//------------------------------//
// Departure 
// Story: Society as We Know It 
// by Comma Typer 
//------------------------------//

The soothing tones of the cello could be heard from outside the restaurant. Accompanying that sound was the soft piano.
The morning light penetrated the tall windows of the restaurant, casting a beautiful reflection and glow on all that could reflect and glow. The fresh and cold morning air made the scenery of the early day streets a wonderful sight—but it wouldn't be wonderful without the ponies that populate it everyday of their lives. The carraiges that wheeled through the street, carrying in them important and rich ponies as passengers, made the streets alive; the many more ponies of different sizes and of different clothes and of different tribes walked the sidewalks. 
On the sides were shops with windows with which the more glamorous ponies would look into the windows and see, in an instant, if the item or object they beheld was worthy of their money. Many shops displayed displays of wealth and prestige: there were necklaces and jewelry, there were antique books and pottery, there were suits and dresses and hats. No shop displayed a sign boasting of a discount.
The four changelings and a few pegasi flew above the sidewalk and its busy ponies. Humerus led the changelings. Several ponies pointed up at the changelings.
"So, are you sure that you'll find the restaurant?" Blue Alarm asked. "You don't even know the name of it."
"I'll know it when I see it, Alarm," Humerus said. "Just trust me. You're going to thank me when you're going to be having a buffet for breakfast!" He slurped.
The changelings flew to the left at an intersection. More buildings surrounded them. Humerus eyed here and there, looked left and right.
"Are you sure we can even afford the buffet if we get there?" Red Noise said. "We might not have enough money left, even if we followed through with Neon Guard's punishment on you."
"I'm sure we have the money." Humerus winked at Red Noise.
Red Noise groaned.
Then, the soothing tones of a cello was heard.
"That's the sound!" Humerus shouted, pointing at a distant restaurant.
Blue Alarm stared at the place as they flew closer. "Looks like a restaurant. A very fancy restaurant, Humerus." He scratched his head. "I don't know if we'll even fit there, not having any fancy clothes and all."
"We can wear our armor!"
"I don't think that's what Blue Alarm meant by 'fancy clothes,'" Neon Guard said.
Then, they were right in front of the building. The tall windows, the several floors, the height of the building itself—all of them spoke of the restaurant as a grand one.
Humerus peered through one of the windows. "Look at all those ponies eating. And look at what they're eating! It's just like in my dream!"
"If you can get in." Neon Guard pointed to the nicely dressed mare who was smiling in front of a tall desk.
"Welcome to the Fancy Buffet!" the mare said cheerfully. "Do you have a reserved table or are you just coming in?"
"I want—"
Neon Guard smacked a hoof at Humerus's mouth. "I'll handle the formal conversations, Humerus." He walked up to the desk. "Good morning, ma'am. We would like to eat here, but we want to ask for the price of a table here."
Blue Alarm gazed at his bag. He shook the bag. There was a rattle of bits.
"Oh, two hundred bits for a table of four, if that's what you're looking for." She grinned.
"Two hundred?" Neon Guard took a step back. "Two hundred bits? Are you sure you said 'two hundred bits'?"
The mare nodded. "Yes, sir. Two hundred bits for a table of four. That might sound really pricey for just a table of four, but there is much food here from different places in Equestria!" She gestured a hoof towards the place. The platform of ponies playing classical instruments producing classical music, the tables and booths of food being served by chefs working constantly, the many ponies eating here—all was seen with that gesture.
"We don't have enough money for that kind of breakfast," Blue Alarm said. He looked back at his bag.
Humerus dropped his jaw. He closed his mouth and shyed away slowly from the changelings.
Red Noise grabbed the retreating Humerus.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," Neon Guard said, "but we can't afford to eat here."
"That's understandable," the mare replied. "Our food is of the highest quality—quality isn't cheap." She grinned again.
"So, farewell, ma'am." Neon Guard turned away.
"Farewell, good sirs." The mare waved at them.



