Society as We Know It

by Comma Typer

Lore

An archway in the middle of the desert. No walls but only the archway itself, towering the dry plants growing from its sides, shining without its brilliance in blue and yellow stripes and alternating pattern. Cracks and crumbs of debris furnished and garnished the structure into an historical entrance into a stirring town.

Under the setting sun with its orange sky, tented stalls abounded with most of them standing on rugs and carpets of sophisticated and alluring designs. Pots, vases, fruits, vegetables, plates, jewelry, accessories—all for sale as ponies bought and sold around.

Past the stalls, practical houses stood together in their blocky form. Canopies were plentiful here as several ponies wiped the sweat off of their faces. A few more stalls were right in front of the houses—a pony sitting in place called out to the passers-by about his refreshing apple juice from Sweet Apple Acres way over from far-out Ponyville.

In one open space, surrounded second by stalls and ponies in a variety of clothes of robes, dresses, ornaments—and surrounded first by that light brown ground of aridity and several more dry plants was a small brick well with the rest of the rope unseen and beneath common view.

Over there, rising above the rest of the buildings and establishments there was a pyramid of immense height and architecture. Abundant bricks stacked in such clean fashion, the rest of the materials joining together to form that wonder of renown.

Closer to the pyramid, one could see, in the distance, a few smaller pyramids.

After one moved through an easy and wide maze of houses and stores, one would see a tall stone statue of a pony—a mare, a pegasus. She was dressed in a more elegant look than the average pony to be seen in the town—blocks of what may have been shiny and precious metals, white gown that gave the pony a beauty of a time ago, headdress that gave off something royal, blindfold covering her eyes and strengthening her hopeful smile.

The inhabitants passing by the statue often gave it an honoring glance and that same hopeful smile. Some would then glance at the largest of the pyramids and then back at the statue.

An inscription was written on the base of the statue. It read: "Somnambula: Hope Beyond Fear and Legend."

The few who read the inscription smiled even more, once more looking up to that blind yet smiling pegasus.

For a moment, the clanking of bits, the steps of hoofs, the sandy gust of wind—for a moment, the ponies were unfazed as they gave the statue more than just a fleeting glimpse or look. A glint of light went through some of their eyes—it may have been the sun, it may have been the tears forming. Whatever it was that caused it, a hopeful silence reigned for that special moment.

The ponies stopped their exchanges whether in word or in money—for a moment. A good silence was here even for just a minute here in this town.

---

"You've got to let us inside!" Humerus yelled as he was dragged by pegasus guards in uniform. "We're more than interested to keep everything inside the pyramid as good as it was!"

"No cameras!" one guard yelled as he threw out the green changeling with a camera hanging around his neck.

He landed in front of Blue Alarm and Monoclad who watched him get up with a groan.

They were on a lonely sand path leading to the hollow entrance of a relatively short yet high-reaching black pyramid. Two somewhat identical statues of sphinxes were on each side of the path and were close to the big building.

"Kind sirs!" Humerus shouted at the guards. "Maybe we can settle on something? A compromise? Negotiations right here and right now! I will show you undeniable and unbelievable proof that we have no ill intent against you or the rest of the ponies living in Somnambula!"

"Are you an archaeologist?" another guard asked as the group of them neared the trio of changelings.

Humerus gulped, shuddering as he eyed the two of his friends. "Cover for me!" he whispered.

"I'm not covering for you," Monoclad said. Stepping over Humerus, he stood in front of the guards. "We're not arcaheologists at all. We're just visitors hoping to get a nice picture inside to show to our friends. But, we'll respect your decision and we won't cause any more trouble."

The guards nodded collectively. "You better be saying the truth!"

"I'm saying the truth. Dont' worry."

Then, the trio walked away from the guards—or, rather, two of them carried a complaining Humerus away from the guards.

---

"That wasn't a good greeting," Monoclad said as the three of them moved about, turning here and there to avoid bumping into ponies of varying speeds—a walk or a gallop or something in between as items were hoofed over, talk and laughter were changed, and ponies entering and exiting houses and stores with their friends.

