//------------------------------// // Ponyville Thoughts // Story: Society as We Know It // by Comma Typer //------------------------------// Under the quiet, beautiful night sky, the town of Ponyville had most of its lights on. It was still bustling with activity as ponies socialized with each other on the ground and in the buildings. And, not a few ponies were there to celebrate the return of Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends as those ponies were greeted with showers of confetti and good cheer. The ponies exchanged talks and short conversations as they walked through the streets of Ponyville, gathering up quite a crowd. The celebration and the festivity was short-lived as the ponies soon trotted or flew their way back to wherever their homes where, giving Twilight Sparkle a happy farewell as they left. And Twilight Sparkle herself trotted her way to the Castle of Friendship, having Spike in tow. In the midst of the darkness of the night, the grass and the playground equipment reflected the moonlight. The schoolhouse shone with light from the inside as a lonely cerise mare stood in front of the desk. A few books had been laid on it along with a few stacks of paper. "It was good to see the Twilight and her friends again," she said to herself, arranging the stacks of paper. "I wonder what it must've been like to do something like that, to host a friendship talk for the changelings." Then, she went on arranging the stacks of paper, checking the scores of each colt's and each filly's tests. "The class has been thinking very highly of changelings," she continued to say to herself. "If anything, that must be a good sign. Probably. What if a changeling made his way to the class for a...I don't know, Changeling Day or something?" She looked upon her work of arranging papers. "Well, that's done," she said, smiling. "And, with better-than-expected results, too! My class is growing so well!" She walked away from the table and looked at the empty chairs and tables. She closed the lights, walking out of the room. The mare took one more look at the room now darkened but embellished with the soft glow of the moon, beams of moonlight through the windows and onto the floor, the chairs, the tables, among the other things in the classroom. "I'll think about it tomorrow," she said before she locked and closed the door. The apple orchards of Sweet Apple Acres had not much in terms of a light source other than the moon above them now. However, in the distance, one could make out a faint beacon of light amidst the tall apple trees covering and shrouding it. Closer to the beacon, one could finally see where it was coming from—it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders' treehouse, now brightened by the light inside and shining through the windows and onto the outside. Inside, the three fillies were giggling. "So," Sweetie Belle began, "I think Rarity wants me to go home right about now." "But it isn't that late!" Scootaloo countered. "It's not even nine P.M.!" "Or," Apple Bloom suggested, "maybe it already is." She faced Scootaloo. "Can you check the clock?" "You mean the one we just bought?" she asked. The pegasus filly looked up and saw the clock. "It's around eight forty-five." "Well, it's close enough to nine!" Sweetie Belle declared with a forceful hoof. "You know we're just borrowing this clock, right?" Scootaloo asked. "Ah' thought it looked kinda' nice," Apple Bloom stated. "Oh, well. At least Applejack's finally back!" Scootaloo beamed. "And Rainbow Dash, too!" She gasped. "I almost forgot about Gabby and the letter and the changelings' fan club!" she shouted. "Did I tell Rainbow to tell me about it if she saw the club?!" "Ah think ya' forgot." Scootaloo turned quickly towards Sweetie Belle. "Please tell me, Sweetie Belle! Tell me that I told her to remind me and to update me about it if she saw the changelings' fan club!" "I don't remember it all," she replied. "Sorry, Scootaloo." With a huff, she sat and pouted on the floor, although there were no tears or any sign of tears. "Come on, Scootaloo, don't be upset," Sweetie Belle comforted, slowly walking towards her and then giving her a pat on the back. "It's not much to worry about," Apple Bloom added, also giving her a pat on the back. "Besides, why do you have to be sad about it if I'm already here, squirt?" a voice said. Scootaloo's face brightened up. She looked at the window. Rainbow Dash was hovering in mid-air, looking smugly and smartly at her, under the shade of the night. "I almost forgot about it, too," Rainbow Dash went on, "but then we received the craziest surprise!" Scootaloo galloped her way to the window. Rainbow gave her a hug. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked towards the hug, all while saying "Aww!" with tilted heads. Then, they let go of each other. "What was the surprise, Rainbow?!" Scootaloo excitedly asked, restless in her motion. "Did you bump into them?!" "They bumped into us, Scoots." Scootaloo's eyes opened wide. "The whole lot of them, actually," she continued, wearing an egotistic grin. "At first, I wasn't expecting to really discover such a fan club, but to see them go to us—I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't a little shocked by that." "What about the letter?!" Scootaloo told, still jittery. "What about the invitation I gave to Gabby to give to the club?!" Rainbow Dash blinked. The smile that was on her face persisted. She glanced at the other fillies there. She looked back at Scootaloo. She nodded. Scootaloo gasped again. "Yes!" she shouted, pushing her front hooves to the air while she jumped. "Our fan clubs are going to be connected! Imagine all that we can achieve together!" She hastily turned to Apple Bloom. "Apple Bloom, do you know what this means?!" "What?!" she frenziedly responded. "It means that you're going to be regularly meeting with the members of the official Pony Fan Club," Rainbow Dash explained. "And, those members are changelings who, I can say, are...very eager about us ponies, to say the least." She flew to the inside of the clubhouse. "Now, isn't that cool or what, Apple Bloom?" She scruffed her mane as the two fillies and the mare smiled. "Hey!" Sweetie Belle cried out. "What about me? Don't leave me out of this!" She quieted herself down, placing a hoof on her chin. "Wait, what am I missing again?" "Join the club, Sweetie Belle!" Rainbow Dash threw at her. "It's something only official members of the official Rainbow Dash Fan Club have knowledge about." She snickered and hid a loud laugh. In Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was sweeping the floor, mopping up whatever crumbs had been left there as ponies happily ate their desserts. She whistled, she sang while the sweeping and the cleaning went on. The customers that were there were quite pleased by the performance—both of the entertainment and of the cleaning. They were taking a small break from their eating of their food and their talking with each other as they watched Pinkie Pie whistle a beautiful and upbeat melody as crumbs were thrown and sweeped aside. Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake, meanwhile, were also smiling as they baked their cakes and their pies and their other sweet foods, sometimes taking a short glance at Pinkie before they moved on to the next step of the baking process. "How was the friendship talk, Pinkie Pie?" Diamond Tiara happily asked; her dad and mom were there at the same table with plates of tasty desserts. "It was fun!" Pinkie joyfully said. "There were so many changelings out there, and who wouldn't wanna be friends with all of them?! Of course, we didn't have enough time, but I hope we'll be back there soon!" She went back to whistling while sweeping. "You aren't hurt or anything, Pinkie?" Mr. Cake asked from behind the counter while carrying a few boxes. "Yup!" she said, giving them a smile. Mrs. Cake wiped off the sweat off her face. "You're sure you're alright, dear?" "Of course!" Then, while smiling, she went back again to sweeping while whistling. Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake looked at each other, then back at the happy sweeping Pinkie, then back at each other. They smiled. Davenport stood, wearing his formal clothes as ponies walked in and walked out, as customers eyed the beds and the sofas and the shelves of quills that filled the place. He walked to one of the customers there. "Anything you like, Bon Bon?" he asked the mare with the curly fuschia and dark blue mane. "Do you want a sofa that's big or small, cushiony or not, monotone or multi-colored, with or without installed pillows—we've got a wide variety of sofas here, so don't stop just yet!" "I just want a sofa," she replied. "You mean any sofa will do?" he asked, nervously checking the other customers there—so far, none of them were vying for his attention. "Mm-hmm." Bon Bon nodded. "Then...what about this brand new sofa?" He directed her gaze towards an orange sofa. With its neatly placed pillows and its minimalistic style, it seemed to dazzle in its place. "Eh...it's alright." Davenport smiled. "I'm sure that you'll be satisfied with this one-of-a-kind sofa!" He looked at Bon Bon. "That would be forty bits!" Bon Bon walked out to the dark outside with the streets lit up by the street lights and the building lights. There were several other ponies standing and walking, talking to each other. A mint green unicorn ran up to her. "How's the sofa purchase, Sweetie Drops?" Bon Bon hastily shushed her. The unicorn had a surprised expression on her face. It was visibly shaking in shock. "Remember!" she whispered angrily at her, moving her front hooves erratically. "Remember, Lyra, that we have to not give anypony a single hint or a single lead about us being a part of the agency!" "It's alright, Bon Bon!" she said as they continued walking. "Besides, it's better to call you by your actual name, 'Sweetie Drops.'" Bon Bon shushed her again. "As much as it's nice to call me by that, the organization requires complete secrecy!" she whispered on. "This is no joke, nor is this a laughing matter! If there is a leak of information revealing the existence of S.M.I.L.E., who knows what the ramifications of this will be?" "That more ponies can help?" Lyra asked innocently. "No!" she shouted. The ponies walking around were looking at them. Clasping a hoof over Lyra's ear, she whispered, as they walked, "Talk about something else!" Bon Bon eyed the ponies. They hurriedly went back to standing and walking and talking and eating and drinking. Bon Bon glared at Lyra as they walked. "Well, we can choose not to talk, or we can talk, Lyra, as long as we don't talk about the organization." "Alright!" she replied happily. "Then, what's there to talk about—ah! That friendship talk that Twilight hosted earlier this afternoon!" "That's better." Bon Bon relaxed and smiled. "What's there to talk about that? What lesson did she and her friends give to