Hey, Batter! Volume 3: Angel of Mirth

This time, as I resume my second game, I find my character waking up to scratching at his bedroom door.

He rises from his bed and walks to the door, and I hear Pinkie moaning from the other side, as though she’s fighting a losing battle to maintain her balance, followed by a light thud.  When my character opens his door, I see the pink angel pony roll over so she’s facing away from my character, then turn to me as she gets back up on her front hooves and says, “Hi, Mormon.”  She chuckles nervously a couple times before adding, “Let’s get some breakfast.”

I vocalize my agreement, and my character steps out of his room, then closes the door behind him.

My character follows the pink angel pony through the kitchen and front room and out the front door, closing behind him the doors that Pinkie opens, and on out to the front lawn.  And there, I can see, through his eyes, Ataahua, Topsy Turvy, Berry Punch, Lyra, and Weed Whacker waiting for him.

Weed Whacker steps forward and says, “So, Mormon, we’ve got a problem.”

Together, Ataahua and Topsy Turvy step forward and start talking at the same time, evidently starting off by agreeing with Weed Whacker.

I have my character hold out his arms, and I say, “Alright, you two, stop for a moment.”  When the gray pegasa and the pink earth mare have stopped talking, I have my character put down his arms again; and I say, “There, that’s better.”  I then have my character focus on the gray pegasa, and I ask, “Now, Ataahua, why don’t you start?”

The gray pegasa, with a worried look on her face, says, “Well, you see, Topsy Turvy and I want to work together.  I want to work in the vegetable garden, because I don’t want to get my wings caught in the vines in the vineyard.  But, Topsy Turvy wants to work in the vineyard.”

I have my character focus on Topsy Turvy, and I say, “Well, Ataahua does have a valid concern.  Her wings won’t be much good to her if they get scratched or tangled up in the vineyard.”

Topsy Turvy responds, “But, Weed Whacker’s only letting one pony work with her.”

I shrug and state, “I don’t see what the problem is.  Just because you want something doesn’t mean you’re always going to get it, even around here.  If you want to work with Lyra in the vineyard, then that shouldn’t be a problem.  And just because you want Ataahua to work alongside you doesn’t mean she should have to.”

Topsy Turvy stammers, “B-b-but, but, Lyra already has Berry Punch working with her.  She doesn’t need another pony helping her.”

At this point, Lyra steps toward my character and says, “Not necessarily.  Just because I have one pony helping me doesn’t mean I couldn’t use the help of somepony else.”

I add, “And, besides, since Ponyville is back to normal now, Berry Punch should be going back there either today or tomorrow.  You could learn gardening skills from her while she’s here, and be better at taking care of the vineyard.”  Then, as the pink earth pony grunts a plea, I add, “And, maybe that’ll help you take better care of your father while he’s a statue.”

At this point, Topsy Turvy groans and says, under her breath, “I don’t see how.”

I have my character kneel on one knee in front of the pink earth pony and put a hand on one side of her neck, and I say, “Why not try it for just one day?  For today, you can work with Lyra and Berry Punch in the vineyard.  In a way, you will be working with Ataahua.”

Again Topsy Turvy groans, then asks, “And, how’s that?”

I answer, “Well, both of you will be working outside.  And, both of you will be harvesting plants.”

Now Topsy Turvy just looks up at my character, evidently searching for some point she can use against me, or something she can say to change my mind.  After a minute or two of searching and not finding anything, she looks down, sighs, and says, “Alright.”  She then looks up at my character one more time and adds, “But, I wanna work with Derpy in the vineyard tomorrow.”

I state, “That’ll be up to Ataahua.”  I then have my character stand up again, and I say, “So, let’s get to work.”

Topsy Turvy seems to be the least enthusiastic about going to work, but she seems to not be the only one lacking enthusiasm.

When the pink angel pony and my character have made it to and into the orchard, I ask her, “Pinkie, is there something wrong?”

The bearer of laughter ambles head-first into an apple tree, then rubs her head and growls at the tree.  She then turns to my character and says, “I’m just worried about Vinyl.”  Her mane and tail start to lose their curls as she continues, “Her three friends were mistreated by Discord yesterday, so they’ll probably leave now.  And, knowing Vinyl, well, she’s not gonna take it very well.  I just wanna be there to help her.”

I state, as my character approaches the pear tree and starts harvesting fruit from it, “Well, in that case, when we get to Ponyville, and once we get Berry Punch back to her home, we’ll go visit Vinyl and Octavia, and we’ll see how Vinyl’s doing.”

Pinkamena takes more control of Pinkie as she says, with a smile I can hear in her voice, “Thanks, Mormy.  I hope I can help her.”  And, with that, she allows control of Pinkie Pie to go to Diane.

With Pinkie “Diane” Pie and my character working together, the two leave the orchard with seven each of apples, pears, and peaches.  And, the two join the other five on the front porch.

The fruits and vegetables are prepared in the kitchen, then taken on a platter into the front room, where the seven join forces eating them.  Then, after cleanup, comes the question of who all is going to Ponyville.

Berry Punch, although unwilling at first, finally agrees to return to Ponyville as long as my character is part of the group.  Which works out just fine for me.  After all, it’s part of my plan to go to Ponyville anyway.

Ataahua and Topsy Turvy seem just as unwilling to stay at my character’s house, but agree to stay as long as Lyra and Weed Whacker also stay, which the pale-green unicorn and the herbivorous dinosaur agree to.

With that evidently settled, my character, Pinkie Pie, and Berry Punch set out for Ponyville, following their course through the Everfree forest until they come out on their way to the nearby town of ponies.

Once there, at Pinkie’s request, she heads off toward Vinyl and Octavia’s house, leaving my character to walk Berry Punch to her home with Carrot Top.

Honestly, all I really notice about the red-purple earth mare is that she seems relieved that things in Ponyville are evidently back to the way they were before Discord started rearranging things.  And, when she and the human reach her home, she turns to my character and thanks him for walking her home and salutes him farewell.

Having returned Berry Punch to her home, I have my character head to the home of Vinyl and Octavia to see how Pinkie’s doing with Vinyl.  And, as my character approaches, he seems to be just in time to see a disgruntled Drum Roll, Lotta Pipes, and Sweet Tones leave, evidently packed for resettlement.  And, in the doorway, I see Vinyl, fountains of tears squirting from her glasses, pleading for the trio to stay.

My character stops to watch the trio of musician ponies pass, then focuses on the white unicorn; and I ask, “Are you alright, Vinyl?”

As my character resumes his walk toward the front door, the white unicorn forcefully pushes herself back inside, then, using her magic, slams the door behind her.  Then, as my character reaches the door, it opens again, revealing a worried-looking Pinkie Pie on the other side.

The pink angel mare gestures to my character and says, “Come, … come on in, Mormon.”

My character agrees, and enters through the open door; and I can hear Vinyl bawling from the living room.

As my character follows the cries, I see the white unicorn stretched out on the couch closest to the front door.

Then, I see Pinkie Pie’s worried face as she says, “Mormon, you’ve got to do something. You’ve got to at least try.”

I respond, “I’ll see what I can do.”  Then, after my character steps within maybe a foot of Vinyl’s head and reaches out and puts a hand on her back, I say, “I can see that they really mean a lot to you.”

As the blue-haired unicorn turns and looks at my character, and her sunglasses drop off her nose, revealing her watering eyes, she says, “I … doubt … it.”  She takes another moment to sob before continuing, “They … were … my friends.  I … just got back … together … with them.  And, now they’re leaving.  Leaving for good.  And, it’s all … because of … that Discord!”

As the white unicorn buries her snout in her front hooves and goes back to bawling, I say, “Well, I can’t say that I blame them.  After the way Discord treated them, I can see why they wouldn’t want to stay here, even though Discord won’t be coming back here to cause any more trouble.”

Now, Vinyl glares up at my character and says, “Oh yeah?  Well, he caused me even more trouble.”  She then pushes my character’s arm away from her, then disappears from the couch.  I then hear her voice at the front door saying, “I’m goin’ to get my friends to return.”  And, as my character turns to and focuses on the source of the voice, she concludes, “And, if I can’t get ‘em to come back, I ain’t sayin’ nothin’ ‘til they do come back.”  And, my character watches her as she opens the door, marches through it, then slams it closed again.

From behind my character again, this time I hear Octavia say, “That’s Vinyl for you.”  As my character turns to the gray earth mare, she continues, “It’s just like her to overreact this way.  As much as I’d appreciate the silence, I do hope she does get her friends to come back.”

Now, based on what I’ve seen of the show, as well as works that fans of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic have made, I gave Vinyl a voice.  And, for this extension, I provided her friends leaving as motivation for her to not use her voice when they’ve left to live elsewhere.  And, as for her friends, until the attack from Chrysalis and her swarm of changelings, I’ve programmed them with the desire to move to Canterlot.  Then, after that, I’ve decided, for the next extension, that they should decide to move northward, where they’ll find the Chrystal Empire.  But, that’ll come later on.

I suppose those thoughts occupy me for at least a minute, until Pinkie Pie approaches my character and nudges him.  Then, when he looks down at her, I watch, through his eyes, as her mouth moves, although she ends up not saying anything.  When she finally does vocalize, she just whimpers my name before burying her face in my character’s leg and sobbing.

Automatically, my character picks her up and carries her to the nearest couch to sit down with her.

That is, until I hear Octavia shout, “Mormon, wait, stop!”  When he turns to her, I see her sigh with relief before she says, “Vinyl may not be an alcoholic pony anymore, but the alcohol has had a lasting effect on her.  When she cries, she wets herself.  And, I don’t just mean her eyes get wet, either.  I mean her bladder empties on its own.”

My character turns to the couch, and I can see, through his eyes, that, indeed, there is an unusually reflective spot on the couch, in between where Vinyl’s hind legs had been.

