Society as We Know It

by Comma Typer

Histories Again

Throax stood alone on the path to the hive. It wasn't that far away.

But, in the middle of the lush ground with the thriving forests nearby, Thorax stood, raising a hoof to his chin as he closed his eyes a little and scrunched his face up to one that conveyed thinking and wondering.

"We can always write history books, too," Thorax said. Then, any hint of a smile that was there faded away. "Of course, that would mean having to record all the time that we were the bad guys. Who would want to read about us stealing love?" A pause. "Well, we already have changeling history books, just written by ponies. Which is fine because it's accurate." Bringing up a little smile, he trotted on towards the hive.

Nearing it, he could hear that harmony of noise once again: The changelings' voices, the wings' flapping and buzzing, the several hoofsteps that touched the ground, and the occasional chirping and singing of the birds.

Passing by rocks of moss and vines and other plants, he finally entered the hive; he was now standing in some large and open area of the hive populated by some changelings talking with each other as they stood, walked, hovered, or flew.

"Thorax!" a gruff voice sounded. "Where have you been?!"

He turned around. "Pharynx, you know that I've been in some official business with Griffonstone's representative," he said in a bothered tone.

"It doesn't give you excuses to be staying up late in daytime and keeping everyone here worried," Pharynx retorted as he approached Thorax. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm the one who's ruling the hive in your absence."

"Uh, you are," Thorax replied. "You're my brother, after all. You also know how to defend this hive well and—"

"I've already heard that a thousand times, Thorax," Pharynx interrupted, stopping him with a hoof to the mouth.

Thorax merely blinked at the gesture.

Pharynx retracted the hoof. "Now that I got you up to speed—"

"You didn't inform me of any news," Thorax interrupted.

Pharynx groaned. "Are we going to be exchanging interruptions?"

"I hope not." Thorax smiled at this.

Pharynx groaned again. "It looks like it will take more than a day to get used to all the sappy and happy things going on here."

Thorax, frowning for a bit, lightened up afterward. "But, you did well at the Feelings Forum yesterday."

"How do you define 'a good job' there when all one has to do is to be honest?" Pharynx shot.

"Uh, participation is itself a feat?" Thorax was shifting his eyes left and right, wearing a shy grin.

"Are you going to give me a medal just because I managed to walk or fly my way to a specific spot in the hive?"

"It was a challenge?"

"Changelings go there everyday, sometimes even on accident."

Thorax coughed.

"Oh, what? It's not like you suddenly got sick the moment you think I've outsmarted you."

"I was just trying to congratulate you for what you did in the Feelings Forum," Thorax explained, pacing about on the rocky ground in the open area. "Just—well, just talking was good enough. It's something that should never ever be underestimated—the Feelings Forum, I mean." At that last part, he wore another shy grin.

"Come on, Thorax!" Pharynx said, nearing his brother. "I think I was the one with the most serious and the most sincere talking there. Other changelings' so-called 'problems' aren't really problems at all. For example, soup. Why does soup get massive influence in the Feelings Forum? If I had enough bits, I could just buy myself a fridge and stuff the bowl of soup inside the freezer and then we're done. No questions asked."

"That's not how you cool soup down, Pharynx," Thorax replied.

"Says the king who I never really saw eating soup."

"I do eat soup!" Thorax said, half-pleading. "And, I like soup! Uh, and there's not much else to say about soup."

Pharynx smiled. Then, he chuckled.

Thorax, looking here and there, also chuckled and giggled at that but nervously.

"And, you make me laugh at you," Pharynx said as his laughter went away, retaining some of that smile.

Thorax, whose laughter was trailing off as well, grew his smile at Pharynx.

"Which feels nice at times."

"Hey! That's not nice!"

"We're brothers, Thorax," Pharynx said as he forcibly brought him closer with a strong hoof. "We should be fine with laughing at each other and teasing each other."

Thorax merely blinked at that again.

"However, that sounds awfully similar to what ponies do when they are siblings."

"Did you see that bickering?!" another voice yelled out.

Thorax and Pharynx's eyes went wide open as they twirled and saw a gathered group of changelings in front of them.

The brothers gulped. "Did you think that what we just did was a mistake?"

"Probably, Thorax."

Silence as the group of changelings stared at the leaders and as the leaders stared back.

"They aren't going away soon, are they?"

"I think so."

"Do you think we should explain everything to them?"

"Wait. Let's see their reaction."

And, they waited.

The changelings then exploded into a roaring cheer, some of them going around in flight as they continued that resonating cry.

"That was...weird," Thorax said.

"Looks like some of our instincts haven't gone away," Pharynx said, smiling.

"Are you condoning rivalry?!"

