At the Ponyville Schoolhouse, there was, on the only dirt path there, a lovely mare and a stately stallion looking at each other—rather, gazing into each other's eyes while not watching where they were going. Although they did not say to each other blissful inanities, the romance intended was there—their eyes were half-open, the pink mare giggled, the red stallion laughed in his signature baritone voice.
A few colts and fillies who were out on the playground had stopped all form of play and recreation to observe—yet again—the passing by of this budding love story, some even going straight to the fence dividing school property and everything else to see the two as close as possible.
"Should we tell Apple Bloom that her brother brought Sugar Belle over again?" a colt asked the others.
The rest of the class was inside the schoolhouse, most of them focused in their studying and re-studying as their eyes went left to right through the sentences, the paragraphs, the sections and lessons, and then a colt proclaimed that he had finished the entire textbook—only to look disheartened when he saw that his stack of books to read on his desk was only a little shorter; with a mournful gait, he grabbed the next book and opened it up.
Some of the students there giggled at him, whispering to one another and pointing at him.
Diamond Tiara, wearing her glittery tiara, noticed her suspect classmates. Silver Spoon—gray filly seated beside her—remained quiet as she also looked at them.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders—right in the front row—were busy with their books when Apple Bloom turned her head around at the stifled laughter.
The teacher's table was empty, though.
"Thanks again, Twilight," Cheerilee said as they walked onward, pushing the cart together. "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have been able to get these novels for reading!"
"It's my pleasure!" Twilight said as they passed by less and less cottages and shops and more and more trees and shrubbery. "So, how's the class going? Where are they now?"
"Going through the specifics of each Celestial Era," Cheerilee said, "same as I told you last time last week!"
"Are you done with the Third Celestial Era?"
"Almost!" Cheerilee said. "Of course, a lot of the pegasi students keep asking about Colonel Purple Dart of the Wonderbolts who doesn't appear in most history textbooks—"
"—until the Fourth Celestial Era section!" Twilight completed, smiling. Then, she covered her face. "Whoops! Sorry!"
Cheerilee only laughed.
The bell at the top of the school's tower rang and a rush of colts and fillies ran out of the schoolhouse, creating behind them a duststorm that floated into the room and made Cheerile—sitting on the teacher's chair in front of the teacher's table—cough and cover her face with a hoof, closing her eyes.
After that was over, she looked upon the open door. She got up, walked to it, and closed it. Then, she returned to her seat.
She sighed as she recovered a few folders from inside a table drawer.
Plopping it down on the table, she opened one of them. It was labeled, "General History Course."
Inside were a few sheets of paper. Outlined on them was the course on history in general. There were the sections everyone expected such a course to have: Prehistoric times, ponies and others in the pre-Equestria era (with detailed information on the three pony tribes), the unification of the three tribes and the formation of Equestria as a result, pre-Sisters Equestria (which was short-lived since some sources said that it only lasted a few years, if not just one), the Coronation of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna which began the First Age of the Diarchy, the events that transpired and conspired in that age (including the creation of the Crystal Empire, the building of Canterlot and its importance in early Equestria, and the defeat of King Sombra), the banishment of Princess Luna and the beginning of the Celestial Eras with their own specific events and happenings (and they covered much of the outline), with something that wasn't a Celestial Era appearing several pages down the line and that was called "The Second Age of the Diarchy" with the return of Princess Luna as the last signficant event of the Celestial Eras. From there on, the outline covered a short span of history yet had an awful lot of bullet points and such—the Elements of Harmony, the Return of Discord, the Return of the Crystal Empire and the Second Defeat of King Sombra, the Coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Rise of Friendship Talks and Meetings, the Reformation of the Changelings, and it stopped there.
Cheerilee smiled. "Funny," she said. "I've lived through all of that "Second Age" with so many crazy events in just a few short years." She sighed again, this time smiling and with amusement. "Oh, the confusion the ponies managing the history subjects were having! Yes, the Elements of Harmony being some mares over in Ponyville was an important historical fact filled with meaning and ready for great analysis. Then, after that, there was Discord—after that, the history teachers were scrambling to teach their class what had happened. After that, the royal wedding—everyone had to record that as well, for some reason. The rest speak for themselves—I've lived through a few Celestial Eras' worth of changes in, what, three to five years?"
She sighed once again.
