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

A changeling flew past the grass of Ponyville and stopped right in front of the large steps leading towards the big double doors of the Castle of Friendship as it shimmered under the bright sunlight.
Then, the doors swung open.
Pinkie Pie was smiling at the changeling.
"Hi!" she said, waving her hoof. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for Princess Twilight Sparkle," the changeling said.
"Oh, you should've gotten here earlier!" Pinkie said. "She already went away for some trip with the other Princesses to the Dragon Lands! You know, getting all friendly with Ember and all the other dragons there, spreading the magic of friendship to the dragons, all while having a great time there! It's a very royal duty! We should've been with her—I would like to be with some of the dragons there! Also, did you try some of the sofas from Davenport?! Or, what about the cherries of Dodge Junction? We could always have some nice discussions about the cherries of Dodge Junction! Or, maybe you want something else? What about you tell me what you want? Or, you can let me keep guessing what you want?"
"Uh, that's a lot of information, Pinkie," the changeling said.
"There's never too much information for a friend of Twilight Sparkle!" Pinkie yelled. "I can attest to that! I have read some of the books Twilight has and they have lots of information! Do you like books?"
"Yes," he said.
She gasped. "Oh, wait, you already told me that! That just affirms that you still like books! You know, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash are inside! You can join in on the activities, Blue Alarm! You don't have to be watching and observing all of us from afar, you know! Why not be right there with us?!"
Blue Alarm stuttered, trying to look away from the happy Pinkie Pie. "Well, I just wanted to meet with the Princess. I didn't want to stay for the rest of the day."
"Aww, we're totally OK with you staying for the rest of the day!" Pinkie said. She waved a hoof towards the hallway of the castle. "We have books, we have food, we have drinks, we have all the amenities that you need for friendship!"
"Do you know when Twilight is coming back?" Blue Alarm asked.
"She's coming back tonight," Pinkie said. "But, you can still have lots of fun! Besides, it's morning!"
"And, what are you doing right now?"
"You mean my friends? They're talking right now at the Cutie Map, telling stories to each other. But, you want to know what would be even better?! If I taught them all how to bake a cakepie!"
"Really?"
"That's just a joke! I would never reveal the secrets of the cakepie! Now, go inside!"
Blue Alarm stepped into the castle.
Pinkie hopped alongside him as he walked, each of his steps and each of her jumps echoing through the vast hallways of the castle.
"I can show you how the Cutie Map works!" Pinkie said, her words reverberating through the hallway. "You've never seen the Cutie Map work before, and I don't know if the Cutie Map would send any of us to a friendship mission right now, but it's nice enough for me to explain it to you! Do you want?"
"Nah, I'm OK," Blue Alarm nonchalantly replied as he looked around, beholding the grandness of the hallways.
"What about we try playing hide-and-seek?!" Pinkie yelled, still hopping and jumping. "There was this time when Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and the rest of the colts and the fillies of Ponyville wanted to break the Equestria-wide hide-and-seek record for the longest hide-and-seek game, but you've got to be patient enough! They actually got too bored to break the record!" She laughed. "Can you believe it?! They got too bored trying to break a record! Anyway, that's a lesson for you! If you want to try to break a record, don't get bored! Oh, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, always getting into all sorts of novelties!"
"Did Twilight tell you anything about the Dragon Lands meeting other than what's on the news?" Blue Alarm asked.
"Of course, we're her best friends!" Pinkie said. "She really, really wanted us to come along, but Princess Celestia said that it's still very dangerous to go to the Dragon Lands! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are quite powerful, so I don't know why she wouldn't allow us to go with her! Maybe it's the leaders of Equestria first, and then we could go along, but it's a friendship event! We're the best when it comes to friendship! We're the experts, the go-to ponies for friendship!" Her voice became angrier.
"But, you understand Twilight, right?"