I hear Octavia continue, "This doesn’t happen often, that is, she isn’t normally so emotional.  And, it only happens when she cries.”  After a pause, she says, “I’ll go get a towel and get this puddle cleaned up.  In the mean time, you can go sit on the other couch.”

I nod and grunt in agreement, then have my character take a seat on the other couch, while Octavia heads to the kitchen to retrieve a towel to clean up the mess left by the white unicorn.

It takes a few minutes for Pinkie Pie to gain control of her emotions again, and a minute or two after that for Vinyl to show up at the front door of her and Octavia’s home.

Pinkie, who was just dozing off by that time, looks up and, seeing her white unicorn friend, jumps off of my character’s lap and gallops toward her, asking, “So, Vinyl, how did things go?”

Vinyl only responds by closing her eyes and looking down.

I don’t doubt that Pinkie Pie remembers what her friend had said before she left, as she hugs the white unicorn and says, “Oh.  I’m so sorry, Vinyl.”

Octavia, who’s just coming from the nearby kitchen, approaches the blue-haired unicorn and asks, “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Vinyl listens to the gray earth mare’s question, then closes her eyes again and shakes her head.  After that, she pushes Pinkie away from her, then turns and ambles through a nearby hallway, and on to what I assume is her bedroom.

Octavia starts to follow the white unicorn until she turns a corner, then stays put until the sound of a door closing is heard.  After that, she turns to Pinkie Pie and my character and, dropping the towel in her mouth, says, “This is going to take some time.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to get her to talk again, but I’ll see what I can do.  In the mean time, thanks for coming to visit us.”

Pinkie Pie sighs before looking up at my character, at me, and saying, “Maybe we should leave now.”  She then turns to Octavia and says, “I hope Vinyl starts feeling better.  Goodbye, Octavia.  Tell Vinyl I said goodbye.”  Then, she quietly ambles to the door and opens it with her forehead curl.

Taking that as his cue, my character follows the pink angel pony out the door, then stands up again as Pinkie closes the door behind him, again with her forehead curl.

As the human and the angel pony make their way to Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie looks up at my character and says, “I feel terrible for Vinyl.  Do you think there’s anything we can do to make her feel better?  Maybe throw her a party or something?”

My character focuses on the pink angel pony, and I say, “Or, maybe you and your friends could set up a picnic that you could invite Vinyl to.  You know, let her know that she has more friends than just Drum Roll, Lotta Pipes, and Sweet Tones.”

Pinkie’s frown morphs into a smile, and her face lights up as she says, “That’s a great idea, Mormon!”  She then looks ahead of her again as she continues, “I could bake some cakes and stuff when we get to Sugar Cube Corner, and Applejack could make some cider, and we could even have music.  I just need to invite Vinyl when everything’s ready for her.”

By the time the pink angel pony’s finished talking about her plans for the picnic, the two have arrived at the bakery.  And, this time the two enter through the front door.

Once my character is inside, I notice that the Cakes are seated human-style on opposite sides of a table, both talking about something; and Mr. Cake is holding a pencil in his mouth, evidently writing things on the notebook in front of him.

Pinkie gallops toward the two earth ponies and asks, “Mr. and Mrs. Cake, can we use your kitchen?  We wanna make a few treats so we can help cheer up a friend.”

Mr. Cake turns to the pink angel pony and drops the pencil on the floor before saying, “We’re sorry, Pinkie, but we’re going to have to say no.  You see, we’re closed for today.”

Mrs. Cake continues, “That’s right.  You see, since Discord’s attack yesterday, we’ve been concerned about our inventory.  The twins are fine, but we’re just not sure that all our ingredients are.  We were just making a list of things we use, so we can check to see if we need to restock.  I’m sorry, but it’s going to take all day.”

Pinkie seems to melt as she hears what the Cakes have to say.  Then, after that, she says, “Oh.  Well, then, I guess we’re just gonna have to go somewhere else.”

Mr. Cake, with a sympathetic frown, says, “We’re sorry, Pinkie.  Maybe tomorrow.”

Pinkie doesn’t say anything more, just ambles to the front door of the bakery and opens it, then ambles out.

I have my character turn to the two earth ponies, and I say, “We’ll be back tomorrow.  See you then.”  And, after that, I have my character follow Pinkie out of the bakery.

Once again outside, Pinkie turns to my character and says, “Well, let’s go to Sweet Apple Acres.  Maybe Applejack can help us.”

I wonder aloud, “I don’t know about that.  Doesn’t she have a stand she sets up in the town square so she can sell apples?”

The pink angel pony pauses for a moment and looks up at my character, then says, “You may be right.  But still, if the Cakes have closed down Sugar Cube Corner for the day because of what Discord did yesterday, then how can we be sure that Applejack’s still running her apple-selling business?”

I answer, “Well, she may be trying to let ponies know that she’s not going to let Discord’s visit stop her from living her life normally.”

Pinkie scratches her chin with a front hoof, then hums with interest before saying, “Maybe you’re right, Mormon.”  She then puts the hoof down on the ground again, making a mild stamping sound, and says, “Well, in that case, let’s go to the market to see if Applejack’s there.”  And, she turns and gallops off in that direction.

My character runs to keep up with the pink angel pony past Carousel Boutique, and into the park.  And, on the way through there, I can’t help noticing Twilight Sparkle lying on her side on the bench, stroking her tail.  So, I have my character slow down to a stop.

Pinkie, evidently noticing that my character isn’t following her anymore, slows to a stop as well, then turns to my character, or so I assume, and asks, “Mormon, what’re you stopping for?”

As my character focuses on the pink angel pony, I answer, “I just noticed Twilight on the bench over there.  I wonder if something’s wrong with her.”  Actually, considering this chapter is based on the episode “Lesson Zero,” I know there is something wrong.  I even know what it is.

In the mean time, Pinkie turns to the bench and sees the bearer of magic there.  She then turns back to my character and says, “Well, if you want to invite Twilight to our picnic, then go right ahead.  But, we need to see if Applejack is at the market place so we can ask her if we can use her kitchen.”

At this point, the thought occurs to me that Applejack isn’t in the town center after all, and that she’s back at Sweet Apple Acres, probably building a new barn.  Still, I say, “You go on ahead.  I’ll go see if I can help Twilight.”

Pinkie Pie nods and soldier-salutes, then says, “Yes, sir,” then turns and gallops off toward Ponyville’s market place.

Taking my words as orders, my character walks off across the field and approaches the purple unicorn on the bench.

As my character approaches Twilight, I hear her say, “It’s fine.  It’ll all be fine.  The day isn’t over yet.”  She then jumps up to a human-style sitting position and, looking at the sun, growls, “But it will be soon!”

Evidently she doesn’t expect to hear me ask, “Twilight, is everything alright?”

She yells, then turns to see my character behind her.  After that, she sighs before saying, “Oh, hi, Mormon.  I didn’t see you there.  Is there something I can help you with?”

I have my character sit next to her, and I say, “I was about to ask you that question.”

Twilight drops to a canine-style position and sighs again before saying, “Well, unless you have a friendship problem that only I can solve, no, I don’t think so.”

I honestly answer, "I don't have any.  I just saw you on the bench here, and it looked to me like you might have a problem."  I then ask, "So, what's your problem?"

For a few seconds, Twilight just looks up at my character, and I can see her eyes vibrate.  Then, she whimpers, “Well, Mormon, you see, Princess Celestia assigned me to write letters to her from here, about lessons I’ve learned about friendship, on a daily basis.  And, I’ve been able to send her those letters because I’ve always been able to learn something new about friendship.”  She then looks down again and slowly draws circles with with a front hoof on the bench as she continues, “It’s just that, well, this time, I haven’t had anything to write to her about because, well, I haven’t learned anything new about friendship.”

She sniffles once before continuing, “I tried visiting Carousel Boutique because I heard Rarity scream.  Turns out she was just missing a ribbon, which she found next to a chair at her dressing table.  I asked if there was anything else I could do, and all she had for me was to retrieve a measuring tape.

“I went to visit Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres, because I saw Rainbow Dash destroying her barn; and, honestly, I thought she was angry with her.  But, as it turns out, Rainbow Dash was destroying an old barn because Applejack asked her to so she could build a new one.

“I thought I could help Fluttershy overcome a fear because I knew she had plenty of those.  Then, I saw her wrestling a bear.”

Remembering that part of the episode, I theorize aloud, “It was more likely that she was giving the bear a deep-tissue massage.”

At my theory, Twilight looks confused as she asks, “A deep-tissue massage?  With those moves?”

I answer, “I’ve never taken care of a bear, and I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to watch Fluttershy take care of one; so, I can only guess what was going on.  All I know is that not all creatures can be handled the exact same way.

“At any rate, are you sure it requires you solving a friendship problem to learn a friendship lesson?”

Now, Twilight sighs as she collapses into full-rest mode, except she rests her head on the forelimb farthest away from my character, so she’s facing away from him.  She whimpers, “I don’t know what else to do.  If I don’t learn anything new about friendship, then I won’t have anything to write to the princess.  And, if I don’t have anything to write by the end of the day, then I’ll be tardy.  And, if I’m tardy, Princess Celestia’s gonna send me back to magic kindergarten.  And then, I’ll have a bunch of foals laughing at me.”  At this point, she starts quietly sobbing.

I happen to see, from the top edge of my character’s periphery, Pinkie Pie approaching.  So, I have my character wave her closer as I say to Twilight, “Well, maybe you should write to Princess Celestia about your plight.”

The purple unicorn looks up at my character and whimpers, “Wh-what—do—you—mean?”

I answer, “You’re scared about being late in sending a letter to Princess Celestia.  So, why not write to her about that?  Let her know that you don’t feel like you’ve learned anything new about friendship, and you’re afraid of what’s going to happen to you now.  Write to her what your fears are.  Maybe she can help you.”

