts the angel pony down between the two of them.

As Twilight’s horn starts to glow, a nervous Pinkie Pie backs away from her, until she backs into my leg.  Seeing that she has no evident escape, she closes her eyes and braces for impact.

Twilight then touches her head with her glowing horn; and Pinkie, starting with her tail and ending with where Twilight touched her, gets her pink coloring back again.

A second later, the pink angel pony starts giggling.

As Twilight backs away from Pinkie again, the purple unicorn turns to my character and asks, “Do you think she’s alright?”

I answer, as Pinkie punctuates her first fit of giggles with a snort, “She must be.  She’s laughing again.”

Then, through her giggles and snorts, Pinkie says, “You won’t believe the dream I just had.  I dreamed … that I didn’t like laughter!  I even got angry … when Fluttershy fake-laughed at me!  And then, … I turned gray!  Can you believe it?”  And, she laughs for a few more seconds before turning to me and saying, “And, Mormon, you were there the whole time to help me.”

I have my character reach down and stroke Pinkie’s mane, and I say, “It’s good to have you back, Pinkie.  Now, we need your help to get your other friends back to normal.”  I then have my character’s attention shift to Twilight, and I ask, “So, where to next?”

Without hesitation, Twilight answers, “Well, Fluttershy’s cottage is closest to here.”  She then turns to the pale-green unicorn and asks, “Lyra, do you want to help me teleport there?”

Lyra confirms, “You, Mormon, and Pinkie Pie?”  Then, seeing the purple unicorn nod, she answers, “Sure, I’d be honored.”

Then, I hear Berry Punch ask, “Is it alright if I stay here?”  As my character focuses on the red-purple earth mare, she continues, “I’m not ready to go back to Ponyville right now.”

My character focuses on her, and I answer, “Sure, no problem.”  And, before I can say anymore, the scene changes from the front of my character’s house to the front of Fluttershy’s cottage.  And, the group only consists of my character, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Lyra.

Then, Pinkie Pie knocks on the normally-timid pegasa’s door and calls out, “Fluttershy, are you in there?”  And, just then, her ears flap, then her eyes blink rapidly, and she rises up on her hind legs as her front legs seem to wiggle on their own.

Instantly, my character moves to catch the stumbling pink angel pony.

At about the same time, the top part of Fluttershy’s door opens, revealing the pegasa, still gray-shaded.  She growls, “What do you want?  I’m busy right now.”

Pinkie Pie, regaining her balance with my character’s help, answers, “We’re here to pay you a visit, and help you get back to normal.”

The pegasa almost sounds masculine when she growls, “You?  Wanna help me?  Get back to normal?  Well, ha, ha, ha!”

The pink angel pony giggles and snorts, then jumps through the open part of the door and tackles the pegasa, and says, “Oh, Fluttershy, I love you too.”

Twilight opens the bottom part of the door and leads the rest of the group in.

In the mean time, Fluttershy calls out, “Somepony get this crazy mare off of me!”

As my character, the last to enter, closes the door behind him, I hear Twilight say, “Fluttershy, this isn’t you.  You need to remember what you were before, what you mean to your friends, what your friends mean to you.  And, I’m here to help you with that.  All of us are.”

My character turns to the group of four mares just in time to hear Pinkie Pie call out, “I can’t hold her for too much longer!  Whatever you do, Twilight, you’d better do it now!”

I’m guessing that Pinkie is between my character and Twilight, as I only hear the purple unicorn say, “Right.”  And, as my character takes a step toward the pink angel pony, I hear Twilight call out, “Clear!”

At that point, Pinkie Pie hops off of the pegasa under her; and I can see Twilight touch Fluttershy with her glowing, sparkling horn.  Then, as Twilight backs away, this time starting with her head and flowing through the rest of her until it gets to the end of her tail, the color returns to Fluttershy.

As the once-again-yellow pegasa rolls onto her side and starts to rise again, she looks at each of her visitors and says, “Twilight!  Mormon!  Pinkie Pie!  Lyra?  Oh, I just had the worst dream.”

As my character moves to help Fluttershy to her hooves, I state, “It’s alright, Fluttershy.  it’s over now.”

And, once the yellow pegasa is on her hooves again, Twilight says, “Well, not quite.  We still have to help Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash.”

Fluttershy continues, “Oh, but you don’t understand.  I was mean to all of my friends.”  She then turns to the pink angel pony and, taking a submissive stance, adds, “Especially you, Pinkie.  I’m so sorry.”

Pinkie Pie hugs her yellow pegasa friend and says, “Oh, it’s alright, Fluttershy.  I forgive you.”

Then, as Fluttershy starts to smile, Twilight approaches Lyra and says, “So, let’s go to Sweet Apple Acres now.  Applejack should be there.”

And, at the same time that Lyra agrees with the purple unicorn, Pinkie Pie tells Fluttershy, “On the way there, I’ll tell you the crazy dream I had.”  Then, the scene changes again from inside Fluttershy’s living room to the gateway to Sweet Apple Acres, leaving Pinkie Pie to change her mind and say, “Or, maybe not.”

Just then, I hear Applejack say, “So, there y’all are, Twilight.  Where were ya when Ah was a-fightin’ Discord, huh?”

Just then, Big MacIntosh rises up into my character’s field of vision and licks him on the chin, or so I’m guessing, before disappearing once again.  If I’m not mistaken, he’s been burrowing underground like a mole, or something similar.  And, he’s gone back to that.

In the mean time, Twillight gallops toward and tackles Applejack.  Poised over the earth mare, she says, “Applejack, I don’t have time to explain, except to say that I know you’re not a liar.”  And, before Applejack can recover, the purple unicorn jumps off of the earth mare and touches her with her horn as it glows and sparkles.

Then, as Twiight moves away from her, like Fluttershy, Applejack regains her color, starting with her head, where Twilight had touched it, and ending with the end of her tail.  And, as he did with Fluttershy, my character moves to help the orange earth mare onto her hooves again.  But, Applejack groans and asks, “What happened?”  Looking at each of the restored ponies, she says, “Ah had this vision of all of us a-fightin’.  Ah couldn’t face the truth, so Ah started tellin’ lies.”  She then takes her hat off and covers her front with it as she asks, “Can y’all ever forgive me?”

Twilight gallops past her toward Lyra again, saying, “I already have.”

The once-again-orange earth mare puts her hat on her head again and starts to smile.

Then, Pinkie Pie says, “Let’s get in close to Twilight and Lyra.  We’re goin’ to Carousel Boutique now.”

Following the pink angel pony’s advice, Applejack, Fluttershy, and my character join in gathering around the two unicorns as their horns start to glow and sparkle.  And, the scene changes to the front of Carousel Boutique, which seems to be right-side-up and grounded again.

There, as she had at Fluttershy's cottage, Pinkie Pie knocks on the door, then calls out, “Rarity, are you in there?”

Rarity’s voice calls out, “Why, I’m guessing you still want a piece of Tom!  Well, you can’t have him!”

This time, my character reaches out and grabs the doorknob, then pushes the door open.  Then, as the other members of the growing group enter, I say, “I’m guessing you’re still open for business?”

The white unicorn, looking oddly aged with her gray mane and tail, rises onto her hind legs and, thrusting her front hooves forward like a human boxer, neighs, “Keep away from him!  You can’t have him!  He’s mine, all mine!”

Applejack approches my character and says, under her breath, “Rarity’s mighty possessive of a boulder.”

Rarity drops to all fours again and marches toward the orange earth mare, growling, “Tom is no boulder.  He’s a diamond, a bona fide diamond.  And, you can’t have him.”

At this point, I have my character grab the white unicorn and hold her down; then I say, “Twilight, now’s your chance.”

I hear the purple unicorn say, “Right,” and a set of hoof-falls approaches, and I watch as Applejack vanishes from my character’s view, and is replaced by Twilight.

My character holds the white unicorn on her back until I see the purple one’s horn start to glow and sparkle, at which point I have my character let go of the white one, and wait and watch as Twilight touches Rarity with her horn.  Then, after watching Rarity’s mane and tail turn purple again, I ask, “So, Rarity, how do you feel?”

The white unicorn rolls onto her front again and rises, then looks around at her friends and asks, “What’s going on?  Where am I?”  Then, she sees Tom and adds, “And, why is there a boulder in my boutique?”

Applejack, still with a skeptical tone to her voice, answers, pointing to the boulder, “That’s Tom.  You know, yer bona fide diamond?”

At this point, Rarity looks like she’s about ready to hyperventilate.  That, or do one of her dramatic faints.  But, she recovers after a second, then turns to my character and says, “Mormon, open the door.  I must get rid of this rock.”