"When I was a filly, everything seemed set in stone—that the moon always had that face and will always have it, the Princess Celestia had been the sole ruler of Equestria for a long time and will always be so, that the Crystal Empire had been gone for almost a thousand years and will always be gone. I dreamed and thought about what would happen if they suddenly changed—'Mommy, daddy, what will happen if that empire comes back?' Then, my dad would say, 'You're too young for that. Maybe when you're older.'" She laughed. "Oh, he was so right! I was already a mare when the empire did come back."
She opened another drawer. This one was much deeper, containing tons of books arranged neatly though dust had settled in, shrouding the covers in an unclear haze. A stack here, a stack there, and a ridiculously tall stack of books that overlooked the rest in scale.
The mare easily brought it up on to the table, gently laying it down.
"Ah, all the history books I had go through during the 'Second Age of the Diarchy.' Sounds like something that's lasted hundreds of years, but here we are." She giggled.
Cheerilee did not open any of the books. She just examined them, eyes looking upward as if she were dreaming—reminiscining, bringing to mind or to the tip of her tongue a clear memory.
The teacher, once again, sighed, alone in the now nigh-abandoned classroom, books sitting at their proper places in their proper shelves, the chalkboard left with the equations of the day's mathematics. A few apples lay on the table, still and unmoving beside the dusty old books.
"How so much has changed since I took up teaching!" Cheerilee expressed, airy and wistful. "And, if things go the way they are, they'll change even more than I can imagine!"
With that, she giggled one more time as she returned the stack of books to the open shelf.
She closed it and, after checking that the rest of the room was in tidy condition, went out, locked the door, and entered Ponyville at sunset.
"Is it me?" Starlight asked, magically picking up a few books from the shelves in the castle's library. "Or, do I feel like time isn't flying as fast as it used to be?"
Thorax, who was sitting on a wooden stool in front of a wooden chair engrossed in a book, stood up. "What do you mean, Starlight? Doesn't time flow as it always does?" Then, he narrowed his eyes at her, though a smile was on his lips. "Or are you tampering with time-travelling spells again?"
"I wasn't!" Starlight protested in defense, placing her hooves up. Then, a frown. "Wait, so you don't know or at least feel that time flies by some...times?"
Thorax blinked; neutral, blank face. "Uh, was that a joke?"
Starlight slapped herself with a hoof on the face. "It's an expression, Thorax. You know, when you do some things, you don't notice the time that goes by. But, when you do other things, you notice that time and it feels so slow because you think about the time."
"Maybe?" Thorax asked, rounding his question with a rising intonation. "Look, Starlight, I'm not sure if it's some kind of time thing or whatever that you ponies have, but I haven't heard any changeling complain about time flying."
Starlight turned her head a little, finally placing the books down on a nearby table—walking to her changeling friend.
Then, she sat down.
"You know your history, right?" Starlight began.
"Uh, do you think this is the best time to talk about the crimes I've done way back?" Thorax asked, voice trembling.
"Sorry!" Starlight quickly apologized, holding up a hoof. "What I meant to say was: You know the history of, uh, Equestria?"
Thorax nodded. "Twilight told me from the beginning that, since I was the king of the changelings, I should know more about what Equestria really was. She said it's to help understand ponies more."
Starlight nodded, humming along. "And, what have you learned about Equestria?"
"A lot," Thorax said. "Who knew that the towns that looked so little on a map had so much behind them? Well, I was very fascinated with Equestria and I still am, but giving these towns and ponies more than just a name and a date and a location—that made me realize quite a few things."
Starlight nodded again, noting the changeling's reviving wonderment at the topic.
"And, what have you noticed about Equestria's history?" Starlight said.
"Uh, it's long?" Thorax asked.
"Every kingdom's history is long at this point," Starlight said, "but that's beside the point. What have you noticed about the pattern, so to speak, of Equestria's history?"
"There's a pattern?" Thorax repeated.
"Well, sort of." She made a timid smile at the inquisitive changeling. "You see, what can you say about the last, say, decade of Equestria's history?"
"Hmm." He scratched his chin, furrowed his non-existent eyebrows, and looked pensively on the nearby stack of books. "Uh, that it's history?"
Thorax grinned.
Starlight groaned. "Was that another pun of yours?"
"But, at least I'm right, right?" Thorax said, still grinning in such a cheesy way—eyes wide, his face displaying a great relishing in the (attempt at) humor.
"Yeah, history is history," Starlight said while her smile was dampened by a half-grimace aside. "However, compare those ten years of Equestrian history with, well, the past millenium before that."
