Society as We Know It

by Comma Typer

Sugarcube Corner

Blue Alarm stood in front of the counter.

Every wall was of a bright, colorful brown-yellow. The wooden floor was of a cheerful blue-green or green-blue. The ceiling was a cream yellow like the walls. The luminous and radiant sunlight entered the room through the windows. And, under the morning sun, Pinkie Pie entered, smiling and trotting her way.

"So," Pinkie said, standing behind the counter, "what do you want for now? Or is it today?" She gazed at the ceiling.

"Just another chocolate cake, Pinkie," Blue Alarm said. He dropped a tiny sack onto the counter.

Cream pie was thrown onto his face.

"Oops, I'm sorry!" Pinkie said through a big grin. "It just turns out to be Random Throw-A-Pie-At-Somepony Day today!" She leaned to Blue Alarm's cream-soaked ear. "My secret about it? I celebrate every holiday!"

"Even the holidays that you make up?" Blue Alarm asked, examining her happy face.

"Mm-hmm!" She bobbed her head up and down. She brought out a plate of a tall chocolate cake. "Now! Enjoy!" Then, she grabbed the sack and hugged him with her hooves, still holding the sack.

"You are a strange pony, Pinkie," he said with a cream-covered face.

Pinkie scooped all the cream from his face and then ate it with one big bite. She looked at him with wide open eyes. "And what makes you think I'm strange?"

---

Blue Alarm stood in front of a round table. The plate of chocolate cake stood in its place.

"Just as I remember it," he said. "It's spongy, the frosting looks fresh and creamy. The smell—" He took a loud sniff of the cake "—is truly sweet and cocoa-like. Just a chocolate cake. Nothing special, but..." He looked over at the counter. There was a gray pony, wearing a sweater, in front of it. He returned to the cake. "I've tasted it before, yet...I have that urge to eat it again." He sighed. "It's a very good cake. It's very good food. Very good dessert." He closed his eyes. Then, he opened them.

He hoofed a chunk. A few crumbs fell off the piece and onto the plate.

Blue Alarm ate the piece. He chewed rather noisily.

---

The gray pony studied the pastries in front of her, hidden behind the transparent glass. She did so while wearing a gray-blue sweater and while being hugged by the enthusiastic Pinkie.

"Maud! I didn't know you were coming back! Sorry for not reacting to you sooner!" She loosened her grip on the pony. "I was just thinking about all that I have to do today, you know!" She leaned on the counter, holding up her head with a hoof. "I have a couple of orders from Filthy Rich, a dozen cakes for Cheerilee and her class—not a baker's dozen, which is thirteen cakes, but just a dozen, which is twelve cakes—and then I have to take care of Pound and Pumpkin Cake for thirty minutes since the Cakes are out to buy some more ingredients to stock for storage, and then we're going to celebrate the rest of Random Throw-A-Pie Day with Rainbow Dash by pranking almost everypony in town—with good intentions, of course!—and then—" She gasped. "What about some more rock candy necklaces?! Oh, no! I wasn't notified by you or any other pony that you were coming so that means I have no rock necklaces in store for you! And, also—" Pinkie smiled and gestured to the changeling eating loudly "—I have a second-time, two-time changeling customer! He's also my new friend!"

Maud blinked. "That's great," she said in a monotonous tone. She turned her head to see the changeling.

Pinkie kept smiling at her. "Hey, sister! What about we talk with the changeling? It's been a slow day, am I right?"

"Right before a busy schedule."

Pinkie nodded. "Yes, Maud, right before a busy schedule with lots of things to do and lots of places to go, and I just want to have some good time with you and my new changeling friend now that both of you are here!"

She hugged Maud. Maud's face stayed blank and straight through the hug.

---

Blue Alarm chewed on the cake, slowly but loudly.

Across the table, there was Maud, standing.

Pinkie stood beside Maud, looking quickly at the two, having a grin on her face. "So, Maud is meeting her first nice changeling!"

Maud blinked at the changeling.

Blue Alarm gulped. "Sorry, there, Maud. I...I was just eating and enjoying the cake." He stretched out a hoof. "So, how are you and how's your day?"