Obediently, my character opens the door to allow the white unicorn to roll the boulder out of her boutique.  And, once she’s done so, with the two of them outside, she looks back in at the rest of the group and says, “Let us never speak of this again.”

Twilight’s the first to follow Rarity out, and my character is the last.  Then, after taking a moment to count the element bearers, the purple unicorn says, “Well, that’s most of us.  But, we’re still missing Rainbow Dash.”

Fluttershy approaches Twilight and says, “No problem.  I know where she lives.  It’s over the pathway between Ponyville and the Everfree forest.”

Twilight nods to her and says, “Good.  You go on ahead, and we’ll catch up to you.”

Fluttershy nods in agreement, then flies off in the direction of the pathway.

And, in the mean time, the rest of the group runs or gallops to the same trail.

The sun goes down, and the moon rises, setting the world in darkness again, as the group arrives at the pathway linking Ponyville and the Everfree forest.

And, Fluttershy is there to meet the rest of the group, and inform them, “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t find her anywhere.”

Worriedly, Twilight says, “Without Rainbow Dash, we can’t use the elements.”

Applejack adds, “Well, she could be anywhere by now.  We’re never gonna find her.”

In the mean time, I notice Pinkie Pie’s being distracted by something in the sky.  My character follows where she seems to be focused, and sees the last gray-shaded pegasa on a cloud.

I hear the pink angel pony shout, “Yeah, we will!  ‘Cause, she’s right there!”

I hear Twilight call out, “Rainbow Dash!”

The pegasa waves and answers, “Hey, guys.”

Twilight continues, “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

I suppose that’s only true in that Fluttershy was probably looking all over Rainbow Dash’s house for her.  And, based on what I’ve seen of the pegasa’s house, it couldn’t have been a lengthy search.

At any rate, Rainbow Dash responds, “That’s nice.”

Twilight adds, “Discord’s still on the loose!  We need you to help us defeat him with your element, loyalty!”

Rainbow Dash again waves a forelimb as she says, “Loyalty, schmoyalty.”  Then, rolling on to her front to get a look at her audience, she continues, “Have you guys seen Ponyville?  It’s a disaster!”  She then rolls back onto her back as she concludes, “I’m staying here in Cloudsdale where everything is awesome!”

I then hear Rarity ask, “How in Equestria can she thing that tiny patch of cloud is Cloudsdale?”

Applejack smugly answers, “The same way he got you to think that cheap rock’s a bona fide diamond.”

Before Rarity can say anything, or, more likely, while she’s warning Applejack not to bring up that subject again, I state, “If I’m not mistaken, Discord lead Rainbow Dash to believe that Cloudsdale needed her, that it was going to fall apart without her.”

Again, the gray-shaded pegasa rolls over, then shouts, “And, it did!”  Tapping the cloud, she starts to cry as she continues, “This is all that’s left of Cloudsdale!”  She then regains her composure as she rolls onto her back again and concludes, “And, I’m stayin’ here and defending the last little bit there is!”

That’s when I hear Applejack say, “That’s funny.  Ah thought Cloudsdale was a-gonna be over Appleoosa to produce a light rain shower.”

Then I hear Twilight say, “That’s right!  Cloudsdale’s still around, and it’s still in one piece!  It’s just not near Ponyville right now!”

But, the only response from Rainbow Dash is the sound of her snoring, a snort when she inhales, and a nicker when she exhales.

Twilight sighs as she says, “We don’t have time for this.  We need to get her right now.”  She then turns to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and says to them, “You two are gonna go up and get Rainbow Dash, but not before the rest of us get into my balloon.”  She then turns to Applejack and asks, “Can you get a rope so we can lasso Rainbow Dash?”

The orange earth mare answers, “Sure, no problem.”  And, with that, she gallops back to Sweet Apple Acres.

Twilight then turns to my character and says, “Mormon, I’m gonna need your help, too.  Since Pinkie’s gonna be flying with Fluttershy, I’ll need you in the basket to help secure the rope we’re gonna lasso Rainbow Dash with.”

I nod and say, “Sure, I’d be honored to help.”

Twilight nods to my character and says, “Excellent.”  She then divides her attention among the group and says, “Alright, everypony.  We meet at the library and get ready to retrieve Rainbow Dash as soon as Applejack gets the rope.”

The other four ponies offer a soldier’s salute to the purple unicorn and say, “Yes, ma’am!”  And, with that, Applejack heads to Sweet Apple Acres to get the rope.

The remaining four ponies and one human head back into town, where they happen to see Vinyl’s friends somehow managing to make music with instruments made of different types of flowers. And, they don’t seem to be enjoying what they’re playing, either.

As I look at the trio of musicians, somehow, it reminds me of a familiar painting.

And, I’m not surprised to hear Pinkie Pie, when she sees the three performers, worriedly say, “Poor Drum Roll, Lotta Pipes, and Sweet Tones.”

I have my character focus on the pink angel pony, and I say, “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

Pinkie Pie turns back to my character, to me, and says, “True.  Discord won’t kill them.  He’s just making them really unhappy.  And, they’re not going to stay in a place where they won’t be happy.”

I understand what Pinkie Pie’s saying.  After all, this is the reason I have programmed that Vinyl’s trio of friends leaves Ponyville and moves to Canterlot.  Of course, after all that they’ll go through, it’s likely, if they were real, that they’d think they were cursed or hexed or something like that, destined to have trouble follow them everywhere they go.

In the mean time, the group of five make it to the library and go inside, where Spike is on the upper level, evidently asleep, with Owlowiscious evidently taking care of him.

As my character enters the library and stands to his full height, I get a clear view of the hatchling dragon, and the owl looking after him.

While I’m looking at the two creatures, I hear Twilight’s voice ask, “Mormon, you’re the one that wrote that letter to the princesses, telling them I needed help, weren’t you?”

My character instantly turns to the purple unicorn, and I answer, “That’s right.”

Twilight simply nods and, smiling, says, “Thanks, Mormon.”

Just then, I hear a gentle snort from the upper level of the library.  As my character looks up again and focuses on the little purple dragon, he says, “Oh, hi, Mormon.  You weren’t kidding when you said I’d be going through a time tougher than I’d ever gone through before.  But, it was worth it to get Twilight back.”

I reply, “I’m glad I could help.”

Spike turns from my character again and says, “Now, I’m goin’ back to sleep.  When I wake up again, …”

I conclude, “It’ll likely be time for the reading at my house.”

Spike waves a hand behind him and mumbles something as he goes back to sleep.

Presently, Fluttershy flies up to the upper level, to where the little dragon is sleeping, apparently studies him for a few seconds, then gasps, turns to my character and, with a worried look on her face, asks, “Mormon, what did you do to Spike?”

I answer, “Well, like Twilight said, I wrote a letter to the princesses, telling them that Twilight needed help.  This was after that first battle you had with Discord, your first attempt to stop him.  I knew you were going to fail, so I had a plan ready to put into action.  I wrote to the princesses, telling them to send the letters Twilight had been writing back to her.  I knew they’d remind her of what she was, and it’d be the first step toward a real victory against Discord.”

Just then, I hear another wheezing pop behind my character, followed by Discord asking, “What’s this about a victory against me?”

My character turns to the draconequus, and I say, “I’ve just been exercising my right to interfere with your plans, that’s all.”

Discord scoffs, then says, “Well, you’re still missing Rainbow Dash.  And, without her, there’s no way you can defeat me.  Not that you’d have a chance anyway.”

As the draconequus disappears again with a wheezing pop, I say, “Well, like I said before, we humans have a way of turning failures around.  This isn’t over yet.”

And, the last bit of evidence I get that Discord is still listening is hearing his voice say, “Yeah, whatever.”

Then, once again behind my character, I hear Fluttershy ask, “What’s this about you having the right to interfere with Discord’s plans?”

My character turns back to the yellow pegasa, and I answer, “I made a deal with him when you six were in the hedge maze.  The deal was that if he could turn each and every one of you without making physical contact with even one, then I’d go home and not interfere.  But, if he touched even one of you element bearers, then I’d have the right to interfere with his plans any way I saw fit.”

I hear Pinkie Pie say, “Discord surrounded me with balloons that laughed at me when I tripped and fell.  He didn’t touch me.”

As my character turns to the pink angel pony, I hear Twilight say, “I only turned when my friends abandoned me.”

I have my character focus on Fluttershy, who retreats a little before saying, “Discord said you made fun of me because I was weak.  But, I know you better than that.  Then, he stuck his finger into my head.”