"What does the letter say, Red Noise?" Neon Guard said as they walked, grabbing a donut from his paper bag.
"Well, let's see.
"Dear Neon Guard, I hope that this letter gets to you. Due to some unexpected things that happened while you were gone, please come back here to the kingdom soon. We'll talk about the topic when you get here. From, King Thorax."
"He didn't seal his letter." Neon Guard took a bite from the donut. He swallowed the bite. "He should seal the letter so we would know immediately that it's from the King."
"He always said that he didn't like all the royalties of being a king," Blue Alarm said. "His words, not mine." He munched on his donut.
The loud whistle of train went off ahead.
The noise and the chatter of the ponies grew louder as the changelings got closer to the train station. Two tracks of rails were placed on the grass and stretched on to the plains and the hills and the mountains beyond. A train was coming in. The train looked silver and black, old but very much functional. Letting out steam and smoke with a loud whistle, the doors of the train's carriages opened. Out went more ponies with baggages, bags, and other things to carry. In went even more ponies with bagges, bags, and more things to carry. A minute and the doors closed. The train whistles again, and the train slowly accelerated past Canterlot.
The train that was still there was a train that was the opposite of the first one. It had bright colors of yellow, pink, lavender, teal, among others. The carriages looked like a string of desserts happily following a pink engine carriage.
Neon Guard pointed at the colorful train. "That's our ride."
"Who would want that for a ride?" Red Noise said.
The changelings flew to the schedule posted on the post.
"The Friendship Express leaves at eight o'clock AM for Ponyville. It leaves Ponyville at eight-twenty AM for Dodge City." Blue Alarm looked away from the schedule and to the train. "So, we'll just wait out a dozen minutes and we'll fly our way to the Changeling Kingdom."
"Maybe it's urgent," Red Noise said. "Is there a faster way?"
"The train is the fastest way with the budget we have left," Neon Guard answered.



"Comfortable in your seats?" Neon Guard asked.
Humerus nodded rapidly. "We even get to see the outside!"
"You can only see the train station," Red Noise said. "You can see the outside when we actually get out the station."
He looked away from the window.
A green carpet had been laid on the floor and through the length of the carriage. The ponies sat and slept on the beige cushioned seats divided by green, translucent dividers of a floral design; there were no tables. Lanterns, although not lit now, were on the walls. A more modern ceiling light shone. A green door was at each end of the long passenger carriage which was one among many.
The train's whistle went off. The chugs of the train grew faster as the wheels went faster. The landscape seen through the windows moved, first slowly, then at a faster pace. Then, the ornate and beautiful train station was no longer in sight. What replaced the artificial building was the natural wonder of the grass and the trees that rolled by and whizzed by. In the background, there were grand mountains with snowy peaks. In the sky, there was the sun shining upon all of them.
The scenery changed from grass and trees to the close rocky walls of the mountains. On the other side, there was a ledge. Out there, Canterlot was in the distance, its ornate structures that had appeared so large were now small again. The stretches of green land that went on for miles guarded the royal city. The city's cliffside was no longer in sight.
Then, gone were the steep mountain walls. The grass and the trees appeared again in the landscape.
Humerus held out the paper bag to Neon Guard beside him. "You want another donut?"
Neon Guard showed him a hoof. "I already had three donuts in less than ten minutes, Humerus. I think that's enough."
"Then, more for me!" Humerus threw a donut in the air.
The donut flew through the window and speeded on to the grass.
He felt a strong hoof pull the paper bag away from him. Humerus grappled the donut bag.
"I need to make sure that your punishment stays with you!" Neon Guard yelled while he brought the bag closer to him. "You have to learn your lesson the hard way!"
"But I'm hungry and I like eating!" Humerus yelled back. "Eating has been of the best things I've ever done in my life!"
Red Noise lunged at the bag and grabbed it. Humerus held on to the bag. There were moans, there were pulls—moments of victory for one side seemed to be at hoof. Then, it was pulled away back to an arbitrary center. Humerus on one side, Neon Guard and Red Noise on the other—both sides silently stared into each other and to the bag. Sweat was coming down their faces but they wouldn't let go.
