//------------------------------//
// Cheese Sandwich's Party in Appleloosa 
// Story: Society as We Know It 
// by Comma Typer 
//------------------------------//

Nastic tapped a hoof on the table. He sighed, holding on to his hat with the other hoof.
He watched the rush of ponies going by as they hurried towards some place. Several ponies wore frontier-style hats—big-brimmed and large. Carts being pulled from one building to another, carrying apples, pears, oranges, barrels, sacks, among others.
The changeling wiped some sweat off of his face. He looked up at the morning sun over the dry desert and its thriving town of Appleloosa.
Noise of the local inhabitants—moderately rowdy yet, over all, nice to each other with their slaps on the back of the head and their positive camaraderie.
Nastic sighed again. He let go of his hat and rested his other hoof on the table.
A blue changeling flittered by and sat on the chair beside the gray one.
"How's it going, Nastic?" Blue Alarm asked. "I didn't expect you to be here."
"Me neither," Nastic said.
Blue Alarm tilted his head a little at his friend. "I know there's something not right with you. What's wrong?"
"Just bored."
Blue Alarm simply looked at him.
"Ask me a few months ago and I would've told you that I was proactively doing something for us," Nastic said. "That we're all drowning in a sea of pony culture and that I and a few others were the only ones keeping us afloat. It was a valiant fight—maybe not much of a fight as it was a repulsion. If we could be free, then I concluded that we should be free our own way; no influence from the ponies, just us growing naturally in a good way. Yet, look at the whole situation now: We changelings are still happily adopting pony things and all the ponies don't mind. Well, most of them. I tried just relaxing, just going away from all of it and just spend time with my friends both pony and changeling."
"What happened with that?" Blue Alarm went on. "You still sound sad."
Nastic glanced away from his friend to look upon a few ponies passing by—one of them was pulling a cart filled with apples. He was smiling. "Apples on the way!" he yelled.
Then, he looked back at Blue Alarm.
"Everything is nice. Not everything, but a lot of things. I was stubborn to not believe that for some time, yet I still stand by my belief that I had some truth with what I said, with what I proclaimed. Now, I'm a changeling who just wants to stand for something yet doesn't have a thing to stand for yet."
Blue Alarm brought a hoof around Nastic's head. "We still need changelings like that, Nastic. Maybe you could go and write a book or a play or a song that would bring your views into something artistic. That way, you would be impacting others and making a good difference."
"But, what use is that if I don't have a thing to stand for?" Nastic asked, straightening himself up on his chair and gaining some sternness in his voice. "The one thing that I stood for is now disproven. We changelings do need some help in order to get on our four hooves, even with more than just friendship lessons and material aid. And, I have no idea what else is there."
"How are ya' doing?" a voice asked.
The two changelings looked at the source of the voice.
"Braeburn?" Nastic asked.
The Earth pony walked off the beaten dirt path and on to the area dotted with tables and chairs. "Ah was just stoppin' by to invite y'all to the big party!" he said. "Cheese Sandwich is gonna hold this one again! How many times has it been since he's held a party here already? But, that don't matter now!"
Blue Alarm looked at Nastic. "You might as well sleep on that. Like you said, let's relax."
Nastic was silent for a few seconds. "You're right." He smirked. "But, I don't think you relax at a party. Considering how party ponies throw parties."



At the wooden stage was a rodeo's country band—several ponies wearing big hats and carryings various instruments. They were setting up.
Various stalls and stands and tents had been propped up, selling all kinds of foods, drinks, and other stuff. Some ponies were holding apples dipped in caramel or another sweet, sugary and thick mixture.
The chatter between ponies was now louder than before as they smiled and as they talked to each other. A train stopped at the train station, bringing in ponies from other towns and cities throughout Equestria into the Appleloosa party. Among them was Applejack with her trusty hat.
"Applejack!" Braeburn yelled.
"Braeburn!"
And the two hugged.
"Looks like ya' received the inv'tation!" Braeburn said as he released Applejack from his grip. "That also means ya' got the other piece o' news!"
"That ya' got a new hat store?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah!" Braeburn pointed to a faraway stall with a large hat sign. "Now, everypony livin' here is guaranteed to get the hat of their choice! Of course, they can choose not to get a hat, but it's how we live here in the outskirts o' Equestria!"
"Yer' gettin' too joyful 'bout that!" Applejack said. "Now, are ya' gonna help Cheese Sandwich the party or what?"
"Oh, right, right!"
Then, the two cousins hopped off of the train station's platform.



