Society as We Know It

by Comma Typer

Thorax's Friends

Wooden wagons and carriages filled the simple streets of Ponyville, being pulled by both changelings and pegasi both on the ground and at the sky. The buzzes of the changelings' wings resounded through the town.

Many ponies watched the changelings and the pegasi pull the wagons and the carriages. Among them were Princess Twilight Sparkle and King Thorax, standing beside each other as they saw the wonderul sight of wagons and carriages speeding by.

"Another successful delivery?" Twilight asked, turning her head towards Thorax and smiling.

"It sure is!" Thorax replied gladly, turning his head towards Twilight. He looked back at the wagons and the carriages. He pointed a hoof. "And, I think that's the last one!"

Twilight looked at where Thorax was pointing at.

There was one last wagon at the end of the group. It was now out of Ponyville.

"Now, that's going to give us changelings more than a few things to be excited about," Thorax said. "We have a surplus of food and a lot of reference books to keep every changeling updated about, well, everything! We always knew about your inventions and devices and other things that you ponies made, but it's going to be the first time that we're actually going to use them properly."

Twilight chuckled. "I'm sure those changelings are going to read those books very well! I'm already excited!"

"Giving them inspiration?" Thorax asked. "Inspiration to do some cool things on their own?"

"Why not?" Twilight gestured with a hoof, smiling. "I'm anticipating the things that the Changeling Kingdom can produce with those reference books. Maybe we can have pony and changeling researchers and scientists working together to solve the yet unsolved problems in our fields. And, what about dragon and yak and griffon researchers and scientists, too?! What discoveries are we going to discover together?"

Thorax chuckled. "That's a grand goal that you have there, Twilight."

Twilight sighed. "Of course, the most important thing of all to study and to live by is friendship."

Thorax looked around.

Ponies were already walking, most of them talking to each other.

"I have seen the many times that friendship has made my life and the lives of my friends much better," Twilight went on. "I'm sure that, with changelings travelling throughout Equestria for their own reasons, the magic of friendship will spread farther."

Twilight and Thorax walked.

"So, how's the day?" Twilight asked, looking at Thorax.

"Oh, it's alright," he replied. "It's a normal day, I guess. My friends want me to have a party back at the Changeling Kingdom, so I have that to look forward to."

"Did you invite Pinkie Pie to help?" Twilight asked. "Or, maybe you invited Cheese Sandwich? Or, maybe you invited both of them?"

"No," Thorax replied politely, slowly shaking a hoof. "I just want a simple changeling party. I don't want to say that I don't like your parties—the parties are really great—but, there are some changelings who cannot take all the excitement and the activity of a Pinkie Pie party. They're probably going to get tired very quickly."

"I understand, Thorax," she answered.

As they walked, they saw less buildings and more trees. Then, there were white fences.

"The schoolhouse!" Thorax said, looking at the building.

Twilight chuckled. "When you showed the rest of the changelings that they can indeed, uh, change, you brought a massive change to the history community of teachers in Equestria. Books had to be updated quickly. I think there was this school way over in Manehattan where they were teaching the students about the Changeling Kingdom right before the whole changelings, uh, changing thing happened. Right after, when the teacher got the news about it, he proceeded to teach the topic again—this time, with the new information that the changelings are good now."

"Well, even I didn't expect that."

"Neither did I. But, look at the changelings now. They're quite happy."

Thorax smiled. "Yeah."

And, they walked past the schoolhouse.

"Do you have problems being a Princess?" Thorax asked.

Twilight looked surprised.

"I'm not telling you that you're bad at being a Princess, Twilight," Thorax said, smiling nervously as they walked. "It's just that—did you have lots of pressure at times, being one of the Princesses of Equestria?"

"That's how it is, Thorax," Twilight replied. "There are busy days where I have to attend meetings, attend talks, sometimes go to Canterlot for a Princess meeting. However, it's not really that demanding. I still have time with my friends. We can still go to parties, we can still spend picnics together, we can still go to some far away place in Equestria like Manehattan once in a while."