The other three ponies gasp, then Twilight asks my character, “Mormon, did you know he was going to do that?”

My character turns to the purple unicorn, and I answer, “If you’re asking if I knew that Discord was going to have to physically touch Fluttershy in order to turn her, then the answer is yes.”

For a few minutes, until the knock on the door, there is only silence.

At the knock, Twilight starts, then recovers before answering the door.

Applejack, on the other side of the opening door, says, “Ah got the lasso right here.”  And, she indicates by lifting the rope, dangling behind her neck, with a front hoof.

Twilight then turns to the rest of the group and says, “Well, in that case, let’s get going.”

A few seconds after that, the group is in the basket of the balloon, save for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie; and, a minute or two later, is approaching the still-sleeping Rainbow Dash from behind.

On the way there, my character takes a moment to tie the non-looped end of the rope to the basket.

At any rate, once the balloon is in range, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy make their approach toward the gray-shaded pegasa.

Fluttershy, maybe an inch or two away from the sleeping pegasa, prepares to tap her on the backside.

Then, Pinkie Pie, noticing what the yellow pegasa is doing, zooms in front of her and says, under her breath, “No, Fluttershy.  We don’t have time for courtesy.”  Then, she opens the loop she’s holding until it can fit around both Rainbow Dash and the cloud she no doubt still thinks is Cloudsdale.  Then, after settling the rope around the pegasa’s midsection, she turns to Twilight and calls out, “Alright, she’s secure!”

I’m not surprised that Pinkie’s shout startles awake the sleeping pegasa.

After looking around and grunting in confusion, Rainbow Dash focuses on the pink angel pony, then says, “Pinkie!  What’re you doing here?”

Fluttershy, on Rainbow Dash’s other side, says, “We’re sorry, Rainbow Dash.  But, we’re gonna have to hold you against your will for a while.  I hope you understand.”

The gray-shaded pegasa’s only warning is a growl that lasts for maybe a second or two, then she flies off.  But, with the rope already around her midsection, she doesn’t get very far.

Twilight has already started to descend in her balloon, leaving Rainbow Dash to struggle in vain to escape.

Once the balloon safely lands on the ground, I have my character exit the balloon and pull the rope down, Rainbow Dash and all.  Then, when she’s close enough, my character grabs her just in front of her hind legs and pushes her toward the ground.

Angrily, the gray-shaded pegasa glares back at my character and says, “If you let me go now, I won’t mess all over ya.”

I respond, “You’ve had plenty of chances to relieve yourself already.  If you’d needed to, you would’ve defecated before now.”

Rainbow Dash retorts, “Then I’ll pee on you.  Just let me go!”

I restate, “You’ll pee on me if I let you go.”  I then add, “Maybe I’d better hold on to you.”

Just then, from in front of the pegasa my character is holding, I hear Twilight’s voice say, “It’s alright, Mormon.  You can let her go now.”

My character focuses on Twilight as she finishes speaking, then I nod as I have my character let Rainbow Dash go.

In the mean time, Twilight prepares her memory spell, as is indicated by her horn glowing and sparkling.  Then, as Rainbow Dash flinches, Twilight touches her with her horn; and I watch through my character’s eyes as the pegasa’s color returns, starting at her head where Twilight had touched her, and ending with the end of her tail, much like what I saw happen to Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity.

The once-again-azure pegasa looks around, disoriented, and asks, “What happened?”  She then comes to her senses and asks, “How’s Ponyville?”  She props herself against Pinkie’s front and asks, “Where are the elements?”  And, finally she tackles Applejack and asks, “Did we stop Discord?”  And, she seems to be surprised to find herself the center of a pony group hug, which, not surprisingly, includes Lyra.

Then, the trio of ballet bison pass by, prompting Twilight to say, “Uh, maybe it’s a little early for a group hug.”

As the seven ponies separate, Lyra says, “Yeah, you may be right about that, Twilight.”

Then, Twilight says, “Now, all we need to do is find Discord.  Any idea where he is?”

I answer, “Knowing him, he’s probably in the middle of his chaos capital.”

Presently, Twilight nods and says, “Town center, got it.”  She then turns to Lyra and asks, “You ready to teleport us there?”

The pale-green unicorn approaches her purple friend, nods, and says, “Ready when you are.”

As the other five ponies and the human gather around the two unicorns, they concentrate; and their horns glow and sparkle.

One frame later, the group is in front of a house of cards, where the trio of ballet bison pirouette into the central opening.

Behind my character, in fact behind the whole group, I hear Discord say, “Oh, so you’re here already.”

The group of eight turn around to face the draconequus, and I say, “And, it’s time for my final act of interference.”

I hear Pinkie say, “I hope you don’t mind, Twily.  I got these back at the library.”  And, my character turns to the pink angel pony to see her pulling necklaces, each with an element of harmony, out of her mane, ending with the tiara containing Twilight’s element of magic.

I then hear Discord melodramatically groan and say, “Just when I was enjoying all my chaos.”

My character turns back to the draconequus to show me, through his eyes, that he’s holding a glass of chocolate milk.

Discord then proceeds to drink the glass around the chocolate milk, then toss the milk behind him.

And, as soon as the chocolate milk hits the ground, it explodes not unlike gun powder.

Applejack, now wearing her necklace, steps forward and says, “That’s right.  Yuh couldn’t break apart our friendship for long.”

Discord proceeds to drag the orange earth mare to him by her element as he says, “Oh, Applejack, don’t lie to me.”  Then, when she’s close enough to him, he continues, “I’m the one who made you a liar.”  And, he proceeds to do the same with the other element bearers, the ones wearing necklaces, before asking, “Will you ever learn?”

Seeing her five friends in such a fix, Twilight uses her magic to teleport herself in among them, then produces a shield to envelop them, then floats them to a spot on the ground, not far from Lyra and my character, where the checkered surface turns to grass and flowers again.  She then says, “I’ll tell you what we’ve learned, Discord.  We’ve learned that friendship isn’t always easy.  But, there’s no doubt it’s worth fighting for.”

The draconequus groans loudly in disgust and says, “Gag.”  He then continues, “Fine, go ahead.  Try and use your little elements.  Friend me.  Just make it quick.”  He then disappears and reappears in his throne as he concludes, “I’m missing some excellent chaos here.”

Taking that as an invitation, Twilight says, “Alright, ladies.  Let’s show him what friendship can do.”

But, it’s clear there’s one missing.

I hear Pinkie Pie say, “Just a moment!”

My character turns to show me, through his eyes, the pink angel pony getting a drink of chocolate milk from a cotton-candy rain cloud.

I say, in a sing-song voice, “Pinkie, there’s no time for that.”

The pink party pony turns to my character, then back to the cloud, then to my character again, and says, “Oh, you’re right, Mormon.”  Then, trotting back to the group, she sings, “Sorry.”

With the group of six element bearers united, Twilight activates her element.

In the mean time, Discord yawns.  That is, until the elements start to shimmer, then fly out of their necklaces and around the draconequus.  Noticing this, he asks, confused, “What’s this?”

At this point, I say, “The subject will now return to stone.”

This clearly gets the draconequus’ attention.  Holding out his front limbs, he says, “Now, wait, wait, wait.  We can talk about this, can’t we?”

As a rainbow rises from the six element bearers, I say, “A little late for talking, don’t you think?”

Then, as the end of the rainbow descends onto Discord, he shouts, “No!”  And, starting with his tail, he starts to turn to stone.  Desperately he writhes to try to stop the process, but it seems to me he knows it’s in vain.  When it finally ends, and the literally petrified draconequus falls to the ground, he seems to resemble a W or maybe the capital Greek letter sigma.  Perhaps even an M depending on how one would choose to look at it.

At any rate, the rainbow stretches over Ponyville until it reaches the outer boundaries.  It then divides in two, and the two halves collapse, producing a half-sphere that eventually dissipates.  And, when the collapsing rainbows hit the ground, they vibrate with a loud thud.

Finally, the element bearers settle on the ground again, and look around to see Ponyville back to the way it was before Discord made changes to it.

Then Princess Luna appears and approaches the purple unicorn, saying, “Congratulations, Twilight.  We knew thou couldst defeat Discord.  Now, thou and thy friends are wanted back at the castle.”  And, before anyone can respond, the scene changes in one frame from the park in Ponyville to the front hall of Canterlot Castle.

For the last time, at least to mark the hour, the moon goes down and the sun rises, once again lighting the world.

In the mean time, there in the hallway to meet the party of eight is Princess Celestia, who says, “We’ve prepared a party in celebration of your victory over Discord.  Is there anything special you would like?”