"Yeah, we understand her!" Pinkie said. "It's cool that she's the Princess, but she also has to attend meetings and summits every now and then! It's awesome when we do get to join her! We always give friendship lessons to the inhabitants there, whether they're ponies, griffons, dragons, and so on! And, it's always fun to party there, too! Twilight tries to have more time with us, and she usually succeeds. But, this is one of those times when she really has to go." She frowned, stopping her hopping and jumping and now just walking. She smiled. "Of course, that means that we could always have a 'Welcome Back, Twilight Sparkle!' party! I have my party cannon safe in the castle, ready for the moment that Twilight comes back, and then all of us will be like, 'Welcome Back, Twilight Sparkle! We hope you had a great time with the dragons at the Dragon Lands! We even brought you some gifts!' And, we really did bring her some gifts! They're secrets, so don't tell anypony if I do tell you what's inside the boxes!"
"OK," Blue Alarm said.
"And, we're here!" Pinkie yelled.
They stood in front of a large double door.
She pushed the doors open.
The Cutie Map and the chairs around them glimmered. The five ponies were sitting around, chatting to each other. Then, they looked at Pinkie.
"You're back!" Starlight said, sitting on Twilight's chair. "And, a changeling, also!"
"And, why are you here?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I wanted to just meet Twilight," Blue Alarm said. "Then, Pinkie told me that she wasn't here. So, she suggested that I just, well, spend the day with you and have fun."
"Well, you've come to the right place!" Rainbow said, flying towards the ceiling. "We're the Elements of Harmony, and we have the best friendships ever in all of Equestria! You're going to having th best friendship time ever with us! Oh, there's also Starlight." She gestured towards Starlight who waved a shy hoof at Blue Alarm.
"And, darling," Rarity added, "we could start with hearing what you would think is a fun activity that would bond us together?"
"Books," Blue Alarm bluntly said.
The ponies around him looked at him. They blinked.
"Daring Do?!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
"Wouldn't that be too fast-paced?" Fluttershy asked.
"Ah' reckon that we let Blue Alarm be the one to decide which books he wants!" Applejack said. "Maybe we can learn why he likes those kind o' books!"
"Or, bungee jumping," Blue Alarm went on.
Then, the ponies looked at him again.
The silence in the room was there. It permeated the room as the ponies eyed the changeling with confused eyes and wondering minds.
"Or, he's suggesting that we should read books while we bungee jump!" Pinkie shouted, pointing at him as if to attract all the attention to the changeling. "We're going to learn and have fun!"
"Isn't learning already fun?" Starlight asked.
"I mean, action kind of fun!" Pinkie yelled in reply, jumping on to the table. "Blue Alarm will pick a book, then we're going to journey to some high place like, I don't know, the Dragon Lands?! We're going to try to read the books as we fall! Isn't that exciting?!"
"And very dangerous?" Applejack quipped. "Some of us don't even know how to bungee jump properly."
"And, I would like to quietly opt out," Fluttershy said before she slowly walked away from the table.
"Not so fast, Fluttershy!" Pinkie shouted.
She ran to her and grabbed her and placed her back on to her chair.
Fluttershy was trembling.
"Honestly, I've never tried bungee jumping before," Blue Alarm said. "I know Scootaloo has some talent in it, but I'm not sure if I should go ask her to help me try it."
"OK," Rarity spoke, "what about we try something less dangerous and risky and more peaceful and relaxed? Like going to the spa?"
"I don't want to go to the spa."
Rarity gasped, her face showing her expression of dismay and of puzzled bewidlerment, almost about to faint since her hoof was now right above her forehead.
"Ya' need yer' faintin' couch?" Applejack asked.
"No, no!" Rarity said, straightening herself up and recovering from almost falling off her chair. "I am not that overly-dramatic, over-the-top! Rather, I am a pony of reason, and I fully understand and comprehend the reasons why Blue Alarm may not be interested in going to such a relaxing place full of relaxing activities as a spa."
The ponies around her giggled, some of them trying to cover their laughter by covering their mouths and looking away from Rarity's piercing looks.
"Are you saying that I am not a pony of reason?" Rarity asked, frusrated and annoyed in her tone.
"OK, OK," Applejack said, her laughter fading. She turned towards Blue Alarm. "Well, any other idea?"
"What about what you want?" Blue Alarm asked. "I'm OK with doing what you would do with each other. Like, baking cakes for Pinkie, or making dresses for Rarity, or maybe seeing some of the animals in Fluttershy's house for Fluttershy."
"Or, what about that bungee jumping idea?" Rainbow asked, flying above him.
The other ponies glared at her.
