Ocelli held the pictures on his hooves.
There was one where the changeling and Starlight Glimmer smiled in front of the rushing waterfall, water crashing to the river, making a continuous splash as gems and other shiny rocks twinkled in the background, dotting the picture with a colorful glow which made some slight colorings on the faces of the changeling and the ponies there. And, there was Maud—standing still, looking at the camera, her face standing out for being ordinarily neutral and blank. Yet, Starlight wrapped a hoof around her—and so did Ocelli.
A tear splashed down on the picture. "That's friendship, isn't it?" he said as he took the picture away from his sight, into the bag, and looked on at the quiet town of Ponyville where a few pegasi were seen flying and hovering above the cottages and moving several clouds above. "This place seems quite ideal for some nice photography shots."
A blue changeling and Bon Bon carried a couch across the street, the changeling flapping his wings, providing enough force to keep the couch in balance as Bon Bon pulled the couch.
"Tripedal," Bon Bon said, looking back at the changeling at the other end of the couch, "you must be the new guy at Davenport's?"
"Not really new," Tripedal replied, grunting as he carried the couch. "I work for whoever. Variety is the joy of the workplace, that's what some other changeling said—I didn't say it, someone else did."
"I expected a changeling like you to say it," Bon Bon said. "My friend Lyra needs this couch pronto, though! Don't know why she ordered super heavy ones!"
"Probably, so they won't get moved around a lot," Tripedal said as he carried it, sweat running down his face, grunting and groaning.
Tripedal landed on the dirt path to Ponyville.
"Ah, such a momentous place!" Ocelli expressed, holding up his camera with a hoof as he smiled towards the town. "Ponyville—a town of humble beginnings, a town of heroes and of heroines, a town that is bursting with friendship. They always said that Ponyville's ponies are the friendliest in town—Blue Alarm, Novate Spruce, Long Winded, Eucalypti, and now even Tripedal is working here! Of course, there's Compound, Phylum, Dorso, and there's so many more to list down!" He sighed. "And, why did I delay my first time to Ponyville to now?"
"Today's a good day as any day, mister!" a colt yelled.
Ocelli looked at the small colt. He was holding a few pieces of paper in his mouth.
"Take one!" the colt said.
"Alright," Ocelli responded as he took one with a hoof.
He opened the piece of paper.
Inside was a colorful picture of Ponyville and the words in big and bold type, "Ponyville: Town of Friendship!"
"Even the camera ponies here are talented!" Ocelli exclaimed. "There's ponies here that must know more than just the basic rules of photography—soon, I will be moving very quickly in the ladder of Equestria's camera creatures!"
"Uh, you came here for photography lessons?" the colt asked.
"No, I didn't! I came here to place my photography skills on display—my expert skills, pony!"
"My name's Pipsqueak," the colt said. "And, I'm also the class president of our school here!"
"Your camera school?"
"No, just a school."
"You mean, for colts and fillies?"
Pipsqueak nodded.
"That's alright," Ocelli said. "At least you're the president of your class—everypony looks up to you. Just like how all of us changelings look up to Thorax!"
"Uh, like that!" Pipsqueak said, hesitating.
"Thanks for the warm introduction, Pipsqueak," Ocelli said. "But, I must now go!"
Then, the changeling flew off, going inside Ponyville proper.
The colt waved a hoof towards the fleeing changeling.
Tripedal wiped the sweat off of his face while Bon Bon pulled the couch inside the cottage in front of them; the door was open and the inside could be seen—a decent house with lots of wooden furniture and modern design. The windows that were open let in a lot of sunlight, brightening a room to a colorful degree as it let out the full range of colors that were inside the room.
"Thanks a lot, Tripedal!" Bon Bon said, waving a hoof at him.
The changeling saluted. "It's for a good cause."
Bon Bon giggled and placed her hoof on her mouth as she did so. "You don't need to be so formal, Tripedal! It's like you're serving in the Royal Guard or something."
"Whoops." Tripedal smiled awkwardly at the laughing mare.
"Well, your job's done." She sat down on the couch. "I don't know if I or Lyra will be seeing you again soon since you basically move here and there throughout Equestria for a new kind of job. But, we travel sometimes—maybe we can get to see you again wherever we meet."
Tripedal walked away. "Thanks for the time, Bon Bon!"
Bon Bon waved at the walking changeling.
Ocelli rushed here and took a picture of the cottage. Then, he rushed over there and took a picture of a few ponies sitting around a table. Then, he rushed to another place and took a picture of a fountain. Then, he rushed to yet another place and took a picture of the pegasi working with the clouds. Then, he flew over to another spot to take a picture of a tree. Then, he flew to another position to take a picture of the river. Then, he hovered to a bakery and took a picture of it. He flew up to the door, placed a hoof right in front of it, then knocked on the door.
The door was quickly swung open as Pinkie Pie grabbed the changeling and his camera and took a picture of him and placed the camera right back on his head. "Amazing!" the pink pony yelled. "Is your camera instant or is it one of those new ones where the pictures can develop anytime you want? I've never heard of a pony coming in with that camera, though, but now I have a changeling who has a camera like that! My dad also has a camera, but it's an old, traditional kind of camera complete with a stand and also this kind of cloth where you have to cover like half your body just to take a good shot of the picture—but, I've never seen you before, which means only one thing, changeling!"