"What about being one of the Elements of Harmony?" Thorax asked. "I'm sure you've gotten annoyed it recently because of some...very enthusiastic changelings."

"Oh." Twilight rolled her eyes while smiling. "Hopefully, my friends taught them a lesson about not interrupting ponies' lives just because they saved Equestria a few times."

"They're really excited about that," Thorax said, "that you saved Equestria a few times."

"I can understand that," Twilight replied, "but, we're not always saving Equestria. Most of the time, we're just being friends, not having to worry about the next threat to Equestria."

And, as they walked, there were more buildings. More ponies were walking by, talking to each other happily.

"Are you asking those questions because you're nervous, Thorax?" Twilight asked.

Thorax looked at her.

They kept on walking.

Thorax was still looking at her, now having a nervous face. "Well, maybe."

"What are you nervous about?" she asked. "Is it about ruling the Changeling Kingdom?"

"Yeah," Thorax said. "I know I've learned more than a few rules about being a ruler and I already have some experience of it worth a few months, but, to be honest with you, Twilight, I still feel like that you could do a better job at this than I could."

Twilight stopped walking.

Thorax stopped walking, too.

Twilight looked at him. "Look, Thorax. I don't think I could do a better job at ruling the Changeling Kingdom than you could. You're a changeling, I'm not. Only you can understand their needs and their wants. I could, but I would have to ask a lot of changelings and I would have to keep seeing them as they interact with each other. The Changeling Kingdom needs a changeling ruler."

Thorax looked at the sky. He faced Twilight. "OK, Twilight. I understand that." He sighed. "I hope I won't get so nervous."

"Remember that you have that changeling party later today?" Twilight asked, walking a little closer to him and smiling. "That's going to cheer you up."

Thorax smiled and nodded. "Thanks for reminding me about that, Twilight."

"So, what's next on the list?"

"Uh, that's the last one," Thorax replied. "After that, there's the changeling party but that's hours away."

"You could always spend some time with us here in Ponyville," Twilight said. "I'm sure Starlight and Trixie and Discord would be happy to know that you have some free time."

Thorax nodded. "Yeah, that would be cool!"

---

Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Discord, and Thorax were all seated around the same table in Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie was behind the counter, eyeing Discord. "You still have to pay me for having to prepare all the cakes, Discord!"

"Oh, please!" Discord replied casually. "I was not thinking right at the time." He snapped with his claw and a few cakes appeared in front of Pinkie Pie. "Maybe that will make you happy."

Pinkie gasped. Then, she munched on the cakes in front of her.

"Discord, are you sure that's a good thing?" Starlight asked. "Distracting Pinkie like that might keep her from doing her job."

"She's very fast and very good at her job, Starlight," Discord reasoned. "I don't think a few cakes is going to cause some serious damage to her work."

The four creatures looked at Pinkie.

She was still eating the cakes in front of her.

"She might get some energy out of those sugary cakes, anyway." Discord turned towards Trixie. "So, Trixie, how's the magic lessons going with Starlight as your mentor?"

"I can already do basic transfiguration spells!" Trixie declared.

Then, her horn glowed and out of her horn shot a beam of magic. The beam went straight to her plate and it turned into a teacup.

Starlight looked at Trixie, having a bored look on her face.

"Come on, Trixie!" Discord complained. "I know that you could already do that." He turned towards Starlight. "Don't you tell me that you've been slacking your magic skills lately!"

"She's still very excited about turning things into teacups," she answered.

Trixie had a giddy grin on her face.

The rest of the creatures around the table looked at her.

Trixie stopped grinning. "Oh, uh, sorry!"

"I think that's amazing!" Thorax said.

"That is amazing to you?" Discord said, looking at Thorax. "I can do that while I multi-task!"

"Of course it's easy for you, Discord," Thorax said. "You're some powerful being, after all!"

Discord placed a shoulder on the table. "Well, I'll grant you that, Thorax."

Starlight looked at Thorax. "So, Thorax. How's the Changeling Kingdom? I heard that the changelings there are having a party with you later today!"

"How did you know that, Starlight?" Thorax asked, looking astonished.