I watch, through my character’s eyes, as the look of fear on Twilight’s face intensifies; and she says, “Oh, I don’t know.  What if she doesn’t understand?  Can I take that chance?”  She then rests her head between her front hooves as she adds, “And, besides, what if I do learn something new after the letter is sent?”

At this point, I see Pinkie enter my character’s periphery and gently tap the purple unicorn on the head, next to her horn, and say, “Now, listen, Twilight.”  Then, as the bearer of magic looks up at the bearer of laughter, she continues, “Mormon’s given me advice, and he’s never steered me wrong.  And, now he’s giving you advice.  I think you should take it.”

I add, “And, besides, has Princess Celestia ever said that you couldn’t send more than one letter?”

Twilight looks up at my character again, then sniffles before she says, “No.  No, she hasn’t.”

I open my mouth to speak, but Pinkie beats me to it, saying, “Well, then, there you have it.  You go write that letter to the princess, and see what happens.  You’ll see.  After all, she’s ruled over Equestria for a thousand years.  And, you’re her star pupil.  If she doesn’t understand pony behavior, or, for that matter, your behavior, by now, then she hasn’t been much of a ruler or a teacher.”

For the time the pink angel pony’s been talking, Twilight’s been watching her, evidently listening to what she's been saying.  When Pinkie finishes, Twilight nods, sighs, and says, “Thanks, Pinkie.  I guess you’re right.”  When the purple unicorn looks up at my character, she’s smiling as she says, “Well, I guess I better get to writing that letter.  And, you know what, I think I may have learned something new about friendship after all.  Thanks, Mormon.”  And, with that, she rises to all fours, jumps over Pinkie onto the ground, and gallops off to the library.

After human and angel pony watch the purple unicorn gallop out of the park, I hear the angel pony ask, “So, Mormon, did you remember to invite Twilight to the picnic?”

I realize that I haven’t.  So, I shake my head and answer, “I’m sorry, Pinkie.  I was too busy helping her solve her problem.”

Pinkie sighs, then says, “Well, let’s head over to Sweet Apple Acres.  Hopefully, Applejack’s finished building that new barn, and she’ll be able to lend us her kitchen so we can make those treats for the picnic.”

I respond, “I suppose we could check there first.  And, if Applejack is still busy, then we could just go back to my house and make the treats there.”

Pinkie hums with interest and taps her chin with a front hoof, then says, “You know, you may be right.  Lyra and Weed Whacker could help, and maybe Derpy and Topsy Turvy, too.”

I ask, “So, shall we go to Sweet Apple Acres first?”

The pink angel pony nods her head vigorously and answers, “Yeah, let’s do that.”  And, with that, she bounces in the direction of the road to the Everfree forest, and my character rises and jogs to keep up with her.

Maybe ten or so minutes later, the human and the angel pony are at the entrance to the Apples’ ranch.

As the two pass the entrance, Pinkie stops bouncing and looks up at my character, or so I assume since he’s looking ahead, and asks, “So, Mormon, where do you think Applejack is right now?”

My character focuses on the pink angel pony, and I can see that indeed she’s looking up at him.  I answer, “Well, do you remember a few days ago when you were about to stuff that cupcake in your eye on that rock outcropping?”

Pinkie’s first vocalization makes me think it’s both a groan and a sigh.  She then answers, “Yeah, I remember.  What about it?”

I answer, “Near that outcropping was an old barn, one that was just barely standing.  I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the one Rainbow Dash was destroying.”

Now, Pinkie perks up as she concludes, “And, you think she might still be there, either cleaning up or building a new barn.”

I nod and answer, “That’s right.”

Pinkie continues, “And, I remember exactly where it is!”  She then goes back to bouncing as she says, “So, Mormy, let’s get going!”  And, she heads off in that direction, behind the barn where her friends had thrown her the birthday party.

Being ahead of my character, Pinkie is the first to see Applejack.  She confirms this by calling out her name, then asking, “Could Mormon and I borrow your kitchen?”

I’m just barely able to see the orange earth mare past Pinkie as I hear her say, “Well, howdy, Pinkie Pie, Mormon.”  As my character gets closer, I can see Applejack scratch behind her neck with a front hoof as she answers, “Well, Ah don’t know.  Ya see, Granny’s in the kitchen makin’ pies, and Applebloom an’ her friends are a-helpin’.  So, ah don’t think they have anymore room in there for you and Mormon.  Ah’m sorry, Pinkie.”  And, from the way she’s holding her hat right now, I’d say she’s sincere.

Pinkie Pie seems to melt a little before she says, “Well, alright then.”  She perks up again when she asks, “Well, do you think you could make some cider for a picnic I’m planning?  Vinyl’s friends just moved away, so I’m planning a party for her to let her know she has other friends besides Drum Roll, Lotta Pipes, and Sweet Tones.  And, you’re invited to come, too.”

Applejack smiles as she says, “Well, that’s mighty kind of ya, Pinkie.  Sure, Ah’ll be there.  Ah just need to get this mess cleaned up, and Ah have a few apples that Ah can make into cider.  Ah assume it’s in the park?”

Pinkie smiles and nods as she answers, “You know it.”

Applejack nods and says, “Well, then, Ah’ll be there.”  And, she returns to cleaning up the evident ruins of the old barn.

The pink angel mare turns to my character while I say, “Well, we’ve got that taken care of at least.  Now, let’s go back to my place, and we’ll make those cupcakes.”

Smiling, Pinkie replies, “Sure.  And, on the way to your house, we can stop off at Fluttershy’s cottage and invite her.”

I state, “Sounds good to me.”

And, with that, Pinkie Pie bounces ahead of my character, who maintains a brisk pace to keep up with her.

A few minutes later, the angel pony and the human are at the yellow pegasa’s front door.

Pinkie Pie knocks with a front hoof, then takes a step back away from the door.

Maybe a second or two later, the top half of the door opens, revealing Fluttershy.

Presently, Pinkie Pie hops into the air; then Diane spreads her wings and starts flapping them, so that Pinkie hovers that way.  In that position, Pinkamena asks, “Fluttershy, would you come to a picnic we’re having in the park?”

I see the beginning of a smile on the yellow pegasa’s face as she nods and says, “Well, I’d be happy to go.  I just need to take care of the rest of my critters, and then I can come.”

Pinkie Pie hugs her yellow pegasa friend as she says, “Oh, there’s no big hurry.  Mormon and I have to make some cupcakes at his house first, and then we’ll be ready.”

Just then, I see Rainbow Dash seeming to push Fluttershy out of the way before she asks, “Wait, what’s this about a picnic?”  And, she looks eager.

Pinkie had separated herself from Fluttershy just in time so she wouldn’t get hurt.  She answers the blue pegasa, “Well, you see, Vinyl’s friends just moved out, and she’s really upset about it.  So, I thought we could have a picnic party to cheer her up.  So, do you wanna come along?”

This time, it’s Rainbow Dash hugging Pinkie Pie as she shouts, “Ah, yes-yes-yes-yes-yes!”  She then pulls away as she says, “Y’know I’m always up for one of your parties.”

Pinkie Pie hugs Rainbow Dash in return as she screams, “Excellent!”  She then separates from the blue pegasa, turns to my character, and says, “Well, Mormon, let’s get going then.  We gotta get those cupcakes made.”  And, with that, she bounces one hundred eighty degrees, then bounces down the path to the bridge.

Before I allow my character to follow the pink angel pony, I have him wave to the two pegasae; and I say, “Well, see you at the picnic, then.”  And, as my character follows Pinkie Pie to and across the bridge, I hear the farewells from the two pegasae.

Maybe twenty minutes later, the human and the angel pony are back at my character’s house.

As the two enter the house, I hear sniffing sounds coming from Pinkie Pie.  And, at the same time, a message box appears on the bottom of the screen, reading, “The scent of fruit-flavored pastries fills the air.”

Then, I hear Pinkie Pie hum happily and say, “Smells like muffins.”

Knowing what that must mean, human and angel mare share looks, then Pinkie Pie leads the way to the kitchen.

Once in there, I see, through my character’s eyes, the gray pegasa staring into the window of the oven.  Before she turns to Pinkie and my character, I can see she’s wearing a chef’s hat.  But, it’s only after she turns to the two in the kitchen doorway that I can clearly see that she’s also wearing a white apron tied around her neck.  And, as she waves, she calls out, “Hi, Mormon, Pinkie Pie!  You caught me making muffins!”

Well, clearly Pinkie Pie called it.  But, one question’s running through my mind.  I ask, “Where did you get the flour?”

Ataahua continues to smile at the human and the angel pony as she answers, “I went out and got some of those oats I saw growing in your grain field, and Topsy Turvy turned them into flour.”  She then stops waving and puts the hoof down as she tilts her head and asks, “So, why are you here?”

Pinkie takes a step toward her and answers, “Well, it’s for Vinyl, back in Ponyville.  You see, her three friends, Drum Roll, Lotta Pipes, and Sweet Tones just moved out, and she’s really upset about it.  So, I thought I’d have a party to cheer her up; but, Sugar Cube Corner is closed so the Cakes can take inventory of their stock; and Applejack’s getting ready to build a new barn to replace the one that Rainbow Dash knocked down because Applejack asked her to; so we’re left with Mormon’s house here where we can make cupcakes for the picnic party.”

Ataahua seems dazed from the flood of Pinkie Pie’s information.  But, she shakes herself out, then asks, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

I ask, “How are you at making cupcakes?”

Slowly, the gray pegasa answers, “I … only make muffins.”

I hum with interest, then think aloud, “Well, there’s nothing wrong with variety.”

And, that’s when I hear Pinkie Pie giggle before she asks, “Who ever heard of having muffins for anything other than breakfast?”  And, she giggles some more.

As my character turns to the pink angel pony, I answer, “I don’t see what the problem is.  After all, I’ve had pancakes for dinner.”

This just makes Pinkie Pie laugh even more, and even harder.  And, she punctuates her bouts of laughter with snorts.