"Just let them enjoy the show," Pharynx said. Then, becoming irritated, he said, "I still believe that I had the best and most meaningful talk there in the Feelings Forum."

Thorax did not reply with a word. He replied with a nod of his head that had a fearful face on him as he and Pharynx both watched the swirl of cheering changelings moving a lot and making lots of noise as they did so, all while wearing smiles of approval.

---

"Ah' don't believe what Ah'm hearin'."

"Uh, I guess you should believe what you're hearing, ma'am!" the ecstatic changeling said as both he and Applejack stood in front of the barn. "If you have a full batch of that rainbow-colored jam thing then it's a whatchamacallit? I really don't know."

"Zap Apple Jam," Applejack responded, her voice a little trembling before she firmed up. "Ah' remember the last time a changelin' ordered a full batch of Zap Apple Jam."

"That's in the past!" the changeling said in self-defense, close to stuttering. "You have great taste when it comes to, uh, apples!"

"As if it ain't obvious enough."

"No, I'm honest with you!" He smiled.

"Puns aren't gonna make me give away Zap Apple Jam so easily 'less you pay up," Applejack said. "An', you should also promise me that yer' gonna share some of it with your friends. Don't finish the entire box all by yer'self. I don't know what that's gonna do to yer' health."

"It has lots of sugar, natural sugar!" the changeling said, nodding. "And, you and I know that sugar gives you energy! So, it's just like a jar of sugar but it's not just sugar. It's also rainbow-colored!"

"Is that it?" Applejack asked in a deadpan tone. "Yer' just buyin' it because you think it's gonna jolt you up?"

"It's not the only reason."

"Then, give me another reason."

"Well, uh, it's something that I can put on bread!"

The changeling grinned.

Applejack kept that serious face of hers. "That ain't helping."

"I can make sandwiches out of this."

"So can thousands of other ponies. An' thousands of changelings."

"Why are you making this hard for me?" the changeling finally asked, resorting to that art of desperation.

"Because Ah' don't wanna make anyone mad," Applejack said. "An', just one more question: Why go all the way here when ya' could go to Filthy Rich's store anyway?"

"I like to have it straight from the source!" the changeling answered, rushing a hoof through the air in front of him as if to add to that sentence.

Applejack blinked, still having that serious face on her. "If ya' could jus' get out of here, Ah' would be grateful."

The changeling gulped, shivering.

"Ah'm sorry," Applejack said, "but ya' better get down here again some other time. Very busy with the farm and Ah' can't waste val'able time."

"Does that mean—" a sniffle "—I wasted your time?"

Applejack let out a syllable then stopped mid-speech. Adjusting her hat, she said, "Ah' don't wanna say that you've wasted my time, but Ah' wanna tell you that ya' can't just talk to anypony ya' want to at any time. We all have work an', even after work, we have our own visitins' an' parties an' other friendly occasions to attend. Ah' can't handle the popularity my friends have—Ah' don't like it a single bit." A pause. "Ah' will be nice to ya' an' to others who like to visit Sweet Apple Acres 'cause they can. The Apple fam'ly is quite hospitable. But, Ah'm too busy to be accommodatin' you."

The changeling just looked on at the Earth pony.

"And, ya' did waste my time."

He bit his lip, his mouth shaking and his eyes watery.

Applejack jolted to a shocked start. "But, Ah' didn't mean to make ya' feel bad!" She nearer the emotional changeling. "Ah' was jus' tellin' you that ya' have to be mor' considerate of others and that ya' can't jus' hang out with anypony at times that ar' jus' convenient to ya'."

The changeling choked up. "I—I understand." Facing Applejack with a glistening look upon his eyes, he managed: "Thanks."

He sounded tearful yet contented.

Then, flapping his wings, he took off and went away and out of Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack looked on at the changeling. "Ah' hope Ah' did the right thing. Ah' hope it's still the right thing."

Turning towards the numerous rows of apple trees in the hills, she stayed quiet, now seeing the vast lands of the farm once again.

"Ah've kept doin' it for such a long time already," Applejack said. "Ah' gotta teach 'em how they ought to behave, but Ah' don't wanna make them feel too bad 'bout it all." Sighing, she walked towards the apple trees in the distance.

---

Parcel Post, in his full blue uniform, stood in front of the castle's grand double doors. He was holding a small box.

The double doors opened, glowing with purple magic as it revealed Twilight Sparkle and some of the grandiose hallways the castle had.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle?" Parcel asked, tilting his head a little at the alicorn before turning his look of askance into an amiable smile. "Delivery for you and Spike!"

"Oh, I didn't ask for anything to be sent to me this way," Twilight said, sounding curious as she grabbed the box with her magic, levitating it. "And, neither did Spike, as far as I know."