Blue Alarm looked around him. Then, his gaze was fixed upon a stall. "Hm. That's interesting."

"What is it?" Monoclad asked.

"Is it somepony who can give us access to the pyramid?!" Humerus shouted, flying about.

"Nope. Nothing at all like that."

He walked out of the way.

The other two changelings followed him.

Then, they were in front of a pony who had round-rim glasses and a straightforward robe of blue. He had a red mane and a green coat; a red mustache was on his face. "Ah! Surely you know of that other hero of our town! I can see it because you've come here."

Blue Alarm nodded. "I see you like Daring Do."

"Like Daring Do?" the seller asked aghast. "We are grateful for her in many ways. Though we, at first, despised her for her reckless way of doing things, we then thanked her for saving our precious glowpaz from evil and deceptive hooligans. After that, she offered to give us new carts to replace the ones she broke, repaid in bits those of us she herself affected, and even fixed up the Somnambula statue that you have no doubt already seen—unless, of course, you haven't seen it yet and you've just arrived."

"It's quite beautiful," Monoclad commented. "Your town is fortunate for having somepony like her to look up to."

"Both metaphorically and literally, I might add!" he said, snickering after. "But, that is off the topic." He spread his forehooves out, displaying what he was selling in a grand light. "Take your pick! Take as long as you want—as long as there's no one else in line!"

There were rugs and carpets with the image of Daring Do in her adventurer's outfit, there were pots and vases and other sorts of containers with a depiction of Daring Do, there were mugs with her face on them, there were even several window curtains with her on them. On the smaller scale of things, there were a few trinkets (necklaces, earrings, souvenirs, and so on) adorned with several green chunks that glittered and glimmered—there was also an image of Daring Do on those trinkets.

Humerus held one up and rotated it around in the orange sunlight.

It glittered even more with its brilliance.

"Is that the glowpaz we've been hearing about around here?" Blue Alarm asked the pony at the stall.

"Yes, it is," he replied. "It's more than a valuable commodity here—it has become almost a symbol of the town condensed into something tiny yet shiny."

Blue Alarm and Monoclad nodded. Then, Monoclad looked away and dragged Humerus back to where they were.

The pony laughed a little. "I guess one of you is a rabid tourist."

"He's usually better than this," Monoclad said. "But, for some reason, he kind of likes forcing his way into places of interest today."

"You mean the pyramids?" the pony asked, his voice dampening.

"You can say that," Blue Alarm said.

Monoclad sighed.

"At least I'm sorry!" Humerus protested.

---

Outside, it was dark. The starry night with its bright moon was over all the land. The grass and the trees stood alone—though an occasional group of ponies with several lanterns, lamps, and flashlights went about past the railroad and on to another side of grass, placed a picnic mat, and hoofed out several baskets of food. Some of them lay down on the ground, gazing at the stars, and some of them sat up as they comfortably ate the bread and the apples and the jam they had brought along.

Party Favor crafted a balloon sandwich and gave it to Cheese Sandwich who was munching on lettuce sandwich.

"Hey! Not bad!" Cheese Sandwich said as he held the balloon sandwich and played around with it—throwing it around and jumping to catch the balloon.

A basket was opened; what came out of it was steaming hot pie. Pinkie Pie and Sugar Belle brought them out and placed them on the mat—Sugar Belle with care, Pinkie Pie by flinging them on to the mat while in mid-air.

"You lazy stallions better do your part next time we have a party pony picnic!" Pinkie Pie said as he juggled a few pies of her own. "I like to see you bake up a batch of pies!"

"I think it would be hilarious!" Sugar Belle added.

"Now, now, let's be reasonable here," Lemon Hearts said though a big smile on her face was there.

"I'm as reasonable as I can be!" Cheese Sandwich said. "Then again, may I ask where are we?"

"Oh, I think we're just a few miles away from Cloudsdale," Pinkie answered.