I have my character turn back to Ataahua, and I say, “As far as I know, there are going to be the element bearers, me, Vinyl, and Octavia showing up to the picnic.  Would you like to come with us?”

The gray pegasa perks up and shouts, “Oh, yeah, I’d love to!”  She then calms down a little as she asks, “Can Topsy Turvy come with, too?”

I nod and answer, “Sure.”  I then have my character turn to the pink angel pony, and I ask, “Pinkie, will you invite Lyra and Weed Whacker?”

Presently, Pinkie stops laughing and rolls onto her hooves.  Smiling, she answers, “Sure, Mormy!”  And, with that, she gallops off toward the room that Lyra and Weed Whacker share.

From where my character is, it isn’t difficult to hear the pink angel pony ask the pale-green unicorn and the dinosaur if they’d like to join her, her friends, and me at the picnic, and the two readily accept.  My character turns to show me, through his eyes, Pinkie, leading Lyra and Weed Whacker back to the kitchen, and explaining to them the purpose for the picnic.

In the mean time, I hear the kitchen door open again, and Ataahua apparently explaining to Topsy Turvy that Pinkie and I have planned a picnic for some reason, and that the element bearers are going to be there.

At this point, I know that Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Vinyl, Octavia, Lyra, Weed Whacker, Ataahua, Topsy Turvy, and I are going to be at the picnic.  And, while it is assumed, I’m not entirely sure if Twilight Sparkle and Rarity are going to be there.  I’m sure that, if one of the other three doesn’t invite them, Pinkie Pie will be sure to.  Either way, I’ll go by faith that they’ll show up, and that Twilight’ll bring Spike with her.  At any rate, that equates to enough refreshments for fourteen, including two dragons and one human.  Of course, there’s the possibility that the princesses will also show up.

As my thoughts wander to that last possibility, I hear Pinkie Pie shout, “Sixteen cupcakes!”

I add, having my character focus again on the gray pegasa, “And, let’s add sixteen muffins to that.”

After a second or two, I hear Pinkie Pie say, “You’re really serious about that, aren’t you?”

My character focuses automatically on the angel pony, showing me, through his eyes, the skeptical look on her face.

I shrug and answer, “I don’t see why not.”

By the back-and-forth twitching of her eyes, I can tell that Pinkie’s thinking about my answer, and, I’m guessing, the prospect of having both cupcakes and muffins at a picnic.  After a few seconds, she smiles up at my character and says, “Okie dokie lokie!”

Presently, Topsy Turvy says, “I’ll go get some more oats from your grain field.”  And, with that, she turns and exits the kitchen.  A second or two later, I hear the front door open and close.

Lyra follows behind her, saying, “I should probably get some fruits from your vineyard, as well.”

Noting that the earth pony and the unicorn have chosen to harvest in different fields, I have to wonder if this is going to set a precedent.  Up until now, no one has been doing anything with the grain field, even though it is available.  If Topsy Turvy takes it on herself to harvest grain for breakfast and dinner, and Ataahua prepares pastries from it, most likely muffins, that’ll certainly add variety to what these characters are going to eat.  All in all, this could turn out better than I’d originally planned.

Being lost in these thoughts, I get a surprise when I hear the kitchen door open, and my character turns to show me Topsy Turvy with stalks of oats in her mouth, followed by Lyra supporting various berries in her magic.

Once she enters the kitchen, Topsy Turvy removes the kernels of oats from their stalks, then literally pulverizes them, using magic that earth ponies aren’t normally known for having.  She then uses that magic to separate the powder into two piles, one of which she floats over to Pinkie Pie, and the other to Ataahua.  The process takes only a few seconds, and leaves both ponies with equal amounts to work with.

In the mean time, with Weed Whacker’s help, Lyra cleans and dries the berries she picked from the vineyard.

I find the process, already in motion, so fascinating that I almost don’t hear Pinkie Pie asking me, “Uh, Mormon, will you help me?”

My character immediately focuses on the pink angel pony, and it takes a second for me to register what she just asked.  When it does, I answer, “Oh, sure, Pinkie.  What do you need help with?”

Pinkie takes a moment to giggle, then asks, “Will you get me a bowl and a cup of water?”

I answer, “Sure."  I then ask, “Do you want both filled with water, or just the cup?”

Again Pinkie giggles before answering, “Just the cup.”

I smile as I allow my character to follow Pinkie’s directions.

In the mean time, Lyra has Weed Whacker assist Ataahua and Topsy Turvy, while she helps me and Pinkie Pie.

With our combined forces, the pastries take not much more than an hour, I estimate, to complete, resulting in sixteen cupcakes and sixteen muffins.

I then take a moment to step out of the game and prepare two boxes, one for the muffins, and one for the cupcakes.

After that, when I re-enter the game, the boxes, as I’ve planned, are found on the coffee table in the dining room.

Lyra supports the pastries with her magic as my character takes charge of the door, opening it ahead of her, then closing it behind him, since he’s the last to leave.  Lyra then uses her magic to float the cupcakes into one box, then close it, then float the muffins into the other box, which she also closes.

Then, Pinkie Pie brings up a good point:  “You know, we have all these cupcakes, and no frosting to go on them.”

Lyra freezes for a moment, then sighs and says, “That is a problem.”

I wonder aloud, “Well, once we’re in Ponyville, maybe we could stop off at a store and get either some frosting or the ingredients for it.  If all we can get are the ingredients, then, once we’re at the picnic, the ingredients can be put together and applied to the cupcakes on the spot.  If we can get the frosting, then it can just be put on the cupcakes.”

I think I hear a slight growl to Pinkie’s voice when she says, “Mormon, I prefer to have fresh frosting, not something that’s already made.”  My character’s already turning to her as she continues, “As long as I have the ingredients, I’ll make my own frosting.”  I’m not sure, but I think I see a slight glare in the pink angel pony’s eyes.

I nod and respond, “Well, alright then.  No problem.”

Pinkie nods in return and smiles as she says, “I know where we can find the ingredients for the best frosting.  So, let’s go.”  And, with three ponies, one dinosaur, and one human following her, Lyra carrying one box in her magic, and my character carrying the other box, the pink angel pony leads the way out of the house, across the lawn, out of the gate, and into and through the Everfree forest.

And, of course, my character closes doors and the gate behind the group.

By the time the group has made it to Fluttershy’s cottage, just outside the forest proper, my character has caught up to Pinkie Pie.  And, I’m guessing that Fluttershy’s going to be the source, in some way, of the ingredients, or at least some of them, for the frosting.

The pink angel pony knocks on the door, then moves back to avoid the opening of the top part of it.

The yellow pegasa, on seeing the group at her door, including two boxes, looks and sounds nervous as she asks, “Oh goodness, the picnic isn’t going to be here, is it?”

Pinkie Pie giggles as she answers, “No, silly.  We just came here because we need some ingredients for frosting for the cupcakes.”

Evidently relieved, Fluttershy sighs, “Oh, good.”  She then opens the lower part of the door and, moving aside and gesturing to the group, says, “Please, come on in.”  And, in her normally timid voice, she adds, “That is, if you don’t mind.”  Then, as the last of the group enters, the yellow pegasa asks, “So, what do you need?”

Pinkie answers, “Well, just the ingredients for frosting: milk, sugar, maybe some eggs, and some coloring.”

As she leads the way into her kitchen, Fluttershy says, “Well, my chickens laid a fresh batch of eggs this morning.  As for the other ingredients, well, I’ll have to check.”

As Fluttershy ambles to her refrigerator to check for the ingredients, Lyra and my character put the boxes on the table in the middle of the room.

I must admit, I’m pleasantly surprised when the yellow pegasa produces the ingredients Pinkie asked for in just a few seconds.

When Fluttershy gets to the table and places on it all the ingredients Pinkie asked for, she asks, “Are you going to be making the frosting here?”

Pinkie shakes her head, then answers, “Actually, we’ve decided we’re going to make the frosting at the picnic, and put it on the cupcakes there.”

I can see the worried look on the yellow pegasa’s face as she says, “Oh, I hope this’ll be enough.  After all, you’ve got two boxes there, and I’d hate for you to run out of frosting.”

Pinkie points to each of the ingredients with a front hoof, evidently counting them, then scratches her chin with that hoof as she says, “Nah, this should be enough.”  She then puts the hoof down again as she adds, “You see, one box has cupcakes in it.  The other one has muffins.”

Presently, I hear Ataahua add, “The muffins were my idea.”

Probably not hearing the gray pegasa, Fluttershy says, “Well, if you’re sure this is going to be enough, then alright.  We should be heading to the picnic site anyway.”

Pinkie smiles as she says, “Yeah, you’re probably right about that.  So, let’s get going.”  And, with that, she grabs the container of milk in her mouth, then turns to the kitchen door, and marches toward it.

Fluttershy follows, holding the eggs in her forelimbs.

Lyra and my character are next, each holding a box of pastries.

Topsy Turvy takes the sugar, and Weed Whacker takes the food coloring.

Ataahua, the only one in the group unoccupied, gallops ahead of Pinkie Pie and grabs the doorknob in her mouth and pulls it open.

Each of the others thanks the gray pegasa as they make their way out of the front door; then, after closing the door behind her, she flies to catch up to the rest of the group.

A few minutes later, the group, now including Fluttershy, has entered the park and picked out a spot for the picinc.

I have my character focus on the pink angel pony; and I ask, “Pinkie, you wanna invite Vinyl and Octavia, and maybe Twilight and Rarity, to the picinic?”

Pinkie smiles back at my character, at me, and answers, “Sure.”  She takes a step or two away before turning back and asking, “Uh, don’t you wanna come with me?”

I answer, “I was thinking I’d stay here and help set up the picnic.”

Pinkie smiles again as she says, “Oh.  Well, alright then.  I’ll go invite Vinyl, Octy, Twily, and Rarity, and be back as soon as I can.”  And, with that, she turns ahead of her and gallops out of the park again.