I hear hoof-falls past my character, who looks down to show me that Pinkie Pie is ambling past him.

The pink angel pony pauses for a moment to look up at my character, at me, and shows me the expression of sadness and worry on her face.  She turns to the white alicorn again and continues her approach, stopping when she’s directly in front of Twilight.  Then, she says, “I-I-I … I have a request for you.”

I think I hear a note of worry in Princess Celestia’s voice as she asks, “Yes, Pinkie.  What is it?”

Pinkie looks down and sighs, then looks up at the daytime princess again and says, “I’ll have to show you first.”

Princess Celestia looks up, past the group of six ponies, and my character turns to show me what, or who, she’s looking at.  It’s about then that I realize she’s exchanging worried looks with her little sister, Princess Luna.  As my character focuses on the daytime princess again, she looks down at Pinkie once more and asks, “My little pony, what’s wrong?”

Pinkie turns to look behind her, in my character’s direction, showing me that tears have welled up in her eyes and are streaming down her cheeks.  She asks, “Princess Luna, c-c-could you … could you t-teleport us just outside of Ponyville?  All nine of us?”

The nighttime princess takes a step forward and asks, “On the trail heading toward the Everfree forest?”

Pinkie shakes her head and answers, “No.”  And, she stops shaking her head as she adds, “The opposite side.”

Princess Luna turns to her older sister for confirmation, then turns back to the pink angel pony and nods in agreement.  She then closes her eyes, and her horn starts to glow and sparkle.

The next frame, the group of nine is in front of Ponyville, facing toward Canterlot.

Pinkie starts following a certain path, but looks up just long enough to focus on the daytime princess and say, “Now, if you’ll follow me and Mormon, we have … something you need to see.”

Taking that as an invitation, my character proceeds to catch up to the pink party pony.  Not difficult, considering she’s walking very slowly.

It takes a few minutes for the group of nine ponies and one human to reach the old industrial area, to a barely-standing shed where the familiar basement is.

Pinkie signals to my character by nodding, and he proceeds to open the cellar door leading down into the basement.  He then walks down the stairs and proceeds to open the basement door.

In the mean time, I hear Pinkie say, “More than a month ago, when Mormon first arrived, he told three stallions that he’d once eaten horse meat, although he didn’t know it at the time.  Then, when he helped Fluttershy guide a family of ducks through Ponyville, I thought the best way to thank him would be to serve him something with meat in it.  So, after … Gilda, Rainbow Dash’s friend, … left that party I threw for her at … Sugar Cube Corner, … I caught her, and … and I killed her here.”  She takes a moment to sob and sniffle before continuing, “Then, Mormon told me … he didn’t need me to get meat for him, … and … and I wasn’t acting like … like the Pinkie he … he knew and … loved.”

By the time Pinkie has told as much of her story as she could, my character has ascended the stairs again, and taken a position next to the pink angel pony.  As she falls forward and starts bawling, I have my character kneel on one knee next to her and start stroking her mane.  In the mean time, I add, “Last night, I had a dream that this basement was being used again.  And, I guess Pinkie had the same dream.  We came here and found Topsy Turvy, Discord’s daughter, about to be killed by Derpy Hooves.  I managed to stop Derpy before she could go through with killing Topsy Turvy, and brought them back to my home.  As far as I know, they’re still there.”

Princess Celestia approaches Pinkie and asks, “So, what do you want me to do?”

Pinkie, still sniffling, asks, “Could you … fill this basement with dirt or something … make it so nopony can use it again?”

As the daytime princess answers affirmatively, I happen to notice something through my character’s perspective.  Namely, as I look into the room, I notice something about the size of the basement compared to the shed, that the basement is larger, at least in one direction, than the shed is. Curious, I have my character rise from comforting Pinkie Pie and walk toward where the basement seems to stretch further than the shed.  And, then, I notice it—an old, wooden outhouse is maybe a foot away from the shed.  I have my character turn back to the daytime princess, and I ask, “Before you go ahead with filling this basement, I have something I want to look into first.”

Princess Celestia nods as she says, “You have a few minutes while I go outside and gather as much dirt as I need to fill this basement.”  And, she proceeds outside to follow her plan.

In the mean time, I simply nod in agreement, then direct my character down into the basement again.

And, while my character is walking down the stairs, I think it’s Rainbow Dash I hear saying, “I can see an outhouse just next door, and I really need to pee.”  And, as my character passes the doorway, I hear flapping above ground.

I have my character look up at the ceiling to certify my suspicions, that the hole I saw in the ceiling opposite the entrance indeed shows me the roof of the nearby outhouse.  And, just as I catch sight of that roof, the hole darkens; and I hear dripping, like a tap just barely running, coming form that hole.  I have my character back away from the hole and the sound, hoping that he doesn’t catch any of Rainbow Dash’s urine.  But, at least she helped me confirm my suspicions about this basement.  And, as my character returns to the entrance, I can’t help laughing.

As my character reaches the doorway of the basement, I hear Twilight ask, “Mormon, are you alright down there?”

I answer, “I’m just fine!  I just figured out what this basement was originally used for!”

I then hear a loud, wet fart, then a splatter, followed by Rainbow Dash asking, “Is somepony down there?”

I answer, “It’s just me!”

From the hole in the basement ceiling, I hear flapping, followed by the azure pegasa crying, “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!  I’m so sorry, Mormon, I didn’t know you were down there!”

I reply, “It’s alright.  You just helped me confirm my suspicions about this basement.”

Rainbow Dash calms down enough to ask with genuine curiosity, “And, what’s that?”

I answer, “This basement was originally used as a septic tank for the outhouse where you just relieved yourself!”

At this point, Pinkie Pie groans as she restates, “So, a month ago, … I used a septic tank … as a butchering room.”  And, I’m guessing Pinkie’s the one I hear gag and belch.

I call out, “I’m coming back out now!”  And, my character immediately starts walking up the stairs again.

As my character rises more and more from the stairs, I notice ponies surrounding a certain spot, and my character has to climb further up for me to see worried looks on the faces I can see.  When my character finally reaches the top, I see, in the middle of the circle, Pinkie Pie, sitting canine style, evidently looking into a puddle of her vomit.  I ask, “Pinkie, are you alright?”

Pinkie opens her mouth, only to contribute a little more to her butterscotch puddle.  Then, after panting for a second or two, she looks up at my character and, butterscotch still dripping from her mouth, answers, “I guess I will be.  I just didn’t realize what I was getting into down there.  At least now, … some of what Gilda said … makes sense.”

I decide not to ask any more questions.  Which is just as well, since it looks like Pinkie is in no condition to answer anyway.  Instead, I have my character approach the pink angel pony, prompting the other ponies to move aside, then kneel on one knee next to her and rub her back.

In the mean time, I hear flapping from the doorway of the shed, followed by Rainbow Dash asking, “Is everything alright in here?”

My character turns to her, and I answer, “Everything’s fine.  I guess Pinkie Pie took my discovery a little differently than I took it.”

Then, I hear Applejack say, “Well, if’n ev’rypony were to use the outhouse the way Rainbow Dash jes did, it’d take maybe a month to fill ‘er up.”

I add, as my character turns to her, “And, the doorway would likely leak.  Which is most likely why this shed, the basement, and the outhouse were abandoned.”

As the orange earth mare nods in agreement, I hear Princess Celestia say, “Then, we’re agreed that the best plan of action, to insure this basement is never used again, is to fill it with dirt?”

My character instantly turns his attention to the daytime princess, and I simply nod and grunt in agreement.  And, I notice she’s supporting a large sphere of dirt in her magic.

As ponies move aside to allow Princess Celestia to approach the hole, she steps toward it, then uses her magic to siphon the dirt from the sphere into the basement, starting at the back and eventually ending at the doorway.  She then uses some of her magic to close the door, before asking, “Pinkie, shall I also cover the stairs with dirt?”

The angel pony looks up at the daytime alicorn, then simply nods.

Princess Celestia nods back, then proceeds to siphon the rest of the dirt onto the stairs until they’re covered.  Then, after that, she uses her magic to close the cellar door again.

Seeing the cellar door closed, Pinkie rises to all fours again and sighs, “Good.  I hope this room is never used again.”

Then, as Princess Luna’s horn glows and sparkles, I hear Rainbow Dash say, “Mormon, I really didn’t mean to pee and poop on you.”

And, the group appears in the front hallway of Canterlot Castle, in the midst of entering guests, just as Rainbow Dash mentions peeing and pooping on me.

