Society as We Know It

by Comma Typer

From the Crystal Empire to Ponyville

The Crystal Empire glimmered under the sunlight, beautifying the place with its lovely shine. The crystal buildings of the Crystal Empire made it seem like a peaceful and rich place to live in. With its clean streets and its clean grass, the ponies lived.

And, there was the pinnacle and the crystal of the Crystal Empire: the Crystal Castle, towering above all the ponies who lived in the empire. It gleamed brightly and greatly, showing to the ponies there that royalty lives inside the castle.

Inside the castle, the hallways were huge and were made out of crystal, only enhancing the feeling of royalty. The floors and the ceiling were also made out of crystal. And, walking on the floor, were two ponies, one alicorn and one unicorn while floating above them with the unicorn's magic was an alicorn foal.

"Where do you want to go today?" Princess Cadance said, looking at her husband levitating Flurry Heart.

"I'm not so sure," Shining Armor responded, glancing at his wife and at the baby. "It would be nice to go to one of the restaurants here, but Flurry Heart hasn't seen much of Equestria outside of the Crystal Empire."

"What about Ponyville?" Cadance suggested. She gestured with a hoof as her talk went on. "It's going to be great for Flurry Heart to be there again, considering that Ponyville is a humble little town. I mean, even though a Princess lives there, everypony there doesn't make a lot of news about it."

Shining Armor chuckled nervously. He looked at the baby.

Flurry Heart was smiling and cooing, stretching out her front hooves towards Cadance, looking at her.

Shining Armor brought the baby closer to her.

"Aww, Shining! That's cute of you!"

"Heh-heh-heh-heh." He smiled. "Actually, we should bring her out of the Crystal Empire today."

"However, where are we going to go, Shining?" Cadance asked. "There's so many places in Equestria to go to. I also don't want Flurry to be bored."

"What about Manehattan?" Shining suggested. "There's just so many things to do in Manehattan. There's ice-skating, there's so many toy stores, there's, uh, restaurants, and there's parks!"

"Don't you think that Manehattan is a little too fast for Flurry?" Cadance said, worried. "You and I can take it, but I'm not sure if Flurry can."

"Are you kidding? She's very adept at magic! That means that she can handle the pace of Manehattan!"

"And how do you think that means that she can handle the pace of Manehattan?"

"Well, she can fly around and float around really fast!"

"And probably get lost quicker?"

"Oh." Shining Armor's enthusiastic smile went away.

"In all likelihood, Shining, I think we're not bringing Flurry heart there for some time," Cadance said. "Something more slow-paced."

"Yet still not boring for Flurry?" Shining said.

"Yes."

"What about we bring her to Canterlot?"

"Hmm." Cadance placed a hoof on her chin while she looked up. Then, she looked back at her husband. "No. It's very royal, and we don't want Flurry to be spoiled." She smiled. "I have a good idea! What about we bring her to the Changeling Kingdom again?"

Shining looked startled, taking a few steps back. "What?"

"The changelings are nice. I'm sure the Changeling Kingdom has lots to offer for us and for our little adorable Flurry!" She cuddled the baby while the baby smiled and cooed.

"OK." Shining looked around haggardly. "I have a better idea! What about we just go to Ponyville like what you said earlier?"

Cadance faced him. She had a grumpy face. "Alright, Shining. I guess you're still a little affected by the changelings' attack. We've talked about this before." She walked closer to him, looking at him with a face that showed concern. Her voice was serious yet caring. "I'm not going to force you to become very friendly with the changelings, but, sooner or later, you have to. Besides, changelings are already roaming around all of Equestria, pursuing whatever interests them! What's going to happen when we bump into a changeling here in the Crystal Empire? You've been quite OK so far, but I'm really worried about you."

All the while, Flurry Heart cooed while stretching out her front hooves towards Shining.

He sighed, looking down on the crystal floor that bore a clear reflection of him.

He looked at his wife and smiled. "I'll try my best, dear."

Cadance smiled.