"What?" Rainbow complained. "What did I do wrong?"
"Or, maybe kites for Starlight," Blue Alarm said.
Starlight became startled, her eyes becoming wide in surprise. "Wait, how did you know I like kites?"
"I've seen you before," Blue Alarm said. "You didn't notice me, but you've been flying kites sometimes. There were times when Maud was there, flying kites with you. Even Trixie was trying to fly her own kite that one time—and then it crashed, and then you and Trixie had to fix the kite, and then you laughed at each other as you fixed it, and then the kite was fixed, and then Trixie's kite flew well enough, and then you had a pretty good time together as friends."
"Alright, I didn't expect a changeling to be watching my every move!" Starlight replied, a little bit troubled.
"What about," Applejack said, "we try to just have a good time? What about we stop all this interruptin' and interjectin' and start, well, actually having fun?"
"First idea wins!" Rainbow Dash said. "Bungee jumping while reading a Daring Do book!" She raised her hoof. "Woo-hoo! I did it first!"
The other ponies glared at her again.
"Maybe reading while bungee jumping isn't a good idea," Blue Alarm said. "But, what about we try...going to the market?"
"And what do you propose that we do there?" Starlight asked. "We don't need to buy anything at the moment."
"Well, I do need to buy some ingredients for dinner," Applejack said.
"And, I need to buy some food for the animals," Fluttershy added.
"OK, it's settled, then," Blue Alarm said. "We're going to spend time at the marketplace with you."
"Wait, what about the rest of your friends?" Pinkie asked. "I know you have Red Noise, Humerus, and Neon Guard! Where are they?"
"They're at the Changeling Kingdom, helping out," he replied. "Thorax told me that I can go early since I've done some overtime work."
"Everypony!" Pinkie shouted. "Let's go!"



The marketplace was abuzz with ponies carrying bags and baskets, some of them holding or levitating lists of items to buy. The combined smells of the various foods there—the apples, the oranges, the pies, the carrots, the lettuces, the tomatoes, the broccolis, the garlic, and so on—created a mood for the marketplace, a dynamic mood that brought ponies into a place where the exchange of goods was facilitated with the aroma of foods.
There were also things other than food being sold there. There were works of craft like vases and jars and paintings and sculptures. Ponies were selling them in various ways, from the standard selling behind the stall, to the active advertising of the product to others, to the ponies passing by that the product was the best.
The ponies talked to each other as they bought what they needed and what they wanted.
Then, there was Blue Alarm and the group of ponies beside him. They talked with each other, sometimes laughing as they passed by the stalls.
Blue Alarm looked at the stalls.
There was a pony selling tomatoes. He looked haggard, tired, as could be seen by his drowsy eyes. There was nopony else at the stall—no customer.
There was a pony selling his paintings. He looked confident as he smiled at each pony passing by, gestuing towards his artistic masterpieces that portrayed beautiful landscapes in his signature style. A pony threw a bag of bits towards him and he hoofed a painting to the customer.
"So, we're going to buy some carrots for Angel," Fluttershy said, "and then we're going to buy a couple more vegetables for the rest of the animals. The usual, the normal ones."
"Starlight," Applejack said, "what yer' plannin' to buy here?"
"Oh, I'm just coming along with you," Starlight replied. She sighed. "There's not a lot of things here that interest me, to be honest." She looked at the changeling, alone walking beside them. "Uh, are you OK?"
"Yeah, I'm OK," Blue Alarm replied. "I am just being comfortable here by looking at all the ponies around me and what they're doing."
"That's nice," Starlight said. She still looked at him as he looked around, Blue Alarm observing the ponies that they passed by, both the ponies at the stalls and the ponies buying the products, the goods.



"We still have much time left!" Pinkie said in the Cutie Map room with the rest of the ponies seated at the crystal chairs, Fluttershy and Applejack tired. "We can go to the Crystal Empire! We haven't met Shining Armor and Princess Cadance for a long time!"
"We just met them yesterday!" Applejack complained.
"But, what about this changeling?" Pinkie asked, gesturing to him with exaggeration. "We need to give him the best impression ever!"
"We've already met him and his friends a few times already," Applejack said.