I’m really not surprised that, by the time my character, Lyra, Weed Whacker, Ataahua, Topsy Turvy, and Fluttershy have finished setting the picnic up, Pinkie and the friends she went to invite are there with her.  And, I notice that the box my character carried to the picnic was the one with the muffins.  The box that Lyra carried was the one with the cupcakes.

And, that’s not all.  Following close behind Pinkie and her party of six, which includes Spike, are Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

As soon as Pinkie arrives at the site, she gathers the ingredients she’d requested and starts making the frosting for the cupcakes.

In the mean time, I hear hoof-falls approach my character, who turns to show me, through his eyes, Twilight Sparkle approaching him.  She stops maybe a yard from him and, crossing one forelimb in front of the other and looking down, says, “So, uh, Mormon, I followed your advice and wrote a letter to Princess Celestia about what I was going through.”

I have my character kneel down in front of her, and I ask, “And, what happened?”

The purple unicorn looks up at my character and answers, “Well, I haven’t gotten word back yet, so it’s too early to tell.  But, since I haven’t been sent back to magic kindergarten, I can only assume that things are going better than I thought they would.”  She starts to smile as she adds, “But, your talk with me earlier, on that bench, helped me.  I think I actually did learn something new about friendship.”

just then, I notice a flash of light behind my character, and I hear Princess Celestia’s voice say, “Mormon, it was very kind of you to come to my faithful student’s aid the way you did.”

My character automatically turns to the white princess as she speaks.  When she’s finished, I respond, “I figured it was something I could do to help.  Besides, it was part of my training as a missionary.”

The white alicorn smiles at my character as she says, “It’s nice to know that messengers of your beliefs are trained to care.”  She then turns to her student and says, “Twilight, you did well in taking Mormon’s advice.  I suppose I have neglected to remember your burden.  It is certainly one that you shouldn’t have to bear alone.”  I’m guessing she divides her attention among all the element bearers as she continues, “And, for that reason, I have an assignment for all of you.”  She focuses on my character as she adds, “And, that includes you, Mormon.”

Five ponies and I vocalize in invitation.

Princess Celestia continues, “I’d like you to write to me about any lessons you learn about friendship, but only when you learn any lesson.”  Again she focuses on my character as she adds, “Mormon, go ahead and run on Lyra any experiments you believe will help her advance, the way you helped Pinkie Pie advance.  And, if they so desire, you may run such experiments on Derpy Hooves and Topsy Turvy as well.”

Hearing this, the gray pegasa and the pink earth mare leap and cheer.

The daytime princess takes a moment to chuckle before concluding, “And, I want updates on their progress.”

I reply, “I’ll be sure to put them in my letters to you.”

Then, Topsy Turvy approaches the nighttime alicorn and asks, “Uh, Princess Luna, would it be alright if I come a few hours earlier so I can clean up my daddy before midnight?”

Princess Luna seems to find this question as encouraging as I’m finding it.  She answers, “Sure, Topsy Turvy.  When would you like to come?”

Topsy Turvy stands like a human as she holds the joint of one forelimb with the other and rubs her chin with the first front hoof, then hums in uncertainty.  She then turns to Pinkie, who’s mixing the ingredients for the frosting, and asks, “Uh, do you know when you normally have dinner?”

The pink angel pony snorts, not in anger or anything similar, but in thought.  She continues mixing the frosting as she says, “You know, I hadn’t really thought about it.”  She then turns to my character and asks, “Mormon, would you have any idea when we have dinner?”

I answer, “It seems to me it’s generally between nine and ten o’clock.”

Topsy Turvy nods, then goes back to rubbing her chin with a front hoof.  After another second, she turns to Princess Luna and asks, “Would you come at ten o’clock to pick me and Mormon up so I can take care of daddy?”

Princess Luna smiles as she answers, “Sure, Topsy Turvy, no problem.”

Pinkie drops the stick(?) she was using to stir the frosting, then waves the hoof she was using to stir and calls out, “Oh, oh, can I come with too?”

My character focuses on the pink angel pony, and I answer, “Sure, Pinkie.  You can come, too.”

Pinkie responds by tossing the bowl into the air and shouting, “Woohoo!”  Then, realizing what she did, she grimaces for a moment, then raises her hooves into the air long enough to catch the bowl again.

I can only attribute it to video game physics that everything that had been in the bowl before remains in the bowl when it lands, right-side up, in Pinkie’s hooves, and the contents of the bowl don't change at all.

Pinkie puts the bowl back in her lap, sighs with relief, then sings, “Sorry.”  And, she goes back to stirring.

All laugh, except for Vinyl, who just smiles.  And, by the time the laughter subsides, Pinkie seems to be ready to apply the frosting to the cupcakes.

Twilight sees this.  So, she approaches the pink angel pony and asks, “So, Pinkie, can I help you with that?”

I have my character reach out and put a hand on the purple unicorn’s shoulder, and I state, “Now, Twilight, I’m sure Pinkie knows how to put frosting on cupcakes.”

I then hear Pinkie say, “It’s alright, Mormon.  I could use a little help with the frosting.”

I have my character remove his hand from Twilight’s shoulder, and I say, “Well, in that case, go for it.  Do you think you could divide the frosting into sixteen portions and apply each one to a cupcake?”

Free of my character’s hand, the purple unicorn approaches her pink angel pony friend and says, “Sure, it shouldn’t be a problem.”  She then closes her eyes and concentrates, using her magic to raise the contents of the bowl into the air.

I’m sure there isn’t one creature there that isn’t fascinated by what looks like a pink cloud convulsing above the bowl.  In fact, I’m not even surprised at seeing Pinkie Pie try to stick her mouth under it, no doubt in hopes of getting to drink more chocolate milk.

At any rate, after a few seconds of this type of activity in the cloud, it breaks up into sixteen equal portions, which take shape and each land on one of the cupcakes in the one box.  By the time Twilight’s finished, the cupcakes look the same, each having what reminds me of a pink bowel movement or strawberry ice cream swirl on it.

Suddenly I’m aware of the pink angel pony glaring at my character, at me.  While I have no intentions of speaking my thoughts about Twilight’s artwork, still, Pinkie’s making it clear that she knows what I’m thinking.

But, just because she knows doesn’t mean anyone else knows.

I hear Applejack ask, “Uh, Pinkie Pie, are you alright?”

Pinkie’s glare toward me melts away before she turns to her orange friend, sighs, and says, “Yeah, I’m fine.”  She then turns to the princesses, smiles, and asks, “Would you like to join us at this picnic?”

I hear Princess Celestia smile back as she answers, “We’d be honored.”  As my character turns his focus on the white alicorn, she continues, “But, first, let’s have our scripture reading.”

At this point, Octavia steps forward and asks, “Uh, might I join in?”

My character focuses on the gray earth mare; and I answer, “Sure, no problem.”

I then hear Pinkie Pie ask, “Anypony else need to get their books?”

Topsy Turvy answers, “I have mine,” and a copy of the Book of Mormon immediately appears over her head.

Ataahua seems to melt in her place as she slowly says, “Uh, I, uh, … didn’t bring mine.”

Then, Topsy Turvy says, “That’s alright.”  Then, as one more copy appears over the pink earth mare’s head, she adds, “I’ve got it for you.”

The gray pegasa looks up and sees the book, then jumps up and grabs it, hugging it as she descends again.  She then turns to her pink earth pony friend, hugs her, and sighs, “Thanks, Topsy Turvy.”

Before Pinkie can say anymore, and it looks like she’s ready to, I hear Octavia say, “Well, Vinyl and I need to get our copies if we’re going to read with you.”  And, she grabs the blue-haired unicorn’s tail in her teeth and drags her away, evidently back to their house to retrieve their books.

After watching the two musician ponies leave the park, Princess Celestia turns to the remaining fourteen and asks, “Does anypony else need to return to her house to get her Book of Mormon?”

Rarity’s the first to approach the white alicorn and answer, “Begging your pardon, princess, but I wasn’t aware there would be a reading here.  If it’s alright with you, I should like to go back to Carousel Boutique and get my copy.”

Princess Celestia nods to her and replies, “Go right ahead.”

Next to approach her is Applejack, who says, “Ah s’pose Ah should go back to Sweet Apple Acres ’n’ get mine.  Ah’ll go get it now.”

Last of all, Fluttershy approaches and says, “If it’s alright with you, I need to go to my cottage and get my own copy.”  And, she only flies off after Princess Celestia nods and voices her approval.

Pinkie, seeing the group reduced by about half, sighs, then directs the attention of the princess to the refreshments as she says, “Derpy and I made these muffins and cupcakes, and Applejack made the cider.  Once everypony’s here again, we can eat them while we read.  Is that alright, princesseseses?”

Princess Celestia chuckles, then says, “Sure, that’s no problem.”

Taking that as an invitation, Lyra uses her magic to distribute one cupcake and one muffin to each place where one reader is or was.

The first to return with her book is Rainbow Dash, followed by Fluttershy.  After that is Octavia, carrying Vinyl.  And, following close behind them is Rarity, who is followed by Applejack.

As all take their positions around the circle, Vinyl and Octavia take positions between Ataahua and Lyra, a space that had been occupied the night before by Berry Punch.

When all have settled into their places, Princess Celestia starts things off by briefly describing the events, starting at the beginning of the Book of Mosiah and ending at the end of chapter eighteen.

In the mean time, the other members of the reading group flip through the pages of their book until they find the page they're looking for.

The daytime princess then turns to the white unicorn with blue hair and asks, "Vinyl Scratch, will you begin by reading the first verse of chapter nineteen?"

Vinyl looks up at the daytime unicorn, silently shakes her head, then rests it between her front hooves.

As the blue-haired unicorn silently sighs, Octavia says, "You see, Vinyl's friends just left today, heading for Canterlot.  And, Vinyl promised she wouldn't speak again until they came back here to Ponyville."