"Are you asking me to remember everything I've read?" Thorax said. "I don't know, Starlight, I—"
"Not really everything, Thorax," Starlight interrupted. "Just the ones that stand out."
"Like Princess Luna on the moon? And the Wonderbolts forming?"
"Yeah!" Starlight said, nodding eagerly as if to encourage him to go further.
A few seconds of pondering and racking of nerves—silence, Starlight watching, Thorax nervous in finding out more.
"You don't have to say it aloud—you know, right?"
Thorax nodded. "More than a few."
"So, what do you say about the past millenium of Equestria?"
"It's super long?"
Starlight groaned though more quietly this time. "Well, besides the obvious fact that it's super long, what can you say about the past millenium and the past decade—two vastly different time periods in terms of length?"
"I lived through the past decade?"
Starlight smiled and, rotating her hooves as if to jog Thorax through, she said, "And...?"
"I didn't live through much of the past millenium?"
Starlight then proceeded to smack the wooden table with her face.
The trusty construction ponies in their hard hats and orange and black vests—bags of tools to measure, adjust, fix, and mend in bags slung around their torsos—gave Twilight a good hoof wave as they exited the library and entered into echoed chatter punctuated with laughter as they walked through the hollow hallway.
Twilight closed the door with her magic and faced Starlight and Thorax who were seated on chairs around a cleaner, more furnished table. Starlight was grinning all the way, while Thorax was shooting glances at the mare beside him from time to time.
"That is not how you treat furniture," Twilight said in an accent that was kind yet firm. "You know that you should be careful with acting that way."
Starlight kept on grinning. "Well, I'm sorry, Starlight," she then said. "I promise I won't let an incident like that happen again."
Twilight smiled, her eyes closed in joy. "I'm glad that was over quickly!" She looked at Thorax. "So, what are you two doing in the library?"
"We were talking about, uh, the history of Equestria!" Thorax said, that upbeat personality or attitude still there. "I don't know why, but Starlight was trying to tell me something about the last ten years and how they were different form the last thousand years. Do you know why?"
Twilight nodded. "That's because, truly, there has been a plethora of things happening during those last ten years when you place them beside the things that happened during the last thousand years." She took a seat, seeing a calmer and milder Starlight and continuing the discussion around the table: "Yes, in the past, Equestria did change, but it was slow. Nopony really notices change if it's slow enough—you don't notice, for example, the clouds changing in the air unless somepony points it out to you, do you?"
Thorax shook his head.
"But, if clouds change so rapidly every second, then you would notice, right?"
"Yeah. You make a good point, Twilight."
"All I'm saying is," Twilight went on seamlessly, "that the changes that happened recently happened so fast. We went from having only one Princess to two Princesses in one night. The Elements of Harmony were restored to active use in that same night. Discord returned and was defeated before the day was over—and his reformation was done in a day as well and look at how swell he behaves..." She put on a surly face "...most of the time. But, you get what I'm saying, Thorax?"
Thorax nodded. "I think I get what you're saying."
Twilight smiled again. "Now, with that settled, what else do you plan to do?"
Thorax shrugged his shoulders. "I really don't know. I just wanted to relax a bit more—Pharynx was OK with holding up the hive while I'm gone."
"We're not having another soup festival!" Pharynx shouted as he held on to the wooden, plant-infested throne as the clamor and furor of the changelings rose up, threatening to overthrow the substitute monarch—changelings were flying about in the air, running about; signs were raised and then lowered, new ones were being painted as Pharynx spoke and resisted with all his might; collected and united with one simple goal (which one changeling loudly claimed to be "having to eat soup everyday and enjoying the fun that comes from it!"), the subjects had been rallied in "petition" to Pharynx.
The breeze was loud, coercing its strength and path and persuading the plants to bend over.
"I'm not going to waste resources on petty matters!" Pharynx yelled, brushing a changeling off with a hoof. "Use your time and energy to—well, I don't know, something useful like producing items to sell or defending the hive or creating art to wow others, but I don't see why a soup festival is going to help us!"
"It will lift our spirits, let us be happy, and it's a great way to party!" one changeling shouted above the ramble of the crowd, floating above it as if to distinguish himself.
"And, why can't you just have normal parties with your friends?" Pharynx retorted, pointing a mad hoof at him.
"The soup festival will bring us all together!" the changeling proclaimed, putting on a chef's hat—that tall, white one; that toque blanche.
