//------------------------------// // Thinking // Story: Society as We Know It // by Comma Typer //------------------------------// The changeling flew above Ponyville, looking at the buildings. He smiled as he saw the ponies play, the ponies talking, the ponies walking, the ponies dancing, the ponies laughing, the ponies sitting, the ponies eating, the ponies drinking—all of them engaged in the daily activities of their life. He placed a hoof on his chin as he pondered and thought. "What is it?" he said to himself. "I don't know what is it that they're happy about. Probably friendship—that's all they're revolving their entire lives around. It's all about being friends with everypony you can be with. Your friends here, your friends there, your friends in all the places that you go to. "The places you go to. The ponies you visit. The ponies that smile at you and you smile back. It's about the interesting experiences you have with them, I guess. The changelings—we changelings—just mulling about, or that's what we used to do, at least. It's good that Thorax brought his friends along and saved us from Chrysalis—evil creature, evil changeling that she is. Where is she? Thorax doesn't know. "What if he knows but he's not sure? That's OK—don't want to go and do something for nothing. Thorax is king now; he's ruler now. Everything's been a lot nicer since he got in charge. All of us are filled with love because we share it with both changelings and ponies and even other creatures when we come across them. All that we do, all that we say—it's just better now. "But, what about life after that? Life after the first year or so of a good changeling king, of an understanding, considerate changeling ruler? What will happen after that? Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends said that they're building and thinking about some things that both we changelings and they ponies can do together. Sign of friendship? Hopefully—most certainly, that's the case. "What are we going to do together, though? Are we going to have a friendship event together? Spread friendship to other places outside of Equestria. Just enrich our own lives and each others' lives? I don't know—I can not be certain about these things, but I can at least enjoy thinking about them, imagining them in my head. Hypothesis, hypothesis—that's what's it's all in my head, all in my mind, but I don't mind. "Should I mind about everything else, though? Is it getting there? What is that? This whole friendship thing and sharing love. There are some out there who don't want to follow Thorax—I hope that they'll get better like us, or at least we come to agreeable and OK terms." He sighed, still flying in the air. "If only we could just stay here, if only we could just talk and have a few laughs and fun times here and there, going around Equestria and enjoying all the sights that we can see and enjoying all the food that we can eat apart from love—we don't even eat love anymore. We just share love—yet, they don't. They still keep eating love, stealing love from others without those others knowing about it. It's deceptive and it's all horrible, terrible, and just bad. But, they say that's what they've been doing all this time—why change? Why change the way we live? "What if I told them that this is a better way? It doesn't matter how old the tradition or the thing is—if something is better, should we not just go for that better thing? Why keep to something good when we can get something better? Besides, stealing love is bad, even if it's a tradition that we used to hold to for so long. But, no matter how those changelings are going to talk about it, that tradition is still bad. "What is it about them? What is it about stealing love? What is it about that thing, where stealing love sounds good and feels great? Is Thorax doing a good job about addressing it? I don't know. Thorax is not doing a good job. If he is, they would have understood what he said or maybe they would have stopped all their insisting about this and that. Yet, I still think Thorax can handle the problem. "And, there's Thorax himself. Going out with Spike, going out with Starlight Glimmer and Trixie and Discord as well. Having parties here and there. Then, when he comes back, he's bringing those fun times to the kingdom with him. We all smile, we all laugh, we all enjoy the day and the night as the noise goes on, as the fun times go on. Then, when it's all over, we all enjoy the cleaning up of the kingdom—cleaning the streets, cleaning this and that. Not a single one of us minds the job since it's fun. But, what about Thorax as a changeling—not as a ruler, just as a changeling? Trying to cope with everything, that is. "What about the ponies? Have their views about us changed overtime? I see some still a little afraid of us. I can see it in the subtle movements, in the subtle expressions on their faces. I can sense something is wrong, that, for them, there's something uneasy about us, even though we're completely fine and good and kind. I understand, though. It will take some time to change that kind of view about us. But, it's nice to know that a lot of the ponies are accepting us with open hooves very quickly and very fast. There's changelings at many buildings everywhere, trying to make a living for themselves. Changelings visiting all the popular places in Equestria from Canterlot to Manehattan to Appleloosa to Ponyville, of course. Of course, Ponyville would get a lot of visitors from us changelings. Three out of four of the kingdom's heroes and heroines live there. Well, maybe two since Discord doesn't really live in Ponyville, but, even with two out of four of the kingdom's heroes and heroines, that's still two out of the heroes and heroines. Starlight Glimmer and Trixie—living in Ponyville with great lives, happy times, optimistic outlooks on life, and growing friendships with the ponies, the changelings, and the other creatures that they meet. Who wouldn't be excited to go to them if that creature is a changeling? "Then, at the end of the day, everypony, every changeling, and all the other creatures go to their beds smiling, knowing that they've had a better day because of their friends. For us, it's a better because we ended up sharing love with others—no longer do we have to use deceptive and evil tactics and strategies and other things to steal love from others. All we have to do is share love and it's all good, it's all OK, it's all fine, it's all amazing." He smiled. "And, maybe that's the life that I want to keep on having. I know that there will be times when that will come into question, but, when everything is done for the day, sharing love is better, the changelings are better, and Thorax is a nice ruler. Mabye I should go to Sugarcube Corner, meet Pinkie Pie again." Then, he headed to the bakery. He was smiling.