As my character turns to the azure pegasa, I answer, “It’s alright.  I wasn’t close enough to even get splashed on.”  And, that’s when I realize the silence, in spite of all the ponies.  Whatever they heard, they probably weren’t expecting it.

Then, Princess Celestia says, “It’s alright, mares and gentle stallions.  Please, go back to what you were doing before.”  Then, as conversations evidently resume, the daytime princess turns back to the party of eight and says, “Perhaps you need some time to freshen up.  Luna will show you to the bathrooms.  And, when you’re finished using them, she will lead you to the throne room for the celebration.”

As Princess Celestia turns and walks away from the rest of the eight, I hear Twilight Sparkle say, “Thank you, princess.”

And, as designated, Princess Luna leads the group to the castle bathrooms, where the ponies enter one room, evidently designated for mares, and my character enters the other, designated for stallions.

A few minutes later, when all have used the facilities as needed, the group returns to the hallway, where Princess Luna leads them to the throne room.

At the doorway, Princess Luna directs the element bearers to enter first, in two rows of three, with my character following behind Pinkie Pie, who is in the middle of the second row.

In the front row is, in order, Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash; while Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy make up the row behind them.

The procession, lead by the nighttime princess, takes a few seconds to get to Princess Celestia.  Just short of the steps, the six element bearers and the human and Lyra stop; and Princess Luna joins her sister on the stage.

To one side, I notice Spike and Weed Whacker.  And, I might add, Spike looks fully recovered from his ordeal.

On the other side, I notice Lyra joins Ataahua and Topsy Turvy.  And, to be honest, I didn’t expect to see the gray pegasa and the pink earth mare.

With the group of seven standing in front of the two princesses, Celestia says, “We are gathered here today to honor the heroism of these six friends, and Mormon who assisted them.”

Somehow, I’m really not surprised to hear cheering from the audience.  Lyra, Ataahua, Topsy Turvy, Spike, and Weed Whacker are also cheering.

After a few minutes, when the cheers die down, Princess Celestia nods and says, “Now, Mormon, if you will step forward.”

The element bearers step aside, allowing my character to walk to the front.

Princess Celestia continues, “At the Grand Galloping Gala, you were promised to host a special reading here.  Unfortunately, circumstances didn’t allow for that.  So, in order to make it up to you, I request that we have a special reading here, now.”

My character nods, and I answer, “I’d be honored.  But, first, I’d like to make a request.”

The daytime alicorn smiles, but she sounds surprised as she says, “But, of course.  What is it?”

I answer, “Berry Punch is staying at my house right now.  She was tortured by Discord, and didn’t feel like returning to Ponyville so soon afterward.  Could she also be part of the reading, just this once?”

Princess Celestia continues to smile as she nods and answers, “I would be honored to grant your request.”  She then turns to her sister and nods, at which point the nighttime alicorn disappears.  And, when she reappears a few seconds later, the red-purple earth mare is with her.

With one more pony in the reading group, the daytime alicorn produces enough copies of the Book of Mormon for each of the ponies that don’t already have one.

Then, with Ataahua on my character’s right and Topsy Turvy on his left, as well as Berry Punch taking a position between Ataahua and Lyra, the rest of the members of the reading group take their positions.

Before the reading can begin, Topsy Turvy raises a front hoof and asks, “Uh, before we start, where is my daddy?”

Throughout the audience the word “daddy” is echoed in the form of a question.

After a few seconds, Princess Celestia sighs and rises to all fours.  She approaches a clear window, saying, “If you’ll follow me, Topsy Turvy, I’ll show you where we have your father.”

I decide to have my character rise as well, and walk alongside the clearly worried earth mare; and I say, “I wouldn’t be surprised to see Discord back where he was at the beginning of this day.”

Topsy Turvy’s voice shakes as she says, “P-please, I just w-want to see h-him.”

Then, the human and the earth pony arrive at the window; and Topsy Turvy gets her first look at the Sigma-shaped draconequus.  I watch, through my character’s eyes, as the pink earth pony trembles for a second or two.  Then, she sniffles loudly and whimpers, “Oh, daddy, I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you!”  And, she starts sobbing.

I have my character start to stroke the earth mare’s back, and I ask, “Do you want to go out and see him?”

Topsy Turvy shakes her head, scattering her tears around her, and answers, “No, this is enough.”

During this time, the only ones making any sound are Topsy Turvy, Princess Celestia, and me.  My guess is no one knows how to respond.  On the one hand, a menace to Equestria is no longer a menace.  On the other hand, the father of an earth pony, albeit a rather unusual one, has been trapped in stone.

I have my character kneel on one knee, and I ask, “Do you want me to carry you back to the reading circle?”

Through her sobs, trembling, and sniffling, Topsy Turvy manages to answer, “I just need a sec.”

I decide to keep my character near her for a few more seconds, until she turns to him and says, “Alright, I’m ready for the reading now.”  And, she rises onto her hind legs, reminding me of a human child standing, especially when she stretches her forelimbs out to my character, inviting him to pick her up.

I allow him to do so, then have him return to his position in the circle, and place her between him and Weed Whacker.  After that, I focus my character’s attention on the gray pegasa, and I ask, “Ataahua, will you start reading in the Book of Mosiah, chapter eighteen?”

As the gray pegasa nods, then looks at her copy of the Book of Mormon, then opens it and starts flipping through the pages, Berry Punch asks, "Uh, excuse me, but who's Ataahua?"

The pegasa I'd just invited to start the reading looks up and answers, smiling, "That's me!  Mormon gave me the nickname because I didn't like the names others gave me."

The reddish purple earth mare continues, "Uh, yeah, and what does it mean?"

I open my mouth to answer, but Ataahua beats me to it, stating, "It comes from the language, ... uh ..." Then, she looks up at my character and asks, "What language is it?"

I have my character stroke the gray mare's mane as I answer, "It comes from the Maori language.  It means 'beautiful.'"

At this point, the gray pegasa nods her head vigorously and says, "That's right.  It's Maori, and it means 'beautiful.'"

Now, I ask, "So, shall we get back to the reading?"

Berry Punch smiles and nods and answers, "Sure, go ahead."

By this point, it's clear that all the others in the circle have also found their place in the book.

But, before Ataahua actually begins the reading, Princess Luna rises to all fours and gives an abbreviated overview of what has happened up to the point where the group will be reading.  And, she also informs Ataahua that each of the readers reads one verse, or one enumerated paragraph

After that, Ataahua nods to the nighttime princess before reading, "And now, it came to pass that Alma, who had fled from the servants of king Noah, repented of his sins and iniquities, and went about privately among the people, and began to teach the words of Abinadi—"

At this point, I'd like to state that Ataahua read surprisingly well for what I'd expect from a creature with misaligned eyes.  That's why I have my character stroke her mane while I read, "Yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the redemption of the people, which was to be brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and death of Christ, and his resurrection and ascension into heaven."

Topsy Turvy reads, "And as many as would hear his word he did teach.  And he taught them privately, that it might not come to the knowledge of the king.  And many did believe his words."

Weed Whacker reads, "And it came to pass that as many as did believe him did go forth to a place which was called Mormon, having received its name from the king, being in the borders of the land having been infested, by times or at seasons, by wild beasts."

Princess Luna reads, "Now, there was in Mormon a fountain of pure water, and Alma resorted thither, there being near the water a thicket of small trees, where he did hide himself in the daytime from the searches of the king."

Princess Celestia reads, "And it came to pass that as many as believed him went thither to hear his words."

Rainbow Dash reads, "And it came to pass after many days there were a goodly number gathered together at the place of Mormon, to hear the words of Alma.  Yea, all were gathered together that believed on his word, to hear him.  And he did teach them, and did preach unto them repentance, and redemption, and faith on the Lord."

Pinkie Pie reads, "And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;"

Twilight Sparkle reads, "Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—"

Spike reads, "Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?"  He then looks up and, tilting his head, asks, "Uh, what does it mean, being baptized?"

I answer, "To be baptized is to be immersed in water.  And, there is symbolism in this, beyond being one of the first steps in being included in the church of Jesus Christ.  When one is immersed in water, it symbolizes death and burial.  Then, when he or she comes back up out of the water, that symbolizes resurrection, or rebirth.  The process can also be compared to taking a bath: one goes into the water dirty, and comes out clean.  In this case, it's more of a spiritual process than a physical one, although the physical component is important as a symbol of what happens to the spirit."

The hatchling dragon listens, then says, "Thanks, Mormon.  That makes a lot of sense."

I then turn to the white unicorn, and I ask, "Rarity, will you continue reading?"

Rarity nods, then looks down and reads, "And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts."