"This is too much for a bag of donuts!" Blue Alarm told the struggling changelings. "You're going to wake some of the sleepers here!"
And a foal cried in the train. And another foal cried.
Blue Alarm turned his head towards the source of the sounds.
An earth pony couple gave him a dirty look while they stood. The stallion was yellow in coat, orange in mane, and wore a bowtie, a cornered cap, and an apron; three pieces of frosted cake were his cutie mark. The mare was light blue in coat, crimson in mane, and wore a yellow-pink apron. On the seat beside them were two foals crying.
"I can explain everything, Mister and Misses!" Blue Alarm said. His voice had an anxious tone. He quickly looked back at his friends still holding the paper bag, still eyeing each other with glares.
"That's Mister and Misses Cake to you, changeling!" Mrs. Cake shouted. "Don't you know how to respect others while you're in public? Now look at what you've done!" She pointed a hoof to the crying foals.
"I guess they are your foals." Blue Alarm kept his formal composure. His voice was now even more anxious in tone.
"They are our foals!" Mr. Cake joined in. "They've been sleeping well through the entire trip and then one of your kind decided to argue about donuts! You could argue about friendship problems, but donuts?!"
"There is a perfect reason for the argument, Mister and Misses Cake!" Blue Alarm replied with a shaky voice.
"And what would that reason be?" Mrs. Cake asked.
Blue Alarm looked to the changelings and the paper bag still under their hooves. He looked at the passengers around. They were all looking at the commotion right there. Some were looking at him and the Cakes. The landscape was rolling by. The sounds of the train's wheels and engine were heard. The Cakes' two foals were crying. His voice was still shaky and nervous-sounding but on his face was a smile, a grin that showed his fangs.
Mrs. Cake stepped back. Mr. Cake stood where he was.
"They're fighting over disciplining one of them because he did something wrong." Blue Alarm was smiling. He looked up to the Cakes with pleading eyes.
"And it had to be over a bag of donuts?" Mr. Cake said. "I'm not believing you."
"Well, what are you going to do?" Blue Alarm asked, still having that smile.
"Make you leave by flying off." Mr. Cake stamped a hoof on the carpet.
The door suddenly opened. Pinkie Pie gasped. "Mr. Cake, you can't let make them leave! They give me the best donuts!"
"Well, the changelings made Pound and Pumpkin cry, Pinkie."
"Then I can make them uncry!"
Pinkie ran forward. She bumped into Mr. Cake and the two fell to the ground.
The foals stopped crying. They laughed.
"Finally!" Red Noise declared, holding up the donut bag for all the passengers to see. Neon Guard was keeping Humerus away from the bag.
Pinkie Pie got up and dashed to Blue Alarm. "I'm so sorry you had to meet Mr. and Mrs. Cake in a bad mood today! At least you met Pound and Pumpkin Cake!"
"If that's OK with you, Pinkie Pie," Blue Alarm said. "Thanks for getting us out of trouble."
Pinkie rushed to the Cakes. "Don't worry about these changelings, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" She pointed to the four changelings—one ate more donuts from the donut bag, one was pushing another from flying towards the donut bag, and one just stood on the carpet, looking anxiously at the conversation. "I met them before! They're alright! The donuts told me that they're the best changelings in town!"
Mr. Cake placed a hoof on his long jaw. "And..."
"Why is that, Pinkie?" Mrs. Cake completed.
"They're preparing for their welcome party in Ponyville!"
She grabbed a cannon. It fired streamers at the changelings.
The four changelings turned to look at Pinkie.
"Wait, we're preparing for our welcome party?" Blue Alarm asked.
"Of course, silly!"
A small alligator dropped onto her head.
"And I almost forgot!" She pointed to the alligator. "This is Gummy, my pet alligator!"
The alligator stared with his big purple eyes.
"You have a pet alligator?" Red Noise asked.