Maud stood. "It's been a great day."

The changeling considered her expressionless face. "Normal for you to respond and to talk like that, I guess."

Maud didn't say anything. Then, she said a few words. "It's good you noticed."

Silence was in the room.

The unicorn with her gaudy clothes walked in and raised a hoof and made a smile at Pinkie.

"Of course, Silence! I'll give you a couple of chocolate cakes!" She faced the two. "You too are going to have a great time together, I'm sure of it!" Then, she rushed off to the counter.

---

"Why do you talk like that?" Blue Alarm asked. "Why do you seem so...removed from emotions?"

Maud stood. "I'm rather pleased to meet you. That shows that I am not removed from emotions." Her face still stayed neutral.

Blue Alarm pushed the plate and its cake aside. "You don't sound pleased."

Maud gazed at him with eyes and looks that were still and gray, not expressing any feeling. "We have our own ways of expressing ourselves."

Blue Alarm looked at the cake and then back at Maud. "Are you happy about something, then? Any hobby?"

"Rocks."

Silence was there again. She waved while she carried a couple of plates with chocolate cakes on her back. Then, she went out the door.

---

Blue Alarm stood outside the Sugarcube Corner. He peered through one of the windows.

Inside the sweet-smelling bakery, Pinkie held a cardboard box and placed them down on the counter. Maud was standing right across.

"I can feel the excitement that you're having about these rock candy necklaces! We have new flavors!" She slammed the counter with her front hooves while chanting "New flavors! New flavors! New flavors!"

Maud took the box. She opened it.

Colorful candy rocks were gathered together under one metal or plastic string. There were dozens and dozens of these necklaces in the box, some of them sporting rocks of the same color, others having a mix of colors.

Pinkie leaned into the box and pointed to certain necklaces. "We have pepper flavor, salty sweet flavor, caramel onion flavor, strawberry with ice cream flavor, coconut flavor, corn syrup flavor—and I love corn syrup! It's just like sugar but it's in liquid form!"

Maud brought a hoof around Pinkie's head. "That was very thoughtful of you, Pinkie."

Then, she took out a rock candy necklace from her bag.

The necklace looked much like the ones in the box. It had an assortment of colors.

"Ooh!" Then, Pinkie grabbed the necklace and hugged Maud again. "Thank you for visiting, sister! When will you come back?"

"Tomorrow."

Pinke removed her hugging grip from Maud. She hugged her again.

Maud's face was still a face without expression. Then, she slightly smiled.

Pinkie then ate the rock candies from Maud's necklace while they hugged. "It's delicious!"

---

Blue Alarm walked past the red schoolhouse.

Paintings of red and pink hearts had been placed liberally. They were around windows and on the sides of the roofs. A flagpole belonged here, waving a red flag and topped with a metal statue of a pony figure. A bell tower rose from the roof, containing a large, gray-blue bell. Nearby, there was a sign that showed an image of an open book. Behind the white fences, there was the playground which had see-saws, swing sets, merry-go-rounds, among other playground things.

The door opened and a purple mare went out. Several colts and fillies ran out after her, some holding paper plates with enormous slices of cakes on them, others having dirty, cake-stained mouths.

Blue Alarm went back a few steps.

The little colts and fillies cheerfully played and ate under the bright blue sky and its sun.

Then, he flew away.

---

"So, why exactly did you call us?" Twilight Sparkle asked, sided with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy.

"Oh, silly!" Pinkie expressed behind the counter. She held up a stack of baked pies. "It's Random Throw-A-Pie-At-Somepony Day!"

Then, she threw the stack of pies at her five friends.

Their faces were now covered in cream filling.

"And my aim is aided with the help of—" She jumped over the counter and inched up to Twilight. She whispered "—a secret!"

Twilight grumbled at her.

Pinkie patted Twilight's mane. "Aww, don't worry about it!"

Rainbow Dash grabbed all the cream on her face and slurped it all out of her hoof. "Heh-heh, you got me there, Pinkie!"

Rarity screamed. She raised her hooves into the air. "You've ruined my mane, Pinkie!" She grabbed Pinkie. "Look at what you've done to me!"