Cheese Sandwich, with his curly mane and his curly tail, licked his lips at the line of candy apples on the counter. He turned around to the line of ponies behind him. "It's always good to try the food in the place you're partying in," Cheese said. He then dropped a table on the ground.
The ponies looked at the table.
Cheese slammed the table with a hoof.
Then, the table extended far, reaching to the end of the line in mere seconds.
Cheese placed a small conveyor belt on his end of the table.
The conveyor belt extended far, also, reaching to the end of the table.
Cheese threw a bit, got one candy apple, then scooped up the rest from the counter and dropped them on to the conveyor belt.
The ponies looked at Cheese in awe. There were many gasps from the audience. They were all open-eyed at the party pony.
"And, if you're worrying about germs and other dirty things like that, don't worry! The conveyor belt is made to cleanly handle food."
The ponies stared at the moving pile of candy apples.
Then, the ponies picked candy apples from the pile as it moved, some getting one, others getting two, still others managing to get three or more without leaving anypony without a candy apple.
Cheese leaned on the counter and smiled as he bit on his own candy apple. He looked at the pony who was stunned behind the counter. "I'm willing to let you get one of that for your next hit," Cheese said. "You want it for free?"
The mare nodded, grinning.
"Here!" Cheese said, carrying a table and bringing it over the counter. The mare received it and placed it down beside her.
"Now, you have to be careful with that thing," Cheese said. "Don't hit it whenever you want—or whenever you don't want because there's such a thing called 'accident.' They can happen and you would end up causing damage along the way. Also—" He carried a conveyor belt and brought it over the counter as well "—here's the conveyor belt. I almsot forgot that." Then, he looked up and then at the line. "Wait, doesn't the conveyor belt stand out a little too much from what Appleloosa looks like?"
"Maybe?" the mare said, smiling.
"Don't let that stop you!" Cheese said. He turned around to walk towards the line of happy, eating ponies. Then, two changelings stopped in front of him.
"Hi," Blue Alarm said.
"Oh, it's you two!" Cheese said, pointing at the two.
"Uh, you remember us?" Nastic asked.
"Not really," Cheese said, "although I have seen you somewhere." Then, he grabbed the two and rubbed their heads as they stayed in his grip; the smile on his face was big. "But, it looks like you've never been to my parties before! You just stay here—the party preparations are just as fun as the party itself!" Then, he hoofed them two candy apples and left.
The two changelings looked at each other, holding candy apples with their hooves. "The party ponies are crazy," Nastic said.
"But, you must admit, they make good parties," Blue Alarm said, flapping his wings and then hovering over the brown, dry ground.
"I'm not talking about their profession," Nastic replied, also flapping his wings and hovering. "It's their personalities. It's as if every pony that has any faint connection with throwing parties is bound to be crazy, unhinged, and plain weird. Not to mention forceful."
"It's what the ponies are OK with," Blue Alarm said as he hovered beside his friend, moving towards Appleloosa proper with its wooden rickety buildings and busy ponies watching the fast Cheese Sandwich rush from here to there, tying a balloon to a post and hanging the streamers on the roof. "It's all fun and games and if it means that the crazy, unhinged, and weird ponies are the best ponies to handle those things, then so be it."
"I've never met a normal party pony," Nastic blurted out.
"Why would you, anyway?" Blue Alarm shot back, smiling a smug smile at his annoyed friend. "Then, it wouldn't be an epic party. It would be a social gathering."
"A social gathering that doesn't involve party cannons, loud music, explosive decorations, sweet cakes and pies and other goodies being thrown around for fun, and no schedule. There's nothing arranged about it."
"Why should a party have a schedule, anyway?" Blue Alarm asked.
They landed on a wooden platform in front of a store's entrance. The store had posters on the walls advertising its amazing hats and other clothing accessories with loud words and colorful graphics of hats. They sat on the floor.
"It doesn't make sense if it has a schedule," Blue Alarm went on. "Then, all the participants will end up thinking about the time to do this and then, after that, the time to do that other thing. 'Oh, it's time to go leave!'"
"You're misrepresenting me," Nastic said.
"I'm not. I'm just showing you the logical conclusion of your argument."
"I'm not even making an argument! I'm just telling you that it's bad that parties don't have schedules!"
"Wait."
Blue Alarm held out a hoof and stretched it in front of Nastic.
"Let's stop this before we end up fighting each other because we disagree about what parties should be."
"And, what, silence me?" Nastic said. He crossed his arms. "You can make me say what I want later, but I'm not going to let anyone stop me from saying my honest opinion! And, it's not even a bad opinion. It's just sitting there, being neutral!"
Blue Alarm smiled again at the persistent Nastic. "Maybe that's good. Maybe it isn't. But, I admire your tenacity, anyway. But, we should really not descend into petty word battles like this."
"As long as the petty word battles stay petty," Nastic said, calming down and taking to flight again.
Blue Alarm watched him fly around in the sky above Appleloosa. Some ponies on the ground looked up and saw him, too.
"I'll let him be," Blue Alarm said.