"Be glad you didn't ask!" Parcel said. "Maybe it's a gift!"

"From who?" Twilight questioned.

"Well, it came from none other than King Thorax and Pharynx themselves!"

Twilight's eyes enlarged at that. "What?"

"Like I said, be glad you didn't ask for it!" He shrugged happily.

"I don't remember any of them talking about sending gifts to me," Twilight said, rotating the box (which was still under her magic) around and, holding it close to her ear, shaking it.

Parcel glanced here and there. "Uh, is that all, Princess?"

Twilight turned to the mailpony and nodded, smiling. "Yes, that's all, Parcel Post."

"Have a good day!" the stallion said before trotting away from the castle.

She waved at him, yelling, "Have a good day, too!"

Then, she closed the doors with her magic, resulting in a loud thud.

She shook the box. Rattling sounds.

"It's not something soft," she observed. "So, it can't be fabric or, well, anything clothes-related. Well, not everything, but most anything. It can't be a book, either." She shook the box again. "It also can't be money. Jewelry? I would let Rarity spruce up whatever jewelry they could make in the changeling hive. Maybe give them some lessons on how to make the best jewelry for others to notice and then they would be attracted even more to the business side of the hive." She shook the box once again. "But, what's in the box? There's not much to go on here. All I know is that it's small and that it's not soft." Sporting a competitive grin, she said, "I won't be giving up until I know for sure what's inside the box before I open it! And, I know just the dragon to help me with this!"

Twilight then walked through a big hallway with its carpet and its green windows, still levitating the box with her magic.

---

Spike was holding a Power Ponies comic book with his claws, reading it as he sat on the small crystal throne in front of the crystal table.

Then, he closed it and threw it on to the table.

"Why does the wait have to be so long?" Spike moaned. "I've already through my entire Power Ponies collection twice but time still goes slow! I hope they make Power Ponies a weekly comic. But, of course, that would pressure everypony there to make a decent story with decent art every week and that's not good for them. But, I still want to have it as soon as I can with small amounts of waiting in between! If they could do it, us fans would be happy and they would also be happy. Would they?" Looking up towards the ceiling, he pondered on that. "Eh, I hope they're also happy. Accomplishment and all."

Then, double doors opened.

"Twilight?" Spike turned around to see who was coming in.

"Yes, Spike?" Twilight said, levitating the box with her magic.

"What's that?" Spike asked, pointing a claw at the object in question.

"Someone sent it to us," Twilight replied, levitating the box down on to the table.

The box and her horn stopped glowing.

Spike grabbed the box and examined it himself, a greedy smile creeping up on his face.

"It's from Thorax and Pharynx," Twilight mentioned.

"Thorax?!" Spike yelled. "I haven't seen him in forever!"

Twilight's happy face turned inconvenienced. "You just saw him last week."

"Yeah, but I see lots of other ponies in Ponyville everyday and I get to see Thorax, what, just every week?"

"At least you have the opportunity to have fun together every week," Twilight said, her voice becoming caring and tending as she neared Spike.

Spike groaned but then placed a subtle and forced smile on his face, facing Twilight with an awkward expression. "Yeah, but it's always fun with Thorax and I don't want to be away from that for a week."

"You're going to be disappointing yourself if you're just thinking about hanging out with Thorax," Twilight said, her tone turning stern yet still having that tender quality. "Besides, you have us as well. You also have Big Mac, Discord, Ember when she's free, and even Trixie!"

"I know that," Spike said, slumping on the clean and shiny table.

"So, why are you still getting riled up about it?" Twilight asked.

Spike sighed in reply, resting his scaly head on his claw. "It's just..."

"You've reminisced about the good ol' days you've had with him back when he was just a changeling in the Crystal Empire." Twilight glanced back at the open double doors then back at Spike. Placing a hoof on his small shoulder—prompting the dragon to take a closer look at Twilight—she said, "You keep missing him. Well, I miss my friends, too, when I don't have the chance to meet them everyday because of my being a Princess; you, of all, know this more than anyone else. And, I don't 'get used' to missing them, if you know what I mean—so, I understand if you don't 'get used' to missing Thorax as well."

Spike sighed again, letting out a wordless murmur. Turning away from Twilight, his eyes laid upon the small box in front of him. His eyes brightened and shook a little at that.

Twilight's eyes brightened, too, as she opened her mouth in discovery. "Don't fret, Spike! At least you have something from Thorax. And, I know you're the best dragon for the job of figuring it all out!" She poked Spike with a hoof, bearing a full grin.

Spike, looking at that clumsy smile, took the box and shook the box near his ears, causing that rattle again. Beaming with delight, he said, "It's worth a shot."