"Some changelings went by and told us about it," Trixie said. "Also, they were trying to bring us and Discord to the party. It would be nice to attend, but the Great and Powerful Trixie sometimes needs to not party. My magic skills need some improving."

"Did they annoy you and irritate you?" Thorax asked, having a serious look on his face.

"Well, honestly, no," Starlight said. "They were all excited about us being the heroines and the hero of the Changeling Kingdom."

Thorax smiled nervously. "Uh, sorry about that!"

"Don't worry, Thorax," Starlight said. "I think that's OK. Those changelings were genuinely happy about their kingdom becoming good and them becoming, well, good." She smiled nervously. She looked at Pinkie. "OK, she's still eating the cakes you gave her, Discord! What if a customer arrives here and doesn't get anything at all because Pinkie is eating your cakes?"

"OK, Starlight," Discord replied tiredly, "if you want to keep the order around here, then you could have it." He snapped with his claw and the cakes disappeared.

Pinkie was surprised. She wiped her face and hopped back to her place behind the counter. "They were delicious, Discord!" she shouted at him.

"Don't mention it, Pinkie," Discord replied, smiling at her. He looked back at Starlight. "See? Problem solved. Just a little bit of chaos here and there for your daily dose of randomness." He grinned sneakily.

"Thorax," Trixie said, "what about we go to the train station and take a trip to Dodge Junction later?"

"Uh, why, Trixie?" Thorax asked, confused. "Is there something going on in Dodge Junction?"

"Oh, there's just a few buildings in that little town. However, it's the pony settlement closest to the Changeling Kingdom. Consider it something nice from the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Discord and Starlight were looking at her.

"And, of course, her friends!" She smiled. "Meanwhile, I think we've done enough talking here! Let's go outside!"

---

"So, why Dodge Junction?" Thorax asked as they walked, passing by buildings and happy ponies who were walking and talking. "You said it yourself that there's a few buildings there. That means there's not much to do."

"There's Cherry Jubilee and her cherry farm," Trixie said. "Also, there are ponies living there."

Starlight gave Trixie a questioning look. "Yeah, so?"

"More ponies to amaze with my magic, of course!"

"It's good that you're not bringing me there," Discord said. "I mean, to your magic show. They're probably going to be a lot more amazed by me." He smiled.

"Do you think there will be changelings there?" Starlight asked. "If it's the closest pony settlement to the Changeling Kingdom, there's bound to be at least a few changelings in Dodge Junction, probably buying Cherry Jubilee's cherries."

"Actually, there's always some changelings there," Thorax answered. "They claim that the cherries are quite good, and with plenty of cherries at Dodge Junction, I'm sure that'll add to our food."

"What else do you get from Dodge Junction?" Starlight asked, looking at Thorax.

Thorax looked at Starlight and the rest of his friends as they looked at him. "Well, we also get other kinds of food. Dodge Junction has become a bit busier when the Changeling Kingdom became good. Ponies are selling more than just cherries there. I think they like the new level of activity there."

"That's something good," Discord commented. "However, do you receive any pony visitors? Or, any visitors that aren't changelings?"

"Sometimes," Thorax answered. "Most of them are ponies, but there's the occasional griffon, the occasional dragon, the occasional yak. Tourists, basically." He smiled. "We changelings like our tourists. Heh-heh-heh-heh."

"Aww, are you shy?" Starlight asked, smiling as they stopped walking.

"Uh, not that shy!"

"There's no need in denying it, Thorax," Discord said. "If you're shy, you're shy."

"Somewhat shy, but not too shy!"

"Then, maybe I should be your representative, Thorax!" Trixie declared. "I am here, ready to combat your shyness!"

"That's enough," Thorax said, smiling at his friends. "I think that's enough joking about my shyness."

"Hah!" Discord yelled. "There you go! You said it! You admitted it! You're actually shy!"

"I'm not that shy!" Thorax yelled back, still smiling and with a good-hearted tone. "It's just me being anxious, that's all."

---

"And, now, behold, the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

The curtains opened on the wooden stage. Trixie was there, wearing her signature cape and hat. Fireworks shot out into the sky as the cheers of the ponies in front of her roared.