"But, we can't go to Cloudsdale," Party Favor asked. "None of us are pegasi."

"Who needs wings when you can have" —She brought a couple of balloons— "this?!

"Hey, that was supposed to be my job!" Party Favor said, sounding irritated though good-hearted.

"Are you forgetting that it really is my job?" another stallion asked. He had caramel coat and blue mane and blue tail—both of them puffy and curly. The stallion was wearing a pink and white apron and a balloon hat; his cutie mark was a blue balloon and a red balloon together.

Pinke threw him a few bits. "Here, Twisty Pop! For the additional balloons you brought here!"

He caught the bits and placed them inside the basket beside him. "Thanks, Pinkie!"

Pinkie nodded with closed eyes. "It's all good if you're happy!"

A poke.

She looked behind her.

"Why exactly did you bring him here?" Lemon Hearts asked. "And, who is he?"

"Oh, he's Twisty Pop!" Pinkie answered cheerfully. "He's basically the Party Favor of Ponyville!"

"I heard that!" Party Favor yelled, smiling.

"Makes balloon animals and balloon other-things for foals most of the time," Pinkie said. "But, I tell myself that balloons are an essential part of parties so why not bring him along for the picnic?"

"But, we have two balloon ponies in the picnic."

"So? We have three party ponies in this picnic, and I've included the rest of you because I see that each of you have a glaring connection to parties, remember?"

Lemon Hearts looked up for a while and then smiled at Pinkie. "Alright."

Pinke then hugged the unicorn. "Then, we can start the fireworks!"

"Fireworks?"

"We're a go, Pinkie!" Cheese Sandwich yelled.

And, whistling by.

A few seconds of silence.

Everypony was looking up at the sky.

Then, fireworks. Huge fireworks. Colorful fireworks. Bright and loud fireworks. From the weak sputter to the ambitious explosion, these fireworks lit up the night sky and the ground with their luminous glow. It was deafening—Lemon Hearts covered her ears and closed her eyes, looking away from the aerial spectacle.

"It's pretty!" Cheese Sandwich remarked. "Just as I thought!"

"Wait," Party Favor said, pointing a hoof towards a monolithic arrangement of clouds—a bit of rainbow could be seen there. "Is that Cloudsdale?!"

Pinkie's irises shrunk. "Whoops! Looks like I miscalculated just a teeny bit!"

---

"Honey!" Bow Hothoof called out as he stood on the cloud lawn under the night sky. "I think you should come and see this again!"

Windy Whistles barreled out of the door and on to the lawn. She smiled.

Their house, their street, their neighborhood, their Cloudsdale—all shining and gleaming under the vibrant colors and the ringing outbursts of the fireworks. "Ooh!'s" and "Aah!'s" could be heard.

A stallion went through the cloudy street, screaming. He stopped in front of the couple's house. "Why are you not doing something? Those things could've blasted my house to smithereens!"

"Compass, we're gonna be fine," Bow Hothoof assured. "We've been through this, remember?"

"I haven't been through this at all!" he complained. "What if those firery things land on me? I'll be in the hospital in a jiffy! Did you at least proof your house with something flame-protective?"

"You mean flameproof?"

Compass sighed. "I'll just go to a the weather factory—they have shelter there. You better get going, too!"

Then, Compass zipped away.

---

"They look so cool!" Humerus said as he planted his face on the train window, his eyes glistening with light as the fireworks in the sky shaped and shifted about before disappearing—mere moments before another cluster of fireworks appeared in a catastrophic introduction.

"Don't get too distracted," Monoclad said, tapping the distracted Humerus on the shoulder. "Here's our food."

Humerus looked away.

A unicorn hovered a few bags of chips and some bottles of soda on to the changelings' seats. With a bored and haggard look on his face, he went away to the next set of seats and passengers, pushing the cart of food and drink.

A few moments of silence passed between the changelings as they opened their bags and their bottles—Humerus jumping in to eating and drinking all he could within the first ten seconds of him obtaining access to them.