Twilight placed her forehooves together. "That's the Spike I know!"

Spike shook the box again, this time more rapidly and with more fire in his dynamic strength. His tongue was out, his eyes were closed as he shook the box more. Then, he opened his eyes and examined the box more directly: rotations and examinations and inspections both close and far. Twilight joined in the amusing and playful search for the definite and certain answer behind the mystery of the small box and its unknown contents.

A few minutes passed by of this entertaining activity as laughter erupted in their jesting joy. Spike finally placed the box down on the table and placed a claw on the box.

"Here's my guess, Twilight!" Spike announced.

Twilight leaned closer, lowering her head a little. "Come on! What is it?"

Spike drew in some breath.

A few seconds.

Raising a finger of his claw, he answered: "It's wooden plates and cutlery."

Twilight, dumb-founded at first, put on a skeptical face, her eyes examining the box once more and picking it up with her magic. "Spike, I don't think it's that simple." She moved the box up and down, facing Spike as she did so as if she were presenting the movement to him in a formal fashion. "The box is too light to hold a complete wooden dining set."

"But, you know that there are other kinds of wood that weigh differently, right?"

Twilight gave a foundered yet kind sigh, closing her eyes for a while. "Even if all wood can be used to make dining sets, it doesn't mean that we can't know if there is a dining set inside. The trees around the hive don't have the kind of wood that would be out of place as a plate's material, and if there is, then it's not that common. So, I venture to say that it isn't a wooden dining set."

"Well, what's your take on it?" Spike said, resorting to crossing his arms yet not to having a casutic face on him.

Twilight nodded. "I believe it is made out of wood, but it isn't a dining set. Rather, it's art."

"What kind of art makes a sound like that?" Spike protested, raising both of his claws.

"Mini art!"

They both stared at each other, Twilight with a grin and Spike with a scowl.

Spike lightened up. "Eh, let's just get it over with and open the box. We'll see who's right!"

Twilight sat on her tall, sturdy crystal throne as she watched Spike tear open the wooden box with swiftness that turned into a blur of claws and broken cardboard pieces.

What was left was a mess of what used to be a box and a neat, arranged array of popsicle stick trees of different sizes, colors, and kinds. They weren't big, but there were lots of them. On top of the imaginative bundle was a paper note.

"Wait, let me read it first!" Spike said, holding an extended arm against Twilight as he picked up the note with the other one.

He read it.

"'Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle and Spike,

"'Hearth's Warming isn't that far away, anymore! We made these trees during a recent session of craft time. While we're not rolling out these decorations yet for the hive, I and Pharynx thought that we should send some of these to you so that you can decorate Ponyville with these. I know that ponies all throughout Equestria have their own Hearth's Warming decorations and ornaments and I think that maybe somepony else invented the popsickle stick tree before we did. Don't let that stop you from making Ponyville even more festive than before with our help! Enjoy setting these up when winter comes by!

"'P. S.: Spike, I and Pharynx will be taking a few days' off next week. We'll be coming to Ponyville and have guys' night with Big Mac and Discord and, after that, we'll hang out with Trixie, Starlight, and Discord again!

"'Another P.S.: Do I really have to go, Thorax?'"

Twilight's eyes widened at that as she read the letter along with Spike.

"'Yet another P.S.: Even you need a break, Pharynx!

"'From your changelings friends in the Changeling Hive,

"'Thorax and Pharynx.'"

"Yeah!" Spike shouted as he jumped in the air and raised a fist in the air. "Thorax with his brother? That's gonna be twice the fun!"

Twilight giggled with a closed mouth. "Oh, the surprises that grace us when we least expect it!" Then, her happy demeanor went away. "My appointment with Moon Dancer!"

Then, she exited the room in great haste.

Spike watched the fleeing Twilight as she went out of the castle altogether.

He resumed jumping and hopping with joy, letting out bursts of shouts and laughter.

---

Pharynx snickered as he watched Thorax sit in front of his wooden throne and on a pile of moss and big leaves.

There was a strong breeze in the vicinity, bending and swinging the airy and lightweight plants with the stream. It was cool now.

"It sounds bad," Pharynx said, barely holding and containing his laughter, "but it makes me happy inside whenever they do that."

"It sounds bad because it is bad," Thorax said. "We don't want the changelings to be advocating sibling rivalry. What happens when they accept that? Then, they'll be OK with punching each other on the back as a form of 'greeting,' and, the next thing you know, they'll be back to stealing love from others again!" He had a terrified look on his face.

"You're over-thinking things, Thorax," Pharynx said. "Besides, a bit of tough love is needed to keep the changelings together."

"Eh..." Thorax trailed off as he looked upon the horizon with its fields and hills of stretching forestry.