Applejack reads, "And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one of the first, and went and stood forth in the water, and cried, saying: O Lord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness of heart."

Fluttershy reads, "And when he had said these words, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he said: Helam, I baptize thee, having authority from the Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of the world."

Lyra reads, "And after Alma had said these words, both Alma and Helam were buried in the water; and they arose and came forth out of the water rejoicing, being filled with the Spirit."

Berry Punch reads, "And again, Alma took another, and went forth a second time into the water, and baptized him according to the first, only he did not bury himself again in the water."

Ataahua reads, "And after this manner he did baptize every one that went forth to the place of Mormon; and they were in number about two hundred and four souls; yea, and they were baptized in the waters of Mormon, and were filled with the grace of God."

I read, "And they were called the church of God, or the church of Christ, from that time forward.  And it came to pass that whosoever was baptized by the power and authority of God was added to his church."

Topsy Turvy reads, "And it came to pass that Alma, having authority from God, ordained priests; even one priest to every fifty of their number did he ordain to preach unto them, and to teach them concerning the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

Weed Whacker reads, "And he commanded them that they should teach nothing save it were the things which he had taught, and which had been spoken by the mouth of the holy prophets."

Princess Luna reads, "Yea, even he commanded them that they should preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord, who had redeemed his people."  She then looks up and says, "This must've been one of the reasons why God put so much importance on keeping Lehi and his family safe when He told him, after sending him into the wilderness to travel for a few days, to send his sons back.  Being a God that knows how things are going to turn out, He would've seen this coming, and planned for it."

Princess Celestia reads, "And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another."

Rainbow Dash reads, "And thus he commanded them to preach.  And thus they became the children of God."

Pinkie Pie reads, "And he commanded them that they should observe the sabbath day, and keep it holy, and also every day they should give thanks to the Lord their God."  She then looks up and says, "That's one of the ten commandments, isn't it?"

Twilight Sparkle nods to the angel pony, then looks down into her own book and reads, "And he also commanded them that the priests whom he had ordained should labor with their own hands for their support."

Spike reads, "And there was one day in every week that was set apart that they should gather themselves together to teach the people, and to worship the Lord their God, and also, as often as it was in their power, to assemble themselves together."

Rarity reads, "And the priests were not to depend upon the people for their support; but for their labor they were to receive the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit, having the knowledge of God, that they might teach with power and authority from God."

Applejack reads, "And again Alma commanded that the people of the church should impart of their substance, every one according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him that had but little, but little should be required; and to him that had not should be given."

Fluttershy reads, "And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will and good desires towards God, and to those priests that stood in need, yea, and to every needy, naked soul."

Lyra reads, "And this he said unto them, having been commanded of God; and they did walk uprightly before God, imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants."  She then grunts with interest before saying, "I guess it makes sense that God would care as much about our physical needs as our spiritual needs.  After all, we couldn't do a lot of good in this life if we couldn't live it for very long."

Berry Punch reads, "And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever."

Ataahua reads, "And these things were done in the borders of the land, that they might not come to the knowledge of the king."

I read, "But behold, it came to pass that the king, having discovered a movement among the people, sent his servants to watch them.  Therefore on the day that they were assembling themselves together to hear the word of the Lord they were discovered unto the king."

Topsy Turvy reads, "And now the king said that Alma was stirring up the people to rebellion against him; therefore he sent his army to destroy them."  She then looks up and asks, "Does this King Noah have any evidence that Alma was plotting against him?"

Now, Princess Celestia answers, "No.  But, from his point of view, he doesn't need any evidence either.  All he knows is that changes are happening among his people; and, to him, that's trouble.  It doesn't matter to him if the changes being made are good or bad.  They're changes, and so they're a threat to him."

Weed Whacker reads, "And it came to pass that Alma and the people of the Lord were apprised of the coming of the king’s army; therefore they took their tents and their families and departed into the wilderness."

Princess Luna reads, "And they were in number about four hundred and fifty souls."

At this point, I rise and say, "And, I think that should be the end of the reading for now."  More to the audience beyond the readers than the readers themselves, I continue, "It's been an honor and a pleasure to host this reading for you this evening.  Those of you from Ponyville may already be aware of the readings that are being held there."  I then focus my character's attention on the daytime alicorn, and I ask, "Princess Celestia, do you host readings here?"

The daytime princess rises to all fours before answering, "As a matter of fact, I do.  They're generally among my sister and myself, as well as a few relatives and servants who want to join in."  She then turns to the audience and says, "Those of you who live here in Canterlot are also welcome to come and take part in the readings."  She then turns back to my character and asks, "If I send my sister with you, will you get, say, a hundred copies of the Book of Mormon, so I can offer them to those who want to join in the readings?"

I answer, "I'd be honored.  But, first, I'm thinking there's some business that needs to be completed here."

Princess Celestia nods to my character and says, “Of course, you’re right.”  She then turns to her audience again and says, “If you will look to your right, I will now open the curtain for you, and reveal the stain glass window which has been made to commemorate the victory of these seven friends over Discord.”

Indeed, all this time, there has been one window that’s been covered by a curtain.  And, as the attention of all in attendance turns to the covered window, the curtain parts, revealing a picture, in stain glass, of six ponies, each colored like one of the element bearers, surrounding a human figure, no doubt representing my character, and firing energy beams at the figure of the draconequus above them.

Again the crowd cheers at this commemoration of the element bearers’ victory over Discord.

On the other hand, Topsy Turvy turns a hundred eighty degrees so she’s facing away from it.

I decide to have my character pick her up and hold her until the cheering dies down, or until the pink earth mare has regained her composure.  And, for that time, I find it interesting how clearly I can make out both the sobbing of Topsy Turvy and the cheering of the other creatures.

When all have calmed down, Princess Celestia says to the audience, “Now, you are dismissed to the hallway.  We will have refreshments for you while Mormon and my sister get the copies of the book for you.”  Then, as the members start to filter out through the doorway, the daytime alicorn turns to my character and asks, “Now, will you put Topsy Turvy on her hooves on the floor?”

I answer, “Sure,” and my character proceeds to follow the white alicorn's request.

As Topsy Turvy, still sniffling a little and rubbing at her eyes, looks up at the daytime princess, Celestia says to her, “Now, I have a job for you, one that I’m sure you will be happy to accept.”

The pink earth mare asks, “Wh-what’s that, M-m-ma’am?”

Princess Celestia then proceeds to lower her head so she’s at eye level with Topsy Turvy, then asks, “Will you be your father’s keeper?”

Any lingering sadness in the pink earth mare is replaced by growing confusion, clearly indicated in the way she tilts her head, as well as her grunt.

Princess Celestia continues, “While he remains a statue in front of the labyrinth, he’s going to need to be cleaned on a regular basis.  Will you do that?”

Topsy Turvy turns and gallops to the window where the daytime princess had shown her the literally petrified form of Discord.  I don’t doubt that, for those few seconds, she’s looking at the statue of her father.  Finally, she takes a shaky breath, then, releasing it in the form of a sigh, pushes away from the window.  At first she’s looking down as her forelimbs land on the ground in front of her.  Then, she looks up at Princess Celestia, who has followed her, although at a slower pace, and answers, “I want to be with my daddy.  And, if the way I can do that is by being his keeper, then that’s what I’ll do.”

I can see the daytime alicorn, holding her wings up much like a swan would, smiling as she says, “Then, so it shall be.”  She looks up again and folds her wings to her sides as she says, “From this time forward, let it be known that Topsy Turvy shall be Discord’s keeper.  She will be provided with cleaning supplies and other things she needs.”  She then turns back to the pink earth mare and adds, “But, in return, you will not try to release you father from his stone prison.  I will request it of the element bearers if and when I consider it appropriate.”

Topsy Turvy simply nods and says, “Yes, Ma’am.”

Princess Celestia then approaches my character and says, “Now, Mormon, since you will be taking care of Topsy Turvy and Derpy Hooves, as well as Pinkie Pie and Lyra Heartstrings, it’ll be up to you to make sure Topsy Turvy is well cared for.  And, you will make sure she fulfills her duties as the keeper of Discord. Do you understand?”

My character nods automatically as I say, “Yes, princess.”

The daytime alicorn nods back, then says, “Well, in that case, do you wish to stay here, or to return to your home?”

I answer, “As much as I enjoy being here, I think I prefer to return to my home now.”

At this point, Princess Luna approaches my character and says, “Very well then.  If those with thee will gather around, then I shall return you to your home.”