Flurry smiled.

"So, let's have the first few hours here in the Crystal Empire, then we'll take the train to Ponyville," Cadance said as they resumed their walking through the hallway.

"Wait, where are we going in the Crystal Empire?" Shining asked. "We didn't talk about where to go here yet."

"There's always the trip to the stadium," Cadance said. "Flurry likes to fly around inside. There's nopony else inside, however. Usually." She looked at Flurry who was still levitating with her dad's magic. "There's no major sports event scheduled right now, so nopony is actually going to be there."

"What about Sunburst?" Shining suggested, lifting the baby a little higher. Flurry cheered while she went higher. "He can always teach her a simple magic spell or two. Flurry's pretty fast in terms of magic skills, anyway!"

Cadance chuckled. "Flurry Heart isn't Twilight Sparkle, you know!"

"Well, she is like Twilight!"

---

The door opened.

"Good morning, Sunburst!" Shining greeted as he and his wife walked in while levitating the baby. "How are you—what?!"

Shining stopped and stood still.

"What's wrong?" Cadance asked, looking at him with a confounded expression. Flurry was also looking at him, surprised.

Shining pointed a hoof at the small table where Sunbust was seated at.

There was a changeling seated there, too. A blue one.

Shining cleared his throat, straightened himself, closed his eyes, and then opened his eyes and smiled. "Uh, sorry for that!" He eyed one of the many towerings stacks of books littered around in the room. "I was just, uh, not expecting you to have a visitor already, Sunburst! Heh-heh-heh-heh!" He scratched his head.

Sunburst hopped out of his wooden chair. "It's always good to have somepony or, in this case, some changeling to visit once in a while. I cannot just stay here alone all week!"

"Why, of course!" Shining replied rather hesitantly, glancing here and there.

Cadance walked towards Sunburst. "And, who is this changeling, by the way?"

"His name's Blue Alarm!" Sunburst gestured a hoof towards the changeling.

Blue Alarm waved a hoof, smiling a little while holding a book.

"He's actually a surprising fellow," Sunburst went on. "He's interested in magic, even though he's, well, not a unicorn. He likes its history, the innovations that have happened in the field of magic throughout the centuries—he's a changeling I didn't expect to meet!" He laughed a little. He eyed the changeling, sighing. "And, strangely enough, I can somehow relate to him."

"So, you're saying he's your friend?" Cadance asked, smiling, looking at the pony and the changeling.

Shining walked up to Cadance, still levitating Flurry Heart who was looking around, amazed at all the many books there.

"My first changeling friend besides Thorax? I'm OK with that!" Sunburst turned to see Thorax who was now reading a book.

"That's OK," Blue Alarm said while he was focused on the book. "I'm not that interested in magic, I just like reading more about Equestria."

Sunburst turned around towards Cadance and Shining Armor. "Well, why are you here?"

"I was thinking about, uh, Flurry Heart's magic lessons!" Shining replied, bringing Flurry Heart to float right beside him. "I've heard that you're a great mentor!"

"Nopony said I was a great mentor," Sunburst answered.

"Uh, it's new!"

"Oh."

"Shining!" Cadance said, calling him out. "Are you lying to him?"

"I'm just guessing, that's all!" Shining smiled and took a glance of Blue Alarm before he looked back at an irritated Cadance.

Cadance sighed and looked at Sunburst. "We're just going to see if this works out."

The color of the magical glow around Flurry Heart changed from red to blue as Cadance levitated Flurry Heart and brought her in front of Sunburst's face.

Sunburst smiled.

"You know that Flurry Heart's magical abilities are beyond that of a normal foal," Cadance explained. "So, with your help, maybe we can bring Flurry Heart to refine those abilities."

"Are you sure about this, Princess Cadance?" Sunburst asked, a bit skeptical.

"You're the most magical unicorn in all of the Crystal Empire, Sunburst," Cadance replied in that calming, reassuring tone. "I'm sure you can help."

Meanwhile, Shining walked up to the reading Blue Alarm.