"Can you slow down?" Ocelli said, grinning. "I...I've never been introduced to ponies like you in such a very fast way."
"Slow down, you say?" Pinkie said. "Don't worry—I was talking about your welcome party!"
And she brough out her party cannon, fired it, and the entire interior of the bakery was filled with streamers, balloons, and confetti as happy party music played in the background. The ponies who were eating inside took a few moments to look at the instant party and smiled.
"So, do you want me to sing you a song to welcome you to Ponyville?!" Pinkie shouted.
"Uh, I just wanted to just take a few pictures here."
"A few pictures, you say?" Pinkie said. Then, she gasped. "Oh, no! How could I've forgotten? I didn't even ask your name! So, let me ask you your name!"
Ocelli shifted his eyes here and there, looking at the ponies who were now looking at him. "Uh, my name's Ocelli." He smiled.
"Ocelli!" Pinkie yelled. Then, she hugged the changeling. "We're going to have such a fun time! I can take you through the entire Ponyville tour! You brought your camera, didn't you?" She held the camera with her hoof. "Now, you're going to get more than you asked for, because you're going to have the complete tour! We're not just going around in Ponyville—oh, we're not! We're going for all the places you want to go to, Ocelli!"
Ocelli gasped. "Really?!"
Pinkie nodded. "And, I've already thrown a party for a changeling friend of yours—his name was Tripedal, wasn't it?"
Ocelli gasped again. "What?!"
"Aww, you better stop shouting like that!" Pinkie demanded. "You're going to disturb the ponies' eating time! Now, off we go!"
Then, she bounced out of the bakery, Sugarcube Corner, with Ocelli in hoof. Ocelli shivered and trembled with each bounce, even whimpering a little, but Pinkie remained her happy self, leaping across.
"First, we're going to what could be the most important places of not just Ponyville but also of all Equestria!"
Tripedal flittered to the large and glittering Castle of Friendship.
He stopped at the grand white steps leading to the big and decorated double doors.
"Never been here before," Tripedal said as he looked up in awe at the rest of the considerable structure. A few pegasi were flying overhead, moving a few clouds. "To think that such a building houses one of the kindest and one of the most humble ponies in Equestria. Then again, friendship seems very important to almost all ponies." He looked back at the arrays of cottages. "Everything here is just telling me that friendship is good." He looked back at the castle. "And, here I am, about to enter a castle where the Princess of Friendship herself lives."
The changeling took in a large breath. Then, he exhaled slowly.
He stood there for a few seconds, looking at the double doors.
Then, he flapped his wings, hovered over the stairs, landed right in front of the doors, and knocked.
The double doors were quickly opened.
"Hey!" Spike said, beaming. "Another changeling! Come on in!" He beckoned with a claw.
"You're Princess Twilight Sparkle's assistant, aren't you?" Tripedal asked as he landed on to the carpet that was on the sparkling floor. "We know you more as the first ever friend of Thorax—and, I would like to thank you for what you have done for him. Look at what your friendship to him caused!" He pointed a hoof to himself, smiling.
"Eh, I get that half of the time," Spike said, gesturing with a claw. "But, you're welcome, anyway."
Spike slammed the doors.
"So, what are you doing here?" Spike asked. "Do you want to go and have a chat with Twilight, or maybe you might want to go to the library and read some books there, or do you want to have a tour of the entire castle, or—"
"Or what?" the changeling asked, inching closer to him.
"Do you want to do something cool together?" Spike asked, inching closer to him with a smug face. "Just like how I and Thorax used to go and do, and we still sometimes get together!"
"Thorax himself announces that sometimes," Tripedal said. "So, what's the cool thing to do according to you, Spike?"
"Well, I have a few things..."
"And, here we are!" Pinkie finally said, running out of breath. She pointed towards the castle they were in front of. "Do you think all that bouncing was worth it?"
"Why did we have to go all around Ponyville just to get to the castle?" Ocelli said, a little dizzy as he held his head to try to keep himself balanced. He kept his camera close to him. "I don't know, but maybe you should've known better?"
"I've lived in Ponyville for a long time!" Pinkie said. "Although, I didn't live here for all of my life—my first several years of living were on a rock farm, and that's where the rest of my family lives—I live here and Maud, my sister, lives here, and she is the best! Maud just got her rocktorate and now she's in Ponyville—well, not really Ponyville, more like Ponyville adjacent, but it's still near Ponyville so, under certain conditions, you can still call it Ponyville—but, there are also other things that are adjacent to Ponyville like the clouds sometimes, so maybe the clouds are either inside or outside Ponyville, but what about I ask you for your honest opinion on this matter, hm?"
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Ocelli asked, making a confused face. "I thought we were talking about how we should've gotten here sooner?"
"It doesn't really matter if you get here sooner or later," Pinkie replied. "What we have here that matters is each other!" Then, she hugged him, squeezing him a little. "That means that we can be friends!" She quickly ran out of the hug and extended a hoof to him. "Come on! Who doesn't want a hoofshake to signify the moment of friendship?"