Loud polka music blared through the tall speakers situated around town, embellishing the night sky with a different tune. Ponies slow dancing in the desert open, ponies eating candy apples and other party foods of varying levels of sweetness at the tables (though a lot more were just eating wherever they were, whether it was right in front of a house, in the middle of the dirt road, or while they sat down watching the slow dancing ponies), ponies talking and laughing as the party with its festivities going on around them.
But, there weren't just ponies.
Many buffaloes were there, too. With their own clothing—their beads and their braids—they were partying, also. They talked with not just themselves but also with the ponies there and the ponies talked with them. A bright companionship—a mutual togetherness—was in bloom, if not already in full growth, in this display of friendship in the party all accompanied by the polka music being played in the background.
The sound of a train chugging, decreasing in speed until it stopped at the train station. At this night hour, more and more ponies were more than eager to join in the fun after it started—some even brought bags and their own hats. Among them was a light blue unicorn with curly blue mane and curly blue tail.
"Party Favor?" another stallion asked as he walked out from the party proper, approaching the unicorn. "I didn't know you were coming!"
"I've gotta hang out at these parties more often," Party Favor replied. "But, I don't understand why you're here, Double Diamond."
"Unplanned!" he said. "Just saw that there were lots of spotlights from a town that's out in the middle of the desert. Got curious, stopped here, and look!"
Party Favor got off of the train station's platform. The two walked towards the noisy yet cordial party, passing by the colorful balloons and streamers and confetti, passing by the other ponies and the buffaloes enjoying their time.
"The polka was unexpected," Double Diamond said as they kept walking under the party lights of different colors. "Yet, I find it...calming?"
"I don't think it's calming," Party Favor said. "It's...I don't know what's the word for it." He shrugged. "It's nice, that's what I can say."
"Did somebody say that polka was nice?" Cheese Sandwich asked as he went slid down some stairs and jumped and landed right in front of the two stallions. "Party Favor, glad to meet you!" He extended a hoof and the two shook hooves.
Double Diamond sighed. "I wonder what will happen if you two collaborate on a party."



The flapping of wings.
Blue Alarm looked away from the graceful movements of the slow dancing ponies in their formal frontier outfits of shirts, dresses, and hat. The polka music went on in the background. "Nastic?"
"Yeah." He landed beside him and sat down. "Just saw a party pony meet another party pony. It's as if they know what we're talking about and they're doing what they're doing just to taunt us."
"It's nothing malicious," Blue Alarm said. "Now, why don't you just watch?"
Nastic grumbled. He removed his hat and placed it on the ground. "Fine. I'll relax, but only because you said so."
So, the two changelings watched.
The ponies danced to the beat of the music. Slowly, surely. A jump, a leap. A beautiful landing.
"Can I get out of here already?" Nastic said.
"But, we haven't even gotten to the good part!"
"Long Winded is catching up on his Friendship Journal and I don't want to go home tomorrow morning and find out that he's going on a dangerous adventure because he read about it inside a book."
Blue Alarm laughed. "He's not that intense about it, is he?"
"You underestimate how excited he is," Nastic said. "I don't want to even imagine what sort of actions he would take just to earn a friendship lesson. Yes, not learn, earn."
Blue Alarm tilted his head in confusion.