Flutershy shuddered. Then, there was a smile on her.

"Pinkie Pie, it's no time to go pranking aroun'!" Applejack yelled, wiping the cream off her face.

"But, Applejack, it is Random Throw-A-Pie-At-Somepony Day!" She grinned.

"You probably made that one up just today, didn't you, Pinkie?" Twilight asked while she also removed the cream filling from her face.

Pinkie nodded. "But, it is a holiday to celebrate, isn't it, Twilight?" She smirked at the alicorn.

Twilight groaned and rolled her eyes. "Fine, Pinkie. You win. But, that also means that we have to celebrate, don't we?" She eyed the girls beside her. She sighed. "Too bad we don't have any pies to throw at you, Pinkie. Or at each other, for that matter."

Pinke sped to the counter and sped back with stacks and stacks of cream pies. "That's why I prepared!"

---

Blue Alarm flew on. The nice little houses surrounded him. The talking that happened and went on in the houses and on the roads were there. His ears perked up sometimes. He looked and he would see at least two ponies talking, if not three or more. Several of those ponies then looked at him with a look of surprise. Some followed that look with a face of disdain. Others followed that look with a face of confusion. Still, others just quietly, slowly, sometimes awkwardly away and back towards whoever they were talking to. Sometimes, they would sneak another glance at the changeling as he hovered by.

Back at the Sugarcube Corner, there were sounds of splats and thuds and laughters and shouts.

The sun was already setting; the sky was already yellow and orange.

Blue Alarm hovered to one of the open windows.

The rooms were a mess. Cream was everywhere and so were empty pie holders. The ponies that were moving around inside were running and flying as they threw cream pies at each other. Their faces were often covered in coats of cream. They would bring it off their faces, only to be hit with a fresh pie and a fresh cream-cover for their face. There was no grumbling or whining from anypony there, except for Rarity. "When can we get out of here, Pinkie?!" she screamed.

"When the celebration's over!" Pinkie yelled. She jumped to the left, narrowly avoiding a cream pie.

"When will the celebration be over?!" Rarity screamed back, still hiding behind a table.

Then, Pinkie threw a pie at Rarity.

Rarity levitated the pie. Then, the pie stood still in its place. Rarity shivered and clattered her teeth, looking warily at the other ponies in the chaos of the fight.

"It will be over when the celebration's over, Rarity!" Pinkie yelled.

Rarity sighed. Then, she screamed.

Blue Alarm smiled.

---

The changeling stood in the marketplace that was lit with torches and electric lights. Ponies, under the lights of the moon, of the stars, and of the lights they brought with them, sold and bought food, drinks, and other things in the night.

Blue Alarm looked around him. There were ponies standing, walking, trotting, running.

"Quite peaceful for a marketplace," he said. "The night is supposed to be quieter, and the ponies have that in themselves—not the night, but some kind of instinct or tradition that tells them that it's not the pony thing to go around doing the same activities in the day as in the night. Then again, it sounds like common sense. Or, maybe I'm just tired."

He looked at several of the ponies there. Some had tired eyes with eyebags. One pony yawned.

"It's not that late at night. It must be the holiday? I don't think so." He shook his head. "It's unlikely."

---

The six mares were now clean, free of any hint of cream, and were holding or levitating mops as the floor and the walls and even the ceiling were cleaned from any sight or presence of cream filling.

"I guess it was worth it, right?" Rainbow Dash asked while she mopped the floor. She stopped and looked at the other ponies.

They smiled back at her. Especially Pinkie who jumped up. "Of course it was worth it! It was fun being with you all!"

Twilight chuckled. "Well, that's one party in the history books."

Then, they went back to cleaning.

Comments

[Xanderfox]

I kind of expected a Changeling to be able to read Maud, we know she has emotions she just lacks external expression. So wouldn't a changeling empathicly know what she was feeling?

[Comma Typer]

7977632 Well, as far as I know, the changelings cannot read minds, nor are they shown in the show as good emotion readers. Even individual cases such as Thorax have not shown any great emotion-reading capabilities. The only "emotion specialty" they have is detecting and sensing love, which does not tell much about their empathic abilities.

I hope this answers your question. :)