Princess Celestia smiles at the blue-haired unicorn and says, "That's alright, Vinyl.  You don't have to read if you don't want to.  And, as for your friends, I'll make sure they aren't harmed."

I think I see the white, blue-haired unicorn start to smile before she sniffles, then sighs again.

The gray earth pony continues, "I shall read for Vinyl."  And, with that, she looks down into her book and reads, "And it came to pass that the army of the king returned, having searched in vain for the people of the Lord."  She then looks up and says, "It's fortunate that the Lord takes such good care of His people."

Ataahua then reads, "And now behold, the forces of the king were small, having been reduced, and there began to be a division among the remainder of the people."

I read, "And the lesser part began to breathe out threatenings against the king, and there began to be a great contention among them."

Topsy Turvy reads, "And now there was a man among them whose name was Gideon, and he being a strong man and an enemy to the king, therefore he drew his sword, and swore in his wrath that he would slay the king."  She then looks up and says, "I don't doubt that king Noah did something to anger this Gideon character.  I just wonder what it was."

Weed Whacker reads, "And it came to pass that he fought with the king; and when the king saw that he was about to overpower him, he fled and ran and got upon the tower which was near the temple."  She then looks up and asks, sarcastically, "Isn't it nice to hear that this king is so valiant in fighting for his people?"

Princess Luna reads, "And Gideon pursued after him and was about to get upon the tower to slay the king, and the king cast his eyes round about towards the land of Shemlon, and behold, the army of the Lamanites were within the borders of the land."

Princess Celestia reads, "And now the king cried out in the anguish of his soul, saying: Gideon, spare me, for the Lamanites are upon us, and they will destroy us; yea, they will destroy my people."

Rainbow Dash reads, "And now the king was not so much concerned about his people as he was about his own life; nevertheless, Gideon did spare his life."  Then, she looks up and says, "I'm not really all that surprised to read that king Noah was more concerned about his own welfare than that of his people.  What does surprise me is that Gideon let him go."

Pinkie Pie turns to her azure pegasa friend and responds, "Gideon was probably more interested in making sure his people survived than in killing King Noah at that point."  She then looks down into her own book and reads, "And the king commanded the people that they should flee before the Lamanites, and he himself did go before them, and they did flee into the wilderness, with their women and their children."

Twilight Sparkle reads, "And it came to pass that the Lamanites did pursue them, and did overtake them, and began to slay them."

Spike reads, "Now it came to pass that the king commanded them that all the men should leave their wives and their children, and flee before the Lamanites."  He then looks up; and I can see, through my character's eyes, the glare in his as he says, "Now, that doesn't make any sense at all.  Without any females or offspring, pretty soon Noah won't have a kingdom to rule over."

Rarity turns to the juvenile dragon and replies, "Based on this, he may not have a kingdom anyway."  She then looks down into her book and reads, "Now there were many that would not leave them, but had rather stay and perish with them.  And the rest left their wives and their children and fled."

Applejack reads, "And it came to pass that those who tarried with their wives and their children caused that their fair daughters should stand forth and plead with the Lamanites that they would not slay them."

Fluttershy reads, "And it came to pass that the Lamanites had compassion on them, for they were charmed with the beauty of their women."

Lyra reads, "Therefore the Lamanites did spare their lives, and took them captives and carried them back to the land of Nephi, and granted unto them that they might possess the land, under the conditions that they would deliver up king Noah into the hands of the Lamanites, and deliver up their property, even one half of all they possessed, one half of their gold, and their silver, and all their precious things, and thus they should pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites from year to year."

At this point, Fluttershy interrupts and says, "Well, at least those Nephites are still alive."

Octavia turns to the white, blue-haired unicorn and asks, "Vinyl, are you sure you won't read?"  When she gets no answer, she looks down into her book and reads, "And now there was one of the sons of the king among those that were taken captive, whose name was Limhi."

Ataahua reads, "And now Limhi was desirous that his father should not be destroyed; nevertheless, Limhi was not ignorant of the iniquities of his father, he himself being a just man."

I read, "And it came to pass that Gideon sent men into the wilderness secretly, to search for the king and those that were with him.  And it came to pass that they met the people in the wilderness, all save the king and his priests."

Topsy Turvy reads, "Now they had sworn in their hearts that they would return to the land of Nephi, and if their wives and their children were slain, and also those that had tarried with them, that they would seek revenge, and also perish with them."

Weed Whacker reads, "And the king commanded them that they should not return; and they were angry with the king, and caused that he should suffer, even unto death by fire."  She then grunts with interest and says, "Just like Abinadi said, King Noah's life was valued like a garment in a hot furnace.  And, he suffered the same fate that Abinadi suffered."

Princess Luna reads, "And they were about to take the priests also and put them to death, and they fled before them."

Princess Celestia reads, "And it came to pass that they were about to return to the land of Nephi, and they met the men of Gideon.  And the men of Gideon told them of all that had happened to their wives and their children; and that the Lamanites had granted unto them that they might possess the land by paying a tribute to the Lamanites of one half of all they possessed."

Rainbow Dash reads, "And the people told the men of Gideon that they had slain the king, and his priests had fled from them farther into the wilderness."

Pinkie Pie reads, "And it came to pass that after they had ended the ceremony, that they returned to the land of Nephi, rejoicing, because their wives and their children were not slain; and they told Gideon what they had done to the king."

Twilight Sparkle reads, "And it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites made an oath unto them, that his people should not slay them."

Spike reads, "And also Limhi, being the son of the king, having the kingdom conferred upon him by the people, made oath unto the king of the Lamanites that his people should pay tribute unto him, even one half of all they possessed."

Rarity reads, "And it came to pass that Limhi began to establish the kingdom and to establish peace among his people."

Applejack reads, "And the king of the Lamanites set guards round about the land, that he might keep the people of Limhi in the land, that they might not depart into the wilderness; and he did support his guards out of the tribute which he did receive from the Nephites."

Fluttershy reads, "And now king Limhi did have continual peace in his kingdom for the space of two years, that the Lamanites did not molest them nor seek to destroy them."

At this point, Lyra looks up at my character and asks, "Mormon, should I start reading the next chapter?"

I nod to her and answer, "Sure, go ahead."

The pale-green unicorn nods and smiles back, then looks down into her book again and reads, "Now there was a place in Shemlon where the daughters of the Lamanites did gather themselves together to sing, and to dance, and to make themselves merry."

Octavia turns to Vinyl, searching for the chance to get a response from her.  When she finds none, she turns back to her book and reads, "And it came to pass that there was one day a small number of them gathered together to sing and to dance."

Ataahua reads, "And now the priests of king Noah, being ashamed to return to the city of Nephi, yea, and also fearing that the people would slay them, therefore they durst not return to their wives and their children."

I read, "And having tarried in the wilderness, and having discovered the daughters of the Lamanites, they laid and watched them;"

Topsy Turvy reads, "And when there were but few of them gathered together to dance, they came forth out of their secret places and took them and carried them into the wilderness; yea, twenty and four of the daughters of the Lamanites they carried into the wilderness."

Weed Whacker reads, "And it came to pass that when the Lamanites found that their daughters had been missing, they were angry with the people of Limhi, for they thought it was the people of Limhi."  Again she grunts in interest, this time saying, "I guess even bad creatures can have a good side to them.  Here, the Lamanites demonstrate that they care about their females."

Princess Luna reads, "Therefore they sent their armies forth; yea, even the king himself went before his people; and they went up to the land of Nephi to destroy the people of Limhi."

Princess Celestia reads, "And now Limhi had discovered them from the tower, even all their preparations for war did he discover; therefore he gathered his people together, and laid wait for them in the fields and in the forests."

Rainbow Dash reads, "And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had come up, that the people of Limhi began to fall upon them from their waiting places, and began to slay them."

Pinkie Pie reads, "And it came to pass that the battle became exceedingly sore, for they fought like lions for their prey."

Twilight Sparkle reads, "And it came to pass that the people of Limhi began to drive the Lamanites before them; yet they were not half so numerous as the Lamanites.  But they fought for their lives, and for their wives, and for their children; therefore they exerted themselves and like dragons did they fight."  Now, it's Twilight's turn to grunt with interest before she says, "So, at this point, it's lions versus dragons."

Spike reads, "And it came to pass that they found the king of the Lamanites among the number of their dead; yet he was not dead, having been wounded and left upon the ground, so speedy was the flight of his people."  He then chuckles a couple times before saying, "It looks like the dragons won."

Rarity reads, "And they took him and bound up his wounds, and brought him before Limhi, and said:  Behold, here is the king of the Lamanites; he having received a wound has fallen among their dead, and they have left him; and behold, we have brought him before you; and now let us slay him."

Applejack reads, "But Limhi said unto them:  Ye shall not slay him, but bring him hither that I may see him.  And they brought him.  And Limhi said unto him:  What cause have ye to come up to war against my people?  Behold, my people have not broken the oath that I made unto you; therefore, why should ye break the oath which ye made unto my people?"  She then looks up and says, "Ah reckon it makes sense that Limhi'd wanna preserve the treaty between his people and the Lamanites.  And, at the same time, it also makes sense that he'd wanna know why the Lamanites were attackin' 'em in the first place.  Ah really don't wonder why Limhi didn't want the Lamanite king to be killed."

Fluttershy reads, "And now the king said:  I have broken the oath because thy people did carry away the daughters of my people; therefore, in my anger I did cause my people to come up to war against thy people."  She then looks up, sighs, and says, "Neither the Lamanites nor the people of Limhi knew that it was the priests of Noah that had stolen the daughters of the Lamanites.  I don't suppose those priests would have come forward and confessed what they'd done, so the matter could be cleared up."