"Settle down, students!" Cheerilee said, walking on the stage towards Trixie and looking at the audience. "We don't want to bother Trixie by giving her too much cheering!"

"Don't worry, Cheerilee!" Trixie said, facing her. "I can handle this. Actually, I like it!"

"Oh, is that the case?" Cheerilee asked. She scratched her mane. "Well, I should've known." She looked at the audience again. "So, class, enjoy Trixie's show!"

And the ponies cheered for Trixie again.

"Have you ever thought about inviting her to your kingdom, Thorax?" Discord asked as they stood on the grass, near the bulk of the audience, surrounded by ponies. "I'm sure she will amaze the changelings with her showy magic. I bet she'll like the event!"

"It's a good opportunity," Thorax said. "We changelings will like it—some of us are actually very eager to see her perform her magic tricks!"

"As long as they don't trouble her," Starlight said.

"The guards are going to make sure that they'll be under control!" Thorax assured.

"And, for my first trick!" Trixie declared.

And they looked at her.

Beside Trixie was a table. On the table was a couple of items. There was an apple, a plate, and a chair.

"My first trick is going to be somewhat different," Trixie went on, pacing the stage while eyeing the audience with that glare, "because it involves real magic."

And the ponies gasped.

"I think I know where this is going," Starlight said in a worried tone.

"I'm going to turn these objects—" Trixie pointed a hoof at the objects on the table "—into teacups!"

Starlight groaned and placed a hoof on her head.

"At least it's better than showy magic," Discord said, looking at Starlight. He looked at Thorax. "And, the changelings are just going to go crazy over it once they see it!"

"I haven't seen it myself, yet," Thorax said. "Might as well see this 'transfiguration' trick."

"Oh, don't call it a 'trick'! It's real magic, like what Trixie said!"

"So, are you ponies ready to witness the magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie?!"

And the audience roared their cheers, hollering a resounding 'Yes!' with it.

"Now, behold!"

Trixie faced the apple.

Trixie's horn glowed.

Then, out of her horn, a beam of magic.

The beam went to the apple.

The apple glowed.

Then, it was a teacup.

The teacup glowed.

Trixie levitated the teacup to the air.

The audience could see it.

"This is now a teacup, everypony!" Trixie declared.

And the audience gave her shouts and yells of approval and amazement.

"Wow!" Thorax yelled. "That's really awesome!" He looked at Starlight. "You really taught her that?!"

"Part of her magic lessons," Starlight replied with a nonchalant gesture of her hoof.

"And it's not over!" Discord said.

They looked at Trixie again.

"What about this plate?" Trixie yelled to the audience, gesturing a hoof towards the plate. "Do you think that I can turn this into a teacup, also?"

And the audience replied with a loud, noisy "Yes!"

"Now, behold!"

Trixie faced the plate.

Trixie's horn glowed.

A beam of magic went out of her horn and went to the plate.

The plate glowed.

Then, it was a teacup.

Trixie levitated the teacup to the air.

"Again, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, have accomplished this momentous task of turning an object into teacup! But, there's one more thing that I need to turn into a teacup!"

Trixie pointed at the chair.

The audience looked at the chair.

"Behold, everypony, the magical power and skill of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Her horn glowed and a beam of magic went out of her horn. The beam went to the chair.

The chair glowed.

Then, it was a teacup.

Trixie levitated that teacup to the air. Then, she levitated the other teacups on the table into the air.

"Are you now amazed, ponies?" Trixie asked, walking on the stage while she levitated the teacups, looking at the audience. "You have just witnessed only the first trick of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

And the audience cheered.

"I should spend more time with you," Thorax said, looking at Discord and then at Starlight. He smiled. "I've got a few more hours before I have to go to the changeling party. Let's say we take a trip around Ponyville and let's see what we can do together."

Starlight smiled. "That's a great idea, Thorax! I was hoping you would say that, since you're always busy with your work, you being the king of the Changeling Kingdom, right?"

"You deserved that break, anyway, Thorax," Discord said.