"One thing is certain: Somnambula—the town—is a place full of historical treasures," Blue Alarm said. "To imagine that this is the place where you have a lot of tales and fables—and that some of the famous stories from even before Equestria came from there. I've heard snippets of them from other ponies while overhearing their conversations, but to stand right inside such an important location—I felt enchanted to be there."

"But, we didn't get pictures of the pyramid!" Humerus whined.

"We did—of the outside, which is better than having no pictures of the pyramid," Monoclad said.

Humerus crossed his arms and looked away.

Blue Alarm sighed. Looking at Monoclad, he went on: "But, I find it...unusual that the ponies there believe that Daring Do is a real pony."

"Me, too," Monoclad said. "It's as if she was a real pony."

"They showed pictures of her with the town folk, but whoever is dressing up as her is giving them a lie," Blue Alarm said. "Whoever she was should have just told them that she is not a famous adventurer."

"But, you haven't heard them say anything about A.K. Yearling," Monoclad said. "Shouldn't they know about the book series?"

"Somnambula is way far down," Blue Alarm said. "Maybe there's not enough demand for the books to be sold there."

"Well, there will be now." Moncolad smiled.

Blue Alarm smiled as well.

Humerus went on munching on his chips and softdrink.

"It must be weird, then, to go to, say, Ponyville and see books of Daring Do on the covers. Then, what would the ponies of Ponyville say? 'She's not real! She's made up by somepony named A.K. Yearling!'"

"We wouldn't want to shake something that seems so fundamental to their way of life, though," Blue Alarm commented. "I don't want to know what would happen if they truly find out that Daring Do wasn't real at all—that it was just fiction."

"Picking us up and demanding that we be punished for our crimes?" Monoclad threw into the conversational air.

"They're much more reasonable than that," Blue Alarm said.

"Intense distrust? Hatred that will last a lifetime?"

"They're ponies who are willing to accept the truth no matter how startling it is at first," Blue Alarm said. "I'm confident that they will be kind to us and A.K. Yearling herself."

"But, they are going to punish whoever cosplayed as Daring Do, right?"

"Understandably so," he answered, nodding.

That colorful glow again.

Humerus looked out again, dropping his snooty facade and regaining that youthful vigor of curious fascination—eyes wide open as they glistened once more under the fireworks' lights, ears perked up in excitement and enthusiasm, mouth unclosed revealing an innocent smile.

Monoclad and Blue Alarm, too, looked out with him at the fireworks in the night sky.

A sigh from the blue changeling. "You have to hoof it to the ponies: They make great decorative explosions. Who knew that something that could cause so much damage in a battle is used instead to bring joy and smiles to those watching onlookers?"

Monoclad sighed, also, though with more gravity and graveness in it.

---

Windy, breezy, chilly. And dark, though the remote lights of Ponyville could be seen if one looked about in the right way.

The hot-air balloon was alone in travelling the skies at this nocturnal time, grazing by and piercing through clouds. When it came out, the surface of it—both basket and balloon—glowed a little by the emanated light of the fireworks in their dynamic hues.

Twilight Sparkle, along with Globe Trotter in his somewhat signature visor and strap camera and shirt of leaves. With the two was also another stallion—rotund, wearing a green vest and much in terms of hair as his mane and beard and tail were bushy and thick, extending outward in a straight yet curled pattern thanks to a few ponytails. Around his forehead was a red bandana.

"Are you sure about this, Twilight?" the other stallion asked. "I haven't gottten this high up above the ground—"

"This form of transportation is perfectly safe, Cattail," Twilight said, making way for the approaching Globe Trotter as he fixed and adjusted his camera. "The only times that ponies have fallen from the balloon was when unexpected force was applied to it—it's never caused by normal usage."

"Well, this isn't normal to me!" Cattail blurted out. "I'm content with just staying on the ground, Twilight—really, I am. Besides, I can't leave Meadowbrook's home in Fluttershy's care forever since she has her own animals to take care of, too!"