He stood there, right beside Blue Alarm as he flipped a page.

On the book were paragraphs and paragraphs about the history of magic. On those two pages, there was an explanation about transfiguration magic and its importance to the general field of magic.

"Blue Alarm," Shining said, looking at him.

"Prince Shining Armor," Blue Alarm said, looking up from the book. "It's nice to meet you."

Shining chuckled anxiously, scratching his mane. "Uh, that's nice. So, do you want to introduce yourself?"

"You know my name," Blue Alarm replied. "I was part of a squad of changelings that participated in a lot of changeling operations back then when Chrysalis was our ruler. Then, after Thorax became our ruler and after all of us finally learned how to share love, I became very good friends with Red Noise, Humerus, and Neon Guard. I like donuts and I also like to read more about Equestria, like what I'm doing right now."

Shining blinked. He smiled. "Oh, OK! That's good to know! That's going to make our friendship better! I was hoping you wouldn't mention the...changeling operations."

"Well, I was definitely a part of those operations and missions and I still remember them. However, I'm not that kind of changeling anymore. Now that we can share love, it's just that we've found a better way."

"Yeah." Shining glanced at Cadance.

She was talking with Sunburst and was levitating the baby.

Blue Alarm closed the book in front of him and looked at the stacks of books behind him. "Sunburst has a really grand collection of books."

"Yes, he does," Shining said, looking at the books.

"Have you borrowed one of his books?" Blue Alarm asked. "You can use magic spells, after all."

"I don't really borrow any of his books," Shining replied nervously. "I alerady had my fill of magic lessons back in the academy."

"But, what about unicorns like Sunburst? He's still learning lots of cool magic spells. It's true that he may not be able to perform most of them, but despite that, he's still learning."

"Different ponies have different interests." Shining chuckled nervously.

---

Right outside one of the restaurants, there were tables and chairs. Those tables and chairs were made out of crystal. Seated around one of those tables were four ponies and one changeling. On the table were plates of various foods such as caramel apples, some sweet rolls, and a plate of pizza.

"Don't worry about Flurry Heart," Cadance said happily, levitating a few jars of mashed peas from her bag. "We have more than enough for her!"

Flurry looked sad.

"Oh, Flurry! You know that these are good for you!"

"Maybe if we decide to make it sound even better," Blue Alarm said. "Like, maybe we add sugar?"

"To mashed peas?"

Blue Alarm took a caramel apple and took a bite out of it. "It's worth a try."

"That means we're going to have to order some sugar!" Sunburst pointed out. He looked at one of the waiters. "Uh, waiter! May we have a small bowl of sugar?"

The waiter raised an eyebrow before he trotted inside.

"Is this really a good idea?" Shining asked Blue Alarm.

"I think so. It's always worked on Humerus." He smelled the fresh sweet rolls. "If Humerus was here, he would be finished with his sweet rolls by now." He smiled. "It's great to see him happy."

The waiter trotted to the table and placed a small bowl of sugar. Then, the waiter trotted away.

Sunburst, with his magic, levitated a sprinkle of sugar and opened a jar of mashed peas.

"And then, you mix the sugar with the mashed peas," Blue Alarm instructed.

"OK?" Cadance said, eyeing the open jar of mashed peas before mixing it with a small spoon.

Shining looked at Flurry Heart with much concern.

Sunburst dropped the sprinkle of sugar into the jar of mashed peas.

Cadance mixed it.

Then, she scooped up a mixture of mashed peas and sugar.

"I'm really anticipating the results of this," Blue Alarm said. "If this works for Flurry Heart, it's probably going to work for any foal. That pretty much solves a lot of the problems foals have with vegetables."

"But, we've been tasting them without sugar for a long time," Shining complained. "You're going to be keeping these foals away from the true taste of vegetables!"

"OK, then let's have a gradual version of it. Have lots of sugar early on, then slowly decrease the amount of sugar as they grow older so they won't know that they're actually eating less sugar. Then, they'll get used to the normal taste of vegetables."