"Besides," Rarity added, "maybe you should go ask Blue Alarm if he wants to go the Crystal Empire. Preparing for a trip by train is not an easy task—even if you're just visiting, there are some bags to prepare."
"Yeah, says the pony who has lots of bags as her 'necessities'!" Rainbow said, rolling her eyes before laughing.
"What about a tour of the place?" Blue Alarm suggested. "I haven't seen all that this castle has. I don't know. Did you conduct any tours lately?"
"We still don't know the place rather well to give ya' a full, complete tour," Applejack said.
"It doesn't need to be a complete tour," Blue Alarm said. "Just the basics, the essentials. Or, I change my mind. A party?"
Pinkie Pie brought out her party cannon and fired it and streamers and balloons and confetti shot out of the cannon, decorating the entire room in festive decor.
The other ponies glared at Pinkie.
"What?" Pinkie said, shrugging her shoulders. "He was the one who said it!"



"Alright," Starlight said. She whistled a short tune, bringing the ponies' attention and the changeling's attention towards her. "That was quick! Using a magic spell gets you out of the trouble as easy as...pie." She giggled, looking at a furious Pinkie. "And, I'll stop my puns that are related to somepony who is not as happy with me." She smiled awkwardly.
An awkward silence filled the room.
The ponies looked at each other, exchanging glances. Some ponies shrugged at each other. One of them raised a hoof, about to say something. Then, she lowered her hoof.
The changeling joined in the awkward activity, looking at the other ponies as they looked at him.
"Are you sure this is going to be how we spend the rest of the day until Twilight comes home?" Starlight asked, breaking the silence with a concerned voice. "I'm not ready to be quiet for several more hours, just sitting here."
"Maybe we visit the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Fluttershy said.
"I don't think they'll be alright with letting all of us fit inside their small treehouse, if that's what you're suggesting," Rainbow responded.
Starlight groaned and placed her face on to the table. She raised her face, looking at the other ponies. "I don't want to just try to brainstorm a way to have fun with Blue Alarm. I thought this would be easy for you!"
"Don't you try to blame us!" Rainbow said, pointing an accusing hoof at her and taking to the air. "We're not perfect, you know!"
"Well, I expected you to be better than me when it comes to friendships!"
"Uh, can we please stop fighting?" Fluttershy said, raising a hoof slowly. "Please?"
And the two ponies looked at her and calmed down, smiling at her. Rainbow went back to her chair.
"This hasn't been much of an active day, has it?" Applejack said.
"The marketplace was quite nice," Blue Alarm said. "I saw that you were amicable with each other. That made me happy, knowing that the ponies who were with me were good friends."
"So, you had a good time here?!" Pinkie shouted.
"Still wanted to meet Twilight, though."
"Really?" Rainbow said. "After what you said, that's what you're going to end up whining about?!"
"Maybe," Blue Alarm replied. "Or, maybe not. It's just that having a good time with you doesn't mean that I have to spend the entire day with you. Maybe it's something I don't really understand yet. But, I'll just say my farewells." Then, Blue Alarm flew his way towards the door. He turned around to look at the ponies. "Thank you." He smiled.
Then, Blue Alarm left.
"That was a meaningful day with a changeling," Starlight said. She looked at the other ponies there. "Well? At least we made Blue Alarm happy, right?"



Blue Alarm flew above the streets of Ponyville. The sun was still bright, the sky was still blue. Ponies were walking around, talking to each other. There were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, helping a few colts and fillies do some activity. There was Mayor Mare, looking around, walking past the buildings and seeing the condition of her town. There was Derpy, flying through the air.
"The ponies here are friendly," Blue Alarm said. "Just like most of the ponies I've met throughout my reformed life, my changed life. It's a beautiful, creative picture that they paint together, this wonderful piece of architecture that expresses harmony. Ponyville, a place of Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, all living together as friends. I think this is a nice place for a changeling to live in—although, I still want to live in the Changeling Kingdom." He looked at a gray pony wearing a blue sweater. She was walking on the street. "The many different ponies here. Maud is here, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are here, all different ponies with different stories to tell. It's fun, it's exhilirating, it's great to be in such a town as Ponyville."
Blue Alarm smiled as he went on flying above the streets of Ponyville.