"You're forgetting the fact that she also has an animal sanctuary," Twilight replied— "I'm sure they'll be fine. Also, you've been out here for five minutes straight, so that means you're getting OK with this!" Twilight patted him with a hoof, encouraging him. "Just don't look down! Keep looking at the fireworks."

And Cattail did so; however, he had a frightened look upon his face even though he wasn't looking down.

Globe Trotter took a few snapshots of the fireworks, always turning the camera slighty here or there each time.

The distant flares illuminated the sky more, continuing its task of gilding the horizon with an energtic outflow of color accompanied by muffled yet crashing blasts. Cattail covered his ears for a brief while, but then gradually let go, accustoming himself to the not-so-deafening soundscape of such celebratory tools.

In the sky, pegasi flew about, some flying past the balloon. Gazes were turned toward them—they stopped after a short moment and merely flapped their wings, hovering over the air as they watched the fireworks.

Over there, Cloudsdale was lit up both by the fireworks' faint radiance and the sharp yellow lights from both inside and outside the various cloud buildings including the coliseums and stadiums.

Meanwhile, on the ground, some ponies were sitting on the grass—specifically, on a picnic mat, although they weren't the only ones. Soon, they were joined by a few more ponies who had been on their own paths before going aside to stay and observe the spontaneous, surprise occasion.

Amidst all of this was a train running down the railroad, cantering fast away from the fireworks as its great headlight brightened the way ahead.

---

Humerus entered the bright interior of Sugarcube Corner, smelling that familiar smell of sweet desserts and other baked goods in the making.

The changeling passed by several pony customers, garnering from many of them a simple glance of acknowledgement—perhaps, a nod. Lyra waved at the changeling, sitting in front of Bon Bon and Twinkleshine as stacks of paper, a small electric fan, and a picture of a paint can lay on their table.

"Oh, I forgot to place an order!" Humerus said. He turned his head toward the counter.

Humerus walked his way there.

"Mr. Cake!" the changeling said as he finally reached the counter. "Where's Pinkie Pie?"

"She's off at some kind of party outside town," Mr. Cake answered, smiling through. "Now, what will you have for tonight?"

---

Humerus sat in awe of what was before him: a gigantic composition of harmonious sugar foods organized to make the candied cake before him; a humongous culinary effort all compacted to a manageable size for the plate to handle. There were three icings and frostings—chocolate, strawberry, and caramel. Its luscious embroidery were lollipops, jawbreakers, mints, chocolate bars, jelly beans, maple syrup, and powdery sugar—all combined in something close to baking ingenuity for a town's confectionary.

The changeling sniffed the cake. His mouth watered, sticking out his tongue at the cake as he forewent the knife and fork on the table and grabbed "slices" of the cake with his bare hooves.

He engaged in an unmannered feast upon one food; he made lots of rude and inconsiderate noise, munching loudly being a part of that.

In the middle of that, a poke.

"Uh, hi!"

Humerus stopped his eating and turned around, his mouth and ears covered in cake frosting. "And, what do you want?" he asked in a fair tone.

The Earth pony stallion scratched his yellow, kind of unkempt mane. "Well, uh, I guess you probably don't know my name. Uh, I'm Star Tracker."

"Nice name," the changeling said. He looked at the purple star ribboned around his neck. "Doesn't that look a lot like Twilight's cutie mark?"

"Y-yes!" Star Tracker said, stammering a little. "It does!"

"Are you a fan of her?"

Star Tracker nodded, his smile growing.

"Me, too," Humerus said. "In fact, I'm a fan of all the Elements of Harmony!"

"Heh-heh-heh-heh, that's good!"

Star Tracker then went on an adjacent chair.

"So, what are you planning for tonight, Star Tracker?" Humerus asked, putting on his cheery voice.

"Just a casual chat with Twilight—nothing more, especially after what I've learned when I won a day of spending time with her."

"What happened?" the changeling asked, leaning forward.

"Uh, it's a long story..."