Lyra turns to the yellow pegasa and answers, "I wouldn't suppose so."  She then looks down into her book and reads, "And now Limhi had heard nothing concerning this matter; therefore he said:  I will search among my people and whosoever has done this thing shall perish.  Therefore he caused a search to be made among his people."

Octavia reads, "Now when Gideon had heard these things, he being the king’s captain, he went forth and said unto the king: I pray thee forbear, and do not search this people, and lay not this thing to their charge."  She then looks up and says, "You know, come to think of it, if Gideon didn't know for sure, he would know enough about king Noah to suspect that either he or his priests would be the type or types to abduct the daughters of the Lamanites."

Ataahua reads, "For do ye not remember the priests of thy father, whom this people sought to destroy?  And are they not in the wilderness?  And are not they the ones who have stolen the daughters of the Lamanites?"  She then turns to the gray earth mare and says, "Just like you said."

I read, "And now, behold, and tell the king of these things, that he may tell his people that they may be pacified towards us; for behold they are already preparing to come against us; and behold also there are but few of us."

Topsy Turvy reads, "And behold, they come with their numerous hosts; and except the king doth pacify them towards us we must perish."

Weed Whacker reads, "For are not the words of Abinadi fulfilled, which he prophesied against us—and all this because we would not hearken unto the words of the Lord, and turn from our iniquities?"

Princess Luna reads, "And now let us pacify the king, and we fulfil the oath which we have made unto him; for it is better that we should be in bondage than that we should lose our lives; therefore, let us put a stop to the shedding of so much blood."

Princess Celestia reads, "And now Limhi told the king all the things concerning his father, and the priests that had fled into the wilderness, and attributed the carrying away of their daughters to them."

Rainbow Dash reads, "And it came to pass that the king was pacified towards his people; and he said unto them:  Let us go forth to meet my people, without arms; and I swear unto you with an oath that my people shall not slay thy people."

Pinkie Pie reads, "And it came to pass that they followed the king, and went forth without arms to meet the Lamanites.  And it came to pass that they did meet the Lamanites; and the king of the Lamanites did bow himself down before them, and did plead in behalf of the people of Limhi."

Twilight Sparkle reads, "And when the Lamanites saw the people of Limhi, that they were without arms, they had compassion on them and were pacified towards them, and returned with their king in peace to their own land."

At this point, Pinkie PIe jumps up and shouts, "Alright, let's party!"  She then circles around to her blue-haired unicorn friend, nuzzles her, and says, "Well, Vinyl, get up.  I prepared this party just for you."

Presently, a pad of paper and a pencil suddenly appear above Vinyl, then, possessed by her magic, the pencil writes something on the pad of paper.  Then, when the pencil is finished, the pad floats over to Pinkie.

The pink angel pony reads from the pad, “I just don’t feel like partying right now.”  She then giggles as she turns to the blue-haired unicorn, then says, “Well, you won’t know for sure until you start.  Don’t you wanna be happy again?”

Vinyl’s only response is to rise to all fours, then grab her copy of the Book of Mormon in her mouth, then amble off toward the entrance of the park.

In the mean time, the pencil and pad of paper fall into Pinkie’s front hooves.

As she watches her blue-haired unicorn friend wander off, Pinkie collapses to a canine-style sitting position, but raises a front hoof and claws the air in front of her, toward her friend, and whimpers, “Vinyl?”

As the pink angel pony drops her front hoof under her again and looks down at the ground in front of her, Octavia approaches her, puts a front hoof on her shoulder, and says, “It’s alright, Pinkie.  Vinyl really does appreciate the effort you put into this party.  She just needs to get used to her friends not living here anymore.”  She then approaches the spot where Vinyl had been and proceeds to negotiate her way to picking up two cupcakes and two muffins.

That’s when Twilight approaches and, with her magic, raises the four pastries up for the gray earth mare.

Seeing the purple unicorn coming to assist her, Octavia smiles and says, “Thank you, Twilight.”

The representative of magic nods and smiles and says, “You’re welcome.  I’ll walk these home for you, and you and Vinyl can do what you want with them.”

As Twilight and Octavia follow Vinyl out of the park, Pinkie turns to my character.

For a few seconds, the pink angel pony looks at me through my character’s eyes, while I also look at her.  Eventually, I have my character reach out a hand and stroke Pinkie’s mane; and I say, “Well, you did try to cheer her up.”

Pinkie jumps into my character's arms and whimpers, “But, I should’ve succeeded!  Why didn’t it work?”

As my character automatically wraps his arms around the weeping pink angel mare, I answer, “Maybe the party came too early.  It could be that Vinyl wasn’t ready for it just yet.”

At this point, Pinkie pushes away from my character and, looking at me through him, tries to speak.  But, all she can do is stammer.

Before she can collapse onto my character’s shoulder again, I add, “This may be something Vinyl will have to deal with on her own.  Or, it may be something Octavia can help her with.  Whatever the case is, I’m sure that, when Vinyl’s ready for a party again, she’ll let you know.”

Pinkie collapses into my character’s shoulder and weeps, “I-I … worked … s-so hard … on this.”

I respond, “And, you can consider this a practice run.  Then, when Vinyl lets you know she’s ready, you can throw her another party.”

Pinkie emits a worried moan before saying, “I hope you’re right, Mormon.”

I then hear Fluttershy’s voice say, “In the mean time, if you want, I can give you one more lesson in flight.”  Then, as both the human and the angel pony turn to look at the yellow pegasa, she asks, “”Would you like that?”

Pinkie sniffles once more, then inhales, then exhales, then says, “Sure.  One more lesson.”

Taking that as encouragement, my character lets the pink angel pony go, allowing her to follow Fluttershy to another area of the park where, from what I can see, the yellow pegasa gives her lessons in taking flight from a resting position.

I watch, through my character’s eyes, as the yellow pegasa demonstrates by spreading her wings, then hopping, then flapping her wings to support herself in the air.

Then, from next to my character, I hear Ataahua’s voice say, “I’m guessing, from what Fluttershy said, that’s going to be Pinkie Pie’s last lesson?”

My character turns to the gray pegasa, and I say, “It sounds like.”

Ataahua continues, “I can teach her how to fly around objects, or how to crash into them without getting hurt, if she wants.”

The part about teaching Pinkie Pie how to crash into objects without getting hurt makes me a little suspicious, but I say, “Sure, if she wants.”

I can see Ataahua’s full-faced smile.  But, before she can vocalize her excitement, which I’m sure she’s preparing to do, I hear Princess Celestia say, “You have the beginnings of quite a diverse herd here.”  Then, as my character turns to her, she continues, “You should go ahead and allow Derpy Hooves to teach Pinkie Pie whatever she wants to learn from her.  I’m sure Derpy will be a good teacher.”

The gray pegasa nods and smiles at the daytime alicorn, then says, “Well, thank you, princess.”

The white alicorn adds, “Now, my sister and I need to be heading back to the castle.  In the mean time, let Pinkie know that we were honored to be part of this party.”  And, with that, she disappears.

My character looks around to show me, through his eyes, that Princess Luna has also disappeared.  And, further exploration of the surroundings shows that the cupcakes and muffins for them have also disappeared, suggesting that the two either ate them here, or took them with them.

Whatever the case is, it isn’t long after that Twilight Sparkle returns and joins in a conversation with Rarity and Lyra.

In the mean time, Rainbow Dash approaches my character and asks, “Do you think Pinkie Pie’ll wanna learn some lessons from me?”

I answer, “I wouldn’t be surprised.  And, you’re not the first to want to be next to teach her.”

A clearly-surprised Rainbow Dash asks, “Really?  Who else wants to teach her?”

The blue pegasa seems even more surprised when he hears Ataahua, from under her, call out, “Me!”

Rainbow Dash settles on the ground next to the gray pegasa, then asks her, “Uh, excuse me, Derpy, but what lessons do you think you could teach Pinkie Pie?”

The gray pegasa answers, looking down and drawing circles in the grass, “Well, I was thinking I could teach her how to dodge objects that might fly toward her, or be in her way, or how to crash into things without getting hurt.”

Rainbow Dash reaches out to Ataahua with a front hoof and touches her on the shoulder, drawing her attention.  Then, she says, “If anypony knows about crashing into stuff, you do.  I’m sure you can teach her how to do that without getting hurt.  Just one thing worries me, though: your eyes aren’t properly aligned.  Pinkie’s are.”

At this point, I speak up and say, “I don’t see how that makes Ataahua any worse of a teacher.”

The azure pegasa gives my character a skeptical look and responds, “Since you’re a human, you probably wouldn’t understand.”

I respond, “If ponies are so different from humans that one pony wouldn’t be able to learn from another because they’re not exactly the same, then you’re probably right; and I wouldn’t understand.”

Rainbow Dash’s skeptical look morphs into confusion, and she further communicates that confusion with a grunt.

I continue, “I’m fully aware that Pinkie Pie isn’t perfect.  And, neither is Ataahua.  I just don’t think Ataahua’s imperfect vision is going to be that big of an obstacle to Pinkie Pie learning the lessons that Ataahua is offering her.”

Just then, from behind my character, I hear Pinkie Pie’s voice cheerfully ask, “Offering me what, Mormy?”

Well, it’s good to hear that Fluttershy’s last flying lesson cheered the pink angel pony up.

In the mean time, Ataahua answers, “Rainbow Dash doesn’t think I’ll be able to teach you because of my eyes.”

I can hear the skepticism in the pink angel pony’s voice as she innocently asks, “Uh, Rainbow Dash, why do you think Ataahua’s going to be teaching me with her eyes?”

At Pinkie’s question, Ataahua starts to giggle; and I must admit I’m having trouble taking the mental image seriously.

Rainbow Dash answers, “I’m not talking about Derpy teaching you with her eyes.  I’m just worried that she’s going to get herself, or you, hurt while she’s trying to teach you, well, whatever it is she wants to teach you about flying.”