the changelings today? I know that this is the first friendship talk where she brought her close friends." "Yeah, close friends." Bon Bon noticed the sad face on Lyra. "What's wrong?" She quickly wore a smile. "Looking on the bright side of things, at least she's making all sorts of activities for the rest of her friends. The book club sessions at night are just the beginning! What if she invites us to a party just to get-together and to mingle and just to hang out?" "That would be great." They kept walking on. "So, isn't it kind of awkward that the changelings are good, now?" Lyra asked. Bon Bon looked puzzled. "Why do you think it's awkward? Isn't that a good thing?" "Well..." Lyra snickered. "Remember that mission when we went to Appleloosa and discovered that there were changelings there?" Bon Bon shushed her again. She covered her mouth and looked everywhere, eyeing any potential location for ponies to reasonably be there. There were a few walking on the streets, chatting with each other, not minding Bon Bon and her friend. "Didn't I just tell you about not talking about the organization?" she whispered. "Do you want a social disaster over all of Equestria if ponies everywhere knew about it?" She removed her hoof from Lyra's mouth. "Do you really understand? Will you comply?" "OK, Bon Bon!" she answered. "If the organization wasn't so uptight about it, I think we'd be better off." "The organization does what it does because some things are best kept a secret. So, let's talk about something else again." They kept on walking. "What do you think of the changelings?" Lyra asked. "Not threatening Equestria." "That's a...nice response." "That means more creatures to spread friendship to, right? It's not bad for us, it's not bad for them. Although, I'm worried about how they act towards ponies. They like us, but...I get the feeling that it's excessive." "You mean they obsess over us?" Bon Bon looked up. "I'd call it an obsession. I can see it. I bet you can see it, too, Lyra. Haven't you heard the occasional story about how some changeling just kept talking to the pony, asking and inquiring all about to no end. Then, there's the other occasional story where changelings sometimes almost mob a pony or a group of ponies. That's not just mere liking or interest. That's an obsession—and, too much of it is going to hurt both us ponies and the changeling." Lyra looked at Bon Bon. "So, anyway to reduce that side effect of obsession?" "Teach them how to be disciplined about ponies," Bon Bon replied. "Everything will stem from that. In being friends, you don't have to annoy somepony even if you don't mean to. You've got to be understanding—they've got their own personal preferences, personal likes and dislikes, and also personal standards—like, not being mobbed by changelings." "And I guess we're already excelling in that, aren't we?" Bon Bon made a short laugh. "Aren't we, best friend?" Lyra asked. "Yeah, best friend." And, they bumped each other's hoof. "So, did you buy a sofa or anything? I don't see you carrying a sofa." Lyra looked around the place. "In fact, I see nopony carrying a sofa!" "Lyra," Bon Bon said, "it's going to be arriving later. I don't think having them get the sofa to our place tonight is such a good idea." Lyra looked around again. The night, with its stars and its moon and its calm darkness, still was there, lingering with its elegant beauty and beautiful elegance in allowing the lights of Ponyville shine in that calm darkness, providing a soothing nightlife atmosphere to the town. "Yeah, I don't think it's such a good idea if they tried to deliver the sofa at night." The two ponies laughed. Surrounded by tall, dark-barked trees, a house stood alone right near a tiny hill. The dirt road that led to it wasn't the most obvious of routes but it was clear enough. The grass was lush, accommodating several bushes and even the growth of foiliage and vines covering parts of the wooden house. The house itself housed two floors. A stone chimney rose from the slanted dark green roof. A stack of timber logs and some planks rested on one of the walls. The lights inside shone onto the grass and the other plants. Inside, there was the main living room. Among the things that populated the room was a red sofa, a flowered vase, and a few pictures of peaceful, sunny sceneries. A fireplace rested there, ready with a few logs. A donkey, with an orange toupee on his head, stood in front of a window, looking out to the night sky and its nightly enivronment that it had brought onto Equestria. The chirping of the birds and the occasional hoot of the owl complemented the restful mood of the hour. Crickets, also, were chirping, although none of them could be seen from where he was looking. Up there in the sky was the moon shining its soft, calm radiance. "Matilda, don't you just love a peaceful night?" the donkey gruffly asked his wife walking in the room, holding a book with a hoof. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me." He smiled a little at her. Matilda, with her curly and curled mane, wearing a white simple collar adorned with a shiny stone, placed the book down on the table. "I agree, Doodle." Doodle kept looking on at the outside. He turned his head towards Matilda and his smile grew. Matilda smiled back. "I've heard that Twilight Sparkle and the rest of her friends are back from that trip to the Changeling Kingdom." "Let me guess," Doodle said, walking towards her. "It's that 'friendship talk' they've been talking about since yesterday." "I gathered that they had a pretty good time there, mingling with the changelings," Matilda stated. She positioned and repositioned the wooden chair in front of the table. "And, I'm sure the changelings had an equally good time with the ponies." A silence passed between them. "Any thoughts about it, Doodle?" she asked, giving him a precious smile. He looked back out the window. "I think it's good." Matilda giggled. Inside the Castle of Friendship, Starlight Glimmer flipped through the pages of a book that threatenend to ruin the table it was on by the sheer volume of pages contained within, yet the unicorn had a smile on her face as her eyes went over the words and the sentences. The wide doors to the library opened. "Oh, Twilight!" she greeted happily, even waving a hoof at her. "Yeah, it's me," Twilight replied, walking her way to Starlight's table. "How was the friendship talk?" she asked. "Any fun and good for the changelings?" Twilight took a seat. "It was fun and good like the previous ones. Too bad you didn't want to join." "Nah." She closed the book in front of her. "I just didn't want to be overwhelmed by all the attention that you and your friends seemed to be getting over there. Looks like my suspicion was proven correct, after all!" She gave the Princess a boastful smirk, then reverted it back to a simple smile. "It's not like I missed anything significant. We've got copies and recordings of all the friendship lessons we've learned so far in this library!" "It's one thing to know a friendship lesson," Twilight began, "and it's another thing to actually live that friendship lesson out. And, how would you know the friendship lesson to start with if you just keep it safe inside a shelf without actually reading it?" "Yeah..." She tapped a hoof on her chin. "A good point." "So, how's your day, Starlight?" Twilight asked. "Oh, the usual! I did my errands, bought a couple of things at the marketplace, managed to be friendly to everypony that I met." "Did you learn anything new about friendship?" "Well, not really." "Hmm..." Twilight glanced at the book and then looked back at Starlight who was smiling. "Just remember that, when it comes to friendship lessons, don't, uh, try to actively look for them. Friendship lessons usually come up in the course of daily life. Maybe, tomorrow, you might find a friendship lesson when you go buy a cake from Pinkie Pie or when you buy a dress from Rarity or when you decide to compete against Rainbow Dash at a race—actually, I don't know why you would wanna do that, but maybe you might." Twilight gave her an awkward smile. "I might," Starlight said. "Who knows? Maybe I might end up becoming the first unicorn to create a sonic rainboom." She gave Twilight a smirk. "Now, let's not get carried away—this is Rainbow Dash we're talking about here." "Thank ya'!" the light amber stallion yelled at Big McIntosh as he carried a small bag of apples. As he walked away from the apple stall and through the marketplace, the stallion dusted off his brown hat (which had an image of an apple protruding from it) and hastily grabbed an apple from the bag, biting it with his two big front teeth. Eating noisily, loudly, and hurriedly, he walked on through the lit-up streets of Ponyville. Then, he bumped into somepony. He looked up. "Princess Luna?!" he shouted. "R-royalty!" He bowed down humbly, lowering himself to the ground. "I-it's a surprise to see ya' out here in the middle of the night!" "It is not yet the middle of the night, Half Baked Apple," Luna calmly replied. "However, I do understand if it is a surprise to see me suddenly when you didn't expect such a meeting. I have arrived here in Ponyville merely to visit and to see my ponies revel in the night before they go off and slumber." "Uh, OK, then!" Half Baked Apple said as he shakily stood up. "I have heard the news that Twilight Sparkle has returned from her Changeling Kingdom friendship talk," Luna said. "Have you seen her?" "No, uh, Princess!" he answered. "Ah' was just visitin' to see the sights mahself' and maybe buy some, of course, apples!" "Hmm." Luna looked down happily on the upbeat Apple family member. "Have you attended one of these friendship talks, if I may ask?" "Yeah, sure Ah did!" he said, happily nodding his head up and down. "It's a great big doozy of an event—actually, Ah got here from the Changelin' Kingdom right after the talk finished up an' all!" Luna had a slightly surprised look on her face. "And, then, there was all this lecturin' an' speechin', but what Ah was excited 'bout the most was all the free talkin' that went on. Well, Ah was just here for the treats an' the food, but, I bet if ya' wer' there, ya'd be pretty pleased to see all the changelins' there enjoyin' the moment!" The Princess of the Night considered the pony in front of him, his face displaying an honest excitement. "I did not anticipate your being there, since, as far as I know, not many ponies desire to be there other than those who have been selected to host alongside Twilight." "Just admirin' the land and its inhabitants, Princess!" He took a clumsy yet homely bow, looking up with wide open eyes and his two big front teeth. "Ah'll try to enjoy the rest o' the night!" "Then, Half Baked Apple," Luna said, "I am pleased to know first-hoof of your eagerness of my beautifully-crafted night." She smiled. "Good night, Princess Luna!" Then, Half Baked Apple trotted his merry way through Ponyville.