The ponies and dinosaur approach as I call their names: Topsy Turvy, Ataahua, Pinkie Pie, Weed Whacker, Berry Punch.  Then, after they’ve gathered around my character and the nighttime princess, she closes her eyes and concentrates; and her horn starts to glow and sparkle; and one frame later the group of seven is on the lawn in front of my character’s house.

Before anyone can do anything further, Princess Luna turns to my character and says, “Now, Mormon, you agreed to supply my sister and me with one hundred copies of the Book of Mormon.”

I nod and say, “That’s right.  So, with the help of my friends here, I’ll get that done.”  And, my character proceeds to the door, with the four ponies and one dinosaur following him.

Once inside, I proceed to the closet where the copies of the book are located.  I have my character gather the books, five at a time, and hand them to one of the ponies or to Weed Whacker, who carry them out to the nighttime alicorn.

My character automatically keeps track of how many of the books he hands to each of the ponies and the dinosaur; and, in a matter of minutes, the hundred books have gone from the closet to a neat block next to Princess Luna.

As soon as my character has handed the last five books to the nighttime princess, he closes the closet door, then follows the little dinosaur out to the princess to help her place the books in the block.

When he’s finished, he steps back.

Then Princess Luna nods to him and says, “Thank you for this gift, Mormon.  It will help us a lot.”  And, before I can answer, she closes her eyes and nods her head; and her horn starts to glow and sparkle.  A second later, the nighttime alicorn and the books disappear.

At this point, I look at my group of friends and ask, “So, shall we get ready for dinner?”

I must admit, I’m surprised to see Topsy Turvy smile when she answers, “Sure!”

Then, Ataahua asks, “But, what do you want us to do?”

I answer, “For the past month or so, in preparation for dinner, Weed Whacker, Lyra, Pinkie Pie and I have harvested fruits and vegetables for dinner.  Weed Whacker would harvest vegetables from the vegetable garden, Lyra would harvest fruits from the vineyard, and Pinkie Pie and I would harvest fruits from the orchard.  Considering there are, at present, seven here right now, consisting of five ponies, one dragon, and one human, it seems to me only fair that, with two already working in the orchard, at least one more pony should help in the vineyard, and at least one more in the vegetable garden.”

Presently, Topsy Turvy steps forward and says, “I wanna work with Derpy Hooves.”

Then, before I can agree to the pink earth mare’s request, Berry Punch says, “I’m not good with vegetables, my talent is more with fruits from vines.  So, I would prefer to help Lyra in the vineyard.”

I nod to the red-purple earth mare and say, “Fair enough.”  Then, I have my character turn to the pink earth mare and the gray pegasa; and I ask, “Would you two be willing to work in the vegetable garden with Weed Whacker?”

Presently, Weed Whacker turns to my character and starts waving her arms and says, “Now, Mormon, wait!”  As my character automatically focuses his attention on the little herbivorous dinosaur, she continues, “You know I work alone in the vegetable garden.”

I nod and respond, “That may have been true before, but now we have two more ponies that need to feel welcome.  And, they can help you.  So, will you allow them to do that?”

The little dinosaur lets her forelimbs drop to her sides, seeming to want to indicate defeat.  She then turns to her new assistants, then back to my character, and says, “Alright then, Mormon.”

I nod to Weed Whacker and say, “Good.”  Then, I divide my character’s attention among the entire group; and I say, “Now, let’s get to harvesting.”  Focusing my character’s attention on the red-purple earth mare, I say, “Berry Punch, you’ve harvested with Lyra before.  So, you should do just fine.”  I then focus my character’s attention on Topsy Turvy and Ataahua, and I say, “You’ll be assisting Weed Whacker.  And, since she is familiar with the vegetable garden, I want you to follow her advice.”  And, finally, I have my character divide his attention over the remaining party of six; and I say, “Now, let’s get going!”

A chorus of “Yes, sir!” rings out around the group, and they disperse to their assigned tasks.

Once Pinkie Pie and my character are in the orchard, the pink angel pony turns to my character and says, “Not everypony will understand why you put the lives of me and my friends in jeopardy the way you did; but I just want you to know that I understand.  And, I thank you.”

Then, Diane takes control of Pinkie Pie and, as she selects a tree, adds, “I suppose there’s been no time limit put on your right to interfere with Discord’s plans.”

As my character selects the pear tree to harvest fruits from, it occurs to me that Diane is right.  I chuckle as I say, “I suppose the only limit to the right I earned is my life.”

Diane kicks the tree she chose, causing seven apples to fall from it, as she says, “Then, when and if Discord is ever released from his stone form, you still have the right to interfere in any plans he might make, is that right?”

I pause for a moment before answering, “You know, I suppose you’re right about that.”

Then, before handing control back to Pinkamena, Diane says, “So, until the time that Discord is released from his statue, and after that, our job will be to keep you alive.  And, I will accept that responsibility with honor and gratitude for what you did to help us defeat Discord.”

Then, after Pinkamena takes control of Pinkie Pie, and before she starts picking up the apples, she slowly says, “Just one thing.”  And, without waiting for my invitation to continue, she asks, “While the elements weren’t in that hedge maze, there was one thing of value that was there, isn’t that right?”

I answer, “I suppose it depends on how you look at it.  I did get the chance to make a deal with Discord, one that allowed me the right to interfere in his plans.  If you want to consider that valuable, then yes, there was something of value in that maze.”

Pinkie approaches my character and asks, “Do you think your deal with Discord was the only way we could’ve won?”

I have to pause to think about that.  As I gather my thoughts, I answer, “Who knows?  Would Discord have tried to turn each of you if I hadn’t suggested it?  Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn’t.  But, I know he would’ve had to touch Fluttershy to turn her.

“Would Princess Celestia have known to send back all the letters Twilight had sent her without my help?  Probably.  She did have the foresight to have Twilight write those letters in the first place.

“Could I have interfered with Discord’s plans without the deal?  Again, maybe I could, maybe I couldn’t.  But, it helped that Discord thought he had me over a barrel by making that deal.  And, with Princess Celestia’s help, I was able to turn things around and return you and your friends to the way you were.

“All in all, perhaps the deal I made with Discord wasn’t so necessary after all.  But, it seems to me that it was the best we had.  And, like I said to your sister Diane, as long as I’m alive, I still have the right to interfere in Discord’s plans any way I see fit.”

By the time I’ve answered Pinkie’s question the best I could, she’s gathered the fallen apples and attached them to her mane.  After hearing me out, she jumps over the fence, then turns to my character again, to me, and says, “You were certainly right about one thing.  When we were in our darkest hour, one of us was willing to follow the path you shed light on.”  And, with that, she gallops back to the house.

As my character climbs over the fence, fruits and all, I can’t help noticing that, unlike when Discord was in control, the sky is slowly darkening, indicating that the sun is slowly going down.  I have my character look up into the sky to see the sun disappear behind the mountains, and the moon rise slowly in its place.  And, that’s another thing.  Instead of the sun and moon trading places marking the change from one hour to another, they trade places in the middle of an hour.

I have my character return to the house, following the ponies and dinosaur, and find Pinkie Pie there, opening the door with her forehead curl.  Then, my character, the last to enter, closes the door behind him.

The same happens with the kitchen door:  Pinkie Pie, the first there, opens the door; and my character, the last to enter, closes it behind him.

Weed Whacker still cleans the fruits and vegetables in the sink, and I still distribute them to ponies at the table.  But, since there are five ponies instead of the normal two, I have Pinkie Pie separate stems from fruits, Lyra cut up vegetables, and Berry Punch cut up tree and kiwi fruits.  Then, Ataahua and Topsy Turvy are put in charge of putting the cut-up fruits and vegetables on a platter that Pinkie Pie provides for them.

All in all, the process of preparaing dinner, taking it into the front room to eat, and eating it, takes up the rest of the hour, as does the clean-up afterwards.

When the remnants of dinner have been cleaned up, Pinkie Pie turns to me and asks, “Mormon, is it alright if I teach Topsy Turvy a song that she can sing to Discord?”

Presently, Topsy Turvy, hearing Pinkie Pie, gallops to my character and says, “Sing?  To my daddy?  I don’t think that’s such a good idea.  He doesn’t like hearing anypony sing.”

At this point, I seem to remember what Discord had Vinyl’s friends doing.  Aloud, I think, “Oh, I don’t know about that.  He did have Drum Roll, Lotta Pipes, and Sweet Tones performing for him.  So, considering that, I see no problem with Pinkie Pie’s idea.”

Pinkie Pie hops around Topsy Turvy as she shouts, “Oh, thank you, Mormy!”  Then, she grabs the worried pink earth mare and, forelimb-in-forelimb, pulls her into my character’s workroom.