"You're going to be making foals very active and they're going to be annoying lots of stallions and mares!"

"I'll have to find my way around that," Blue Alarm said, conceding and smiling. "It's not something I've fully thought out, yet. But, that's just me doing my best to be helpful."

"We're ready!" Cadance announced, levitating a spoon of mashed peas and sugar right in front Flurry Heart.

Flurry Heart shook her head in disapproval.

"Come on, Flurry! This is a different kind of mashed peas!"

Now, a few ponies at the other tables were looking at Cadance trying to feed Flurry Heart.

"If this backfires, it's your fault," Shining said, pointing a hoof at Blue Alarm.

"Just hope for the best," Blue Alarm responded.

And, everypony and the changeling were silent.

"Open your mouth!" Cadance said cheerfully.

Flurry Heart opened her mouth.

And Cadance brought the spoon to her mouth.

Flurry Heart's eyes went wide.

She smiled.

Cadance gasped and smiled.

"Blue Alarm, I think it's working!" Sunburst said.

Then, Flurry Heart flew around.

Shining groaned.

Flurry Heart cooed and cried out in joy and gladness while she flew about the restaurant, dodging ponies and food. Ponies ducked and moved out of the way. A few ponies screamed in terror as they attempted to dodge the speeding baby who was yelling and shouting in pure cheer.

Shining glared at Blue Alarm, even giving him a gruff noise. "I told it wasn't a good idea!"

"Just reduce the amount of sugar," Blue Alarm replied. "I'm worried if that baby ends up destroying this restaurant. But, I think she knows that she's going to be in trouble if she destroys a restaurant because, well, that's really inconsiderate."

The baby went on flying around, catching the attention of more than a few ponies on the streets and on the sidewalks. They looked up, seeing the baby fly. More than a few ponies also ran, trying to dodge the flying baby.

Shining ran after the baby.

Cadance sighed. She turned towards Blue Alarm. "Maybe it's not really that good of an idea for us."

Sunburst then ran after the baby. "Flurry Heart!"

Blue Alarm looked at Cadance. "Sorry, Princess."

"Don't worry, Blue Alarm," Cadance said. "You didn't mean any of us harm. Maybe you should try that idea on other foals."

Blue Alarm looked on at the chaos that was going on: ponies hurrying to get out of danger while Shining Armor and Sunburst ran after Flurry Heart who was flying around at high speeds.

---

As they walked towards the crystal train station, the train arrived.

"It's going to be another nice time with Starlight," Sunburst said gladly, smiling as he adjusted his glasses. "I'm not certain about what we're going to do, but I'm sure that we're going to have a great time just being together." He looked at Shining Armor whose hair was messy. "So, Shining Armor, what do you plan to do in Ponyville with Cadance and Flurry Heart?"

Shining groaned. "First thing we do is to make sure Flurry Heart behaves."

"Shining," Cadance called out, "don't be such an angry stallion."

As they entered the train station, there were several ponies there, some walking inside and some walking out, several of them carrying their bags.

"Alright, Cadance," Shining said with exasperation. He levitated Flurry Heart and brought him closer to his face.

Flurry Heart smiled.

Sunburst turned towards Blue Alarm. "What are you going to do in Ponyville?"

"I'm not sure, either. There's so many things to do in Ponyville. The ponies there are quite friendly and welcoming. I admit, they're quite nice for ponies living near a Princess."

"Then again, Twilight Sparkle probably doesn't want the attention," Sunburst replied. "She's actually uncomfortable with lots of ponies trying to be with her just because she's a Princess."

Blue Alarm chuckled smugly. "About that, Sunburst."

Sunburst raised an eyebrow, giving Blue Alarm a careful look. "What are you trying to say, Blue Alarm?"

They walked into the train and went to their seats. Flurry Heart, smiling, stretched out her hooves towards Cadance.

Cadance cuddled the baby.

A few ponies there in the train looked on at this act. They smiled. One of them said, "Aww!"