"There are other things that bring us together like celebrations and anniversaries!" Pharynx said, raising his voice, trying to sound loud and clear. "You always celebrate the Liberation of the Changelings—or the Reformation of the Changelings, or the Freeing of the Changelings, or the Changing of the Changelings—you have too many names for that holiday—"
"But, we haven't even officially celebrated it yet," another changeling pointed out, flapping his wings and taking to hovering. "It hasn't even been a single year since we've changed."
"Then unofficial celebrations are more than enough," Pharynx said, "but I don't want to hear nonsense about soup festivals again!"
The changelings only grew in volume and desperation—some threw tantrums and almost injured their fellow friends who were for the same caus as they, others put forward well-thought out arguments which would get drowned out anyway as shouts ruled the order, still some more were on the verge of tears if not outright crying.
With all of this happening, Pharynx rested his head on a hoof, sighed, and said: "Why are they so fickle?"
"That sounds good!" Twilight said. She looked at Starlight. "Do you want to invite Trixie, Discord, and Maud over for a get-together?"
"And Sunburst, too!" Starlight said, nodding her head at the very thought of it with a blasting, shining grin.
Thorax smiled, too. "This is going to be a fun day." Then, his face gloomed, turning away from the happy ponies in front of him as they talked of what to do and where to go. "Oh, I hope my brother is doing alright."
A few hours and a few baggages later, that strange yet normal group of friends walked the streets of Ponyville and no one minded. No one gave it a second thought—if anyone did, he would have raised an eyebrow and kept it raised for more than a few seconds or he would have muttered several words amounting to "That's strange! That's unusual!" But, no one did such a thing, so they let those friends—which consisted of the Princess of Friendship among the other Princesses of Equestria, an egotistical and haughty showpony, the King of the Changelings and of the Changeling Hive, a curt and montonous rock enthusiast, the Spirit of Chaos and of Disharmony himself, a former tyrant and now student to the aforementioned Princess of Friendship, and the Crystaller of Flurry Heart who is a Princess of the Crystal Empire—everyone else let those friends walk by.
"I'm not caught up with what's going on," Sunburst spoke up, adjusting his wide and round glasses with a hoof before continuing his walk. "Where are we going?"
"We're going to chocolate store!" Starlight said. "Applejack and Pinkie Pie happen to know the pony running the place. His name is Chocolate Coating, I think."
"You forgot to mention that Rarity also knows the owner," Twilight said. "She just went there with Sweetie Belle yesterday."
"Bah!" Discord let out, crossing his arms. "I don't see why you have to go to a chocolate store when you have me around. All you have to do is just ask me and I'll poof up some chocolate for you. Any flavor, even!"
"That's because it would take away the fun out of eating chocolate with your friends," Twilight said. "None of us are doubting your ability to make chocolate out of thin air, but it's the experience that makes eating chocolate so much better. Hanging out with your friends inside the chocolate store, talking with all of them and also the one running the place (and he's also a friend!) while being under the same roof and in the same room—that's what matters and makes chocolate worthwhile."
"Fine," Discord replied. "But, just remember, I'm still around. Also—" He raised a finger of his claw "—I'm sure there's no one who'd invented sunlight-infused chocolate. I would send some boxes of that to Celestia herself—all she has to do is ask."
"Sunlight-infused chocolate?" Sunburst repeated, looking at the draconequus with astounded shock. "Do you happen to be in the mood for making some?"
Discord smirked. "Glad you asked."
And, with a snap of his fingers, a bar of chocolate appeared. Discord grabbed it and gave it to Sunburst who caught it in a magical aura.
"And, each and every one of you can have free samples!" Discord proclaimed as he snapped his fingers again.
Bars of chocolate appeared and fell, everyone being able to catch them including Thorax. Some turned it around, inspecting the seemingly normal bars of chocolate—they were standard, segmented, rectangular brown bars of chocolate. A few smelled it—its scent was indeed that sweet, sugary, and distinct smell of chocolate.
Sunburst was the first one to take a bite. A few munches. Then, he opened his mouth to say something.
He would have said something had it not been for the immense and intense light that came out of his mouth, causing everyone but Discord to cover their eyes.
Sunburst immediately closed his mouth, looking shyly at his company.
"I guess we're going to have wait for that to wear off before he can tell you the taste," Discord said, a bit of dry humor in how he said it.
Thorax smiled and then sighed again. "I really hope Pharynx is doing OK. I hope he's not angry."