From that point, and for the rest of the hour, I have trouble making out what Pinkie tries to teach Topsy Turvy.

In the mean time, the other three ponies, and the dinosaur, retire to their rooms.

Of course, after finding out that Topsy Turvy is occupying the room she and Carrot Top had occupied, Berry Punch decides to sleep in the room next to the one Ataahua chose.

I decide that the least I can do is have my character retire to his room and write his letter to the princesses.  And, in that letter, I dictate how I made a deal with Discord that if he could turn each of the element bearers without making physical contact with any of them, I’d return to my home and not interfere with his plans; and that, if he did touch even one of them, I’d have the right to interfere in his plans any way I saw fit.  I dictate that Discord couldn’t turn Fluttershy without touching her, and that earned me the right to interfere in his plans.  I also state that, as Pinkie had suggested to me, I’ll have that right for the rest of my life.

I include that, while I knew I’d be putting Equestria’s heroes in danger, I also provided a way to get them out of it, and eventually win.  I also include that I didn’t take full control, I just helped return Twilight and the other element bearers.

Finally, I dictate that I’m honored to take care of Derpy Hooves and Topsy Turvy as well as Pinkie Pie and Lyra.  And, I dictate that, considering I’ve been successful in advancing Pinkie Pie on her path to becoming an alicorn, I’m considering running similar experiments on Lyra, and perhaps on Derpy Hooves and Topsy Turvy as well.

Finally, I have the letter signed, rolled up, and delivered to Weed Whacker, who bites it and sends it to the princesses.

After that, I have my character return to the front room and sit on the couch closest to the kitchen, waiting for Pinkie Pie and Topsy Turvy to come in, ready for Topsy Turvy to assume her duties as the keeper of her father, Discord.

It isn’t until halfway into the hour that I hear knocking on my character’s front door.

He automatically rises and answers the door to show me Princess Luna on the other side.

The nighttime princess nods and says, “It is time for Topsy Turvy to assume her duties as Discord’s keeper.”

About this time, I hear another door open; and my character turns toward the hallway connected to the front room to show me Pinkie Pie and Topsy Turvy entering from there.

The pink earth mare, looking up and seeing Princess Luna, says, “Oh, I guess it’s time for me to take care of daddy now.”

The nighttime alicorn nods and answers, “That’s right.”

Topsy Turvy then turns to my character and asks, “Will you go with me?”

I nod and answer, “That is part of my job of taking care of you.”

Then, Pinkie Pie steps forward and says, “I’d like to go, too.”

Again, Princess Luna nods, then answers, “That’s fine.”  She then backs away from the door and asks, “Does anypony else want to come?”

Pinkie Pie shakes her head and answers, “As far as I know, everypony else is asleep.”

The nighttime princess gestures with her head as she says, “Well, then, let’s go.  The cleaning supplies will be ready for you when we get there.”

Topsy Turvy seems a little nervous as she nods and says, “Yes, ma’am.”

The group of three ponies and one human gather on the front lawn, at which point the nighttime alicorn closes her eyes and concentrates.  In the next frame, the group is in between the hedge maze and the statue of Discord.

As soon as she opens her eyes, Princess Luna turns to the pink earth mare and says, “Now, I will fetch the servant with the cleaning supplies.  Ye shall wait here.”  And, with that, she disappears.

Then I hear Topsy Turvy say, “Mormon?”  And, as my character focuses on the pink earth mare, she continues, “I’ve never done cleaning before.  In daddy’s realm of chaos, we didn’t need to.  So, how does it work?”

I have my character kneel on one knee in front of Topsy Turvy, and I answer, “You’ll notice that the stone is white colored.  Your job is to clean off anything that isn’t that white color.  Also, if it doesn’t follow Discord’s normal shape, then you should clean that off as well.”

Topsy Turvy asks, “But, what about the stone itself?  Shouldn’t I clean that off, too?”

At this point, Pinkie Pie answers, “The stone is there because of the Elements of Harmony.  If you try to remove the stone, well, whatever happens, it likely won’t be good for Discord, and probably not for you either.”

Hearing Pinkie’s explanation, Topsy Turvy simply nods in understanding.

But, before she can vocalize her understanding, Luna appears once again near the group, this time accompanied by an elderly earth stallion carrying a bucket filled with water.  After he puts the bucket down, he says, “Well, nice to meet you again, Mormon.”

From the light I can see reflecting off of the earth pony, I do seem to recognize his color and shape.  Then the name dawns on me, and I say, “Grounds Keeper, right?”

The earth stallion smiles and nods and answers, “That’s right.”  He then tilts his head and asks, “So, how’s Fluttershy doin’?”

I answer, “She’s fine.”

Before the conversation can continue, Princess Luna steps forward and says, “Topsy Turvy must get to her duties as soon as possible.  But, in the mean time, Grounds Keeper has other duties to take care of.”  And, before farewells can be said, again the nighttime princess disappears, along with Grounds Keeper.

My character turns to Topsy Turvy, who has already put a forelimb into the bucket.  She pulls out a cloth, no doubt intended for cleaning, and proceeds to limp behind the statue of Discord.

Pinkie Pie picks up the bucket and follows the earth mare, then sets the bucket down below Discord’s tail.

At the same time she starts cleaning the statue of her father, Topsy Turvy starts singing a song.  And, I’m surprised to recognize it, after hearing the fist two words, as Michael McClain’s “Be That Friend.”  And, I can’t help feeling it appropriate, at least, for the theme of the show that, at least partly, inspired this game.  The only real change that seems to have been made is that the pronouns in the third verse have been feminized.  And, that makes sense to me, considering the pony that will be assigned to reform Discord when he’s released from his statue in the third season is Fluttershy, a mare.  Whether or not there are any other motivations for Pinkie Pie teaching that song to Topsy Turvy, at least that line of reasoning works for me.

Topsy Turvy takes as long to clean the statue as she does to sing most of the song, and she sings the last verse while seeming to pray to the statue.  And, she concludes by saying, in a trembling voice, “I miss you, daddy.  Please don’t stay a statue for another thousand years.”

Pinkie Pie steps forward and nuzzles the weeping pink earth mare under her chin, and my character proceeds to stroke her mane.

After a few seconds, Topsy Turvy seems to have her emotions sufficiently under control that she grabs the handle of the bucket in her mouth, then proceeds toward the castle.

There to meet the trio at the nearest door are Grounds Keeper and Princess Luna.

Grounds Keeper accepts the bucket from Topsy Turvy, while Princess Luna says, “From what I’ve seen, Topsy Turvy, you did a good job.  Shall I come again at the same time to pick you up so you can take care of your father?”

Topsy Turvy simply nods.

Princess Luna also nods, then closes her eyes.  Her horn starts to glow, then, a frame later, the four are back in front of my character’s house.

The nighttime alicorn then opens her eyes and backs away from the group, then says, “I must return to the castle now and make my report to my sister.  In the mean time, you three should get some sleep.”  And, with that, she closes her eyes and nods her head again, and her horn starts to glow and sparkle once more.  Then, one second later, she disappears.

I have my character turn to the two ponies, and I say, “I think Princess Luna is right.  We need to be getting to bed now.”

I keep my character in his position until the two mares have gone ahead of him, then I have him follow Topsy Turvy.  I have him focus on her, and I ask, “Topsy Turvy, are you going to be alright?”

The pink earth mare turns to my character and answers, “I need sleep now.  But, I have a job taking care of my daddy, and I have a place to live.  I’ll be fine.”  And, she turns back toward the front door.

I don’t say anymore as the three enter the house, and my character closes the front door behind him.  A minute or so later, the two mares and the human have retired to their rooms, and gone to bed.

I have to wonder if I should be surprised that this first full day has been so long.  After all, in the animated series, the story on which this day is based had to be covered in two episodes.  And, just on this day alone, I’ve taken a lot of notes.

But, there’s just one last bit of business before I close and end the game.

As my character closes his eyes, I hear Discord say, “I haven’t forgotten that I’m indebted to you for keeping my daughter alive.  For that, in spite of the deal between us, I will see to it that you live as well.  But, let it be known that I do not approve of my daughter singing the song she sang to me.”

I can’t help thinking to myself, ‘Well, I’m not the one that taught that song to Topsy Turvy.  That was Pinkie Pie.’  And, the only reason I can think of being the pink angel pony’s influence, Pinkie Pie is the only one that can read my thoughts.  And so I save and end the game until the next time I play. Next Chapter: Chapter 2: When Magic Needs a Hand Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 47 Minutes