"Actually, I have a friend who really wants to be with the Princesses," Blue Alarm said. "Not just the Princesses, but Twilight Sparkle and her friends, too. Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"I hope he's not bothering anypony," Sunburst said with concern in his voice.

The train started and accelerated on the train tracks. The scenery slowly changed from the lush greenery of the Crystal Empire and its surroundings to the mountainous, snowy terrain outside of the Crystal Empire. It also became chilly and cold. Some snowflakes even fell into the train itself through the open windows.

Blue Alarm looked out the windows.

The ground was ragged and blanketed with snow. The wind was strong.

"How's Thorax?" Sunburst asked.

Blue Alarm looked away from the window and at Sunburst. "He's fine. He's being laid-back, trying to be lenient without being too carefree. We changelings like him as our leader. He's certainly better than Chrysalis."

"What does he plan to do?" Sunburst asked. "What are his plans for the Changeling Kingdom now?"

"We just know of his direction. Not much in terms of definite plans. He wants to be friendly with Equestria and its surrounding kingdoms. He also wants to spread the magic of friendship to the Changeling Kingdom."

Sunburst smiled. "That definitely is a good plan!"

"Well, isn't the magic of friendship good? Twilight and her friends showed that."

"Yeah, they certainly did!"

---

The train arrived at the train station.

The train's doors opened.

The ponies and the changeling walked on to the wooden platform of the train station.

Flurry Heart cooed while she was being levitated by her dad.

"Now, Flurry Heart," Shining said. "Now, don't go causing trouble, alright? You're going to be hurting other ponies if you do cause trouble."

Flurry Heart nodded.

"Good!" Shining smiled.

And, the ponies and the changeling walked inside the train station. Then, they walked outside the train station and towards Ponyville.

"What's the first stop?" Sunburst asked. "I'm going immediately to Twilight's castle. Starlight is probably there."

"We're going to Sugarcube Corner to reward Flurry Heart for eating lots of mashed peas during the train trip," Shining answered. He looked at Flurry Heart. "Isn't that right, Flurry Heart?"

Flurry Heart grumbled.

"She's going to get some sweets. Those are her reward," Cadance added.

"And, what are you going to do, Blue Alarm?" Sunburst asked.

"I still don't know. Like I said, there's so many things to do in Ponyville."

"Maybe you should just go with us!" Sunburst said. "You're going to get an idea on the way!"

Blue Alarm nodded. "OK."

---

The Sugarcube Corner was filled with ponies hungry for sweets as they ate and munched on the cakes, the pies, the cakepies, among others. Ponies lined up right in front of the counter as an excited and enthusiastic Pinkie Pie served up their sweet, delicious orders of sweets. The smell of the room was that sweet, sugary smell of freshly baked cakes and pies.

The four ponies and the changeling went inside.

Pinkie Pie looked up. "It's Shining Armor and Cadance and Flurry Heart and Sunburst and Blue Alarm!" she shouted.

"Don't worry, Pinkie," Shining said. "We'll just take a seat while one of us waits in the line."

Pinkie nodded. Then, she went back to bringing sweets to the ponies in front of the line.

"Hey, Blue Alarm!" a voice yelled. "Over here!"

Blue Alarm looked at where the voice was from.

"Humerus!" Blue Alarm shouted as he walked towards him. "And Red Noise! And Neon Guard! I didn't know you were here!"

"I didn't know you were going to eat with the rulers of the Crystal Empire," Neon Guard said. "You can go with them if you want."

"But you're my friends," Blue Alarm said, extending a hoof to them. "Wait, I'll just talk to them first about this."

Blue Alarm walked towards Shining Armor and Cadance as they were seated at their table.

"Uh, sorry to annoy you with this, but my best friends are here and I would like to be with them."

Cadance smiled. "Blue Alarm, that's OK! Go talk to them and eat with them! It's good to let your friendships shine."

"Alright, thanks!" Then, Blue Alarm ran off to the table where his best friends were.