I decide to speak up now, as I state, “From what I’ve heard from Ataahua, she thinks she can teach Pinkie how to dodge flying or hovering objects, and how to crash into such objects without getting hurt.  My guess is she wouldn’t be offering to teach those things if she didn’t already know how to do them.  Or, at least wasn’t willing to learn them for herself.”

The azure pegasa stammers and him-haws for a minute or two.  Eventually, she sighs in defeat, then says, “Alright.  If Pinkie Pie wants to learn those lessons from you, then you can go ahead and teach them."

Having that permission from Rainbow Dash, Ataahua jumps into and hugs her, repeatedly thanking her.

It takes maybe another minute or two for the azure pegasa to separate herself from the excited gray one.  But, when she finally does, she says, “Alright, alright, alright!  Just ask Pinkie Pie first.”

The smiling pegasa closes her eyes and nods vigorously, then turns to the pink angel pony and asks, “Pinkie, do you want me to teach you how to dodge flying or floating objects, and how to crash into stuff without getting hurt?”

Pinkie seems somewhat nervous as she answers, “Uh, I guess?”

Excited over the pink angel pony’s answer, Ataahua leaps around her, continuously shouting, “Yes!”

Pinkie Pie, in the mean time, starts to relax and giggles while watching the excited gray pegasa.

In the mean time, I hear Rainbow Dash, next to my character, say, “I hope those two know what they’re getting themselves into.”

My character focuses on the azure pegasa.  But, before I can answer her, I hear Twilight’s voice ask, “Uh, where are princesses Celestia and Luna?”

My character focuses on the purple unicorn, and I answer, “They had to return to Canterlot.”

Twilight sighs before saying, “I hoped they could stay longer so I could visit with them.”

Just then, I hear Pinkie Pie say, “You know, Nightmare Night’s tomorrow.  We should be getting home so we can rest up for then.”

Twilight turns to her pink friend and says, “You’re right, Pinkie.  Let’s finish these refreshments, then we’ll head back to our homes.”

The only response of agreement is the remaining ponies, as well as the dragons and the human, claiming the remaining refreshments to finish them off.  After that, the ponies, dragons, and human say their farewells and head off to their places of residence.

I must say, I’m pleasantly surprised that my character and his group arrive at his house before the sun goes down and is replaced by the moon.

At any rate, the group disperses to their chosen areas: Pinkie and my character to the orchard, Lyra to the vineyard, Ataahua and Weed Whacker to the vegetable garden, and Topsy Turvy to the grain field.

While she and my character harvest fruits from the trees, Pinkie and I talk about Vinyl and how long it’ll take for her to adjust to a Ponyville without her friends, as well as the other changes made to Ponyville after Discord’s attack.  And, when the group gathers on the front porch again, my character opens the front door to allow the ponies and Weed Whacker in, then closes the door behind him.

In the mean time, Pinkie Pie leads the group to the kitchen, holding the door open for them until my character, the last in line, enters, then closes the door behind her.

With the help of Pinkie and Topsy Turvy, Ataahua makes muffins from some of the berries that Lyra harvested, while the pale-green unicorn, as well as Weed Whacker and my character, prepare the rest of the fruits, and the vegetables, for dinner.  Then, when all the food is ready and placed on a platter, the group enters the front room and takes positions on the couches around the coffee table to eat.

It takes maybe half an hour for the party of six to finish off the fruits, vegetables, and muffins, after which they join forces in the cleanup.

Then, as the group finishes cleaning up, I hear a knock on the door.

Topsy Turvy pauses for a moment, then gallops toward the door.  She makes it clear who is on the other side of the door by shouting out, “Princess Luna!”

I hear, from the other side of the open door, the nighttime alicorn’s voice say happily, “Hello, Topsy Turvy.  Are you ready to take care of your father?”

It’s all I can do to keep from laughing as I watch the earth pony jump up and down and repeatedly shout, “Yes!”  I’d say it’s at the rate of four or five “Yes”es per leap.

Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, demonstrates that she has no such inhibitions.

In the mean time, the voice of the nighttime princess continues, “Well, then, whoever is coming with you, you need to gather on the front lawn; and I’ll teleport you to the statue.”

I’m not surprised that Pinkie and I join Topsy Turvy and Princess Luna outside.  But, I am surprised to find Ataahua, Lyra, and Weed Whacker also joining the group.  I must admit, I’m curious: If either of the princesses really did exist, would either of them, on their own, be able to teleport themselves and half a dozen others over such a great distance?

Again, in one frame, the group goes from the lawn in front of my character’s house to the lawn in front of Discord’s statue.

Then, as Topsy Turvy accepts the cleaning equipment from Grounds Keeper, I’m aware that Luna isn’t the only princess outside.  He focuses automatically on the other alicorn present, showing me Princess Celestia next to him.

I start, then say, “Oh, hi, Princess Celestia.  How are you this evening?”

The daytime princess chuckles for a moment, then says, smiling, “I’m fine.  I just thought I’d come out here and get your report while Topsy Turvy’s keeping Discord.”

Curious, I ask, “Does this mean the written reports won’t be necessary any more?”

Princess Celestia pauses for a moment, then says, “I should have no problems remembering your report.  I can document it later.”

I take her answer as affirmation, and I say, “Well, I suppose the first thing I have to report is it was an honor to help your student, Twilight Sparkle, solve her problem.”

The white princess starts to walk away from my character, but turns to him and says, “If you will follow me, you can continue to give me your report.”  To the rest of the group, she adds, “The rest of you can stay here.  We won’t be long.”

I hear Topsy Turvy start to sing Michael McClain’s ‘Be That Friend’ as my character follows the daytime alicorn toward, then into, the hedge maze; and, once inside and past the first turn, Princess Celestia stops, then turns to my character and says, “Now, start with Pinkie’s friend Vinyl, and tell me about why she wasn’t speaking, wasn’t willing to read with us.”

I nod, then talk about how Vinyl’s friends, Drum Roll, Lotta Pipes, and Sweet Tones had been tortured by Discord the night before, and how they’d decided they didn’t want to live in Ponyville anymore.  I recite that Vinyl had promised that if she couldn’t convince her musician friends to stay in Ponyville, she wouldn’t say anything more until they returned.  I state that it’s likely to take some time for Vinyl to get used to her friends not living so close to her anymore.

When Princess Celestia asks about how I helped Twilight, I answer that, when I found her on a bench in the Ponyville park, she was lying on her side, stroking her tail.  She muttered to herself when I approached; and, when I asked, she talked about her fear of not getting a letter written on time, that she said she was afraid she’d be tardy and be sent back to magic kindergarten.  I talk about how I suggested that her next letter be about this matter that was troubling her so much, suggesting that her mentor would be more understanding than she was expecting her to be.  I add that I was evidently right about it.

The daytime alicorn then asks about my progress with Lyra, and I respond by saying that, thus far, she’s been great in the vineyard, and has otherwise proven helpful on various occasions.  Then, Princess Celestia makes her point clearer by asking how close Lyra is to earning her wings or earth pony powers.

At first, I’m not sure how to answer, and I say as much.  I don't say this to Princess Celestia, but I programmed Pinkie Pie to gain wings or a horn depending on if the gamer teaches her to buck apples or not.  If the gamer does, then, after successfully caring for her to the end of the season-one episodes, Pinkie Pie, or more specifically Diane, earns her wings.  Otherwise, by that point, Pinkamena earns her horn.  I do tell Princess Celestia about Lyra, that since she’s a unicorn, she doesn’t need to earn her horn; she already has one.  But, learning how to work with plants may be earning her enough skill so she could be ready to gain earth pony powers, and she could become a terra-corn.  In the end, I state that Lyra’s tending the vineyard, harvesting fruits from there, could lead to her getting earth pony powers sooner than I might expect.

Finally, I wonder aloud what I can do to help Derpy Hooves to earn her horn, as she’s expressed to me she wants.

To this, Princess Celestia pauses and hums for a moment or two.  Turning to my character again, she answers that perhaps her student, Twilight Sparkle, could help with that; that if Derpy is willing to take up chemistry or something similar, then that could go a ways toward her earning her horn.

On the subject of Topsy Turvy, I have nothing to report, considering I really don’t know how to help her.  I state that I don’t know what she might want to become, and that she seems happy to take care of her father while he’s a statue.  I suppose I’ll have to ask her about that.

As for Weed Whacker, the daytime princess and I talk about her evident physical growth and her service to me to date.  Thus far, other than reminding me to write letters on a regular basis, she proved most useful to me when Rarity was in trouble with the diamond dogs and needed to be rescued.  And, even then, it seemed that the representative of generosity had made herself such a burden on the diamond dogs that they were more than willing to be rid of her.  Still, on that occasion, Weed Whacker was helpful to the rest of the element bearers, as well as Lyra and myself, in providing a strategy for getting past their pit traps.

Satisfied with my report, the daytime princess leads my character back out of the hedge maze and back to the rest of the group, just in time for Topsy Turvy to finish cleaning and singing to Discord.

When the pink earth mare returns the cleaning equipment to Grounds Keeper, then returns to the main group, Princess Luna teleports the group back to my character’s house, then teleports herself back to Canterlot.

On the way back into the house, I inform Weed Whacker that I delivered my report to Princess Celestia while she and I were walking through the hedge maze; and that I don’t have to write it this time.

With that much covered, the group, once inside the house, splits up and heads to their rooms; and my character, once in his room, retires to his bed.

It's been one whole day again, and already Ataahua and Topsy Turvy have made their contributions to life here.  As long as Ataahua is serious about becoming an alicorn for the right reasons, I’m willing to help her with that.  And, honestly, I do wonder how close Lyra is to gaining earth pony magic.  I’m sure all four ponies living with my character will be able to help each other advance toward becoming alicorns.  And, I look forward to it.  I just wonder, what can I do to help Topsy Turvy advance toward becoming an alicorn?

Well, whatever the case is, until the game’s tomorrow, I save and close it.