"Uh, OK?"
Ocelli's hoof shook a little as he slowly brought it towards Pinkie's outstretched hoof.
Then, he shook Pinkie's hoof slowly.
And then, Pinkie hugged him again.
"Now, we're friends!" Pinkie yelled. "We can stay in touch either by letter or by letter!" She held up two pieces of paper. "They'll be delivered by one of our mailponies like Derpy! All you need to do is to pay one hundred bits for the entire letter service."
"Did I just hear that right?"
"Just kidding!" Pinkie grinned. "Now, let's get going!"
"Like I said," Spike spoke, "my real room is undergoing some renovation, and by 'renovation,' I mean it's being given a fresh coat of paint."
Spike and Tripedal sat on chairs. Around, there were posters of ponies fighting evil and crime. There were tons of comic books on the bed and even more comic books on the floor. A bowl on the table had several shiny and colorful gems. A few books were on the table.
"But, it's better than this room, right?" Tripedal asked.
Spike nodded. "And, when it's done, I'm going to move all these comic books over back to my room!"
"Don't you think you'll get tired of that?"
"I was the one who moved all the comics here, and I'm not going to complain when I move all of them again." He paused as he smiled. "Just goes to show how dedicated I am."
"That's good!" Tripedal expressed. "Although, who's painting your room now?"
"I asked Rainbow Dash to paint my room for a few bits," Spike said. "Who said that I couldn't do that, hm?"
"So, Rainbow Dash is inside your room, painting it?"
"You could say that."
Tripedal blinked. Then, he looked at the door leading out the room. "I would like to see your room."
"Applejack and Fluttershy," Twilight said, pacing around the crystal table with its map, "you're going to go to Griffonstone. It's a follow-up to the previous friendship summits we had there—just go in, check how the griffons are doing especially friendship-wise, then report to me with all your findings." Then, she levitated a bag that was filled with papers and pencils. "I guess this is more than enough to fill all your reporting needs."
"Uh, Twilight?" Applejack asked, raising a hoof.
"Yes, Applejack?"
"Are ya' sure that we're the right duo for the job?"
"It's because, well, we're not sure if we're the ponies that will do well there. Why not send Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie again like when the Map called them?"
"Well, the schedule for checking on Griffonstone must be followed," Twilight replied, "and it happens that today is the day for checking on Griffonstone. However, Rainbow Dash is currently busy with some housework—actually, she's just painting Spike's room—and Pinkie Pie is busy throwing parties for the changelings that have been visiting Ponyville lately and I wouldn't want to disappoint the changelings or anypony for that matter when I don't have to."
"What about Rarity?" Applejack asked.
"It's hard to tell a friend who is in some important fashion business way over in Manehattan to come over to Griffonstone, especially when big names like Hoity Toity are there. Besides, Rarity might be whining all over all the things she might have missed at the fashion show."
"Alright," Applejack said. She adjusted her hat. "Let's do this!"
Fluttershy nodded.
The double doors were swung open as Pinkie Pie and Ocelli entered the room. "Hi! Look here, Twilight! I brought a friend! He's my newest friend and he's also a changeling and he also likes taking pictures with those new kinds of cameras that everypony has been talking about lately!"
The three ponies inside were looking at her with odd faces. "OK," Twilight said.
"See, this is the Map room!" Pinkie said. Then, she bounced away.
Applejack and Fluttershy looked back at Twilight.
Twilight looked back at them.
"So, are you ready?"
Applejack and Fluttershy nodded.
"Then, have a good time!"
"You too, Twilight!" Applejack yelled.
And, the two ponies were walking away.
Twilight sighed. "At least Pinkie is taking care of the changelings here."
Tripedal walked on the carpet. Spike was following him.
"The next stop is the library?" Tripedal asked. "I've heard that the library is very big and has lots of books."
"What do you expect from a pony like Twilight?" Spike said. "She loves her books."
Then, the two stopped in front of the double doors.
Spike opened the doors.
In front of the vast array of books, a pink pony and another changeling were sitting around a table.
"Pinkie?" Spike asked.
"Spike!" Pinkie yelled. "Come here! Ocelli would love to hear your stories!"
"Ocelli?" Tripedal said. He looked at the changeling at the table. "Ocelli, it is you!"
"Tripedal!" Ocelli yelled.
And the two hovered towards each other and hugged. Then, they stopped hugging.
"How's it going in Ponyville?" Ocelli said. "I haven't seen you for weeks!"
"Actually, I just arrived here a few days ago," Tripedal replied.
"I brought two friends together!" Pinkie said. "I feel like I'm going to cry!"
Spike watched the two changelings talk to each other. "I can see why, Pinkie."
And, Pinkie cried.
Spike looked at the crying pony. Then, he glanced at the two changelings.
They were happy, talking to each other. Then, they looked at Pinkie.
"Wait, is there something wrong?" Ocelli asked.
"She's just happy for you," Spike said, "that she brought you together here, and that you're now talking to each other."